Numbers 6:1-21

Numbers 6:1-21

[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  [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  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  [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  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. 

What does Numbers 6:1-21 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The emphasis in this section continues to be on the importance of maintaining purity in the camp so God"s blessing on Israel might continue unabated.
The Nazirite (from the Hebrew root nazar, meaning "to separate") illustrated the consecrated character of all the Israelites, and of the nation as a whole, in an especially visible way.
The "Nazirite" vow was normally temporary. There are two biblical examples of life-long Nazirites: Samson and Samuel. John the Baptist may have been a third case, but we do not know for sure that he lived as a Nazirite before he began his public ministry. This vow was also normally voluntary. Any male or female could take this vow that involved dedication to God"s service. The vow itself required three commitments. These were not the vow but grew out of it as consequences.
1.The separated one abstained from any fruit of the grape vine ( Numbers 6:4). Perhaps God commanded this because, ". . . its fruit was regarded as the sum and substance of all sensual enjoyment." [1] Other passages link strong drink with neglect of God"s law (e.g, Genesis 9:20-27; Genesis 19:32-38; Proverbs 31:4-6; Habakkuk 2:5).
"In itself, wine culture was considered to be good-Israelites regarded the harvest of their vineyards as a blessing-but there was also a dangerous side to it: the possibility of lapsing into a pagan lifestyle." [2]
2.The Nazirite would leave his or her hair uncut ( Numbers 6:5). The significance of this restriction has had many interpretations by the commentators, as have the other restrictions. The most probable explanation, I believe, connects with the fact that hair represented the strength and vitality of the individual (cf. Judges 16:17; 2 Samuel 14:25-26). [3] The long hair of the Nazirite would have symbolized the dedication of the Nazirite"s strength and vigor to God.
"There might also have been a negative reason [4] this prescription. In many nations at this time, people devoted their hair to their gods." [5]
3.The third commitment was to avoid any physical contact with a human corpse. This is perhaps the easiest restriction to explain. It seems that since the Nazirite had dedicated himself to a period of separation to God and from sin he should avoid contact with the product of sin, namely, death. Perhaps, too, since death was an abnormal condition, contact with dead bodies caused defilement.
If the Nazirite broke his vow through no fault of his own he had to follow the prescribed ritual for cleansing and then begin the period of his vow again ( Numbers 6:9-12).
". . . there was the recognition that some things in life superseded the requirements of the vow. If someone died suddenly in one"s presence, for example, the vow could be temporarily suspended ( Numbers 6:9). After the emergency had passed, there were provisions for completing the vow ( Numbers 6:10-12 ff)." [6]
The Nazirite did not withdraw from society except in the particulars of these restrictions. He lived an active life of service in Israel. His dedication to God did not remove him from society but affected his motivation and activities as he lived.
The Nazirite lived as a priest temporarily in the sense that he lived under more stringent laws of holiness and served God more directly than other Israelites did. His service was not the same as the priests", but sometimes it did involve some sanctuary service as well as other types of service (e.g, Samuel).
"This law specifically shows that there were provisions not just for the priest but for all members of God"s people to commit themselves wholly to God. Complete holiness was not the sole prerogative of the priesthood or the Levites. The Nazirite vow shows that even laypersons, men and women in everyday walks of life, could enter into a state of complete devotion to God. Thus this segment of text teaches that any person in God"s nation could be totally committed to holiness." [7]
When the time of the Nazirite"s vow expired, he had to go through a prescribed ritual called "the law of the Nazirite" ( Numbers 6:13; Numbers 6:21). Burning his cut hair on the brazen altar under his peace offering ( Numbers 6:18) probably symbolized giving to God the strength and vigor that he had previously employed in His service. It also ensured that no one would misuse his hair, possibly in a pagan ritual. The Nazirite ate part of his offering ( Numbers 6:19). He physically enjoyed part of the fruits of his dedication to God.
God did not require the taking of vows under the Mosaic Law (cf. Leviticus 27). Consequently the fact that Paul took a Nazirite vow ( Acts 18:18) and paid the expenses of others who had taken one ( Acts 21:26) does not indicate that he was living under the Law of Moses. He was simply practicing a Jewish custom that prevailed as the Mosaic Law regulated that custom. He did this to win Jews to Jesus Christ, not because as a Christian Jew he was under the Mosaic Law ( 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
"It can hardly be denied that there is a desperate need in the church today for such leadership, for men utterly given over to God for His purposes-not men of fanatical zeal (which can very often be fleshly and even devilish), but men of controlled fire, men who can truly say, "One thing I do" ( Philippians 3:13), men of whom it can be said that the love of Christ constrains them, giving their lives depth, drive, and direction in the service of God." [8]