"When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow, to consecrate himself to the Lord, he is to abstain from wine and beer. Other stipulations of the Nazirite vow are listed in this chapter. At the end of the chapter, God tells Moses to tell Aaron and his sons how to bless the Israelites."
Numbers 6 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Law of the Nazirites
6 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘When a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, that is, one separated and dedicated to the Lord, 3 he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. 4 [a]All the time of his separation he shall not eat anything produced from the grapevine, from the seeds even to the skins.
- WINE SIGNIFICANCE. Wine always reminds me of the blood of Jesus that was poured out at the cross ("For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). I wonder if there is any connection or significance to it.
- EXCLUSIVELY FOR GOD. It seems that a Nazirite man/woman has chosen to make a special vow to God-- but I believe it's actually God who has chosen them and set them apart. It's also like our salvation-- we may think that we have chosen to follow God and accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, but it's actually Him who has chosen us and loved us first.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:3-6
"We love Him because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." Romans 12:1
5 ‘All the time of the vow of his separation no razor shall be used on his head. Until the time of his separation to the Lord is completed, he shall be holy, and shall let the hair of his head grow long.
6 ‘All the time that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. 7 He shall not make himself [ceremonially] unclean for his father, mother, brother, or sister, when they die, because [the responsibility for] his separation to God is on his head. 8 All the time of his separation he is holy to the Lord.
"A nazirite or nazarite is one who voluntarily took a vow described in Numbers 6:1–21. "Nazarite" comes from the Hebrew word נזיר nazir meaning "consecrated" or "separated".[1] This vow required the person during this time to:
-Abstain from all wine and anything else made from grapes. (Traditional rabbinic authorities state that all other types of alcohol were permitted.)
-Refrain from cutting the hair on one's head; but to allow the locks of the head's hair to grow.[2]
-Not to become ritually impure by contact with corpses or graves, even those of family members.[3]
9 ‘If a man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his dedicated head, then he shall shave his head on the day that he becomes [ceremonially] clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day [the end of the purification period]. 10 On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). 11 The priest shall offer the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering and make atonement for him concerning his sin because of the [dead] body. He shall consecrate his head the same day, 12 and he shall dedicate himself to the Lord for the time of his separation and shall bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering; but the previous days will be void and lost, because his separation was defiled.
13 ‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the days of his separation and dedication are fulfilled: he shall bring the offering to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle). 14 and he shall offer his gift to the Lord: one male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering, and one female lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace offering, 15 and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread spread with oil, along with their grain offering and their drink offering. 16 Then the priest shall present them before the Lord and shall offer the person’s sin offering and his burnt offering. 17 He shall also offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall offer also its grain offering and its drink offering. 18 The Nazirite shall shave his dedicated head at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), and take the dedicated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings. 19 The priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened [ring-shaped] loaf out of the basket, and one unleavened flat cake and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his dedicated hair. 20 Then the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord; they are a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is offered by lifting up; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.’
21 “This is the law for the [b]Nazirite who vows his offering to the Lord for his separation, besides what else [c]he is able to afford, according to the vow which he has vowed; so shall he do according to the law for his separation and abstinence [as a Nazirite].”
Aaron’s Benediction
22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24 The Lord bless you, and keep you [protect you, sustain you, and guard you];
25 The Lord make His face shine upon you [with favor],
And be gracious to you [surrounding you with lovingkindness];
26 The Lord lift up His countenance (face) upon you [with divine approval],
And give you peace [a tranquil heart and life].’
27 So Aaron and his sons shall put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”
- SOURCE OF BLESSING. As the High Priest and priests, Aaron and his sons were appointed by God to bless His people, the Israelites. They will speak the blessing, but all the blessings will come from God, as He is the ultimate source of everything. God is our Provider, and Keeper/Protector. God will also give favor and grace to His people-- He is faithful and good no matter what, because that is who He is and He never changes. What He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-- He will fulfill throughout the generations. God is also the source of peace. Romans 8:32 says "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Jesus is the ultimate expression of God's love and blessing to us.
"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations," Deuteronomy 7:9
Footnotes:
Numbers 6:4 Lit All the days of his consecration and so throughout.
Numbers 6:21 Normally, the Nazirite vow was for a limited duration (usually two weeks). Samson’s Nazirite vow was special in that it seemed to have involved a lifetime commitment (Judg 13:1-16:31).
Numbers 6:21 Lit his hand can reach.
