We all know the Bible story of Samson, right? More specifically, Samson and Delilah. Probably one of the more famous, well known stories in the Bible. He had long hair and eventually after some trickery, Delilah managed to cut that precious hair that secretly held his power (or he thought.) But there’s a part of the story that I bet very few know...why did Samson even have long hair? Yep, there was a very specific reason and we’ll find it out today in Numbers chapter 6.
Shift gears. Have you ever tried string art? You know, it’s where you get a big piece of wood, then drive a bunch of nails into the wood in a precise pattern. Then you get one long piece of string and wind it around all the nails in a meticulous pattern until it makes a big picture. It’s art for patient people. (that rules me out.) But I do love the thought of string art. In fact, if you think about it, the process is just like God’s Word. The more I study scripture, the more I realize how completely interconnected it is. The Old Testament connects perfectly with the New Testament. The Gospels correlate beautifully with the Epistles. The books of poetry perfectly unite with narrative and history. This is, in it’s own essence, the glory of God’s Word. It is fully disparate yet fully reconciled. It is different but the same. But the kicker is, you’ll miss this holy congruency if you don’t study the entire book. If you only camp out in the gospels because you like to read about Jesus, you’ll miss the wonder of His prophecy in the major and minor prophets. If you only hang out in the 13 epistles of Paul, you’ll miss all the O.T. law He so eloquently quotes in those letters. You see, you can’t start stringing that string art in the middle. You have to start at the first nail and slowly move through the entire process. Only in the end will you be able to see the big picture. The finished image says it all.
Today in Numbers chapter 6 we encounter all of the details about the Nazarene vow and we'll see it wind around a few nails to get to Samson. The word Nazarite comes from the Hebrew word “nazir” meaning consecrated or separated. There are four points you should know about taking the Nazarene vow. Let’s take a look.
1) It was completely voluntary. This was above and beyond the normal requirement of worshipping and serving the Lord in the Israelite society. Service to the Lord required regular offerings, sacrifices, prayer, service and confession of sin, but the Nazarene vow was in addition to all of those.
2) No wine or strong drink or anything from the vine. That meant nothing from a grape. (Num 6:3-4) That means no grape jelly, no raisins, no Merlot and no Cabernet. Now a lot of people will take these verses and get them completely out of context and say that the Lord says here no one should ever drink. Be careful not to misquote the Lord when you study His word. Context is king. I’ve heard it said that you should always read several verses before and several verses after before quoting a verse in God’s Word. It’s imperative you realize exactly what God meant, before you stress the point. Recall that this was a voluntary vow, and from what we see in God’s Word, very few people accepted it. It would have been very difficult in this society to drink no wine. Wine was served at almost every meal and was even a large part of worship. To forgo all wine would have been very tough.
Speaking of alcohol, our society, our nation, yes even our world, has had and continues to have a tough time handling alcohol. It is eroding our society because of misuse. Just outlaw it, right? In the 1920’s our efforts to outlaw alcohol in the U.S. resulted in pure debacle. A sign that mankind cannot and will not live without alcohol and it’s effects. You see the question is not right or wrong, or to drink or not drink. The real question is...who is first? You see if you took the Nazarene vow, you were willing to forgo all alcohol because you had put God first in your life. But for every Nazarite there were thousands that looked at the vow and simply saw it as it as either unattainable or they just didn’t want the hassle.
For many today this is the simple question alcohol asks. It’s not a question of right or wrong. It’s not a question of it being socially accepted or not. It’s not a question of whether the church approves it or not. It’s not a question of whether it’s legal or illegal. The question is one of priority. Where does alcohol fit in your life? Or more pointedly, what is above alcohol in your life’s list of priorities and what is below it. Alcohol is an addictive drug and for many it’s effects cause a radical shift in life’s priorities. Family, loved ones, work, marriages and God get slowly pushed down the list of priorities until only alcohol sits at the top. The king of a life. God’s Word never tells people not to drink. But what He does ask from page one of Genesis through the last page of Revelation is…who is first in your life? You and your desires or God and His purpose for you? There can only be one king in your life.
2) “All the days of his vow of separation, No razor shall touch his head.” (Num 6:5) Here ya go, the reason Samson had long hair. You see, Samson’s parents could not have kids. An angel of the Lord came to his mom and told her she would conceive and as a result, her son was to take the Nazarene vow. So, Samson grew up strong in the Lord and never cut His hair. The dilemma of the story is that Samson thought his strength was based in his vow and hair and not purely and solely in the strength of the Lord. His hair is cut and he thinks he’s done. But Samson’s story has a redemptive end as he sincerely calls upon the Lord for strength and it is granted one last time to fulfill God’s dramatic plan. It’s a great story, you should read it again. (Judges chapters 13-16)
Long hair on men was seen as an abomination in this era. Paul is quoted in 1 Corinthians 11:14, “Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.” It’s quite ironic that this is seen as similar even today, almost 3000 years later. Woman can have long hair but on men it is somewhat frowned upon. Sure, you can have long hair if you’re applying to be a tattoo artist or a bartender (or apparently an NFL player) but if you think our society has truly embraced long hair on guys, try to apply on Wall Street as a broker with long hair and let me know about the looks you get. You see it had a stigma then and it still has a stigma today. As the Nazarene wore long hair, he would suffer ridicule, torment and persecution. All meant for the vow bearer to walk as Christ walked in this world, ridiculed, persecuted and rejected.
3) No contact with any dead bodies. (Num 6:6) This meant you couldn’t even be in the presence of a dead body. This meant no funerals, for anybody, even your parents, spouse or kids. If you were to come into the presence of a dead body, you’re vow was broken and you had to offer a sacrifice to God and start the vow over. In this era, dead bodies were declared unclean by the Lord and were to be treated as such. This of course had health reasons but also death was seen as the result of sin and sin was to be avoided completely.
More than likely God has not called you to take the Nazarene vow today, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. Has He called you to another purpose? Has He asked you to fulfill a different vow? If so, God will speak it clearly to you, but remember as He does, the question at the forefront of accepting that vow will remain…who is first?
God bless you on your Journey with Jesus today.
टिप्पणियां