The Bible Story Vol 2_w.pdf - Herbert W. Armstrong

did n't want uncl ean persons existmg so close to the holy area in
which He was to dwell with the Israelites. These measures were necessary
before the comin g of the Holy Spirit. Cleanliness outside was
to teach the people th e need of God's power to clean the human
being from within through the Holy Spirit.
At this same time God also made plain certain ru les for those who
were not Levites, but who wished to be set apart for a time of special
service to God. Israelites who wanted to do this were called naza rites.
T hey are not to be confused with the Levites. God honored the inte ntions
of those individu als who wished to take nazari te vows and blessed them
for th eir zeal.
During the time people were nazarites they (men or women) weren 't
to shave nor cut th eir hair. T hey weren't to touch any dead body . They
weren 't to consume any wine. Neither were they to drink grape juice.
Grapes, either fresh or dried, weren 't to be eate n. (Numbers 6:1-8.) This
was a sign of their special service.
Ch r is t Was No Naza r ite
Man y people have believed that Je sus Christ was a nazarite because
he was raised in Nazareth, a town in th e district of Gali lee about seventy
miles north of Jerusalem. T his is not true. People who come from or who
are in Naza reth are called Naza rene s. They aren't nazarites unless they
have ta ken the naza rite vow. Chr ist was not a nazar ite. He drank wine.
(Matthew 11:19.) If He had bee n a nazarite He could not have dr un k wine
with out sinning and losing His place as our Savio ur .
Some who believe ,Jesus was a nazarite mistakenly claim that the
wine Je sus drank was grape juice-but even grape jui ce was forbidden to
nazarites!
Because of assuming that Chri st was a nazarite, man y peop le have
believed that He had long hair flowing down to his shoulders. Christ
didn't have long hair ! By-gone half-pagan artists, trying to make Je sus
look pious, gave him a sick, sad, effeminate appearance, and even went so
far as to add long hair in their vain imagination. No man knows how
Je sus looked .
Inasmu ch as Christ was a hard-work ing carpente r who ate only clea n
foods and observed the laws of good health , we know he was a very
masculine fellow with physical strength and endurance. Beca use he loved
all people, he was a sociable, friend ly, cheerful person who was thoughtful
ofothers andcourteousat all times. Whatmatters most, however, is what
Christ is like now. Hebrews 1:2-4 and Revelatio n 1:12-16 tell us of
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