The Nazirites

The Nazirites

Q: People who took the vow of a Nazirite must not

• a. drink wine or other alcohol, eat or drink anything that comes from the grapevine, cut their hair, or be near a dead body.
• b. drink wine or alcohol, get married, or be a Tabernacle helper.
• c. cut their hair, get married, or eat or drink anything that comes from the grapevine.

Some people in the Bible chose to be totally set apart for the Lord. They agreed to follow special rules. These people were called Nazirites. (You might also see it spelled Nazarite.) While becoming a Nazirite was voluntary and would only last a certain period of time, there are three times in the Bible when a child was chosen from birth to be a Nazirite. Those three children were Samuel, Samson, and John the Baptist.

There were special rules for the Nazirites. One was that they could not drink wine or any fermented drink. They weren’t even allowed to eat grapes or raisins. They were not allowed to cut their hair during the time they were under the Nazirite vow. And they couldn’t go near a dead body because by Jewish law, it would make them ceremonially unclean. You can read the full list of rules in Numbers 6:2-8.

Even though we no longer live under Old Testament law, God calls us to be separate from the world just as the Nazirites chose to be set apart. Romans 12:1-2 says, “Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

For You

God wants Christians to live in a different way. He calls us to be set apart by living his way, not the way our culture lives. Can you think of ways you act differently because you are Christian?

Answer: a

As long as they are bound by their Nazirite vow, they are not allowed to eat or drink anything that comes from a grapevine—not even the grape seeds or skins.   Numbers 6:4

(The Whole Story: Numbers 6:1-21)