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The Nazarite Vows
v. 1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
v. 2. Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, When either man or woman, for the sex made no difference in the case of such a vow, the only restrictions being given in Chapter 30, shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord, to live as men and women devoted to the Lord, as a special expression of piety,
v. 3. he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, the latter being a very intoxicating liquor made from barley, dates, and honey, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, the fresh, sweet grape-juice, as it comes from the press, nor eat moist grapes, as they come from the vine, or dried, in the form of raisins.
v. 4. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine-tree, from the kernels even to the husk, the prohibition with reference to foods or drinks made from grapes being absolute, as pertaining to the sensual delights with which the Nazarite had nothing to do; he was to be as remote as possible from the spirit of drunkenness.
v. 5. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head, for the free-growing head of hair was to serve as the symbol of the proper enthusiasm in its steady strength; until the days be fulfilled in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, consecrated, set aside to the Lord, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow, the symbol of the higher, divine power of life.
v. 6. All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body, not become contaminated by contact with it.
v. 7. He shall not make himself unclean for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for his sister, when they die, being, in this respect, like the high priest. Lev_21:11, because the consecration of his God is upon his head. The prohibition of the greater, of course, included the less, and the Nazarite was under obligation to guard against every form of contamination.
v. 8. All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord.
v. 9. And if any man die very suddenly by him, without premonition or previous warning, and he, the Nazarite, hath defiled the head of his consecration, his unshorn head being the diadem of his God, the visible sign of his consecrated condition, then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it, for that was the day always chosen for purposes of purification.
v. 10. And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles or two young pigeons, as in the case of Levitical uncleanness, Lev_15:14, to the priest, to the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation;
v. 11. and the priest shall offer the one for a sin-offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, reestablish the right relation between the worshiper and Jehovah, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head the same day, consecrate it to the Lord for a second time, for unhindered growth.
v. 12. And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, begin his period of consecration anew, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass-offering, to absolve the worshiper from all guilt; but the days that were before shall be lost, shall not count for the fulfillment of the vow, because his separation was defiled. For a Christian there are no unusual periods of special sanctification, although we observe certain outward times of particular devotion to the Lord, but his whole life is devoted to the service of his heavenly Father and of his Savior, Jesus Christ.