Spiritual lessons from the Nazarite vow

“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord: He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord. And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.” (Numbers‬ ‭6:2-9‬) ‭

Said Paul through the Holy Spirit, All Scripture is … profitable. So what profit can we gain from this description of an ancient practice that we no longer pursue? Much. The Nazarite vow is filled with applications for the Christian. We will basically take bullet points of some of these possible applications, as the Holy Spirit leads.

• There is neither male nor female in Christ (see Galatians 3:28-29). All may come and be consecrated by Him, through Him, and to Him!
• Our separation from the world is to the LORD (see 1 John 2:15-17).
• As Christians, it often takes more than leaving the path of evil we sometimes find ourselves veering off to. We should also have to cut off adjacent paths or any path that may tempt us to go astray. If we want to avoid the illegitimate wine, we may also have to avoid the legitimate grapes!
• Consecration is visible. The world must know that we’re consecrated to God. (See Romans 12:1-2.)
• If there is no true consecration, if the vow for holy living have been violated; then the symbols and outward show become meaningless. No hypocrisy must be embraced. Don’t pretend to be what we’re not, just like a Nazarite who’s no longer keeping the vow must lose the hair! It’s better to lose the hair than to keep the hair of consecration and start over than to keep the hair when in reality it’s only a facade.
• Jesus said that we shouldn’t love father or mother more than Him. No one should cause us become unconsecrated. No one should come before Jesus. No one should eclipse our love for Jesus, nor even our dear parents or siblings. And not even death of those we love should not become an excuse to lose faith or to become unconsecrated.
• Finally, in the end, it is all about holiness. Says the Bible, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

Our un-robotic God

There is an idea that God flat out doesn’t change at all and in anything (I-am-the-LORD-and-I-change-not, Malachi 3 motif, some would say pushes for this). But there seems to be a problem with that. There seems to be no change of mood or change of methodology with this version of God. There seems to be no regrouping or reconsidering based on our human responses to Him, in light of the changeth-not-for-anything-nor-in-any-situation camp.

Many in the absolutely-changeth-not camp takes one passage (Malachi3), way beyond its context, and plaster it everywhere—even where God isn’t saying that! So, let’s see where God is leading in this motif.

WHAT CHANGES ARE NOT ALLOWED, EVEN FOR GOD

God is love (somewhere in 1 John 4). And all His moves are motivated by love. His justice and judgment work by love. His mercy works by love. He does everything in love. So, now to Malachi 3. Consider Malachi 3:6 in its original context—

“And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?” (Malachi 3:5-7)

What God is saying in that passage is that He, unlike us, can be counted on to be consistent. What God is not saying is that we can figure Him out forever and make sweeping statements without deep seeking of Him. We cannot always, especially without clear line upon line Biblical revelation, make statements about what God will do or not do in specific circumstances. The truth is we often don’t know what He would or would not do in some circumstances before we seek Him. And that’s why we should seek Him in the first place! Sometimes our honest moral choices are insufficient to fulfill the will of God in our lives, to fulfill what God wants from us in the moment. That is sometimes not apparent. It may even seem to deviate from what we sincerely hold as God’s dictate to us for that moment.

WHEN GOD ASKS US TO CHANGE WHAT HE SEEMED TO HAVE ASK US TO DO

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

It was most likely in the spirit of the above command that the apostle Paul and his team set out to go on their missionary journeys. They had a strongly cosmopolitan push in their missionary work: and God did want that! He was the One who called them to go to the ends of the earth, as He has also called us to do! But Matthew 28:19-20 must not contradict Proverbs 3:5-6. We need to seek God even in carrying what He has already mandated.

And this is where seeing a dynamic God comes in. God’s character is NOT dynamic, because He doesn’t need to change in character. He is consistent in character. But He is dynamic in display—His displays can and do change from time to time. His emotions do change, based on joys and hurt, just like ours BUT without the impurities and selfishness that attend our emotions.

So God decided to show up in Paul’s push to obey the Matthew 28:19-20 mandate for Christians. Here is the story, right from the Bible itself—

“Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.” (Acts 16:6–9)

It is awesome to be God’s missionaries! But it is also imperative to let God drive the mission at all points. Personal convictions can only take us so far!

And what was the result of Paul team’s obedience? Souls wok for the kingdom! And also what a great benefit that this divine detour has brought to us down to today! We have some of the most powerful Bible passages because Paul and his team allowed the LORD to detour them, even in the moments of their personal convictions! We have the book of Philippians! Passages like (please forgive me if I mess up some of the words) “Let this mind be in your that was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). “I can do all things through Christ…” (Phil. 4:13). “I … press towards the prize…” (somewhere in Phil. 3). “Whatsoever things are … noble… think on these things…” (Phil. 4: 8 …) and more!

