“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long. All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body.’ ” (v1-3a,5-6)
This is the first mention of the Nazirite vow and the laws concerning it – you may recall this is the vow Samson famously takes (and breaks). Details are given for “how” a person sets themselves apart for God in this way, though it doesn’t really specify “why” someone might take the oath.
There are many verses about being set apart for God, and here are a couple that stand out at the moment. “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Pt 2:9) “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” (2 Cor 7:1)
Setting ourselves apart for God (the definition of holy), means remaining spiritually (and ceremonially) clean. This is important because we are the Lord’s temple, and He (the Holy Spirit) who is in us is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world (1 Jn 4:4 par).
I recognize it’s nearly impossible to remain completely set apart from this world whose culture is so pervasive. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, and we have the ability to lean on God to help s accomplish this (because it is impossible on our own).
Father God, thank you for the encouragement to set ourselves apart for You, and Your purposes. We admit we are weak and cannot do this on our own strength (not even Samson could). We ask for You to please be gracious and merciful when we make mistakes, and please forgive us our sins. Please help us through Your indwelling Spirit to get back on the path of righteousness once we have wandered off. Jesus, please help us to do this. Amen.
P.S. – the last few verses of this chapter contain the famous blessing that I think is a little cliche, however I’ll share it due to relevancy: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” (v24-26)
~ Conqueror in Training