Nazirite Laws

Mercifully, today's reading was considerably less controversial! Discussing the role of women in the Bible can be quite inflammatory, and though I am not easily ruffled by the feminist cause, I did find that passage bothersome. Having been through the chronological Bible twice before, I know that we will run across many more things in Old Testament history that will be disturbing. There is an awful lot of wrath and killing to come, spoiler alert. It would be much easier to camp out in the New Testament and ponder only the familiar passages of Old Testament history. Reading the Bible in its' entirety forces us to dig deeper into God's word in order to really understand it. So while we may hit some rough patches, we can only be better off for having invested the time and energy. I have to remind myself of the verse I quoted on the first blog post from 1 Corinthians 13:12...

12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

The point being, and I say this to myself more loudly than I say it to you, it will not all make sense to us right now!

Though I am not interested in shying away from the tough issues in Scripture, I was relieved to not be dealing with another one today! The bulk of the reading discussed the protocol for packing up and moving the camp of Israel from Mt. Sinai, which occurred one year after their exodus from Egypt. It was fairly self-explanatory. There was also a passage outlining the details of the Nazirite vow. Apparently, either a man or woman could voluntarily take a vow to set themselves apart for the Lord by becoming a Nazirite. The length of time was determined by the person making the vow but the minimum time frame was 30 days. Some chose to become permanent Nazirites, like Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist, though the rules for them were slightly relaxed. Nazirites were restricted in three areas... they could not drink any alcohol, could not cut their hair, and could not be around corpses. The hair was the outward symbol of the vow, kind-of like a wedding ring or a priests' collar. I imagine that the restrictions regarding alcohol were put in place to help ensure a certain degree of decorum befitting one who was consecrated to God. The rules about the dead bodies mirror the laws that rendered corpses "unclean". One set apart for God could not be unclean. What is interesting is the strict application of these three rules. Not only could a Nazirite not drink wine, he or she could not so much as eat a grape! And a Nazirite was defiled by a dead body, not just by willful association but by accidental contact as well. If someone dropped dead standing next to them, they had to shave their heads, purify themselves and start over with their vow!

To me, these extreme examples point to our need to steer clear of not just crossing the line, but approaching it as well. We tend to want to figure out where the line is and skootch up as close to it as possible without going across. God is making it clear for them. Don't drink wine, and don't even get close to drinking wine. In fact, don't take in any product from the grapevine. Don't get near a dead body, for any reason. No exceptions. Even if someone dies right next to you, completely outside of your control. Someone desiring to set themselves apart as a Nazirite needed to know that God took such a vow very seriously. It was voluntary, but an agreement that, once entered into, was not to be treated casually.

Tomorrow's reading: Numbers 11-13