Troublesome Topic: THE IMPORTANCE OF DISPOSABLE HAIR

Why did the Gentiles trim the edges of their beards for the dead? I think it goes along with the reason they tattooed themselves for the dead. I believe they were angry with the Creator God so they purposefully did things that would offend Him; they knowingly disfigured their bodies either permanently (with tattoos) or temporarily (by altering their hair and their beards) in order to get back at the Creator God and express their anger at Him.

At one point in the consecration of priests, they had to shave the hair from their entire bodies (Lev 14:9). I take this to mean that they had to divest themselves of everything they were and be totally committed to God alone. This is a picture of what we need to do when we agree to a relationship of communion with God. I do not mean shaving one’s entire body; I mean divesting ourselves of all that we are and giving ourselves unreservedly to Him. God is good and He gives most of our identity back to us – we usually keep our personality, our interests, our abilities, etc.

Long hair for a woman was considered a blessing because it accentuated her feminine qualities. It seems a safe assumption that most women of that time were highly motivated to keep their long hair neat and orderly. This is demonstrated by the fact that archeology has found many hair combs and hair ornaments from ancient times. Her hair (and the vail that covered it) made her identity clear to all. Most women of ancient times would never dream of cutting their hair short.

Long hair among men showed them to be a bit rebellious, operating outside the accepted social norms. In contrast to women, the long hair of a man would have been unkept and unruly. It did not mean they were effeminate, but that they refused to fit into anyone’s mold. Absalom is a good example of a man that had long hair, in fact his extremely long hair matched his extremely rebellious attitudes.

In my opinion, good evidence that Jesus had long hair does not exist. In fact, the early depictions of Jesus (around AD 400) being clean-shaven and having long hair seem to have come from attempts to make Jesus look like the pagan gods Apollos or Dionysius. Later it became more common to add a beard, but the long hair was kept. In reality, Jesus most likely looked like the majority of other Jewish men – bearded, with hair that was not shoulder length. He did not get his hair cut as often as we do, but He did not let it get too long.

Since hair was useful for identification, it was used by the priests to determine if a skin condition was an abnormal condition sent by God, or just a normal human ailment. The characteristics of the hair in the sore showed what type of sore it was. This fits perfectly with the use of hair as an identification system.

On the other hand, hair is disposable. Hair, the ends of your fingernails and toenails, and the outer layer of your skin, are the only parts of your body I can think of that can be removed without damaging your body. That is why the Bible sometimes uses hair as a symbol for something disposable.

If it were not for the role God has given to hair, it would be insignificant. But it is not insignificant, it is important, even though it is disposable.

God granted something disposable an important role.

We humans are not disposable. But we would be insignificant if God had not made us who we are. If evolution were true, our lives would truly be insignificant, disposable, of no value. We should thank God that, not only do we have value in His sight, He made us as the crowning jewel of His creation; He gave us special responsibilities amidst all that He created, and He asks us to be mirrors that reflect what He is like.

Do we need to follow the regulations about hair and beards today? No. However, we do need to be clear about who we are and what set of principles we are committed to follow.