GOD IS NOT A ROBOT; HE HAS A HEART THAT RESPONDS AND CHANGES IN FEELINGS, THOUGH NOT IN VALUES

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31) What a beautiful feeling of accomplishment! What elation! What joy!

But compare the above to this:

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” (Genesis 6:5-6)

Nothing changed in God? Really? Humans changed and the state of God’s heart changed. What stayed the same? His character! His love!

In conclusion, we don’t serve a a divine robot. Our God has feelings. Let’s respond not only to his commands on a service level; let’s also listen to His heart. His heart of love. And let’s not break His heart. Let’s not make Him sad. Let’s do everything to make Him happy, joyful, to be our joyful Heavenly Father! What a feeling!

God’s leadership system

“Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch. And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah. And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred. And those that do pitch next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall be captain of the children of Issachar…” (Numbers‬ ‭2:2- …)

God always had a leadership system for his children. It was familial, intimate, humane, and godly. God chose and called the leaders. His system was not like the world’s system. No one in God’s system rose by pedigree; nor did people campaign for office. There was to be no high and mighty earthly king like the system of the world around Israel. Such a system as God’s ideal system would help preserve Israel’s identity and each family’s and and tribe’s standards. And, most of all, God’s standards, under which all other standards of Israel should fall. What a well thought out system by God!

But God’s system would eventually be spurned in the days of Samuel (as it is still spurned today). Not spurned necessarily by Samuel, but by the people Samuel was prophetically leading.

Israel lusted after the world and the rest is history.

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” (1 Samuel‬ ‭8:4-7‬)

God’s hand was forced. Yes, it’s possible to force God’s hand. Not in a moral sense. But in a situational sense. Why? God doesn’t force His will on us. He respects even our bad choices. Unwillingly. He works with our choices the best way He can as long as they don’t change His character. That He cannot change. God changes His methods if He must. But not His character. Here: we see Him changing from standard bearing leadership to human kingship. Unwillingly. But not immorally.

It’s a great error to assume that what God allows in human affairs is His ideal for humanity. So it is with leadership. The way God allows is sometimes the only way we accept; but it’s not necessarily His ideal. In God’s own word, we have rejected Him. Like a forlorn lover, He accepts what we give, as long as it’s not immoral, even if it’s not His ideal. But we will suffer for it; for no one knows about the best leadership system, the best way to live, than God. He is life itself. Very life. Let’s seek and live by His ideal and not merely grovel for what He unwillingly allows.

Born that way?

“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” (John‬ ‭9:1-3‬)

The way this narrative about the blind man and his healing unfolded was scandalously surprising to the first century disciples and the religious leaders. Everything about the way this man existed and Jesus’ audacity to heal him without referencing his blindness flew in the face of the offended first century Jewish leaders. Even the disciples were initially perplexed by the state of this man. They probably expected a different response from Jesus. Should Jesus pass by this man who was to them obviously suffering in sin from his birth?—a false theology at that. He seemed to deserve to be blind because he was born blind.

Notice that Jesus didn’t try to concoct a story about the man choosing to be blind because of his persistent state of blindness. Jesus’ attitude flew in the face of first century Jewish theology. He saw a human being created in His image, not just a blind man.

Whether or not the man was born blind was not an issue worth studying. In fact, Jesus turned the issue of blindness on its head—

“And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” (John‬ ‭9:39-41‬)

And yet the debate about being born that way versus choosing to be that way rages on about groups of souls that God has created. Note above that it’s possible to be born blind as well as to choose to be blind. Samson, for instance, had his eyes plucked out. So did King Manasseh by choices they made—not to pluck intentionally directly their eyes out, but to be in a position to consequentially have their eyes gauged out. And God restored both of them to a loving relationship with Him.

Yet there is a group of human beings who lack the ability to reconcile their bodies with their minds or see their gender in the light of their sex. Their minds can’t see their bodies. They are blind to this. Should we be loving and share the Savior’s love? Or should we despise them and shut them out of the love of God while debating about whether they were born this way or whether they chose to be this way?

Not once in Jesus’ dealings with us finite sinful human beings did He give us permission to sit and analyze the matter of birth condition or choice in areas that we have too little information on. In Romans 1, Paul through the Holy Spirit speaks out against the behavior of sexual declension and immortality as He speaks against other forms of fornication in 1 Corinthians 5 through 7.

Let us share the love of God and be careful to neither add to nor subtract from what Scripture teaches. After all, we have all being caught up in something that we have been blind to and Jesus sent deliverance, rather than debate on ontology, to save us. Let’s preach a balanced Gospel. Let’s not let Romans 1 be the only chapter that we reference in this issue.

After all, Scripture also say,

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:9-11).

Let’s not debate about one group’s ontological bearing while ignoring ours. We can all be truly washed by Jesus’ blood, straight and otherwise, rather than being white-washed by hypocrisy and self-righteousness. And since we’re not the Savior, we’re all categorically born in a family of human sinners, even before we sinned.

