What then, is the principle of the Nazarite? It is voluntary consecration. It is not a matter of being appointed, ordained, or even chosen by the Lord, but of voluntarily consecrating yourself to Him. In the words of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, you simply “lend” yourself. If I am rich, you do not need to lend me anything. Only when I am poor do I need to borrow something from you. At the time of Eli, the Lord was really poor as far as the priesthood was concerned; so Hannah lent Samuel to Him. She told the Lord that if He would give her a male child, then she would lend him to the Lord. When things are abnormal, causing the Lord to be poor in His administration, someone needs to voluntarily lend himself to the Lord.
To what tribe did Samuel belong? Apparently, Samuel was of the tribe of Levi, but actually he belonged to the tribe of Ephraim (1 Sam. 1:1-2). Samuel was not even of the house of Aaron, but he became a priest by being consecrated, separated, and lent to the Lord. Samuel became a priest by coming through the side door, not by coming through the main entrance. He became a priest according to the supplement provided in Numbers 6, not according to an appointment or ordination.
Samuel was not only a priest, but also a judge. All the judges were in the line of authority. He was a person in the priesthood and in the kingship. In addition to this, Samuel was also a prophet, who turned the age into the age of the kingdom with the kingship. How much was related to this one person! There was the priesthood, the authority, the prophethood, and the turning of the age of degradation into the age of the kingdom. Samuel was not chosen by the Lord; neither was he ordained or appointed by the Lord. Such a wonderful person came into God’s administration only by the principle of the Nazarite. When the priesthood became degraded, God provided the side door of voluntary consecration.
Although John the Baptist was the son of a priest, and therefore a priest by ordination and appointment, he functioned as a strange kind of priest. He functioned not according to birth but according to the principle of the Nazarite. When things are degraded and abnormal, priests by birth, ordination, and appointment are not sufficient. Therefore, the supplement is needed.
Do you think that the priesthood today is in a normal condition? Without a doubt, the priesthood is in an abnormal state; consequently, we must realize that the priesthood by appointment or by birth is not adequate. Since the main gate is not adequate, the side door is needed. Do not argue by saying that we are priests and kings by birth. Although this is true, the situation today is abnormal. Since the main entrance has been damaged, we need the principle of the Nazarite as a side door. All real Christians are born priests and kings, but unfortunately they do not function as priests and kings. We must apply the principle of the Nazarite. Regardless of the fact that we have been born priests and kings, we must take the standing of a Nazarite and consecrate and separate ourselves unto the Lord. No matter how much we realize that we are born priests and kings, if we are not willing to separate ourselves unto the Lord, we can never be in the genuine priesthood. The main gate in today’s abnormal situation is not adequate. We must use the side door by applying the principle of the Nazarite to separate ourselves unto the Lord.
Within the consecration of the Nazarite, there are four items of separation. First, a Nazarite should not drink or eat anything of the grape, from its seeds to its skin. In typology, wine or anything of the grape signifies earthly pleasure or worldly enjoyment. If we are going to have the genuine priesthood, we must be separated from all earthly pleasures. To be separated from worldly enjoyment is very difficult because this is a nation of worldly enjoyment. Young people in this country find it hard to realize the genuine priesthood because of the many temptations, earthly pleasures, and worldly amusements. As long as we drink anything of the grape, we are ruined for the priesthood. By regeneration all Christians have become priests and kings, but nearly all of them have been spoiled by the wine of earthly enjoyment. This is a very serious matter.
We all must realize that today’s Christianity has become degraded. To take the standing of the priesthood, we must voluntarily be completely separated from the grape. The Lord’s recovery can only be prevailing with the priesthood which is entirely separated from earthly pleasures and worldly enjoyment. Whenever we partake of something of this world, we are finished with the priesthood. Others do not need to tell us; we already know it within. We are still children of the Lord, but we are no longer priests in reality. Oh, how the earthly pleasures and worldly enjoyments have damaged the priesthood!
You may ask, “What do you mean by earthly pleasures?” Do not ask me, but simply ask yourself. You know! You can never say that you do not know. You know exactly which earthly pleasures and worldly enjoyments are keeping you away from the priesthood. In today’s degradation, the Lord needs those who will pioneer the way in absolute consecration. This consecration must be without any reservation.