Illogical!
5 min read
8 “‘Throughout the period of their dedication, they are consecrated to the LORD.’”
Numbers 6:8
Sometimes (actually, a lot of times), the rules and regulations of the covenant law make no sense to us. Maybe we can understand someone wanting to make a Nazirite vow—a period of dedication to the LORD—for whatever reason. But then why would God require them to not eat or drink any product coming from a grapevine? Why would God require them not to cut their hair? Why would God require that they stay away from a dead body, even if it is the body of a loved one? There is no logical sense to any of it.
I guess the question for us is: does any of God’s requirements for a Nazirite vow have to make any logical sense to us? The main point seems to be that the Nazirites must demonstrate to everyone that they are under a vow to the LORD, and so the LORD gets to set the terms of what it means to be a Nazirite.
And in adhering to the requirements, the Nazirites demonstrate that they are consecrated to the LORD—that is, holy to the LORD—as Nazirites.
But we too are consecrated to the Lord as followers of Jesus Christ. And sometimes (maybe, a lot of times), the things that we do to demonstrate that we are consecrated to the Lord make no logical sense to us either. And so the question may arise in our minds: why are we doing this? Or maybe the more important question is: are we OK with feeling that what we do to be consecrated to the Lord makes no sense to us?
When we think more deeply about why we do the things that we do as Christians, what we will come to realize in the final analysis is that we do them because God tells us to. But here’s the thing: If we do not understand and feel the value of obeying Jesus because He is “my” Lord, we fall into the danger of being deficient witnesses of Jesus Christ.
Our obedience to Christ must be grounded in our relationship with Christ—knowing Him and being known by Him—otherwise, our Christian life will never make any sense.
Children might question the things that their parents tell them to do, because sooner or later the children realize that their parents are not perfect. But if the parents truly love their children, the very act of disobedience is not good for anyone, including the children, even if parents might make poor decisions.
But our Lord is perfect. And our Lord loves us more than our parents do. So disobedience to our Lord is not only unwise, but harmful to our souls and harmful to our witness.
All of this does not mean that we can think and feel and act perfectly all the time. We’re all sinners. The question really comes down to which direction our hearts are inclined toward—Christ or ourselves.
Father, Your ways are perfect. And Your are gracious and patient beyond measure. Forgive me for my disobedience and forgive me if I ever question Your word. Make my heart trust in the logic of Your word, even if makes no sense to me. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
