Watch Here: Parasha Nasso 2022!
Numbers 4:21-7:89; Judges 13-15; John 11
Parasha Nasso reminds us that when we are reading and studying Scripture, we need to remember that the world hates the things of Yahweh. Whatever it is Yahweh likes, that is what the world is against.
But if we have sat down and counted the cost, then it does not really matter. Because if we know that He is in charge, and this is all one big test, to begin with. He wants to see, are we going to do things His way or are we going to do things our own way? And that is the test. It is really just that simple!
And in this parasha, we are going to talk about two concepts that have fallen by the wayside in modern Christian culture, so to speak.
We are going to talk first about the Brotherhood (or the patriarchy), and then second, we are going to talk about the Nazarite vow. We are going to see what this has to do with the organization of Israel as a community and as a family.
The Brotherhood (or the patriarchy) often gets a bad rap in modern society, and sometimes for good reason. Basically, our ancestors have been doing the Torah wrong and with the wrong heart ever since Yeshua gave us the Torah at Mount Sinai.
Now today, we in Ephraim like to think we are doing so much better than our ancestors ever were because we know what the Torah is. But in actual fact, our ancestors in Ephraim also knew what the Torah is, but just like us they were not actually keeping it correctly. That was the whole problem.
And since the Torah is effectively a codification of how we should relate with other people, especially Yahweh’s people, if we are getting the Torah wrong, then is it possible that we might be getting some of our other relationships wrong as well?
Not only our relationship with Yahweh and with Yeshua but also with our spouses and our families, our bosses, our neighbors, these kinds of things. Because the Torah speaks about all of these things, and if we are not taking pains to do the Torah correctly, then how do we know we are doing it correctly?
Well, we do talk with sisters sometimes about their relationships. They come to us for counseling, and we hear some real horror stories about the patriarchy. And basically, it is males taking privilege without a valid reason to take privilege.
Sometimes they take preferences because they are stronger. They are using their strength against the weaker vessel. Instead of serving and preferring the weaker vessel so that our prayers may not be hindered, it is completely backwards.
Because effectively, in Yahweh’s world, the strong exist to serve the weak, not the other way around. The world has things backwards; in Babylon, the elites serve themselves at the expense of everyone else. And in Yahweh’s Kingdom, it is supposed to be the opposite of that.
We see a lot of problems with regard to men who do not know what their job is. And oftentimes, they are using Yahweh’s name to further their own cause of selfishness, and it causes no end of problems.
You hear stories, you hear cases of spousal abuse, husbands treating their wives as second-class citizens, you hear about failed marriages. But the problem is that just because we humans choose to disobey Yahweh and just because we choose not to follow His instructions about how to get our relationships right. That does not make His institution of marriage invalid; it just means we did not do it right, right?
It is the same thing with the patriarchy or with the Brotherhood. And it is just because many people misuse it or get it wrong. But that does not make the institution of the patriarchy (or the Brotherhood) an incorrect one. It just means we need to learn how to do it right.
Now a lot of people, especially today, want to complain about patriarchs; they want to complain about the Brotherhood. They say, “well, the thing we do not like is that you are telling us the Bible suggests that there are gender roles that are basically fixed at birth because there are certain chromosomes that are assigned.”
And what you are saying is that the Bible says there are also gender roles and certain rules that come along with those gender chromosomes and that those are assigned at birth. We say right; that is exactly what we are saying. Scripture says that is exactly the message of Yahweh.
But of course, the world does not agree, and they are becoming more and more and more numerous. And we also know that in these end times, many of the Messianics and the Ephraimites also will not agree.
Because as we showed in our study on “The Ahab and Jezebel Spirits” in the Nazarene Scripture Studies, Volume Five, there are seven End-Time assemblies. And that one of those assemblies also tolerates the Jezebel spirit. We have to remember that this is inside the body of Messiah we are talking about.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 2:20
20 “Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.”
Inside the body of Messiah, approximately one out of every seven believers is going to disagree, probably vehemently, with what we have to say in the balance of this message. And we are okay with that.
But basically, knowing that we are heading into an argument, there are a lot of hot emails and unsubscribes. We need to be sure we give this the proper treatment.
