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THE PRINCIPLE OF NAZARITESHIP

J. Spinks

I wish to say a short word, with the Lord’s help, as to the principle of Nazariteship. It is a principle that is called for at the present day, and includes sisters as well as brothers, a man or a woman. This shows, I believe, how things are recovered. In chapter 5 of Numbers there is the trial of jealousy, that involves that there has been unfaithfulness; we would have to admit that we have had part in unfaithfulness, what has not been true to Christ. The history is humbling for us, especially those of us who are a little older. God speaks in verse 14 of chapter 5 as to the spirit of jealousy coming upon a man. I believe that Paul had the spirit of jealousy as to the saints at Corinth, “I am jealous as to you with a jealousy which is of God”, 2 Corinthians 11: 2. I think there is a need for the spirit of jealousy for the rights of Christ. As things come up, the first thing we need to see to is Christ’s rights. I believe it underlies the principle of Nazariteship.

What a Nazarite Paul was. Things he had a legitimate right to, he was prepared to forgo for the sake of the gospel. Certain rights he had, to live off the gospel, for example, but he did not take up those rights, his only desire was to preserve the rights of Christ, and that he should present the saints as a chaste virgin to Christ. What an object to have, dear brethren! I take it to myself and I trust we all do. Is that our prime object, that the rights of Christ should be maintained? That the saints, as we start with our local company, should be maintained as a chaste virgin for Christ?

Paul was one who not only had the spirit of jealousy but he was prepared to spend and be utterly spent to gain these wayward Corinthians for Christ. How wayward we have been, but as judging these things we can afford to go on and pursue, like Paul saying, “forgetting the things behind, and stretching out to the things before, I pursue, looking towards the goal, for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus”, Philippians 3: 13, 14. What an object, dear brethren, to be able to put things behind, even things that are legitimate. Paul could say he was “a Pharisee, son of Pharisees” (Acts 23: 6), yet things that were gain to him he counted as filth that he might gain Christ (Philippians 3: 8). What a Nazarite he was! Think of being able to put these things to one side. Dear brethren, we need to learn to do that. Learn to put things to one side that are hindering our progress. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, could say, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I reasoned as a child; when I became a man, I had done with what belonged to the child”, 1 Corinthians 13: 11.

What a call there is for manhood. How many childish and trivial things occupy our time.

What need there is for manhood, and I take it to myself for I feel how little manhood has been developed in me. I say that freely and humbly, but the Spirit of God is urgent that there should be manhood in the last days. John refers to a woman, when the time has come to give birth, she has

pain knowing that her time has come. But when a man has been born into the world she rejoices (John 16: 21). Manhood is not arrived at easily, there is pain involved in it. It relates to the subjective side of things that involves travail. Paul set that side out too in his epistles.

He says, “I again travail” (Galatians 4: 19)—he was prepared to go through things again that Christ might be formed in the Galatians. Man is by the woman. These things have great moral import, dear brethren, we need to take it on. Manhood only comes through real, deep soul exercise that we face things before God and reach an end in our exercises. What a fine thing it is to look round the brethren and see real manhood. Think of the Spirit of God looking on a company like this, seeing manhood that is formed in brothers and sisters, the dignity that belongs to them in formed affection for Christ. Men and women of principle prepared to stand for the rights of Christ, what a fine thing it is to see that formed! May it increase in all our localities, dear brethren.

Here we have in the consecration of the Nazarite that certain things were to be left aside. Paul says in 2 Timothy 1: 7, 8, “God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, and of love, and of wise discretion. Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but suffer evil along with the glad tidings, according to the power of God”.

