Bible Readings
Reading 70: Yahweh allows non-Levites to temporarily dedicate themselves to Him
Read Numbers 6:1–27.
The tribe of Levi had the privilege of being the only tribe where priests could come from. But Yahweh also made provisions so that any man or woman who were not Levites, could make a promise to dedicate themselves to serve Him for a fixed period of time. This was entirely voluntary.
People who make such promises are called Nazarites. The word Nazarite in Hebrew means to be set apart or to dedicate.
God said that people who wanted to be Nazarites had to, for the period of time:
not drink wine or any alcoholic drink
not cut their hair
not go near any dead body (which was a picture of sin and death).
These people did not have to isolate themselves. They still lived as part of society but their attitudes and motives during this time of being set apart for God, was focused on serving God.
If the Nazarites happen to come upon a dead body during the period of their promise, God gave them instructions to stop the vow temporarily and then later restart again.
However, to restart, they would need to go through a cleansing ceremony. On the seventh day after being exposed to the dead body, they must shave their head (signifying a restart), and on the eighth day, bring animal sacrifices. God was showing how serious He is about purity and how serious He takes the person’s vow.
At the end of the time period of the vow, the Nazarite would have to go through a ceremony to show that he completed his time of being set aside to serve God. This again involved sacrificing animals. However, the Nazarite would also shave his head and put his hair on the fire. After this, the Nazarite goes back to normal life with no more Nazarite restrictions.
God also gave instructions for the priests, Aaron and his sons to bless the nation of Israel. The first part of the blessing asked for God’s action which would then result in people’s benefit in the second part.
This reading might seem very far removed from our daily lives today. However, here is a thought.
God never restricted those who wanted to dedicate themselves to Him from doing so. Even though God chose the Levites to serve Him, He did not prevent anyone else in Israel who loved Him and were wanting to serve Him in a special way from doing so. To be clear, these people are not priests and would never become priests, but this was something they could do to show their dedication to Yahweh. This is why God made provisions for the Nazarite vow. It was entirely voluntary. People could do this if they wanted to.
This vow belonged to national Israel and doesn’t apply to the church today. However, just thinking about why God gave national Israel this provision helps us see that God is happy to have people who want to dedicate themselves to Him in a certain way, do so.
In our daily lives, we know that God wants us to be set apart for Him and be a witness to others of who He is and also of our devotion to Him.
Can people look at us and say that in our everyday lives, we live very differently from those who do not know Yahweh and who do not worship Him?
Or do we feel drawn to dedicating ourselves to God in other ways? Some people choose to dedicate themselves to full time service for God in areas such as being a pastor, missionary or a worker in ministries that reflect God’s heart for people such as orphanages, schools, hospitals, crisis help, emergency relief, humanitarian aid, etc.
If so, seek more information and pray and ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance in your life to direct you the way that God wants you to go.
May our everyday lives and our decisions in life reflect our love and devotion to Yahweh.