The Vow of the Nazirite

Click here to read Numbers 6.

Chapter 6 tells of the Law concerning the Nazirites. A Nazirite was a person who professed greater strictness for the Law than other people. They were considered to have been separated and called out by the Lord. Some like Samson and John the Baptist, were Nazirites for life by a vow of their parents, others were Nazirites for a season by their own voluntary decision. Even women were allowed to take this vow under certain conditions.

During the time of the vow:

  1. They devoted themselves constantly to study of the Law, prayer, devotion and teaching.
  2. They separated themselves from anything "common".
  3. They could not drink wine or any other strong drink. They could not eat fresh or dried grapes. They could not eat anything produced from grapes, not even the seeds or the skins.
  4. They were not allowed to cut their hair.
  5. They could not go near a dead body.
  6. They could not get involved in any activity apart from worship.

Most vows could not be for less than 30 days, yet we know that Paul took a vow in Acts 21 for 7 days. At the end of the period, they were publicly discharged, after they had made a burnt offering, a sin offering, a meat and drink offering besides a free will offering such as they could afford.

Matthew Henry, in his commentary says, "Sense it was fruit that caused man's fall, it was appropriate that obtaining from it would symbolically represent a persons effort to obtain innocence." "Eating of the fruit from which strong drink was made was the first step in Satan's plan for the fall of man." "In fighting sin, we need to separate ourselves from the slightest proximity to anything that causes us to sin." EVE GOT TO CLOSE TO THE TREE.

Paul says in I Tim. 5:23, that drinking a little wine for the "stomachs sake" is allowed. The Lord says, "Drinking wine for the 'palates' sake, does not become those who are seeking to walk after the Lord." This was the aim of those who took the vow of the Nazarite.


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