Renewed parental focus

One of the best parental affirmations ever given to a parent was God’s affirmation of Abraham. God, knowing Abraham’s future distraction and temporary deviation from the path God had placed him on, still made this vote. I’m placing my confidence in your parenting, Abraham. You will order your household after me.

That preamble statement about confidence is exegetical, but it’s very true to God’s relationship with those He call. Consider God calling Gideon. Gideon, you are a man of great valor, God says to a man who is in hiding from his enemies. What is God saying to me today, despite myself, despite my deficiencies? What is God saying to you, notwithstanding your weaknesses? This is important to note.

Note that God doesn’t call us parents to forge a path for ourselves, beyond the basic be responsible mandate (find some God-pleasing work and take care of your family with God’s provision). In fact, God may call us off self-mandated paths at times. He may call us back to paths of challenges we once avoided because we felt we couldn’t do it. I once walked away from teaching K-12 children because I couldn’t do it. Too stressful. Too much abuse. But God has called me right back onto that milieu with the homeschooling of my children. And, possibly, He’s preparing me to go back into that road to work again or most likely to help people who had my struggles. Struggles that He’s using my parenting training and homeschooling to do for me. But I must let Him work and not try to forge my own path again.

I must follow the better paths of Abraham’s example and the better path of Gideon’s example. I must believe in God who has called me than in my own abilities to walk in the calling. He who called me will equip me.

Won’t you let him equip you too? Whether in parenting or any other position of leadership. For lives are at stake here. Not just my own life. Not just your own life. But the lives of the little ones. And the big ones too. The ones that God has called us to lead. Go lead.

Keep these passages of Scripture in your heart—

“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” (Genesis‬ ‭18:19‬)

“And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.” (Judges‬ ‭6:12‬)

Jesus was (is) the whole point of the sanctuary system

The entire sanctuary system pointed (points) to Jesus…

Not only was He the lamb, but He is also the priest, the light, and so on. If Israel had carefully studied their sanctuary system and align their lives to it as God intended, not one Israelite would have lost their way. That’s a lesson for us!

“Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.”

Leviticus 24:2 KJV

Jesus is the light that burns continually.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

John 8:12

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

John 1:1-5

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Psalm 119:105

No cultural appropriation for the Christian

When God calls His children, He roots us in a spiritual identity that eludes every worldly culture.

“And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel” (Exodus‬ ‭19:6‬).

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter‬ ‭2:9‬). (My wife first brought out the connection between the Exodus 19 and the 1 Peter 2 verses, but the last verses in this post, from my devotion this morning, sets it even deeper in my mind. Praise God for His Holy Spirit.)

To try to fit into any culture of this world as a primary mode of existence is to taint ones spiritual identity in Christ.

The world has nothing in lifestyle that’s worth emulating or adopting. To shun worldliness isn’t merely good advice. It’s a life saving mandate from God.

“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the Lord your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the Lord your God. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord” (Leviticus‬ ‭18:2-5‬)‭.

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).

Keep the weeds out, even if it takes walls!

Keep the weeds out, even if it takes walls!

“He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22)

“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overchargedd with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” (Luke 21:34)

Poverty in this world: a different view (inspired by message shared by a friend; most my response to the message)

About Jesus’ poverty: poverty defined nowadays is just the form of slavery that the oppressors have put on us. Jesus was poor only if we define it as lack of material possession. Anyone who could raise the dead, make grape juice at will, take a meal and outdo restaurants at will and send his disciple to pull his tax payments our of a fish’s mouth isn’t poor in the way we view poverty nowadays. Jesus lived with lack because He had the power to create anything needed; his wealth was intrinsic. That’s why Satan could have tempted Him to use his wealth creation powers wrongly—to make bread for Himself.

Likewise, we have the power in Him to have “all these things” which He has already provided as we seek His kingdom (Matthew 6:33). We have been blessed with what Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos and their peers lack—the ability to be fully-stacked with health and all the things we need, without having to oppress people in a capitalistic system! And all this has been provided by God!

Marriage success and general life success in and through Christ: prayer

The man who is in the habit of secret prayer will reap public success, success in his home, success in his marriage, success with his children. For he who is connected to the vine won’t shrivel up. That’s where the LORD has brought me.

So, don’t try to win in an argument with your spouse. Pray it out. Prayer trumps the need for winning. Don’t try to show who is the boss with your children; instead show them who’s the LORD. Then He will affirm the earthly priest of the home.

Don’t try to prove a point to your boss if it leads nowhere. Pray it out. Don’t seek to show who knows more in religious debates. “Knowledge puffeth up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). Pray it out.

Pray. Pray. Pray. Pray and give thanks! Pray. It’s a command from God!

“Pray without ceasing.”
‭‭(1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:17‬)