Lay it to Heart

Why Men Should Have Short Hair and Women Long Hair

In 1 Corinthians 11:4-15 we find that it is wrong for a man to have long hair and women to have short hair if the women do not cover their heads. What God requires is that every woman who prays or prophesies to have her head covered (1 Corinthians 11:5). In verse 15 we see that her long hair is given her for a covering. Women have the option of having long hair or having a covering on their heads. This is not a recommendation from Paul. It is a requirement from God.

1 Corinthians 11:
	4	Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
	5	But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
	6	For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
	7	For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
	8	For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
	9	Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
	10	For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
	11	Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
	12	For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
	13	Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
	14	Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
	15	But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
	16	But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.

This was not a commandment because of any Christian converts from the pagan worship of Diana or any former prostitutes as some scholars have suggested. Nowhere in this passage is Diana, pagan worship, prostitute, hooker, lady of the evening, whore, etc. mentioned. Starting in verse 7, reasoning is provided which relates to the glory of God and the roles between men and women. This is not a local or temporal relationship. This is applicable to all locations for all time. Verse 16 tells us, "But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God." This is a universal standard and is applicable to every country in the world today.

This subject also relates to all of the blasphemous art that shows Jesus with long hair. This is not right. The churches that have these pictures in their offices need to trash them.

Some have suggested that Jesus was a Nazarite. He was a Nazarene, not a Nazarite. A Nazarene was somebody from Nazareth. A Nazarite was somebody under a special vow. Look at the law of a Nazarite:

Numbers 6:
	1	And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
	2	Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD:
	3	He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
	4	All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
	5	All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
	6	All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.
	7	He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.
	8	All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.
	9	And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.
	10	And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
	11	And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day.
	12	And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.
	13	And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
	14	And he shall offer his offering unto the LORD, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings,
	15	And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings.
	16	And the priest shall bring them before the LORD, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering:
	17	And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat offering, and his drink offering.
	18	And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings.
	19	And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven:
	20	And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazarite may drink wine.
	21	This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the LORD for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation.

A Nazarite had three special requirements:

They were not supposed to consume any of the products of the vine; neither grapes, juice, wine nor raisins.
They were not supposed to cut their hair.
They were not supposed to go near any dead people.

Jesus consumed fruit of the vine. One example is during the last supper where he drank wine. It doesn't matter whether or not it contained alcohol, it was the fruit of the vine. If Jesus were a Nazarite, he would have broken his vow.

Mark 14:
	23	And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
	24	And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.
	25	Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

Jesus went near dead people. Mark 5:41 says, "And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise." Jesus did more than go near to her, he touched her. Had Jesus been a Nazarite, according to verse 11 this would have been a sin and he would have broken his vow. Look at Numbers 6:9. If Nazarites did go near any dead people, they would be unclean for seven days. They were then to shave their heads. When Jesus called for Lazarus to come forth, how close was he to Lazarus? We do not know but it's likely Jesus would have had to shave his head shortly before he was crucified if he had been a Nazarite. In Matthew 26:7 a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, came and poured it on Jesus' head. In verse 12, Jesus said she was doing it for his burial. If Jesus were to shave his head, the ointment would not prepare him for burial.

Jesus was not a Nazarite. Jesus did not have long hair. He did have a beard. Isaiah 50:6 says, "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting."

The pictures of Jesus today with long hair are blasphemous and should be removed from churches and Bibles.
Pastors with long hair should not be accepted as pastors.
Women playing instruments or singing in church should have long hair or cover their heads.
Pastors need to encourage their flock to submit to God's commandments.
Women leading women's group should have long hair or a cover as well.

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