Spurgeon: August PM
* 08/29/PM
"All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is
made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk."
--Numbers 6:4
Nazarites had taken, among other vows, one which debarred
them from the use of wine. In order that they might not violate
the obligation, they were forbidden to drink the vinegar of wine
or strong liquors, and to make the rule still more clear, they
were not to touch the unfermented juice of grapes, nor even to
eat the fruit either fresh or dried. In order, altogether, to
secure the integrity of the vow, they were not even allowed
anything that had to do with the vine; they were, in fact, to
avoid the appearance of evil. Surely this is a lesson to the
Lord's separated ones, teaching them to come away from sin in
every form, to avoid not merely its grosser shapes, but even its
spirit and similitude. Strict walking is much despised in these
days, but rest assured, dear reader, it is both the safest and
the happiest. He who yields a point or two to the world is in
fearful peril; he who eats the grapes of Sodom will soon drink
the wine of Gomorrah. A little crevice in the sea-bank in
Holland lets in the sea, and the gap speedily swells till a
province is drowned. Worldly conformity, in any degree, is a
snare to the soul, and makes it more and more liable to
presumptuous sins. Moreover, as the Nazarite who drank grape
juice could not be quite sure whether it might not have endured
a degree of fermentation, and consequently could not be clear in
heart that his vow was intact, so the yielding, temporizing
Christian cannot wear a conscience void of offence, but must
feel that the inward monitor is in doubt of him. Things doubtful
we need not doubt about; they are wrong to us. Things tempting
we must not dally with, but flee from them with speed. Better be
sneered at as a Puritan than be despised as a hypocrite. Careful
walking may involve much self-denial, but it has pleasures of
its own which are more than a sufficient recompense.