Numbers 6

It's a conundrum that almost every guy has to face: To shave or not to shave? I know we're not supposed to get all hung up over looks, but some men look better with facial hair and some don't. If you wanted to be a Nazirite, though, you didn't have an option--you had to live your whole life (or at least the period of consecration) as if it were No-Shave November. I imagine, though, that some men started to look a little scary once their hair got past a certain length, as this Pixar video proves:

Nazirites also couldn't drink alcohol--which I would be fine with, but I some members of my extended family, for instance, would bristle at the suggestion. But more than that, they couldn't even drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins (verse 3). Although I always think of raisins by themselves as a childhood snacks, I do partake of the chocolate covered variety from time to time. But by far the most stringent external requirement for Nazirites was to avoid going "near a dead body" (verse 6)--although the passage doesn't specify how close was too close. I suppose one can still mourn the loss of a loved one without actually coming near the body, but it's still an exacting regulation. All these stipulations, as well as the full slate of offerings (burnt, sin, fellowship, grain, and drink in addition to a basket of bread) required to mark the end of the Nazirite's period of dedication, represent visible manifestations of devotion of one who wanted to consecrate oneself to God.

The chapter concludes with the famous benediction that closes many church services. Although my own church doesn't use it regularly, I do remember that my parents often played a CD (or cassette tape) that featured the benediction set to a hymn-like melody. Perhaps the most striking image of the benediction is of God turning His face to shine upon us (verses 25-26). Sure, the Beast's face lit up like a pyromaniac's pencil when he (spoiler alert) turned back into a vaguely funky-looking human in Beauty and the Beast, but the face of God contains all the ineffable glory and grace of the creator of the universe. And as the benediction says, that magnanimity and splendor can instill peace into our oft-troubled hearts.