From Crowd to Consecrated
I wonder,how many of you would like to claim Numbers 6:24-27 (NIV) for yourself, for your family, and for this church? "The LORD bless youand keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon youand be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward youand give you peace. So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them."
Is there anything you want more for your family than God’s favor—that the, "LORD bless you"?God’s protection—that he, "keep you" from harm? God’s pleasure—that, "his face shine upon you", that you feel his presence, warmth, love, friendship, approval, and smile andthat you feel he pays attention to your prayers?God’s deliverance—that he,"be gracious to you", pouring out his mercy, love, and forgiveness on your life?God’s peace, for the Lord to, "turn his face toward you and give you peace"? Health. Abundance. Well-being. Salvation.
Why did you get out of bed this morning and come here? You are seeking God’s favor, protection, pleasure, deliverance, and peace! Rest assured, God wants to bless you. He wants to bless others through you.
But here is the other part. Numbers 6:27 (NIV) says thatin blessing us, the Lord has something specific in mind. Referring to the priests, "So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them."
God wants to bless us and call us his people.
Here is the deal. God wants to bless us.He wants to put his name on us. "These are my people. These are my children. These are the ones I favor andprotect. These are the ones I am pleased with, have graced, and have given peace."
Do you think there is any responsibility associated with bearing the very name of the living God, a name so revered that it was unspeakable in Hebrew culture? God puts his name on us because he wants people to see in us his very character and his very essence. So what do people see when they look in your face? Do they see God’s character? Do they see his holiness? Do they see his love? Do they see that that you are unmistakably blessed by God himself? Or does the world merely see in you a reflection of its common everyday self?
God wants to bless us. He wants to put his name on us. When people in the Israelite community began to grasp the significance of this, it changed everything.Suddenly they weren’t a bunch of nobodies anymore. Their lives now counted for God’s glory. And by golly, theyweren’t going to do anything to embarrass God’s name.
Within the Israelite community a revolution was born. Peoples' hearts were set ablaze with a passion for honoring God. "He wants to bless us. He wants us to wear his name. Whatan honor, what a privilege, and what a responsibility."
Ordinary men and women wanted to dedicate themselves to God.
There were those who stood up to dedicate andto consecrate their lives to God. They were not leaders, per se. They were not priests. They were not Levites. They were ordinary men and women who no longer wanted to be ordinary. We read about them in Numbers 6:1-2 (NIV). "The Lord said to Moses, 'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the Lord as a Nazirite' "
A vow of separation? If you want to know what a vow is, change the first letter from a V to a W. "Wow!" In Hebrew the word "vow" is closely related to the word "wow" or "wonder." These men and women, who would become known as Nazarites, wanted to wow their world by consecrating themselves to God.
Have you ever found yourself in a crowd, maybe even in a church crowd? No onereally stands out in a crowd. Everyone looks the same, behaves the same, and does the same old predictable things. In a crowd, everyone wants to fit in and be cool. Well, not the Nazarites.
The Nazarites wanted their lives to inspire their brethren to a higher level of holy living. They wanted to raise the bar of expectation. They wanted to be extraordinary, and not in some pharisaical, self-righteous, grab of self-glory. This was about God and God’s glory and God’s holiness. In their lives they wanted to set the kind of inspired standard of holiness that would draw out the best in others.
Setting an inspired standard is about spurring one another on to love and good deeds.
Setting an inspired standard isn’t a self-righteous pursuit. It isn’t legalism, legalistic, or pharisaical. It isn’t aspiring to some moral high ground from which to stand and condemn others. It isn’t tying up unrealistic burdens on people’s backs. It isn’t polishing the outside of the cup while neglecting inner spiritual formation. It isn’t something that changes one’s standing before God in any way. Our most righteous acts don’t make us any more or less righteous in God’s sight. It is only through Christ’s righteousness that we can be found holy in God’s sight, without spot or blemish and free from accusation.
So what is this inspired standard stuff all about? I’ll tell you. It is about spurring one another on to love and deeds andholiness. It is about honoring the holy name God has put on us. It is about seeking the greatest blessings available for ourselves, our children, and our community.
Numbers 6:3-8 (NIV) describes the inspired standard the Nazarites set. "...He must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins. During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period of his separation to the LORD is over; he must let the hair of his head grow long. Throughout the period of his separation to the LORD he must not go near a dead body. Even if his own father or mother or brother or sister dies, he must not make himself ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of his separation to God is on his head. Throughout the period of his separation he is consecrated to the LORD."