Let us begin at the very beginning. Bereisheet (Genesis) 1:1. In fact, even before, there is a theory out there that Satan was the first bride. If true, that might explain why Satan hates us so much. It also might explain why Satan has a breastplate.
According to the theory, Satan was the first bride, but she lost. She or he lost everything when she or he decided that she or he could consider himself or herself equal with Yahweh. Big No-No! That is why it is always such a big deal for us to maintain our own humility. To maintain our brokenness because humility and brokenness are things He does not despise.
It is also critical that we make sure that we do not consider ourselves being equal with Yahweh, right? Because if we consider ourselves equal with Yahweh, then we might choose to do things our own way, just like we did in the Garden of Eden, just like we did in the wilderness. Just like many of us do today. We decide, well, we do not need to obey Yahweh’s commandments. It is enough to learn about them.
Well, the big problem here is that in Scripture the way Yahweh looks at things is this. Yeshua did not consider Himself equal with Elohim; Yeshua was Elohim. But even He did not consider it correct for Him to consider Himself being equal with Elohim. But rather, He humbled Himself unto the death, even the death of a cross (or stake, stauros, or whatever you want to call it), death on a tree.
Well, Satan did consider himself or herself worthy to be equal with Yahweh. Satan thought he or she would sit upon the sides of the north. Well, how many of us do that in practice? Of course, we are going to say, “No, we do not, we do not do that kind of thing! We do not consider ourselves to be equal with Yahweh!” But how many of us do that in practice?
Well, consider this, the point is that if we consider Yahweh to be our King. And we consider ourselves to be His servants and His subjects or let us just say we are on Yahweh’s team. And we really want that retirement package…
Do not we need to remember that Yahweh is the one that makes the rules? And do not we need to remember that Yahweh’s ways are higher than our ways, and Yahweh’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts? And He has His own way of doing things?
Well, sometimes, do not we get a little confused, and maybe we forget that His ways are higher than our ways? We forget that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts?
So maybe we do not see the reason why He commands us to do things a certain way. And certain things are hard; certain things are difficult. Really do we really need to do those things? And this is a big problem and for good reason.
We are going to see this develop as we go through this parasha series. Because a big part of the anti-messiah agenda, and, not coincidentally, also the Bolshevist Communist Manifesto is precisely the destruction of the family and the patriarchal system. The linchpin of that, of course, is faith.
There is a good reason that the devil wants to destroy Elohim’s set-apart family system. And that is because, as we all know, the family is the basic building block of Elohim’s set apart civilization.
If you have families that operate according to Yahweh’s set-apart rules, then, sooner or later, you are going to end up with Elohim’s set-apart society. And it is going to work because there are certain societal supports that are built into the Torah that help families from falling away.
It helps families from falling backward; it helps keep society strong. And one of the reasons it is strong is precisely because of the patriarchy, and we will talk more about reasons why patriarchy builds strong societies later.
But if you are one of the people who is gun shy because you were involved in a bad marriage or a bad patriarchal relationship, do not just live together in sin. Do things Elohim’s way.
It is important! We need to realize that the way of Scripture is that if we rebel against Elohim, He is going to punish us, basically unto the death. But if we submit to Him and submit to His Spirit, He is going to take complete care of us. He is going to make special miracles happen for us, and He specializes in miracles.
Now, before we get to the Torah of the jealous husband, again, we need to get the proper perspective when you take things from the top.
Now, first, we have the Book of Genesis (or B’reisheet). Now B’reisheet is where we meet our ancestors Adam and Havvah (Eve). And we also meet our ancestors in the nation of Israel. Including the two houses and the specialty roles of Judah and Joseph.
Then in Shemote (or Exodus), Elohim brings our forefathers out of slavery in Egypt. And then He organizes us as a nation so that we can handle our own self-government.
So, we begin to be organized by groups of ten families, fifty families, hundred families, a thousand families, and then plus the twelve tribal leaders. Well, at that point, Yahweh also tried to give our forefathers the Priesthood of the Firstborn, or I suppose we could call them the Priesthood of the Firstfruits.
