numbers class 03 the nazirite vow

Study of Numbers

Class 3

The Nazirite vow

Study of Numbers – Chapter 6The Nazirite Vow

1. The Nazirite vow Nazarene means ‘‘separate’’. A Nazirite is a person that

has voluntarily consecrated himself to God. The objective of the Nazirite vow was to suplement the

lack of priests. Only the descendents of Aaron could exercise the priesthood, not even the Levites were permitted to exercise this responsibility. It was impossible for any Levite even if he were a descendent of Aaron to serve God as a priest.


However through the Nazirite vow any person can serve the Lord. The ministry of the Nazirite was not restricted to any group of people, today everyone can serve God.

Anticipating the problem of the priesthood, God gave Moses means to combat the degradation of the priesthood: the Nazirite vow.

In the days of Eli the priesthood was completely corrupted (1 Samuel 2:12-17). And in those days God raised up a Nazirite, Samuel, in order to have a voice on the earth.


According to Numbers 6, the Nazirite vow included three parts: Abstinence of the fruit of the vine, Refrain from cutting the hair Avoid touching cadavers


a. The fruit of the vine - 6:3-4 The Nazirite should abstain from wine and all types of

fruit of the vine. Wine symbolizes natural joy and pleasure. All those who separate themselves for the Lord’s service should abstain from the joy that the world has to offer.

Even grape juice which is completely harmless was prohibited. There are many things that other Christians may do, but those who consecrate themselves to the Lord are prohibited from doing them.


Jesus operated the first miracle by transforming water into wine in order to demonstrate that the principal purpose of his ministry was to transform the natural life of man as if it were water – tasteless and flat, into a full and abundant life.

The apostle Paul compared the filling of the Holy Spirit to intoxication with wine (Ephesians 5.18). A Nazirite did not drink wine in order to show that his greatest pleasure and delight was the Lord.


Today our consecration loses its meaning if it is not based on our love for the Lord in the pleasure of walking in his presence. Without this motivation, our consecration becomes merely a religious or legalistic act.


b. No razor to the head - 6:5 The hair was the most evident sign of consecration of a

Nazirite. According to 1 Corinthians 11, to allow the hair to grow is a sign of submission to God (1 Corinthians 11:10,14).

The Nazirite demonstrated his submission to God’s authority, by allowing his hair to grow all throughout his life.


However according to the New Testament to allow the hair to grow is a dishonor for a man. 1 Corinthians 11:4 says that it is a shame for a man to have long hair.

The Nazirit rejects his own glory, he doesn’t care if he suffers dishonor for the Lord and his Word.


In Samson’s example we see that the hair was also related to power. Long hair demonstrated that he was one with God and received his strength from God. After Samson’s hair was cut he lost his strength and began to be subjected by the Philistines.


c. Denial of natural affection - 6:7 The third aspect implies that a Nazirite must relegate his

own family to second place. The matter of natural affection is seen in the fact that a Nazirite was not even allowed to mourn the death of a son or daughter.

Jesus said that if someone loved father and mother, more than he, he could not be his disciple.


He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. Matthew 10:37

If a priest was putting oil in the candlesticke and someone informed him that a close relative had died, he was not permitted to just drop what he was doing and take care of the problem. In the same manner those who serve the Lord must prioritize the things of God even above their loved ones.


d. Reject death - 6:6 The Nazirite was also to avoid cadavers, or in other

words everything related to death. Many things aren’t necessarily sinful but they produce death, since they have no origin in God.

Those who consecrate themselves to the Lord should be careful with what they hear, with what they see and with what they read. We should not absorb anything that has to do with the the world, so that our spiritual perception does not become numbed.


To be consecrated to the Lord is more than merely rejecting sin and the flesh. To be consecrated to the Lord is to reject everything that is impregnated with death.

In the spiritual world, we have three enemies, and each one of them opposes a person of the Trinity. The devil opposes Christ (Matthew 4:1-10), The flesh wars against the spirit (Galatians 5:17) The world opposes the Father (1 John 2:15-17).


The world and everything in it, is death before God. The worst enemy is death.

If you are not able to discern death, just think about what dwells within you after watching hours and hours of television.


Many people are not filled with the Spirit because their heart is not consecrated to God. Consecration is the principal condition to be used by God.

Therefore a Nazirite should abstain from the fruit of the vine, from cutting his hair and coming into contact with cadavers, even if they belong to his own family.


