“The LORD bless you and keep you;”
~ Numbers 6:24
Hi James and Ellen,
Would you like to be a Nazirite? Samson, Samuel and John the Baptist were Nazirites. A gal can be a Nazirite. If you would like to be a Nazirite, Numbers 6 tells you the kind of commitment that a guy or gal is to make. If a guy or gal wanted to make the Nazirite vow, the guy or gal could make the vow for a period of time or forever. Samson, Samuel and John the Baptist made vows to be forever Nazirites. A vow is a binding promise to do something or not to do something. A Nazirite vow has a guy or gal making a perpetuity promise to God that he or she will dedicate his or her life to Him. The vow that a Nazirite made affected three areas of his or her life. The vow that a Nazirite made had the guy or gal vowing not to eat something, not to do something and not to be near someone. A guy or gal who wanted to be a Nazarite would vow that he or she would not drink wine, would not shave and would not go near a dead guy, gal or kid. A Nazarite’s vow affected the diet of the guy or gal. A Nazarite could not eat anything which came from a grapevine. A Nazarite could not eat raisins, drink grape juice or use vinegar that had been made from grapes. A Nazarite’s vow affected the appearance of the guy or gal. A Nazarite could not cut his or her hair. A Nazarite guy was never to shave. Having long hair was a symbol to other guys and gals that the guy or gal was a Nazirite. A Nazirite’s vow affected the guy or gal being near a dead guy, gal or kid. A Nazirite was not to touch or even be near a dead guy, gal or kid. A Nazirite sometimes could not help it that a guy, gal or kid had died near him or her. If a guy, gal or kid died near a Nazirite, the Nazirite had to take steps to be made clean of having become unclean. The Nazirite had to have his or her head shaved on a certain day and offerings had to be made on that same day. When the time came to an end for a Nazirite vow that had been made for a period of time, the guy or gal was to make offerings to God. The guy or gal was to bring his or her offerings to the entrance of the Tent of Meetings. The offerings were to be a year old male lamb, a year old ewe lamb, a ram – all without defect, offerings of grain, drink and bread. All these offerings were to be made by a priest – at the entrance of the Tent of Meetings, as sacrifices to God. The guy or gal then was to have his or her head shaven and his and her hair burned before God.
Do you ever wish that you could have lived during the time when God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids lived? Would you want to have lived under God’s law? Would you want to have been a Nazirite? You would be consecrated to God if you had been a Nazirite. To be consecrated means to have been set apart. A Nazirite would have set himself or herself apart to only serve God. This is something that you can do today without having to give up eating raisins, having to give up getting your hair cut and having to give up being near a dead guy, gal or kid. Jesus was the consummate Nazirite. Ever since Jesus was nailed to die on two crossed beams of wood, there has not been any longer any need to physically separate yourself from other guys, gals and kids to show your undivided devotion to God. You can show your wholehearted devotion and unreserved commitment to God by living a life that is guided by God the Spirit. A guy, gal or kid who is being led by God the Spirit cannot help but please and bless God in what he or she does and says. Guys and gals today will still attempt to live a life which is filled with rules and regulations which they think will make them more acceptable to God. Your grandmaa and grandpaa live near a town in Guatemala called Antigua. Monasteries and convents were built around three hundred years ago in Antigua. Some of these monasteries and convents became ruins not long after they were constructed after a major earthquake did a number on Antigua. One of the convents – las Capuchinas, is well known in Antigua. Your grandmaa and grandpaa really like taking guys, gals and kids to las Capuchinas. Young gals were taken to las Capuchinas – and left. Once a gal passed through a door into las Capuchinas, the gal would never see her family again. No one in the gal’s family would ever be allowed to see her again – even when the gal died, The gal would be buried in a place under the convent. The gal would never see a guy again. There are still things which guys and gals do today – which these guys and gals think will help them get to heaven. Guys and gals will walk in processions carrying images of saints. Guys and gals will burn candles for guys, gals and kids who have died. Guys and gals will make a cross using their hand over their forehead and then over their heart.
What are you doing to please and bless God? You can stop eating for a time. That is called fasting. If you use the time that you are fasting to think about God, God is blessed. If you use the time that you are fasting to show guys, gals and kids how dedicated that you are to God, God is not blessed. If you use praying to talk with God, God is blessed. If you use praying to show guys, gals and kids how dedicated that you are to God, God is not blessed. If you use reading the Bible to meditate on God’s Word, God is blessed. If you use reading the Bible to show others how dedicated that you are to God, God is not blessed. If you use going to church to fellowship with guys, gals and kids who believe in Jesus to edify them, God is blessed. If you use going to church to show guys, gals and kids how dedicated you are to God, God is not blessed. You are to do all things for God’s sake. God is pleased when you are only thinking of Him when you do something. God is not pleased when you are not thinking of Him. God through Moses in verse 24 gave His specially chosen guys and gals a benediction “The LORD bless you and keep you;” As His specially elected kids, the Lord – as your faith grows while you live your lives for Him, will bless and keep you.
Numbers 6 (85)