But there was another thing which marked the Nazarite: he was not to shave Ids head. “ All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled hi the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.”
In 1 Cor. 11:1414Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? (1 Corinthians 11:14), we learn that it augurs a lack of dignity for a man to have long hair. “Doth not even nature itself teach you, that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?” From this we learn that if we really desire to live a life of separation to God, we must be prepared to surrender our dignity in nature. Tins our Lord Jesus Christ did perfectly. He made Himself of no reputation. He surrendered His rights in everything. He could say, “I am a worm and no man.” He emptied Himself thoroughly and took the very lowest place. He neglected Himself while He cared for others. In a word, His Nazariteship was perfect in this as in all besides.
Now here is just the very thing which we so little like to do. We naturally stand up for our dignity and seek to maintain our rights—it is deemed manly so to do. But the perfect Man never did so; and if we aim at being Nazarites we shall not do so either. We must surrender the dignities of nature, and forego the joys of earth, if we would tread a path of thorough separation to God in tins world. By and by, both will be in place, but not now.
Here again, be it remarked, the question is not as to the right or the wrong of the case. As a general rule, it was right for a man to shave his locks; but it was not right, nay, it was altogether wrong, for a Nazarite to do so. This made all the difference. It was quite right for an ordinary man to shave and drink wine; but the Nazarite was not an ordinary man; he was one set apart from all that was ordinary, to tread a path peculiar to himself; and to use a razor or taste wine would involve the entire surrender of that peculiar path. Hence if any inquire, “Is it not right to enjoy the pleasures of earth and maintain the dignities of nature?” We reply, “Quite right, if we are to walk as men; but wholly wrong, yea, absolutely fatal, if we want to walk as Nazarites.”
This simplifies the matter amazingly. It answers a thousand questions and solves a thousand difficulties. It is of little use to split hairs about the harm of this or that particular thing. The question is, What is our real purpose and object? Do we merely want to get on as men, or do we long to live as true Nazarites? According to the language of 1 Cor. 3:33For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? (1 Corinthians 3:3), to “walk as men” and to be “carnal” are synonymous. Docs such language really govern us? Do we drink into the spirit and breathe the atmosphere of such a scripture? or are we ruled by the spirit and principles of a godless, Christless world? It is useless to spend our time arguing points which would never be raised at all if our souls were in the right temper and attitude. No doubt, it is perfectly right, perfectly natural, perfectly consistent, for the men of this world to enjoy all that it has to offer them, and to maintain their rights and their dignities to the very utmost of their power. It were childish to question this. But, on the other hand, what is right and natural and consistent for the men of this world, is wrong, unnatural, and inconsistent for God’s Nazarites. Thus the matter stands, if we are to be governed by the simple truth of God. We learn from Num. 6, that if a Nazarite drank wine or shaved his locks, he defiled the head of his consecration. Has this no voice, no lesson for us? Assuredly it has. It teaches us that if our souls desire to pursue a path of whole-hearted consecration to God, we must abstain from the joys of earth, and surrender the dignities and rights of nature. It must be thus, seeing that God and the world, flesh and Spirit, do not and cannot coalesce. The time will come when it will be otherwise; but just now, all who will live to God and walk in the Spirit, must live apart from the world and mortify the flesh. May God in His great mercy enable us so to do!
One other feature of the Nazarite remains to be noticed: he was not to touch a dead body. “All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die; because the consecration of his God is upon his head.”
Thus we see that whether it was drinking wine, shaving his locks, or touching a dead body, the effect was the same; any one of the three involved the defilement of the head of the Nazarite’s consecration. Wherefore it is plain that it was as defiling to the Nazarite to drink wine, or to shave his head, as it was to touch a dead body. It is well to see this. We are prone to make distinctions which will not stand for a moment in the light of the divine presence. When once the consecration of God rested upon the head of any one, that great and important fact became the standard and touchstone of all morality. It placed the individual on entirely new and peculiar ground, and rendered it imperative upon him to look at everything from a new and peculiar standpoint. He was no longer to ask what became him as a man; but, what became him as a Nazarite. Hence, if his dearest friend lay dead by his side, he was not to touch him. He was called to keep himself apart from the defiling influence of death, and all because “the consecration of God was upon his head.”
Now, in this entire subject of Nazariteship, it is needful for the reader to understand very distinctly that it is not, by any means, a question of the soul’s salvation, of eternal life, or of the believer’s perfect security in Christ. If this be not clearly seen, it may lead the mind into perplexity and darkness. There are two grand links in Christianity which, though very intimately connected, are perfectly distinct, namely, the link of eternal life, and the link of personal communion. The former can never be snapped by anything; the latter can be snapped in a moment, by the weight of a feather. It is to the second of these that the doctrine of Nazariteship pertains.
We behold, in the person of the Nazarite, a type of one who sets out in some special path of devotedness or consecration to Christ. The power of continuance in this path consists in secret communion with God; so that if the communion be interrupted the power is gone. This renders the subject peculiarly solemn. There is the greatest possible danger of attempting to pursue the path in the absence of that which constitutes the source of its power. This is most disastrous, and demands the utmost vigilance. We have briefly glanced at the various things which tend to interrupt the Nazarite’s communion; but it would be wholly impossible, by any words of ours, to set forth the moral effect of any attempt to keep up the appearance of Nazariteship where the inward reality is gone. It is dangerous in the extreme. It is infinitely better to confess our failure, and take our true place, than to keep up a false appearance. God will have reality; and we may rest assured that, sooner or later, our weakness and folly will be made manifest to all. It is very deplorable and very humbling when the “Nazarites that were purer than snow” become “blacker than a coal;” but it is far worse when those who have become thus black keep up the pretense of being white.
“ ‘Tis the treasure I’ve found in His love
That has made me a pilgrim below:
And ‘tis then, when I reach Him above,
As I’m known, all His fullness I’ll know.”
(To be concluded in the next, if the Lord will.”)