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Should I Be A Nazirite?

We want to look at the Nazarite and what he has in common with the Believer. Numbers 6:1-21 speaks to us about the vow of a Nazarite. We know that Samson and John the Baptist were both Nazarites, and even Paul had taken the vow once or twice in his life. These rules may seem strange, such as not eating anything from the grapevine, not being defiled by a dead person, and not even cutting one’s hair. But these were rules of holiness.

By definition, the Hebrew word nazir simply means, “to be separated or consecrated.” This is what holiness looks like. It looks like anything that God tells us we need to abstain from or to be set-apart from. This is what we are going to take a closer look at.

Romans 12:1-2 tells us, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We are to separate from the world as a Nazarite was to be set-apart and holy.

James 4:4 tells us this way: “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”

2 Peter 1:4, “For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

1 John 2:16, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”

The Nazarite was not only to be set-apart from the world but also dedicated to God, which made him holy.

2 Timothy 1:9 says, “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.”

1 Peter 1:15 tells us, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.”

So we see that like the Nazarite we must be set-apart and holy. But where was the sign of the Nazarite? All covenants had a sign, and the sign of the Nazarite was his consecrated head. We see that when Samson cut his hair, he had broken the covenant with God and he lost his strength. A consecrated head—does this have anything to do with the believer? YES, it does! Let’s take a look.

Consecration is dedicating oneself to a specific purpose or intention, so as we dedicate ourselves to God, the Scriptures tell us this.

Matthew 22:37-38, “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.”

Colossians 3:2-3, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Proverbs 4:23, “Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.”

So we want to look at one another Scripture, and that is Ephesians 6:17. “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

When speaking about the armor of God, we see that salvation guards our head. Just like the Nazarite, who has the consecrated head, so does the believer. The Hebrew word for “salvation” is Yeshua. Yeshua is the Word made flesh. We see here in this Scripture that the helmet of salvation is paired up with the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. So if we are truly consecrated, set-apart, holy unto the Lord, we will fill our minds with the Word of God.

So was Yeshua (Jesus) a Nazarite? He was, but He only took the vow right before He was crucified. He took the vow at the Last Supper/Seder when He said to His disciples, “I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29), and when He said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

Yeshua consecrated Himself by setting Himself apart as the perfect, innocent Lamb of God. On His consecrated head He wore a crown of thorns and gave us salvation. But one day, Yeshua will trade that crown of thorns for a kingly crown, when He will sit on His throne in Jerusalem for 1000 years.

How about you? Have you dedicated your life to God by setting Yourself apart from the world? 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 tells us, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” As we celebrate this time of Hanukkah, which is also called the Feast of Dedication, let’s dedicate our lives to God as we too can make the Nazarite vow to be consecrated and dedicated to God. Today, put on the helmet of Yeshua (salvation) and consecrate your head and follow in His footsteps, pick up your cross and follow him in dedication and holiness. As we too are lambs of God, we too must say, “Not my will but Yours be done.” Let’s clean out our hearts and fill them with God’s Spirit, the Word of God, as living temples dedicated, consecrated, and holy unto the Lord, as Nazrites set-apart to do God’s will.