Only we were not ready for the Priesthood of the Firstfruits because we were not thinking like the first fruit Yeshua. We did not have His Spirit because in order to make the priesthood of the firstborn run, what was the great commandment there? We were supposed to listen for Yahweh’s voice, supposed to diligently do everything that He said. Including all of His written Commandments because those also are Yahweh’s voice, just written down and codified.
We were supposed to listen diligently for His voice, just like Yeshua did. We are supposed to do everything Yahweh says to do, just like the Firstfruit Yeshua did.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 15:23
23 But each one in his own order: Mashiach the firstfruits, afterward those who are Mashiach’s at His coming.
So, what we see in all this is that in all matters, both great and small, Yahweh is calling us into right relationship first with Him and then with those of us in the nation. These are the two great Commandments to love and serve Yahweh with everything we have and then to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
But our forefathers just were not up for it. They could not hack it. Because in order to make the Priesthood of the Firstborn work, they would have to discipline themselves to hear His voice and do everything that He says.
We have to help Him get His kingdom. Nothing else will do. He is a war Elohim; He wants a kingdom for His son. Okay, and we turned away from Him in the garden. We rebelled against Him, and this is His loving attempt to win us back.
We do not know if there were loving attempts to win Satan back. At a certain point, Satan was cut off. If the theory is true, then now the opportunity falls to us. And how many of us are choosing to do everything that Yahweh says to do? And how many of us are esteeming ourselves worthy to decide we do not need to do all that in Yahweh’s sight? That is the very same kind of rebellion that got Satan cast down. Word to the wise is sufficient.
So now, if we really think about it, our forefathers went astray in the garden because the snake lied. The snake said we could still receive Yahweh’s blessings, and we could still be in His favor. We would not have to obey Him.
B‘reisheet (Genesis) 3:4-5
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
5 For Elohim knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Elohim, knowing good and evil.”
Well, we are stupid; we fell for it. And we have been paying ever since.
Do you think maybe after some six thousand years, we might finally understand that what Yahweh’s been trying to tell us all along really counts, that it really matters? That we do need to listen diligently for His voice and be careful to do everything that He says, including all of his written Commandments.
You know we are created for a certain purpose; are we fulfilling that purpose? Or are we failing to fulfill that purpose?
It is like Yeshua says about salt. If we do a good job as salt, we are going to make the meal very tasty. But if we do not do a good job as salt, then it is to the lukewarm garbage pile we go. It is a pass-fail, it is a go-no-go situation. So, if we are not doing everything that He says to do, what are we doing, brothers, sisters?
You know, there are a lot of people in the world who just plain wish the gender roles would go away. And today, in these End Times, does not it seem like you have a lot of men who want to be women and a lot of women who want to be men? And they are teaching these things these days in the schools.
But these people who are wanting to be something other than the way Yahweh made them, is not that the same thing as to say that they are in rebellion against the way that Yahweh made them.
There are some in Christian denominations that embrace these kinds of things. But ours is not a Christian faith. Ours is an Israelite faith that looks to the old paths and asks for the ancient ways. Because we recognize the simple truth that even if the truth is difficult, it is much better in the end than a pleasant rebellion.
Coming back to the book of Shemote (or Exodus). Yahweh gave us first a means of self-governance. He gave us means of organizing ourselves. Then He gave us a priesthood. We could not handle the Firstfruit Priesthood; that is when He gave us the Levitical Order. So, we could not just paint; we had to paint by numbers. He had to put the little footsteps on the floor for us to follow.
We were not capable of hearing His voice and obeying it.
Well, then, in the book of Vayiqra or Leviticus, our forefathers spent a whole year basically making a portable house of worship for Yahweh so He could dwell among us wherever we went. If you like, it was kind of a portable Garden of Eden that we made for Yahweh. We were not worthy to live in His Garden of Eden, so we had to make one for Him to dwell in.
So, we have to now court Him in with our sacrifices and offerings. In Vayiqra, our forefathers have been at that project for a whole year and now they are done. Now finally, in the Bemidbar (or Numbers), we finally have the portable Tabernacle. We finally have the portable Garden of Eden, where Yahweh can dwell with us wherever we go.
