Verses 2-8, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. He shall not make himself unclean even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the Lord.' ”
The Nazarite vow was taken by men and women who wanted to dedicate themselves to God by being separate...consecrated to God. When taking this vow, the person would abstain from all fermented drinks or any part of the grape, they would not cut their hair, and were not to come into contact with a dead body. The most obvious example of this occurred with Samson, who was a Nazarite from birth. Judges 13:2-5, “Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, 'Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.' ”
The vow had a start and end point, and if it was broken, it would have to begin all over again. After the completion of the vow, an offering was to be made by the priest. Verses 13-20, “Now this is the law of the Nazirite: When the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall be brought to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And he shall present his offering to the Lord: one male lamb in its first year without blemish as a burnt offering, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish as a sin offering, one ram without blemish as a peace offering, a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their grain offering with their drink offerings. Then the priest shall bring them before the Lord and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering; and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall also offer its grain offering and its drink offering. Then the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offering. And the priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them upon the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated hair, and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord; they are holy for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.”
We do not enter into these vows today, but we can certainly dedicate our lives unto the Lord and live a consecrated life. Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” There is a reasonable expectation that we do live a life separated from sin and the world, to even avoid the appearance of evil, considering the price that Jesus paid for us. I Peter 1:13-16, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.' ” There are many things in this world that will defile us and make us unclean, and ruin our witness. Because we were washed with the blood of Jesus, we no longer should continue doing these things. Plus, we need to be diligent about not letting the filth of the world pollute us. James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
Verses 23-27, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’ 'So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.' ” To have God's name upon us is a huge gift, but it also comes with a responsibility. We cannot take Him for granted or misrepresent His name. He promises protection, provision, and peace to those who are called by His name. But those who reject Him will experience what it is like to have His face against them, and eternal torment. Do not deceive yourself into thinking that you can do things your way and still receive His blessings. Just as Samuel broke his vow by casually sinning, his destruction wasn't immediate, but God eventually did remove His presence. If you sow to your flesh, you will most definitely reap corruption. Obedience to God's word is the only way we can be sure that our profession of faith is indeed genuine.
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