The Nazarite vows were stringent.
The Nazarites made three basic vows.No wine or strong drink. In fact, no grapes, grape seeds, or anything made from the vine. Period. (Numbers 6:3-4)No cutting or shaving their heads. (Numbers 6:5)No defiling themselves by touching the dead. (Numbers 6:6-7)
If a Nazarite became defiled in any way, he had toshavehis head on the seventh day. (Numbers 6:9)He had to present two turtle doves as a burnt offering. (Numbers 6:10-11)He had to present a lamb as a guilt offering. (Numbers 6:12)
We all have rights. I suspect that we are free to do whatever we please. Free to do this, do that, go here, go there, drink this, smoke that,buy this, watch that, think this, or say that.
Technically, the Nazarites could enjoy their liquor, even hard liquor. Technically, the Nazarites could shave their heads, shave their beards, or shave whatever they wanted. They were free to mourn and grieve like everyone else in the Israelite community, even touching the bodies of loved ones who’d passed.
But there was a reason the Nazarites did not use these freedoms. Grape products were a religious symbol for the god of fertility. Wine symbolized the unsettled, promiscuous, carousing culture of the Canaanites. When the spies entered Canaan what did they bring back? A symbol of that culture—grapes! Hair was used in black magic. Contaminated corpses were associated with the cult of the dead.
The Nazarites refused to participate in the symbols of pagan culture.
The Nazarites refused to participate in the symbols of pagan culture. And not because they weren’t free to do so. The Nazarites surrendered their rights in order to inspire the Israelite community and to raise the bar for the culture they lived in. They surrendered their rights in order to spur one another toward what was morally excellent and honoring to God. With their example they proclaimed to their brethren that a holy life is plausible, a holy life is blessed, a holy life is beneficial, and a holy life is morally excellent. With their example they were not only avoiding all appearance of evil, but they were throwing off anything that could possibly diminish the holy name of God. Why risk embarrassing God’s holy name or risk embarrassing his people?
You see, the Nazarites wereon tosomething.A life without sacrifice doesn’t inspire. A leader who doesn't set an inspired standard of personal conduct isn’t leading. Mediocre holiness or less holiness simply does not inspire people.
What inspired standard do you set?
So let me ask, what are the inspired standards you set before your children, those you lead, those you work with, or those in our community? Does your life raise the bar? Does your life raise the tide? Does your life call people away from the crowd to a life dedicated to serving God?
What is distinctively inspiring or holy about your life? Your family? Your children? Your small group? Youth group? Work place? Church? Are you fully participating in the symbols of pagan culture, or are you different?
Wow!Inspired (symbolic) standards of consecrated Christians.
In a culture that worships the dollar,there are those who tithe and some who even give sacrificially like theIsraelite leaders inNumbers 7.
In a culture immersed in sensuality,there are those who abstain from alcohol, smoking, and gambling.
In a culture entertaining itself to death,there are those refuse to be entertained by sinful attitudes, sexual immorality, or violence.
In a sex-obsessed culture,there are those who rid their homes and workplaces of sexually explicit images. There are those who practice celibacy and those who remain single in order to more fully serve God.
In a materialistic culture,there are those who leadmodest, non-extravagant, and simple lifestyles.
There are those who go the extra mile to train up their children through home schooling.
There are those who practice intensive spiritual discipline by memorizing scripture, engaging in ceaseless prayer, journaling, fasting, and Bible study.
In a self-centered culture, there are those who sacrificially serve others by serving theelderly, the needs of inner city residents,or go to foreign lands.
In a culture filled with vanity and self-indulgence, there are those who show discipline in dress, food consumption, and exercise.
In a culture of entitlement and laziness, there are those who every day earn a living and show excellence at work.
James 1:27 (NIV) says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
Christians, we must do more than affirm the status quo with our lives. We must do more than go with the crowd. You may have a good excuse for living like the world,but there isn’t any blessing in it. There isn’t any wow. There isn’t any salt. There isn’t any light. There isn’t any glory being ascribed to God. Consecrate yourselves.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (NIV) reaffirms this stand. "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.Therefore come out from themand be separate', says the Lord.'Touch no unclean thing,and I will receive you.''I will be a Father to you,and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.' "