Now, Yahweh of Armies takes a census of His physical armies, and now He also takes a census of His spiritual Army, meaning the Levitical priesthood. And then He is giving our ancestors instructions (or Torah) about how to move the portable Tabernacle. About how they should move as a community and as a nation.
We are going to see later Yahweh calls us into service as a nation, and there is a role in that for each and every one of us, even in the Melchizedekian Order. And we also see that Yahweh is giving us certain specifics before we head out.
We are going to take a look at those specific instructions. Now there are two specifics that we need to pay careful attention to in this parasha. The first one is what is called the Torah of the jealous husband, and right away, people get all upset.
And that is because they say, well, you know the rules for brothers in Scripture are different than the rules for sisters in Scripture? Yeah, and there is a whole lot of people in the world and a surprising number of believers in Messiah as well who would change that Torah, or at least they would not follow that Torah.
And there has been a lot of influence in the world, and you know the world tells us, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you must use the same standards for men and for women because everything’s got to be equal!”
Well, by that, they mean that everything has got to be the same between men and women because they believe that men and women are fundamentally the same. And they see our belief system as a threat. What they mean is they feel that their job is to separate us from our beliefs that are based in Scripture.
Galatim (Galatians) 1:8
8 But even if we, or a messenger [angel] from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
And again, as we saw in our study on the “Ahab and Jezebel Spirits,” approximately one out of seven within the body of Messiah is going to tolerate this kind of thinking. And just for tolerating this kind of thinking, Yahweh says He is going to slay those who believe this way or who tolerate this way with death.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 2:21-22
21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.
22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.
Well, all those facts notwithstanding, a lot of people are very uneasy with the term patriarch. Perhaps that is because our ancestors abused Yahweh’s system. But the thing is if we do it the right way, patriarchy is not about men taking undue privilege; in fact, it is quite the opposite.
In fact, the whole point of the Brotherhood is for the men to band together and provide a system of accountability that works for the whole community. And this system of accountability means that the men also are supposed to be subject to the same community discipline.
Somewhere out there, someone is saying, “Wait, wait, what, wait, whoa, patriarchy? What? Hebrew Brotherhood?” In our study on Covenant Relationships and the Covenant Relationships collection, we talk about the kinds of Covenant relationships that we are supposed to have. First, with Yahweh and also, in this collection, inside the nation of Israel.
And really, it is one of those things. It is kind of like starting the Hebrew year with the first of the firstfruits of barley. Scripture does not give us a “Thus saith Yahweh” for that anywhere. It never says “Thus saith Yahweh, begin the year with the firstfruits of barley.”
But the thing is, in order to get all the other commandments to line up to where they can be fulfilled, it is the only way to solve the equation. You have to bring the first of the firstfruits of barley, or else you end up having to violate many other commandments. We talk about that in our studies on The Torah Calendar.
So it is the same kind of a thing. Scripture does not say anywhere that it is the job of the men to band together and to form sort of a walled-garden type of society where the women are able to raise the children in the ways according to Torah. But it could say that because that is effectively the point.
If the men are to do what Yeshua tells us to do. If we are to do everything that Scripture says, then we will find ourselves effectively creating a walled garden of His kingdom or a walled garden sanctuary out in the midst of dispersion. Where all the families can learn to grow safely together, and all the families can learn to keep Yahweh’s ways together.
That is a community activity, but it all starts with men. Because if the men do not do that job, that job is not going to get done. And then there will literally be the devil to pay. Because Yahweh does not like treason, He does not like traitors.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 16:9
9 “Three times in the year all your males shall appear before Yahweh Elohim.”
And unless and until we convert and start pulling our own weight on His team, He considers us to be treasoners. Because that is the choice, our forefathers made. We need to choose to be redeemed. So, think about it, pray about it. We need to choose to respond to His call.
But there used to be, in society, what is called the social contract or the societal contract. And the social contract effectively was that all of society (or all the men) were to band together like family, and again, to make a society.