2. The example of Jesus Many people ask if Jesus was a Nazirite. He was not a

Nazirite from the natural point of view, but he was a true Nazirite who fulfilled all of the spiritual requirements. Jesus is the greatest example of a Nazirite in the Bible. He lived as an authentic Nazirite.


The first aspect of a Nazirite is that he could not partake of anything related to the fruit of the vine, meaning that he should abstain from all worldly types of pleasure and enjoyment. The Lord fulfilled this completely because never had anyone lived so consecrated to God as he.

The second sign is that an Nazarite could not cut his hair. The hair is a symbol of glory and Jesus never sought his own will or glory (John 5:30; 5:41 and 8:50).


The third sign was to overcome natural affections. When they told Jesus that his mother and brothers wanted to speak with him his answer was emphatic. “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother my sister and mother” (Matthew 12:46-50).


The fourth requirement was to have no contact with death. Jesus was life itself and his life was the light of men (John 1:4). Wherever he went there was always much light and life (Matthew 4:16).

This Nazirite abides today in our spirit. If we live according to Christ we will be true Nazirites consecrated to the Lord and to his purposes.

Study of Numbers – Chapter 6The Nazirite Vow O exemplo de Sansão

Again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years 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.“ (Judges 13:1-5).


The enemy wants to destroy our consecration. The source of our spiritual strength is the anointing of the spirit that comes through consecration.

The enemy knows that without anointing we have no power; therefore, he seeks to seduce us, for the purpose of destroying our spiritual consecration. This is what happened to Samson.


Samson enjoyed walking among the vineyards (Judges 14:5). Even though he knew that as a Nazirite he was not permitted to eat grapes, he always found a way to walk through the Vineyard.

We also, although we cannot eat the grapes of the Vineyard of the world, we enjoy their smell. Eventually whoever plays with fire will “get burned.”


One day Samson killed a lion (Judges 14:8-9). After a few days as he passed by the same way, he perceived that in the body of the lion was a honeycomb full of honey. For a Nazirite it was prohibited to touch dead bodies. So what did Satan do? He put honey in the corpse. Satan didn’t touch the corpse of the lion, but he got very close to doing so.


The initial attempt of the devil to seduce Samson among the vineyards was unsuccessful. In the same way, the attempt to trick him into touching the dead body of the lion did not work. In the end, the enemy used a woman to induce him into allowing his hair to be cut.

When Samson’s hair was cut he lost all of his strength and was delivered to the Philistines. As they led him to prison they put out his eyes and forced him to turn a grinding stone (Judges 16:19-21).


The following is a list of immediate consequences of breaking our consecration: We lose the power to overcome sin and subjugate the

enemy; We lose the freedom that Christ obtained for us.

Because of sin, many who were formally freed now live in bondage to the enemy;

We lose vision, discernment and spiritual sensitivity.

Study of Numbers – Chapters 7 and 8The consecration of the Tabernacle

Consecration, in the book of Numbers is shown in three aspects. The first aspect is the Nazarite consecration that we see in chapter 6 which is an individual consecration.

Next, we have the consecration of the tabernacle in chapter 7. The tabernacle prefigures the church. To consecrate the tabernacle means that everything in the church is for God.


The consecration of the Levites Next, we have the consecration of the Levites. Levites

served God in the place of the children of Israel; they represented all the firstborn in Israel. Therefore the consecration of the Levites was the consecration of the whole nation.

We must always remember that today we are priests and Levites before God. In the New Testament God fulfills his desire to have a nation of priests. God’s will is that everyone serve him.


The process of consecration First purifying water was sprinkled over them. This water

points to the action of God’s Word in us (John 15:3; Ephesians 5:26). Besides the blood, we need the water of the Word of God to purify us. The blood purifies us from the filth of sin, but we need the Word to remove the stain that it leaves on us.


Second, all of the hairs of the body had to be shaven. Body hair points to everything that has origin in humanity, therefore those who serve God must free themselves of all merely natural strength.

The third step consists of washing ones garments. Garments point to our behavior. Our garments must be like fine linen, which symbolizes our acts of righteousness (Revelation 19:8).


The fourth step was the presentation of the burnt offering as offering for sin. This then was the consecration of the levites that represent the whole congregation.

The whole congregaton of Israel had to lay hands on the levites. The laying of hands is an act of identification, the levites now represent all the people.


Afterward the Levites laid their hands on the calf of the burnt offering. Thus that animal represented the whole nation. The consecration of the Levites was a consecration of the whole nation of God.

Comparing 4:2 with 8:24 we see that the Levite began learning his duties at twenty-five years of age but only at thirty could he serve in the Tabernacle.

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