Numbers 6

     In Numbers chapter 6 God addresses the taking of vows, specifically taking a vow as a Nazirite.   A Nazirite was an individual, man or woman, who chose to be set aside or dedicated to the LORD.  The Nazirite vow was a matter of choice not obligation by a specific tribe.  When one takes a vow to be a Nazirite they are to:

     1.     Never drink wine, liquor, vinegar made from wine or liquor or any kind of grape juice.

           a.  Never eat fresh grapes or raisins
           b.  Never eat anything that comes from a grapevine not even grape seeds or skins

     2.     No razor may touch their heads during the entire time that they are dedicated to the LORD as Nazirites (Their long hair was a sign of dedication to the Lord).

     3.     Must never go near a dead body (This included close relatives like their father, mother or siblings).

     30 days was the minimum length an individual could take a vow to be a Nazirite.  If an individual violated these vows on purpose or inadvertently they would have to offer a sacrifice cut off all their hair and to start over from the beginning as if the first time period did not count.

Upon completion of the time they agreed to keep this vow there was certain religious requirements that had to be completed to show they had completed the vow.  These requirements included bringing both burnt and other offerings before the Lord and shaving their head and putting their hair on the fire with the fellowship offering.  They were then released from the vow.

Application

     The application I see in this chapter is the importance upon taking a vow.  In this case it was a vow of dedication to the LORD.  There are various vows we make in our lives.  The greatest is the vow to dedicate ourselves to the Lord.  There are those of us who have taken a vow of marriage.  Some of us have made other both spiritual and non-spiritual vows.  When we vow to set ourselves apart as dedicated to the LORD or vow to God to remain with an individual in marriage, or any other type of vow we take before the LORD we need to keep that vow until God releases us.  Or in the case of a religious vow such as the Nazirites to hold to it for that amount of time we agreed.

     To often these days we have become flippant in the vows we take.  We quickly disguard or violate them because they become inconvient.  If a vow was easy then there would be no reason to vow to do something.  So when we enter into a vow we should not take it lightly but with much thought and prayer.  To violate a vow before we have been released from that vow is a sin.  For this reason we must be cautious of the vows we choose to take.  For they are held highly by God.  For this reason we, especially Christians, should let our yes be yes and our no, no.