To make a place where the women can raise the children according to Torah or in the way of Yahweh. That is why Yahweh tells us to establish judges and officers in all of our gates so that justice will be established under the Melchizedekian Order; that is the job of the elders.
But at the same time, the sisters have a job of raising the children in the way they should go so that when they are older, they will not depart from it.
Now it is not about one party dominating, exploiting, or using the other; that is not it. Now we can find that in the in the world. But what Yahweh has is that He has created a balanced system which serves the needs of the society, the family, and the individual. Now within that framework, all those needs can get met. So the society can carry on and survive.
There is a lot more we could say, but the man’s job is not only to be a provider. A man’s job is also to be the priest of his household, to make sure that everything in his house is in order, to lead by example, to set that example. And beyond that, his job is also as a member of the Brotherhood, to make sure that everyone else’s house he knows is in order, and if not, to bring it to the attention of the council for his town.
Well, we are all about a spiritual war, and we do not use guns, knives, bombs, or anything like that. But there is nonetheless a battle, and it is very much like an officer leading his troops into battle; he has to do the job the right way. He has to lead by example, and set the example, and expect others to meet the same example he sets. If he does not do that, they are going to die unnecessarily.
And that is kind of how it is in the family, as well. The man effectively has to lead his house by example, set the example, and expect others to meet the example.
For the children really are not going to get the training that they need. And so, they are effectively not going to make it.
Again people will tell us all about how unfair Yahweh’s Torah is because, well, you know, the man can be jealous and suspicious of his wife, and so, into the Tabernacle they go, right?
And she has to take an oath, and if she has done something wrong, she dies and not in a fun way. Now some people will say well do not you see how unbalanced and how unfair that all is? Because look, you have different rules for the men and for the women.
What they do not understand is that men and women are different and that the rules for the patriarchal system are designed to create a productive whole from two complementary opposites, so to speak. Because at least according to Scripture, men and women clearly are not the same.
And we take a look at the animal kingdom; males and females are not the same. Males and females, they have different biological markers, and these biological markers many people believe are significant. At least according to Scripture; you cannot just change your mind about your DNA and change your gender to suit yourself that week.
Your DNA is your DNA, and that is it. And that is effectively what Yahweh is saying, male and female DNA effectively behaves differently. Males and females have different characteristics, so it is foolishness to think otherwise.
Now we have several studies in The Covenant Relationships Collection which deal effectively with these issues. How do we get a functioning societal system to where Yahweh’s Torah is maintained, and everyone can get what they need? Perhaps not everyone gets what they want, but everyone can get what they need.
If you are an Israelite, if you are a worshiper of Yahweh, and you obey all the commandments, and hear His voice, there should be provision for you. There should be a place in society for you.
As being members of the Brotherhood, the men are effectively supposed to create what could be called a walled garden (or perhaps a petri dish) kind of environment. Where you have a safe space in the community for a sanctuary. And you have a safe community because it is a walled garden kind of a model.
And what that provides is a place for the women where they can raise the children up in Yahweh’s kind of society. To learn just by being immersed in Yahweh’s kind of society that is what the men are supposed to do. That is what patriarchy provides for.
We take a look at modern society and the evils and ills of modern society. And you say, well, who needs it if that is what it leads to this? We need to remember we are not doing patriarchy correctly right now, at least not in the dispersion.
The other thing is that a patriarchy when properly run provides a system of societal support for the women and children. For example, a woman, if there is a problem in her home, the woman should be able to go back to her father’s house and get help from her father.
For example, we talk about how if a young man takes a virgin wife, but he does not love his wife, rather he hates her. So, what does he do? He falsely claims that she was not a virgin. And then the girl what she is supposed to do? The wife is supposed to go back to her father’s house.
And then, the father contacts the other men in the village or contacts the elders, and then they present the wedding night sheets as a proof their daughter was a virgin. And then, with that proof, the men are supposed to gather together and effectively enforce discipline, you might say. Taking whatever steps and measures are necessary to make sure that that kind of thing never happens again.
We can have that kind of a Brotherhood relationship in our assemblies but only if the men will support it.
Now, brothers, just to mention something, I have been in this movement since 1999, and I have seen a lot of things. And I have seen so many good possibilities of what we could do if only the men would support it.
