According to the book of Numbers (Numbers 6.1-.21) any Jew or convert to Judaism may take the Nazirite Vow, the purpose of which is to set oneself apart to God for special service. As the word “vow” denotes, this is less a spiritual discipline than it is a practice. If you have been reading Think-Biblically.com a while, then you may be familiar with my taking the Nazarite Vow a couple years ago. I include the vow in this series because it was one of the most dynamic spiritual experiences of my adult life and am convinced it can be for you too.

The terms of the vow are three-fold:

• The avowed may not drink wine or anything made from grapes or eat grapes or any part of a grape (except on the Sabbath and during the Feasts of the Lord).
• The avowed may not cut his hair.
• The avowed may not touch a dead body under any circumstance.

Sounds easy enough, particularly that last one. But then you haven’t taken into account that these are in addition to the other Jewish dietary laws. Most Christians are not familiar with these since dietary restrictions were lifted during the church age. So then, why do I think the vow is for New Testament believers? Because Paul takes the vow just before departing Israel on his second missionary journey.

The duration of the vow may vary. In some cases it was a life-long commitment (as in the case of Sampson) or may be as short as an hour (according to Jewish religious texts). The usual time frame was 30 days, but Queen Helena made the vow for 14 years. I undertook the vow for 30 days, and learned a great lesson about how to live in such a way that God is considered in every action of the day. There are other lessons to be learned as well, and I imagine they will be a little different for everyone. While I cannot tell you what those lessons will be, but I can tell you it is life altering.

The Vow must be taken today with some modification. According to Numbers chapter six the vow concludes with an animal sacrifice. Followers of the Messiah of course no longer have need to sacrifice since Jesus became our sacrifice once for all. This may explain why Luke does not record Paul offering a sacrifice at the conclusion of his vow. It may seem like trying to live under a different set of rules would take up time that could be better spent serving God, but that’s not true. Living as a Nazarite gives one a sense of focus, reminds you more frequently of who you serve. That focus makes you more productive, not less, and allows you to accomplish far more in less time than you thought.

Here are the other dietary laws to submit to, should you decide to take the vow:

• Meat cannot be eaten with dairy. So no cheeseburgers, burritos and so forth.
• Rodent, reptiles, amphibians and bugs cannot be eaten.
• Anything from a pig, camel, rock badger or hare cannot be eaten.
• Blood may not be consumed.

As mentioned above, one may forgo the animal sacrifice at the end of the vow, but cutting one’s hair should be retained.