Word of Salvation - June 2010

 

Numbers 6 - RADICALLY DIFFERENT - by John Westendorp

(Sermon 6 in a series on Numbers)

Scripture Reading: Numbers 6

Singing: Book of Worship 115 / 177 / 214 / 215

 

Introd: Many who read the Bible for the first time begin the same way they read most books: at page 1.

They read Genesis and find it interesting. The first dozen chapters of Exodus are not hard either.
But then there’s chapter after chapter of instructions for building the Tabernacle.
And by the time they get into all the laws in Leviticus they’re just about ready to toss it in.
And as for the book of Numbers... what could possibly be interesting about that?

 

We Christians are a little wiser than people who pick up the Bible for the first time.
So we’re more inclined to concentrate on the gospels and maybe the Psalms.
But what if I did a survey this morning...?
I’m sure that for many of us there are slabs of Scripture we’ve never read.

 

That came home to me some years ago at a wedding.
The Groom, in his speech, read some verses from Song of Songs to his Bride.
He chose some of the ‘R-rated’ stuff about the physical attributes of the Bride.
That caused a lot of laughter amongst the wedding guests.

But the next morning after church in the hall I was standing close to a group of young adults.
And I overheard one lady say to the group:
”You know that stuff that the Groom read last night to his Bride...? That’s really in the Bible!”
The lady that said that was somebody very involved in the life of the church.

 

So why do we bother with Numbers and this ancient ritual of setting aside a Nazirite.
How many of you have ever heard a sermon on Nazirites before? Not too many of us.
Yet if you’ve been here for previous sermons on Numbers you’ll realised the truth of 2Tim 3:16
Paul says there to Timothy: All Scripture... all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable.
Profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

 

A] SEPARATION UNTO GOD’S SERVICE.

 

1. Let’s consider then this ritual of the dedication of Nazirites to see what God is teaching us.

The key idea with the Nazirite is that of separation.

‘Separation’ is mentioned at least 10 times in the chapter. If your Bible is open look at some of them:
Vs.2: If a man or a woman wants to make a special vow... a vow of separation...!
Vs.5: During the entire period of his vow of separation...!
Again in vs.5: He must be holy to the Lord until his period of his separation to the Lord is over...!
Vs.6: Throughout the period of his separation...!
Vs.7: ...the symbol of his separation to God is on his head.
You get the idea. On and on it goes... at least another 5 times.
The Nazirite is a person who has taken a vow of separation. It’s all about separation.

 

In Numbers 6 we have a process whereby lay people could get involved in special service for God.
What I mean by ‘lay people’ is non-Levites. Levites were already separated for service to God.
But what if a non-Levite wanted to dedicate a certain time of his life to the Lord’s service?
Well, here was a ritual for doing just that: by taking the vow of a Nazirite.

 

So if a man or a woman wanted to serve God for a shorter or longer time here’s how it was to be done.
Today we could compare it to someone going off for a year of short-term mission work.
Young people doing a gap-year and going off the Solomons to work with the Rietvelds.
Of course today we don’t require that such young people stay away from alcohol and grapes.
And we don’t insist that they wear their hair long... or keep away from dead bodies.
But the point is that short term mission work would be a good modern equivalent.

 

2. Let me highlight a couple of features of a Nazirite.

Vs.1 shows that this kind of separation was voluntarily entered into... you do it because you want to.
Maybe simply because you felt God was calling you to a term of ministry of some sort.
Or maybe you volunteered for this in thankfulness to God for some great blessing in your life.

 

However there are also instances in Scripture where it was not voluntary.

Sometimes God appointed someone to be a Nazirite. That was the case with Samson.
We also see with Samson that in his case it wasn’t just for a set period of his life.
His whole life was to be the separated life of a Nazirite.
Of course Samson was a very poor example of a Nazirite.
But there is no denying that this is what Samson was supposed to be: A Nazirite.

 

Some have argued that John the Baptiser was also a Nazirite.
He was certainly set apart by God for a lifetime of ministry.
He did not volunteer for that... it was by God’s appointment.

 

In some instances it was a parent who set a child apart to be a Nazirite.
I think here particularly of Samuel... set apart for God as a Nazirite by his mother Hannah.
The whole of Samuel’s life was to be lived in dedication to his God.
Hannah had promised that to the Lord if He would give her a child.

 

Some folk argue that Jephthah’s daughter (in Judges 11) was made a Nazirite for life by her father.

It’s possible... we don’t know for sure.

Others argue that Paul in NT dedicated himself as a Nazirite for a term – in Acts 21.

And now here in Numbers 6 we have the ritual involved in such Nazirite separation to God’s service.

 

3. To me it is not accidental that this chapter ends with the Aaronic benediction.

Why of all places should we find those words of blessing right after these Nazirite vows?

The priests were to pronounce this blessing upon the people of Israel.
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.