I mean, I have seen all kinds of things; I have seen Messianic men take lovers and get them pregnant. Marry their lover, divorce the wife. Just walk out on their wives! And the Messianic men let this brother back in after about two, maybe three years of shunning him at the most.
Do we understand how shameful that is? For the men not to create the walled garden environment, basically allowing sin in the camp, leaven inside the lump. That is what happens in the Messianic world. And take a look at the Messianic movement, okay? They do not realize what a broad, easy road they are building.
So, in the future, when Yahweh calls us all back home, Ezekiel 44-46 tells us that Israel will be led by a constitutional prince (in Hebrew, the Nasi).
Yehezqel (Ezekiel) 44:3
3 “As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before Yahweh; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.”
And the constitutional kingship or constitutional princeship is a very different system than a democracy. And patriarchy, (or the Brotherhood) is not consistent with a democracy. It only works under kingship or princeship in our future case.
Because effectively, if you think about it, in democracy, everyone votes for what he wants, basically. Everyone votes for whatever seems good and right in his own eyes. And, of course, national security then goes into the trash.
But in a kingship, the king takes care for the national security, and everyone has to support their king in the correct order for the benefit of the whole nation. That is one of the benefits of patriarchy, and for his part, the king effectively has no choice but to teach Scripture because Scripture is his base of power.
And because Scripture tells us to obey the governments that are appointed over us in Romans, and because Scripture tells us to honor the king. Then basically, no matter how bad a king might be in one way or another, he is going to ensure that Scripture gets taught in his kingdom. Because that is his base of power, at least if he is wise, he is going to make sure Scripture is taught in his kingdom.
Because that is the only reason his people do not overthrow him and institute a democracy instead is because of the requirements in Scripture. So, it is every bit in a king’s best interest to make sure the Scriptures are taught in the schools. Scriptures are not taught in schools of democracy.
If we look around ourselves in society today, we take a look at the news; we see all kinds of evil things manifesting in society today that could never manifest under a spirit-led kingship. Because such abominations would correctly be seen as the threat to Yahweh’s Kingdom and Yahweh’s Order, and the King’s power that they are. So, since the King would correctly identify these things as a threat, he would wipe them off the map effectively.
If you want to know more about the many benefits of the patriarchal system and of being a member of the Hebrew Brotherhood, I would encourage you to read the whole Covenant Relationships Collection. In that study, you can see situations where it falls to the men to establish safety and a livable space that has Elohim’s order.
That does not happen without the participation of the patriarch. Because the patriarchy is not just men. The patriarchy is men maintaining Yahweh’s order. There is way too much to cover here.
We can also take a look at passages such as Ephesians chapter 5, perhaps starting in verse 21, perhaps going through the rest of the chapter. Here is where Yahweh tells us the correct loving order between husbands and wives.
Ephesim (Ephesians) 5:21-23
21 Submitting to one another in the fear of Elohim.
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Master.
23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Mashiach is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
So, if we focus on the correct loving order, then we do not even need to get into the Torah of the jealous husband.
So, then the second main teaching point is found in the Bemiḏbar (or Numbers) chapter six, where we have the Torah of the Nazarite. We have several studies on the website as to why we believe that in addition to being the Nazarene, Yeshua was also a Nazarite. Different roots, although there are plays on words involved.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 6:2
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to Yahweh.’ ”
The Nazarite vow is not very well understood by many people. You can see it basically reduced as a vow not to eat grapes, not to cut your hair, and not to come near a dead body.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 6:4-6
4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.
5 All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to Yahweh, he shall be set-apart. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
6 All the days that he separates himself to Yahweh he shall not go near a dead body.
But there are some interesting repercussions as we read through the vow. And in Nazarene Scripture Studies, Volume Two, we have a study called “Yeshua, the Celibate Nazarite.” And it explains why we believe that Yeshua and also many of Israel’s foremost prophets were also Nazarites.
For example, we give reasons why we believe Moshe, Eliyahu, Elisha, Yeshua, Shaul, and some of the apocryphal authors suggest that Yaakov (James) also was a Nazarite. But this is a very important vow, and I would recommend to everyone that you not take this vow, at least not for life, unless you hear from Elohim to take it for life.