Then in chapter 2 he says, “be strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus. And the things thou hast heard of me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, such as shall be competent to instruct others also. Take thy share in suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one going as a soldier entangles himself with the affairs of life, that he may please him who has enlisted him as a soldier”, 2 Timothy 2: 1–4. “Enlisted him”—I believe this lies at the very crux of the matter. A Nazarite is not one who lives in the habit of self-indulgence, his whole bent and purpose of life is to please him who enlisted him. What a thing it is, dear brethren, to be able to say earnestly that we are here for

the testimony of the Lord. Timothy was a timid man and Paul is strengthening his hands, he is building him up by these exhortations and we all need to be built up. Jude speaks of

“building yourselves up on your most holy faith” (Jude 20). That is largely the purpose of ministry, it brings in light from God. Thank God we touch these things, a living source of ministry from our ascended Head. It also has the effect of building us up so that we are strengthened for the work and for the good warfare.

The way to recovery is through Nazariteship. That is what made me read the last part of the chapter. It just occurred to me as I was reading it as a very beautiful section of Scripture,

“Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel: saying unto them, Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee;

Jehovah make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace”.

I remember when we were at school we used to get that as a kind of benediction, the man would stand before the assembly of children and quote this in a very sanctimonious voice.

But it is a real matter to know the blessing of God. I believe the way to restored blessing is on the principle of Nazariteship. I think God honours it. Timothy was to entrust these things to faithful men (2 Timothy 2: 2). I think faithful men are called for at the present time, men who are committed to the testimony of our Lord. Paul says, “Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner”, 2 Timothy 1: 8. I thought we could read this and see the blessing. It says in another place, “The blessing of Jehovah, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow to it”, Proverbs 10: 22. So it closes with this wonderful verse, “And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them”. We would covet signs of divine blessing, signs of divine approbation. The Lord went through His pathway here with a sense of divine approbation, not only a public

pronouncement, “This is my beloved Son” (Matthew 3: 17), but “Thou art my beloved Son”, Luke 3: 22. How I would long to have that, beloved brethren, to be on lines of which God can approve. May we all commit ourselves more fully to this and have the sense of divine approbation.

I want to speak of Judges because here we find the breakdown of Nazariteship. Samson’s history is very sobering. It primarily refers to how there has been a breakdown in church history. Of course he rises to a very wonderful type of Christ and that has to be taken account of, the honey in the carcase of the lion. What a wonderful thing that is! Think of his going down into the valley of Timnathah. Jehovah was with him when he went down to take the woman (Judges 14). It appeared on the face of it as not a right thing to do, but God was in the matter. It brings in a wonderful type of Christ as he went down into the valley and a young lion roared against him. Think of the power of the enemy arrayed against Christ. Think of the power of that one, and think of the moral power that was in Christ. He rent the lion as one rends a kid, and nothing was in his hand (Judges 14: 6). I love that touch. When the Lord came in to deal with the enemy He did not use carnal weapons; He did not use what men would have taken account of as great armies and legions. The Hebrew bondman came in alone, or as the note says ‘with his body’ (Exodus 21: 3). He came by water and blood, nothing was in His hand, everything was in that holy body of His to meet the whole sin question and restore everything for God. He was the true Nazarite of God. What a Man He is, what food for our souls! Think of that holy vessel for God’s pleasure. He did not need anything else, everything was in the moral, holy perfection of that body.

It says of Samson, “he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion; and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the carcase of the lion, and honey; and he took it out in his hands”, Judges 14: 8, 9. Think of the Lord

coming back to see the result of His death, a carcase with a swarm of bees; think of the saints as the fruit of His death, those who know something of His resurrection, working together to produce the honey. It speaks of what is so delightful to the Lord Jesus, in the time of His absence, the saints working together in the light of the death of Christ. There is nothing like the death of Christ to warm the affections, to sustain the soul. Everything for God has come out of that death. Think of that blessed Man going down into the valley and meeting the enemy and taking away his power. It says, “that through death he might annul him who has the might of death”, Hebrews 2: 14. What wonderful divine results there were—“a swarm of bees in the carcase of the lion, and honey”. It shows that the bees were productive, in type they were working in the area of His death. I think it is a very healthy place to be, working in the area of His death. There is not only the dignified side of the fellowship, the fellowship of God’s Son, but also the fellowship of His death, that is a great productive area. That is what the emblems speak of every Lord’s day, the death of the Lord. How vital it is to have our links based on the death of Christ. I believe that is where we work things out and there is a great fruitful result for God.

