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"So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow."
(Acts 18:18)
I watched a video recently of someone describing the type of man who becomes a member of the Navy Seals, one of the most elite fighting groups in our military. The speaker said it was not the college athlete, the man with muscles bulging out of his shirt, or leaders who merely delegate; some are actually somewhat skinny and scrawny, but they all have one thing in common: when they are exhausted, they dig down deep and find a way to help the next person.
Oswald Chambers in his classic devotion, My Utmost for His Highest, writes, "Our Lord's teaching was always anti-self-realization. His purpose is not the development of a person—His purpose is to make a person exactly like Himself, and the Son of God is characterized by self-expenditure. If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what He pours through us that really counts. God's purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us. Our spiritual life cannot be measured by success as the world measures it, but only by what God pours through us—and we cannot measure that at all."
The Apostle Paul challenges me in his devotion and dedication to Jesus Christ. He lived his life with such purpose and passion, seeking to lead people to Christ and build them in their faith so they could go and tell others. When he set his mind on something or made a commitment to do something, he did it with great resolve and determination.
Cenchrea was the eastern port of Corinth. From there, Paul would sail due east to Ephesus. And while he was at Cenchrea, he cut off his hair because he had taken a vow. This was the vow of the Nazirite. This was an Old Testament vow where the individual would pledge himself to separation and dedication to God. It was entered upon as an expression of thankfulness to God for His blessings and deliverance. Numbers 6 speaks in detail about this Nazirite vow. Those who took this vow were not to drink wine and had other dietary restrictions, and neither were they to cut their hair for the duration of the vow. They would cut their hair at the end of the vow, though, and would present the hair at the door of the tabernacle. Numbers 6:18 states, "Then the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offering."
This vow usually lasted for a month, although Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist took this vow of the Nazirite for life. (MacArthur, Acts 13-28: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, p.158-159.)
Paul studied and preached in Corinth, wrote part of the Holy Scriptures, and took the vow of the Nazirite in Cenchrea—he was a very determined man of God. Paul poured his life into others because He allowed God to pour His life into him. Those who want to make disciples and invest in others must first set themselves apart for Christ, be serious about following the Lord, and be men and women of discipline and dedication.
The church of Jesus Christ is desperately hungry for men and women of God who are not entangled with the world. The Church of Jesus Christ needs people of determination, those men and women of the faith who will dig down deep, even when they do not feel like it, and do what needs to be done.
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