Numbers 06

The Nazirite Vow

6:1Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 6:2 “Speak to the Israelites, and tell them, ‘When either a man or a woman takes a special vow, to take a vow as a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, 6:3 he must separate himself from wine and strong drink, he must drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from strong drink, nor may he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. 6:4 All the days of his separation he must not eat anything that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.

If an Israelite loved the Lord extremely and he wanted to do something special for the Lord, then he could take the Nazarite vow. He was not to drink wine, alcoholic beverages, vinegar, or any seed or drink from the grapevine. Jesus was not a Nazarite, because He did drink wine.

6:5 “‘All the days of the vow of his separation no razor may be used on his head until the time is fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord. He will be holy, and he must let the locks of hair on his head grow long.

The second requirement was that the Nazarite was not to cut his hair. Many artists portray Jesus as a long-haired-European-looking hippie. This type of art is deceptive, because the artist is falsely and very subtly claiming that Jesus was a human (and not divine) Nazarite. However, Jesus did not need to separate Himself to the Lord, because He was already God in human flesh. He could get no closer to God, because He was God in the flesh.

6:6 “‘All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he must not contact a dead body. 6:7 He must not defile himself even for his father or his mother or his brother or his sister if they die, because the separation for his God is on his head. 6:8 All the days of his separation he must be holy to the Lord.

A Nazarite was not to touch a dead body. Jesus touched the dead body of the daughter of Jairus and gave her life. Jesus was God, so He did not need to draw closer to God by taking the Nazarite Vow. The paintings of Jesus with long hair are unbiblical. Jesus was not a sissy. He was a rugged man who walked all over the hill country of Judea and Galilee. These paintings are simply an attempt by liberals to portray Jesus as a man who took the Nazarite Vow to become closer to God. Jesus was more than a man who desired to become closer to God. He was the Creator God Himself. He did not need to take the Nazarite vow, because He was God in human flesh.

Contingencies for Defilement

6:9 “‘If anyone dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head, then he must shave his head on the day of his purification – on the seventh day he must shave it. 6:10 On the eighth day he is to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the entrance to the tent of meeting. 6:11 Then the priest will offer one for a purification offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because of his transgression in regard to the corpse. So he must reconsecrate his head on that day. 6:12 He must rededicate to the Lord the days of his separation and bring a male lamb in its first year as a reparation offering, but the former days will not be counted because his separation was defiled.

If the one who took the Nazarite Vow accidentally touched a dead body, then he must go through a purification ceremony to make him ceremonially clean.

Fulfilling the Vows

6:13 “‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite: When the days of his separation are fulfilled, he must be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting, 6:14 and he must present his offering to the Lord: one male lamb in its first year without blemish for a burnt offering, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish for a purification offering, one ram without blemish for a peace offering, 6:15 and a basket of bread made without yeast, cakes of fine flour mixed with olive oil, wafers made without yeast and smeared with olive oil, and their grain offering and their drink offerings.

After the vow of the Nazarite was fulfilled, he was required to bring a sacrifice to the Tabernacle.

6:16 “‘Then the priest must present all these before the Lord and offer his purification offering and his burnt offering. 6:17 Then he must offer the ram as a peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of bread made without yeast; the priest must also offer his grain offering and his drink offering.6:18 “‘Then the Nazirite must shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the tent of meeting and must take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire where the peace offering is burning. 6:19 And the priest must take the boiled shoulder of the ram, one cake made without yeast from the basket, and one wafer made without yeast, and put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated head; 6:20 then the priest must wave them as a wave offering before the Lord; it is a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the raised offering. After this the Nazirite may drink wine.’ 6:21 “This is the law of the Nazirite who vows to the Lord his offering according to his separation, as well as whatever else he can provide. Thus he must fulfill his vow that he makes, according to the law of his separation.”

The Nazarite was to shave his head and present his offerings.

The Priestly Benediction

6:22 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6:23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is the way you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 6:24 “The Lord bless you and protect you; 6:25 The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; 6:26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”’ 6:27 So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

Aaron and his sons were to bless the Israelites with this benediction. Jehovah would keep His promise of blessing to Israel as long as they were obedient. Jehovah would also protect Israel from her enemies, according to the Mosaic Covenant. Jehovah was to shine upon Israel and make her a light to the Gentile world. Jehovah was to be kind to Israel. Jehovah was to give peace to Israel. The name and character of Jehovah would be carried by Israel. Jehovah would bless Israel. This benediction reminded the Israelites that God was on their side.