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I guess i’m in the mood to tell another story….

Once upon a time, there was a an elderly woman who did not have child. Not that she had had one and he had died or that she had miscarried multiple times but she had never conceived a fetus. She had what we call primary infertility. This woman was working in her farm when a man appeared to her and told her she would have a child. Because of the uniqueness of the child and his mission from God, the woman had to do a few things. This child was different, set apart from all other kids. He was sanctified. And so his mother was asked to abstain from any grape product and everything unclean.

This woman went home to her husband and told him the ridiculous story of meeting a stranger and him telling her strange things – that she would conceive and have a son. Not just any son but a mighty man to deliver their country. And he believed it! Wow, such faith. And as the man had said, so it was. The Child Samson was born – the strongest man in human history.
This is a paraphrase of Judges 13. You can check it out for more details.

NAZIRITES
There were a category of people aside the Levites who separated or set apart themselves to the Lord. They were called Nazirites. Samson was one from birth. The Lord introduced this special group of people in Numbers 6.

““Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD,”
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Numbers‬ ‭6:2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Nazirites were normal people who set themselves from the normal people to the Lord. They made vows to consecrate themselves, that is, to dedicate themselves to this sacred purpose. Israelites are sanctified by election to the Lord but Nazirites are sanctified by choice. Although the Lord had chosen Israel to be his own apart form the rest of the world, the Nazirite also an Israelite chose to set Himself apart from the normal Israelite for the Master. In the same way, we Christians are separated from the world by election. But amongst the Christians there are those who decide to separate themselves from the average Christian by doing some things or by refusing to do some things.

““Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. ‘All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the LORD, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separates himself to the LORD he shall not go near a dead body. He shall not make himself unclean even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the LORD.”

Numbers‬ ‭6:2-8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

SEPARATION TO GOD
I want to emphasize this point though – it has been previously made by Pastor Opoku in his message, “THE KINGDOM IDEA OF SANCTIFICATION”. Sanctification is never complete without a separation to God. You can separate from everything and every one but if it is not separation to God, it is not sanctification. The Nazirite in order to separate to God, separated from a number of things.
“to separate himself to the LORD, he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink” vs 2-3a

Some of the things included;

• Wine or strong drink
• Razor
• Unclean things
• Dead bodies

God gave specifics because He knew the kind of people He wanted for Himself. He wanted Holy people. I heard from a man of God that sanctification is for the purpose of becoming like the one you are sanctified to. When you are separated from people or things, you are supposed to leave them, their influence and their characteristics behind and take on the influence and characteristic of the one you are sanctified to. Because the one you are sanctified to – God – is holy, sanctification produces holiness in you. The Nazirites were to lay aside wine or strong drinks made form vinegar. Normal people drank that. In fact, wine is one of the indicators of wealth and prosperity in the Bible. The Lord’s first miracle was turning water into wine. Common people drank wine. Wine or alcoholic beverages influence how you think, how you react, what you say and what you do. A drunken man is like one possessed. He does things he would not do in his right mind.

The nazirite had restrictions in funeral attendance. He could not attend anybody’s funeral during the time he is separated to God. Not even that of his family. Death depicts corruption because anything that dies must rot. The only person who died and did not rot was Jesus according to the prophecy of scripture Psalm 16:10. And if a person died suddenly in his presence, he would have to repeat the whole nazirite vow because his holiness has been corrupted. Also He was not allowed to touch or eat anything labelled unclean by the law. He was to depict the holiness of God physically and in all his doings.

THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Such was the rigorousness of the Nazirite vow. As believers, there is no specific Nazirite law to regulate. Our sanctification. As Christ is our sanctification, He determines the specific details of our individual sanctification. As I pointed out in the previous post, sanctification is personal just as our relationship with God is personal. Just because Abraham’s sanctification looked like leaving his Father’s house and never looking back does not mean Jacob’s would be the same. Jacob went back home as part of the process. Joseph’s family joined him in Egypt later. It would look different for each person. But there are underlying principles in sanctification. For example, it can be traced through many of the heroes of faith that their separation was from all that was familiar and comfortable. Abraham left his father’s home and nation for a distant land. Same as Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel and even John the Baptist. The process that got them out of their homes and comfortable places was different but this underlying principle was there.

It is for this reason that the partnership and communion of the Holy Spirit in this process is very important. We can easily miss the opportunity and the process if we do not walk in tune with the Holy Spirit. Joseph could have easily missed it if he had fallen for Potiphar’s wife. Samson missed it a number of times which eventually led to his tragic death. He knew the law of the Nazirites but one thing Samson lacked was a personal relationship with the Lord. He was anointed, he was called for purpose from birth but he lacked connection with the one who had called him. The only time it is recorded that Samson prayed was at his death where he prayed for a renewal of strength for vengeance against his enemies. He defiled himself many times – with foreign women, ate from the dead body of an animal. And the last thing that broke the vow was that his seven-braided hair was cut. The hair that signified the covenant. All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head… Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow…. because his separation to God is on his head. Numbers 6:5,7
I personally believe that it was cut to signify that he had broken the Nazirite covenant. He had to restore it. And that restoration was before his death when he prayed.

In order to be successful in this process of sanctification, we desperately need the Holy Spirit. He will strengthen us when our resolve is weak and we want to turn back. He will hold us up when all we want to do is fall flat on our face and give up. He will be there to encourage and to lighten up the path in our confusion. Abraham could have given up but for the Lord who walked with Him and took counsel with Him. Sometimes, in our walk of faith, after time has elapsed, we begin to wonder if we heard God. If we really heard or whether we mistook His meaning for something else. That is when He who reminds us of the things that the Lord has said to us, will rehash what God has spoken. He will remind you. “Have I not said that I will be with you? That I have called you to this generation? Have I not given you as a gift to the Church? Why are you afraid? Be still and know that I am God.”

Oh what comfort to know that He is always with you. Sanctification is an unsuccessful venture without the Holy Spirit. Get in touch with Him.

I hope you were blessed by this post. I was blessed by writing it! Join us next week for the final episode on sanctification.