After reading, I always check out the Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik (very helpful!):
a. To separate himself to the LORD: The vow of the Nazirite was to express one's special desire to draw close to God and to separate one's self from the comforts and pleasures of this world.
b. To take the vow of a Nazirite: There were several remarkable Nazirites in the Bible: Samson (Judges 13:5), John the Baptist (Luke 1:15), and Paul (Acts 18:18); the vow was certainly open to women, but we have no Biblical example of a woman taking the vow, except for Manoah's wife during her pregnancy with Samson (Judges 13:4).
a. He shall separate himself from wine and similar drink: The Nazirite was forbidden to eat or drink anything from the grape vine; this was a form of self-denial connected with the idea of a special consecration to God. Generally speaking, wine and grape products were thought to be a blessing (Proverbs 3:10), something to be gratefully received from God (Psalms 104:15).
b. He shall present his offering to the LORD: No wonder when Paul visited Jerusalem, he was invited to pay the expenses of some Christians who had taken a Nazirite vow and were ready to conclude it with this sacrifice (Acts 21:23-24). The Nazirite vow was not something that could be entered into lightly.
a. The LORD bless you: This simple desire prefaces everything. God loves to bless His people, and He loves to have leaders long that the people be blessed. This also recognizes that all blessing really comes from God; and without His blessing, all is futile.
b. And keep you: To be kept by the LORD is blessing indeed. Some are kept by their own sin and desire, some are kept by idolatry and greed, and others are kept by their own bitterness and anger. But to be kept by the LORD insures life, peace, and success.
c. The LORD make His face to shine upon you: To have the glorious, happy face of God shining upon man is the greatest gift one could have. To know that as God looks upon you, He is well pleased - not because of who you are, or what you have done, but because you are in Jesus Christ - there is no greater source of peace and power in life.
d. And be gracious to you: The idea is that God shows tender mercy and care for His people.
e. The LORD lift up His countenance upon you: The priest prays God would look upon His people; when God blesses, keeps, shines, and is gracious towards His people, any look He casts towards His people is filled with nothing but blessing. His loving attention is on the believer!
- To lift up one's eyes or face means to pay attention
f. And give you peace: The Hebrew word is shalom, which is more than the cessation of hostility - it is God's word for wholeness and goodness and total satisfaction in life. This is the abundant life Jesus promised! (John 10:10)
g. The LORD … the LORD … the LORD: The three-fold repetition of LORD does not prove the Trinity, but it certainly illustrates it.
- God the Father blesses and keeps His children
- God the Son makes God's face to shine on us and brings us grace
- God the Holy Spirit communicates God's attention to us, and gives us peace
Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Num/Num-6.cfm © 2004 David Guzik
b. To take the vow of a Nazirite: There were several remarkable Nazirites in the Bible: Samson (Judges 13:5), John the Baptist (Luke 1:15), and Paul (Acts 18:18); the vow was certainly open to women, but we have no Biblical example of a woman taking the vow, except for Manoah's wife during her pregnancy with Samson (Judges 13:4).
a. He shall separate himself from wine and similar drink: The Nazirite was forbidden to eat or drink anything from the grape vine; this was a form of self-denial connected with the idea of a special consecration to God. Generally speaking, wine and grape products were thought to be a blessing (Proverbs 3:10), something to be gratefully received from God (Psalms 104:15).
b. He shall present his offering to the LORD: No wonder when Paul visited Jerusalem, he was invited to pay the expenses of some Christians who had taken a Nazirite vow and were ready to conclude it with this sacrifice (Acts 21:23-24). The Nazirite vow was not something that could be entered into lightly.
a. The LORD bless you: This simple desire prefaces everything. God loves to bless His people, and He loves to have leaders long that the people be blessed. This also recognizes that all blessing really comes from God; and without His blessing, all is futile.
b. And keep you: To be kept by the LORD is blessing indeed. Some are kept by their own sin and desire, some are kept by idolatry and greed, and others are kept by their own bitterness and anger. But to be kept by the LORD insures life, peace, and success.
c. The LORD make His face to shine upon you: To have the glorious, happy face of God shining upon man is the greatest gift one could have. To know that as God looks upon you, He is well pleased - not because of who you are, or what you have done, but because you are in Jesus Christ - there is no greater source of peace and power in life.
d. And be gracious to you: The idea is that God shows tender mercy and care for His people.
e. The LORD lift up His countenance upon you: The priest prays God would look upon His people; when God blesses, keeps, shines, and is gracious towards His people, any look He casts towards His people is filled with nothing but blessing. His loving attention is on the believer!
- To lift up one's eyes or face means to pay attention
f. And give you peace: The Hebrew word is shalom, which is more than the cessation of hostility - it is God's word for wholeness and goodness and total satisfaction in life. This is the abundant life Jesus promised! (John 10:10)
g. The LORD … the LORD … the LORD: The three-fold repetition of LORD does not prove the Trinity, but it certainly illustrates it.
- God the Father blesses and keeps His children
- God the Son makes God's face to shine on us and brings us grace
- God the Holy Spirit communicates God's attention to us, and gives us peace
Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Num/Num-6.cfm © 2004 David Guzik
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