 

Those words of blessing have resounded down through the centuries.
We often leave church with those words of benediction ringing in our ears.
But why didn’t God tell Moses about this blessing somewhere else?
Why not in the place where the priests are appointed over Israel from the tribe of Levi?

 

Because it is so hugely appropriate here.
The Nazirites were an encouragement and a challenge to the whole nation of Israel.
Calvin speaks of the Nazirites as an adornment of the nation. Like a jewel in Israel.
They blessed the nation by being a reminder to Israel that God wants a set-apart people.
It’s as if they were saying: this is what a life dedicated and set apart for God looks like.
They were also a blessing to the nation as they took up some form of ministry.
God blessed other people through this ministry of the Nazirites.

 

And so right here in Numbers 6... this section concludes with this lovely blessing.
God will bless you and keep you.
God will be gracious to you as your Nazirites model for the people separated unto God.

 

There is surely an application in that also for us. We as God’s people are called to be separate.
Paul made that very clear to the Corinthians in 2Cor.6:14-17.
He was dealing with the issue of Christians who thought it was okay to marry non-Christians.
And what does Paul say to these folk?
Sure! Why not? That’s a good way to evangelise unbelievers and convert them?

 

No! Paul speaks about being unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
And then he makes the telling comment:
We are temples of the living God... Therefore come out from them and be separate.

 

There is something about the Nazirite that God expects from all of us: separation unto God.

We are called to be radically different as God’s people... and God blesses that kind of separation.

 

B] RADICAL, VISIBLE AND INVIOLABLE.

 

1. Am I suggesting then that all Christians are really Nazirites? What about those strict requirements?

Well, let’s consider them.

The first requirement was: no alcoholic beverages.
Some fundamentalist churches would say: Right... and there you have it.
Christians should all be teetotallers. It is wrong for Christians to drink alcohol.
But if you want to defend abstinence from alcohol you’ll have to look elsewhere.
The fact that the Nazirite was not to drink wine or strong drink meant other Israelites could.

We also need to remember that in their culture the options for drinking were limited.
They didn’t have a whole supermarket aisle devoted to a dozen varieties of drinks.
You could drink Adam’s ale, or cow juice, or wine and that was about it.

 

Some suggest wine was forbidden because taking too much will enslave your life to it.
And the Nazirite, as one separated to God, was to be mastered only by His God.

Others suggest that wine is all about the common pleasures of life and about social interaction.
And the Nazirite, as one separated to God, was only interested in the things of God.

 

All of that misses the point. Okay... self denial is certainly required... but it goes much further.
Did you notice that it wasn’t just wine and strong drink that were forbidden for the Nazirite?
It was also eating grapes. And no dried grapes (raisins) not even seeds or skins.
This prohibition was total... nothing from the fruit of the vine. Full stop.

 

The point is that God’s demands for the Nazirite are radical.
The Nazirite is not just a little different... he is radically different.
Even that luscious fruit... the grape... may not be eaten during this time of separation.
There is something radically different about someone who is separated unto God.
And that raises the question: How different are you as a Christian from others around you?

 

2. That difference becomes even clearer when we look at the second requirement.

There is to be no cutting of the hair. He must let the hair of his head grow long.

You may wonder how this applies to a woman who took a Nazirite vow.
Well... I read somewhere that women Nazirites would allow their hair to be unkempt.
So next time your hair is a real mess, ladies, you can always say: Today I’m a Nazirite.

 

But what’s the go with this long hair?

Some have suggested that this shows a willingness to bear shame.
In Hebrew culture, where short hair was the standard, long hair is embarrassing.
So they suggest that a Nazirite is one who is willing to bear shame for God.

 

Others suggest that this long hair is a rejection of all vanity.
Human beings take pride in their hair... they spend time every day grooming it.
And now the Nazirite renounces all of that... it is empty and vain.

 

Still others suggest that this long hair was a sign of submission to God.
They base that on something Paul says about long hair being a sign of being under authority.
Paul says that against the background of the role of women in the church.

 

All of that again misses the obvious.
In a society in which short hair for men is the norm, long hair stands out.
So I believe that God is simply saying that a Nazirite is to be highly visible in society.
They stand out... they are noticed. Here is one who has been separated unto God.
In fact that long hair was not only a reminder to others... to the whole community.
It was also a reminder to the Nazirite himself. It repeatedly reminded him of his vows.

 

Again there is some application in that for us.
We as Christians sometimes go out of our way to blend in with our society.
We don’t want to stand out as being different. For example, in clothing.
I’ve seen Christian men wearing t-shirts with outrageous things written on them.
And women will wear the latest fashions even if it provocatively displays their figure.
We don’t like to be seen as being radically different.

 

I think of a young man who went into the army... and after a couple of weeks he phoned home.
His dad said to him: How are you coping? Are they giving you a hard time for being a Christian?
He replied: Dad, I’m glad to say, they haven’t found out yet. I’m doing my best to keep it quiet.

