Thought
187
The
Nazirite vs. The Nazarene
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the Lord as a Nazirite must
abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made
from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat
grapes or raisins. As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that
comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
“‘During the entire period of his vow of
separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period
of his separation to the Lord is over; he must let
the hair of his head grow long. Throughout the period of his separation to the Lord he must not go near a
dead body. Even if his own father or mother or brother or sister dies, he must
not make himself ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of
his separation to God is on his head. Throughout the period of his separation
he is consecrated to the Lord.
“‘If someone dies
suddenly in his presence, thus defiling the hair he has dedicated, he must
shave his head on the day of his cleansing—the seventh day. Then on the eighth
day he must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance
to the Tent of Meeting. The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the
other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him because he sinned by being
in the presence of the dead body. That same day he is to consecrate his head.
He must dedicate himself to the Lord for the period of his
separation and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The
previous days do not count, because he became defiled during his separation.
“‘Now this is the law
for the Nazirite when the period of his separation is over. He is to be brought
to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. There he is to present his offerings to
the Lord: a year-old male lamb without defect for a burnt offering, a year-old
ewe lamb without defect for a sin offering, a ram without defect for a
fellowship offering, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings,
and a basket of bread made without yeast—cakes made of fine flour mixed with
oil, and wafers spread with oil.
“‘The priest is to
present them before the Lord and make the sin
offering and the burnt offering. He is to present the basket of unleavened
bread and is to sacrifice the ram as a fellowship offering to the Lord, together with its
grain offering and drink offering. “‘Then at the entrance to the Tent of
Meeting, the Nazirite must shave off the hair that he dedicated. He is to take
the hair and put it in the fire that is under the sacrifice of the fellowship
offering.
“‘After the Nazirite has shaved off the hair
of his dedication, the priest is to place in his hands a boiled shoulder of the
ram, and a cake and a wafer from the basket, both made without yeast. The
priest shall then wave them before the Lord as a wave offering;
they are holy and belong to the priest, together with the breast that was waved
and the thigh that was presented. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.
“‘This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his
offering to the Lord in accordance with his separation, in addition to whatever
else he can afford. He must fulfill the vow he has made, according to the law
of the Nazirite.’” Numbers 6:1-21 (NIV1984)
and he went and lived in a town called
Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be
called a Nazarene." Matthew 2:23 (NIV1984)
These passages give us
some insight into the differences between a Nazirite and a Nazarene. Samson was
a Nazirite, and his story can be found in the book of Judges. Jesus was a
Nazarene which means that he was a native to Nazareth, an inhabitant of that
region. A Nazirite compared to a Nazarene, however, has a special purpose. Few
people have ever been called to be a Nazirite, and it is a holy thing. Because
these two words get mixed up a lot, I wanted to show you some Scripture and
describe the general difference. God bless and may you always remember the
difference between a Nazirite and a Nazarene.
