One night, I heard a still, small voice: “You are a Nazarite.”

“That’s impossible,” I thought. “Nazarites were men–and besides there aren’t any anymore.” It was the second time in several months I heard this within and–wondering if it really could be God–I looked up Numbers, the sixth chapter. Sure enough–they were not all men! But they had not been seen in thousands of years…or had they?

This led me on quite an extensive study wherein I established that they had never disappeared at all. Neither the Old Testament prophet nor the Nazarite existed because of the old covenant–they were merely described and dealt with therein; hence, when the old covenant began to disappear in place of the new, the Nazarite and the prophet (not to be confused with the ministers of I Co 12:28 or the gift of I Co 12:10) continued. They have an interconnectedness that is not obvious–in fact–one might say they are the measure of a nation’s spiritual health:

For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.
Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: … (Lam 4:6-7)

The Lord brought a case against Israel for corrupting and obstructing her prophets and her Nazarites:

And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.
But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. (Amo 2:11-12)

The reader may want to do a further study on the Nazarites and the prophets. Some of the Nazarites were prophets, though not all were. I will share more on the Nazarites here since that is more my “department”.

The laws of the Nazarites are placed alongside the laws of cleansing because the Nazarite life was one of sanctification. The New Testament Nazarite will not look like the Old Testament Nazarite because there is no more sacrifice under a Levitical Law. Since the Lord began to open these things up, I have been amazed that there is so little written on the Nazarite. What has been written is mostly nonsense! Some have tried to make this a religious order (I came across one group that practices female circumcision!), and others have tried to imitate the physical appearance of the Nazarite of the Old Testament by letting their hair grow long and drinking no wine. (I wonder where is the fire for the peace offering that they will burn their hair on when their consecration is finished? Where will they sacrifice their offerings?)

Here are the obligations of the Nazarites of the Old Testament:

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. (Num 6:3-6)

The grapes and strong drink represent obligations and entanglements of the world as well as dullness of judgment with which the Nazarite cannot be concerned. (“No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.” Luk 5:39) The hair represents an abandonment of the self life (“… he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” Mat 10:39b). The touching of the dead represents dead works, doctrines, efforts and diversion from the path (“Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.” Mat 8:22b).

I do not yet fully understand all the differences between a Nazarite with a temporary vow and one for life, though my spirit tells me I am a “lifer”. The Nazarite has something in common with the spiritual eunuchs mentioned in the New Testament, though it has nothing to do with taking a vow of celibacy. One brother who has received words of prophecy that he is both a Nazarite and a eunuch is married. He has opened this study up a little further for me, and I believe he is correct in saying that the connection between a Nazarite and a eunuch of the Lord is one of unwavering focus. This particular brother also opened up something further for me the other day: the Nazarite is the forerunner of what all of God’s creation should be–holy. I have come to see that the Nazarite depicts the complete (not partial) overcomer of the New Testament. It is both a holy and a dangerous position depicted in this parable:

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. (Luk 14:28)

One of the more interesting aspects of the sacrifices the Nazarites made when the day of their separation was fulfilled involved the non-animal offerings:

And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings. (Num 6:15)

You may recall that in the post on Our Inheritance, I mentioned the five wise and the five foolish virgins with a promise to post more on the buying of oil. Here is the connection between “buying oil” and the Nazarites. All of the Lord’s righteous must buy oil. When the virgins were told to go and buy oil of those who sell, they were going into persecution. Let’s review the story briefly:

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. …
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
But the wise answered … go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. (Mat 25:1-9)

Oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit gained from the suffering of the flesh during tribulation. When the Nazarite fulfilled the days of his separation, he brought a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, the meat (or rather, meal) offering, and a drink offering. We may think of the unleavened bread as pure doctrine. The flour that went into the fine cakes has been ground thoroughly, just as surely as the spiritual Nazarite’s life is ground into powder with oil of the Holy Spirit mixed into his inward parts. Think of this mixing as a sort of “beating” or “kneading” of the life during tribulation. The unleavened wafers are also the life of the Nazarite, absent of the pride of life and anointed with oil. Both the cakes and the unleavened wafers are baked in a hellish oven, as is the life of a spiritual Nazarite.

Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin … (1 Pe 4:1)

All of this is necessary, for without holiness “no man shall see the Lord.” (Heb 12:14) Suffering is not a virtue in itself but it must have its perfect work if it is to amount to anything.

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. (1 Pe 4:12-13)

This is the calling of the Nazarite; it is to be holy as Christ is holy and to be perfect as our Father in heaven.

He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. (Mat 10:41)

The Nazarite and the prophet always go together for the Nazarite is holiness unto the Lord and the life and words of the prophet always point towards Christ (Rev. 19:10).

Since posting this, one person has suggested that the Nazarite is still appointed unto a specialized ministry, and it may be so. Perhaps the Nazarite fulfills a special function and at the same time his life is a call unto the Church to pursue holiness. Time will tell.

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