 

3. There is yet a third requirement for the Nazirite: There should be no contact with the dead.

The Nazirite must not even go near a dead body.
Again that is radical... and in their society it would make one obviously different.
Remember this is a society in which undertakers were not common like today.
It was usually the family that prepared the body for burial and conducted the funeral.
But the Nazirite family member was not allowed to participate in any of that.
That was a radical requirement in their culture... and it was a highly visible thing.

 

But there is another lesson in this business about not being near the dead.
It brings home to us that these vows could not be violated.
Verse 9 speaks of a situation where a death unexpectedly takes place in their presence.
Imagine you’re a Nazirite and someone collapses and dies in your arms. What then?

 

Well... we’re given a whole ritual to cover that situation.
The hair is shaved, sacrifices are brought... including a guilt offering.
And then the vow has be renewed and the process started from scratch.
I read the story of a woman who vowed seven years of her life as a Nazirite.
Her time was almost up when someone died in her arms.
So she devoted a further seven years... a total of 14 years as a Nazirite.

 

In contrast to that I’ve sometimes heard of something called ‘charismatic excuses’.
A lady I knew got engaged to a guy because God told her they were meant for each other.
Three months later the relationship was ended... and I asked why.
Her answer was: The Lord told us that it was time for us to move on.
Charismatic excuses are really an attempt to blame God for our mistakes and escape our vows.

 

In contrast Numbers 6 shows us that vows are meant to be kept.
They may not be violated... not by anything.
Even that forbidden contact with the dead doesn’t cancel the Nazirite vows.
It simply means that they must be renewed and begun all over again.

 

Today we can apply that and say: This should be a distinguishing mark of the separation of a Christian.
We live in a culture where vows and promises are easily made and easily broken.
Marriage vows are treated by many with contempt. We renege on our promises so easily.
Christians ought to be people who remain faithful to their vows. They are people of their word.

 

C] FROM NAZIRITE TO NAZARENE.

 

1. A big question I want to consider briefly is to ask whether Jesus was in any sense a Nazirite.

In Matthew 2 we read the story of Jesus returning from Egypt.
When they hear that a son of Herod is ruling in Judea the family settle in Nazareth.
And then Matthew tells us that therefore Jesus is called a Nazarene.

 

Matthew speaks of this as being a fulfilment of the word of the prophets.
But that presents us with some problems. Nazareth is never even mentioned in the O.T.
So how can Jesus living in Nazareth be a fulfilment of the O.T. prophets?

 

Some people suggest that what Matthew calls a Nazarene is really a Nazirite.

I think there is a connection but we need to make the connection in a round-about way.

 

2. In later time Nazirites were often looked down upon in Israel.

Amos shows us (in 2:11,12) how little regard Israel later had for Nazirites.
So you can imagine ignorant people seeing Nazirites as a bunch of fanatics.
Amos goes further. He shows how the Israelites forced the Nazirites to drink wine.

 

In other words, in Israel’s later history Nazirites were belittled and ridiculed.

More than that... they became the victims of persecution and oppression.

And that is precisely what Nazareth was all about.
Nazareth as a place was a picture of insignificance.
The name Nazareth probably comes from a word that means branch or shoot.
And there is nothing significant about a branch or a shoot.

 

In chapter 1 of John’s gospel Nathaniel asks the question: Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
Jesus was willing to be labelled as someone who was insignificant.
Today we would say: a country bumpkin. A nobody.
So what the Nazirites became in later Israelite history that is what Jesus was willing to be.
A Nazarene... insignificant in the eyes of the world... belittled as a nobody.

 

And then we could add to this the fact that early Christians were called Nazarenes.

In the eyes of the world insignificant people following an insignificant leader.

 

3. No! Jesus the Nazarene was not a Nazirite – at least not outwardly.

Jesus drank wine – he was accused of being a drunkard.

Jesus touched dead bodies – he did that to raise them up.

And as for the long hair? Of course we all know Jesus did have long hair.
We’ve seen Him drawn that way in dozens of children’s Bibles.
And many works of art show him as a man with long hair.
Hey... the reality is that we just don’t know. Perhaps He did... perhaps He didn’t.

 

But what we can say is that Jesus was all that the Nazirite was meant to be.
He didn‘t need to show it outwardly through those three requirements.
Because in the life of Jesus it would be so blatantly obvious.
Here stood one who was totally separated to His God.
A man who was radically different.
The only man who ever fully served His God for the full 100 percent.

 

That brings us to one last thing:
When the term of the vow was over a series of costly sacrifices had to be made.
And finally there was added to the fire of the sacrifice the shaved hair of the Nazirite.

 

When Jesus came to the end of His term as a Nazirite He held nothing back.
He didn’t just sacrifice His hair... He offered us His all.
But it was so that you and I might now be able to live lives that are radically different.
Lives lived in service of our wonderful and glorious God

 

Amen