Q: “AS CHRISTIANS FOLLOW PAUL …
SHOULD THEY COPY HIS HEAD-SHAVING VOWS?”
Q: “AS
CHRISTIANS
FOLLOW PAUL …
SHOULD
THEY COPY HIS
HEAD-SHAVING VOWS?”
A: “YES
AND NO”
There are two
mentions of these vows
that Paul undertakes on his third trip … the first at Caesarea
(Acts 18:18) … and the second
at Jerusalem (Acts
21:17,23).
Background:
Now when
Paul got back to Jerusalem at the
end of his third trip …
“ … they glorified
the Lord, and said
unto him, Thou seest, brother (Paul),
how many thousands of Jews
there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
And they
are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among
the
Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to
circumcise
their children, neither to walk after the customs. (Acts 21:20-21)
… which
included abstaining “… from meats offered to idols,
and from
blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication …” (Acts 15:29)
In other
words these Jews were believing
Paul but were still adhering to their law of circumcision,
idols, blood,
strangled things and fornication.
So Paul’s
friends came up with the very strong
suggestion that he take a Nazarite vow …as follows …
“Do
therefore this that we say to thee: We
have four men which have a vow on them; Them take, and purify
thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave
their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were
informed
concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest
orderly, and keepest the law.” (Acts 21:23-24)
So Paul
sets out to prove to the Jews he was not
advocating worshipping God without the law, by submitting to the
historic Nazarite
vow … thereby demonstrating his integrity, honesty and good faith
toward
the law of Moses.
This
Nazarite vow … given way back in the old
testament with the giving of the law (Numbers
6:2-5,6-9,10-12,13-16,17-20,21) … showed a complete
separation of oneself unto the LORD (Numbers 6:2) … and could
last
for
weeks, months, years or a lifetime, but in Paul’s case it is seven
days.
In
essence, Paul says “Look Fellas, hopefully
my doing the Nazarite vow will convince you Jews that I’m on your side,
by
showing that I am completely separating myself to the LORD by
undergoing the
Nazarite vow.”
And this
was Paul’s attitude to the Jew …
indeed all men …
“To the
weak became I
as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to ALL MEN,
that I might by all means save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22)
“Give none
offence,
neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of
God:
Even as I please
all men in all things,
not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that THEY MAY
BE SAVED.”
(1 Corinthians 10:32-33)
“For I
could wish that
myself were ACCURSED FROM CHRIST FOR MY BRETHREN, MY KINSMEN
according
to the flesh:” (Romans 9:3)
The
Nazarite vow had two parts of before and
after:
Before:
1. Not
drinking wine, or strong drink,
or vinegar … and not eating dried or moist grapes … (Numbers
6:3-4) …
with grapes representing blood (Genesis
49:11; Deuteronomy 32:14)
2. Not
letting a razor come near the
head and by growing the locks of my hair … with the hair being
regarded
as the seat of life (Numbers
6:5)
3. Not
coming near dead bodies (Numbers
6:6)
After:
4. After seven
days fulfilling the above
three rules, the vow would be complete
5. On the eighth
day, the Nazarite would
cut off his hair to be burnt in fire (Numbers 6:18)
6. Then
perform all the sin offerings of
burnt, sin, peace and meat with unleavened bread
(Numbers
6:13-16,17-20,21).
Now of
course, Christ was the complete
Nazarite …
1. Christ wholely
separated himself to
God … not just for week, month or year, but his whole life … not just
for seven
days but for his whole life … being expressed out of the
Godhead and
returning to sit at the right hand of God (Hebrews 1:3; 10:12)
2. Christ’s
attitude of dying for Israel
(Paul’s is similar … 1
Corinthians 9:22; 1 Corinthians 10:32-33; Romans
9:3) …
but also for the sins of the whole world (John 1:29; Hebrews
9:26)
3. After
seven days his hair is missing having
been to heaven and back … thereby fulfilling the law … the evidence
being that
on the road to Emmaus the disciples did not recognize him without his
hair
(Luke24:13-16,17-20,21-24,25-28,
Luke 24:29,30-32).
4. The law
having been fulfilled on the seventh
day, Christ rises on the eighth day having completed all
the
sin offerings of burnt, sin, peace and meat on the cross
(Numbers 6:1-4,5-8,Numbers
6:9-11,12)
5. Not just
his hair but his whole body
on the cross is burnt (Numbers
6:18; John 19:28).
6. Not
eating grapes and drinking strong
drink … signifying blood … which the Jews were forbidden to
eat
(Genesis 49:11; Deuteronomy
32:14).
The
criticism that Christ was not a Nazarite
… because he ate and drank with winebibbers and gluttons (Matthew
11:18-19), is
easily countered with the fact that John the Baptist was a Nazarite …
with
locusts and honey and no wine … and John said greater was he (Jesus)
that
cometh after me (John) (Mark
1:7)
CONCLUSION:
Q: “As a
Christian follows Paul, should he
copy his head-shaving vows?”
A: Yes and
No
1. Yes because
the Christian follows Paul as he
follows Christ (1 Corinthians
11:1)
But
remember Paul is only an ensample
not the specific example for Christians to follow … meaning it is PERMISSIBLE,
but very UNLIKELY in this day and age … but NOT TO BE
FORBIDDEN.
and
2.
No,
unless you satisfy and realize the
following conditions …
a.
How deeply
do you feel for the law
loving Jew?
b. Is this
the ministry that God has opened
doors for you?
c. Do you
realize that the Nazarite vow is not
for personal edification?
d. Are you
being urged by others to
undertake this vow for the modern, believing and zealous Jew, as was
with the
case with Paul (Acts 21:20)?
Harley
Hitchcock
This
website’s front page is:
www.
Question:
“IS PAUL A HYPER-
DISPENSATIONALIST?”
