Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the Lord as a Nazirite, he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins. " 'During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the Lord is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long. Throughout the period of his separation to the Lord he must not go near a dead body. Even if his own father or mother or brother or sister dies, he must not make himself ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of his separation to God is on his head. Throughout the period of his separation he is consecrated to the Lord. " 'If someone dies suddenly in his presence, thus defiling the hair he has dedicated, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing—the seventh day. Then on the eighth day he must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him because he sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day he is to consecrate his head. He must dedicate himself to the Lord for the period of his separation and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The previous days do not count, because he became defiled during his separation. " 'Now this is the law for the Nazirite when the period of his separation is over. He is to be brought to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. There he is to present his offerings to the Lord: a year-old male lamb without defect for a burnt offering, a year-old ewe lamb without defect for a sin offering, a ram without defect for a fellowship offering, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and a basket of bread made without yeast—cakes made of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil. " 'The priest is to present them before the Lord and make the sin offering and the burnt offering. He is to present the basket of unleavened bread and is to sacrifice the ram as a fellowship offering to the Lord, together with its grain offering and drink offering. " 'Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite must shave off the hair that he dedicated. He is to take the hair and put it in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the fellowship offering. " 'After the Nazirite has shaved off the hair of his dedication, the priest is to place in his hands a boiled shoulder of the ram, and a cake and a wafer from the basket, both made without yeast. The priest shall then wave them before the Lord as a wave offering; they are holy and belong to the priest, together with the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine. " 'This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord in accordance with his separation, in addition to whatever else he can afford. He must fulfill the vow he has made, according to the law of the Nazirite.' " Numbers 6:1-21
Chapter 6 begins with God giving guidance for anyone who would wish to become a Nazarite or one decided to separate themselves fully for the Lord.
Requirements of those desiring to take the Nazarite vow highlight the very requirements that God expects from any of His children. Here are three areas to focus on as we consider the matter of total dedication to our Father:
1. Dedication to God requires commitment. Note that there wasn’t a command given that all men and women had to be Nazarites. Rather, the opportunity was presented with the required obligations on the one taking the vow. It was up to the individual man or woman to make the commitment to follow God in such a devoted manner.
Today, the level of devotion to God is still placed in the hands of the believer. God doesn’t want to coerce our loyalty to Him. He wants us to display a faithful, obedient and loyal life that comes from a heartfelt desire to glorify Him in all things. A truly dedicated believer is one who seeks the desires of the Lord in all facets of their lives. And this leads me to point 2.
2. Dedication to God requires personal discipline. We can say vows and profess a willingness to obediently devote ourselves to God. Putting those words into action is a totally different story. For as the old saying goes, "Talk is cheap" and often it is our actions that either validate or invalidate the things we say. God wants us not just to "walk the walk and talk the talk" but to "walk His walk and talk His talk". He doesn’t want us to merely "mean what we say and say what we mean" but rather "mean what He says and say what He means". In other words, He wants us to be personally disciplined to the degree that we can be separate from the worldly influences around us…so that all that we say and do is not as the world would say and do.
To accomplish this, we need to exercise great personal discipline. And personal discipline can only come from the strength of the Lord through the Holy Spirit living and abiding within our hearts and minds. None of us are strong enough to stand on our own power. Our success in following the Lord the way He expects calls on us to surrender ourselves to Him. And this takes us to the final point.
3. Dedication to God requires sacrifice. The man or woman wanting to separate themselves for the Lord was to give up certain things. They were supposed to "abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink." They also were expected to "not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins." Additionally, "no razor" was to be used on the head…their hair was to "grow long"…"throughout the period of his separation to the Lord". They were to avoid dead bodies, even if they were their own family members (although we read that provisions were made if the person inadvertently came in contact with someone who had died).
At the end of the period of separation to the Lord, the person was to come to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting where they would present the following offerings to the Lord: "a year-old male lamb without defect for a burnt offering, a year-old ewe lamb without defect for a sin offering, a ram without defect for a fellowship offering, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings, and a basket of bread made without yeast—cakes made of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers spread with oil." These expensive offerings, along with the shaving of the hair off the Nazarite’s head, were just a further extension of the sacrifice required of one fully devoted to the Lord.
Today, the Lord requires no less sacrifice from us. As we go forth to follow Him, we need to be ready to lay it all aside for Him, just as in Christ Jesus, His only Son, He laid it all aside for us. For in God’s giving of His only Son, a Nazarene, for all of mankind, He displayed first hand the level of commitment and sacrifice expected…the full meaning of total dedication and the level of sacrifice and commitment that separates us from the world and sets us apart as belonging to Him.
In Christ,
Mark
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