Sending a sick person away seems harsh, doesn’t it? But there is a much larger point being made here about what God’s people should act like.
There should be no impurity in the Lord’s camp. The people are being taught that anything is impure must be removed. Once again, God doesn’t tolerate impurity. He doesn’t “wink” at it, He doesn’t put up with it, and He doesn’t excuse it. If something is impure, then it must go away from His presence.
You probably know where I am going with this. You and I are God’s “encampment”, God lives within us, He inhabits our being. So what about this idea of “no impurity?” Because we all know that even on our best day there is probably something lying around in our life that is impure. Does this mean that God doesn’t approve of us, or want us around Him? Does it mean we aren’t allowed to be in His presence?
No.
It does mean that when God identifies something impure in your life He wants you to do something about it. Now. I don’t think God is interested in you hanging onto old sins because they are comfortable, or because you are afraid to let go of them. Remember, God hates sin, and He wants it gone from your life. So when God speaks to you about it, be sure to surrender whatever it is that He is identifying.
It’s the blood of Jesus Christ that atones for our sins, and allows us to remain in the presence of God, in spite of our sinfulness and imperfection. The blood of Jesus continually works on our behalf, even though we aren’t perfect.
Regarding the Nazarite vow: There were two ways to be a Nazarite, temporary for a specific period, and from birth…permanently. A couple of permanent Nazarites were Samson (who compromised his vow, and lost the presence of God within Him) and John the Baptist..who did exactly what he was supposed to do.
I noticed today that it was the hair of the Nazarite that was the fulfillment of the vow, and if the person came into contact with anything impure, all their hair was contaminated as well, and they needed to begin again. Thinking back to Samson, his strength was gone when they cut his hair…but his hair was already impure and inappropriate as a sacrifice by that time, since he had drank wine and come into contact with dead things. The removal of his hair was the end of his downward spiral. As he spent his days in captivity his hair began to grow back, and because He was repentant, his strength returned. How ironic that the people who were celebrating his downfall created the exact environment needed for him to regain his strength. Keeping him locked up, away from wine and dead things, and allowing his hair to grow was precisely why He was able to confess and regain his strength later.
I wonder sometimes if we aren’t in the same position…feeling persecuted and perhaps abandoned…but all the while God is quietly building up a “comeback” within us. I guess faith and patience are called for, huh?
Faithfully,
PR