Because perhaps it sounds romantic, especially to youngsters. People in their Peace Corps years, so to speak, sounds romantic and all that. But it is not an easy vow to fulfill, and I have seen people take it and then go back on it; that is not good. Do not do that.
It might seem easy to take the vow when you are young, but you do not really realize what you are getting yourself into. So, please be careful with taking the vow, at least in a lifetime sense. And you can read all about it in that study.
Qohelet (Ecclesiastes) 5:4-5
4 When you make a vow to Elohim, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed.
5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.
But some interesting things, we cannot verify the legend. But legend has it that the US Army once hired some Native American indigenous trackers to do man-tracking for them. But when they entered military service, they had to cut their hair, and at the same time, they lost their ability to track.
It is as if their hair provided them kind of a sixth sense, so to speak, or almost as if uncut hair serves as an antenna or antennae of sorts. Because it is interesting that if you cut or burn a cat’s whiskers, the cat can literally die from a shock.
So, for something to think about. The Nazarite vow, in my understanding, is kind of a vow to work for Yahweh and really not to pay attention to what the world is thinking or doing. And just to be how Yahweh made you, not trying to please anyone. We are not trying to look anyway for any particular person; we are just trying to be how Yahweh made us. And it is nice, really.
So, just to illustrate with a personal example, I was led to take the Nazarite vow, I think, in 2001. I do not remember, just personally I noticed a huge difference in the way I felt with uncut hair, as opposed to back when I used to cut my hair, and it does bring a separation between you and the rest of society. And that separation is not small; it is difficult. I would not go back voluntarily.
But what we need to see here is just how much Elohim is in control of all things. Because we can take a look at one level, the vow is not to cut your hair, it is not to eat grapes or raisins, and not to go near a dead body.
But if someone dies suddenly beside you, then your vow becomes defiled. It is as if the Nazarite somehow is held accountable if someone dies suddenly beside him.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 6:9
9 And if anyone dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it.
Why is that? Well, here I would recommend another study called “About Predestination“ (or about predetermination). And basically, in that study, Yahweh tells us that when we are with Him, He is with us. If we will draw close to Him, He will draw close to us.
So, you know, and Scripture says “When a man’s ways please Yahweh, He will make even his enemies be at peace with him”, and that is without the Masonic Lodge.
But notice, just to mention, the Israelite faith is an Eastern Faith, just as the land of Israel lies in the Middle East and not in the West. In the Eastern religions, they do have this inherent concept, whether it is stated as such or not, that there is a reflection between what they call the inner world and the outer world.
I am not trying to preach pagan anything to anyone, but they have this concept that what is going on inside is reflected in what is going on outside, and vice versa.
And the thing is, it is never stated like that in Scripture, but that is effectively a scriptural concept. Because Yahweh tells us that when we are with Him, He will be with us. When our ways please Him, He will make everything go good around us.
But if someone dies beside us suddenly, then are our ways pleasing to Him? Well, I will leave you to ponder that thought. But as a Nazarite, I have had to think and pray about that provision a lot. And what it says to me is if a man’s ways please Yahweh, that is what He says, He will make even his enemies be at peace with Him, and that is even without the Masonic Lodge.
But basically, all through Scripture, if we will obey Yahweh, if we will hear His voice, if we will do what He says to do, and keep all His written Commandments, we are just not going to believe how good things you are going to get! But if we do not, then we are not going to believe how bad things are going to get.
And to me, this is sort of, a bad feedback signal. So, you know, if we are getting bad feedback signals, then maybe we are doing something wrong. That, to me, is the Nazarite vow. It means we are to be in tune with His will. And we know it says that in the Torah, but effectively the Nazirite vow is about to really do what we are all supposed to be doing in the Torah. I will leave you with those thoughts as we head into the Tribulation.
May Yahweh please lead and guide each one of us not only to hear His voice and to know what His word says, but that we all might do it so that our ways might please Yahweh. And He will make even our enemies be at peace with us. In Yeshua’s name.