And then further on we read, “And they surrounded him, and laid wait for him all night ...

saying, In the morning light we will kill him. And Samson lay till midnight; and he arose at midnight, and seized the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and tore them up with the bar, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron”, Judges 16: 2, 3. I think that is like the power of Christ’s resurrection.

Samson was surrounded by his enemies. The darkest hour was when Christ’s greatest triumph came. Think of all that was arrayed against Christ at the time of His death, but think of the wonder of His resurrection. The angel said, “He is not here, for he is risen”, Matthew 28: 6.

What a message. He is risen, hallelujah, “where, O death, thy victory?”, 1 Corinthians 15: 55.

Think of the power of the enemy being completely annulled by the resurrection of Christ!

Hebron has very great spiritual significance, typifying that God had a world in mind that was going to be populated with Christ and those who take character from Him. Samson carried the doors of the gate of the city to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.

These are wonderful types of Christ but here we see the sorrowful side of things showing that failure has come in, he has given the secret of his Nazariteship away. That is really what has happened in the history of the church. In Samson’s history there is the secret side. When he killed the lion he propounded a riddle to them (Judges 14: 12), that is only known by the instructed believer, he knows the secret of it. He gave away the riddle too (Judges 14: 14), but this is worse, he gave away the secret of his strength (Judges 16: 17). That is a sad thing, I think we can all go back in our histories and relate to this. If we go on with the world at all, we give away the secret of our strength, the secret of our power. So here we find this sad, sorrowful situation, but I want to lay hold of the positive side that his Nazariteship was restored. That is the blessedness of this present dispensation, no matter how far we go away, there is grace for recovery. It says, “the hair of his head began to grow after he was shaved”.

There are certain things the enemy can take account of, he can look upon each of us and he knows our weaknesses. He knows how to minister to our desires and the weaknesses of the flesh, but there is something here he can take no account of, “the hair of his head began to grow after he was shaved”. That is like the work of God, God is working with this man, although outwardly he was a poor prisoner, an object of mockery and reproach, lying in the prison house, and that is the public position—we have to be humble about that. But think of what God can do in an inward way. We referred in the reading to the inward working of the Spirit, I think Samson’s hair growing refers to that. It may not be known generally, but think of God working in a soul, think of the workings of the conscience and the stirrings of the work of God, so that the vow of Nazariteship is restored. The public position will never be restored, but the secret inward side will be maintained right to the end.

He was led into this position where he was made to feel the pillars. These pillars have often been referred to as the principles on which this world stands—lust and pride. I think even the young ones can understand that, if you look into your own heart you find these elements are there. Everything that leads you astray, it will be one thing or the other, lust or pride, or maybe both. It may be through covetousness, carnal desires and other things, the way the enemy can act through the flesh, but I believe the Spirit is the power to bring them down in your heart; that is what it means. The Lord will take issue with this world in a public way, but the believer has to bring them down in his own heart. It says, “So the dead that he slew at his death were more than those whom he had slain in his life”. We referred to the swarm of bees in the carcase of the lion speaking of life and the fruit of life, I understand that to be the principle on which God operates. Death works in us, but life in you. Paul was prepared for that. The working of death and self-judgment involves that you are going to deal with these things. We have power to do this, make no mistake about it. Mr. Stoney said at one time that he felt that the flesh was stronger than the Spirit, and some of us have felt that, but scripture says, “greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world”, 1 John 4: 4. Lay hold of these things. I appeal to the young people and all of us. Seek help to work them out. You might stumble along the way, you will feel your sense of weakness, and your inability to keep going. It is said of Gideon’s men, they were faint yet pursuing. That is a comfort.

Nazariteship is called for in these days. No matter how far you have gone from it, you can be restored, and I think recovery works on the principle of Nazariteship. May the Lord help us in these things, for His name’s sake.

Address at Dundee
8 September 2001

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