Numbers 6:1-8
A man or a woman could separate themselves to the Lord by taking a Nazirite vow. The word Nazir means 'devoted one'. We should note this is a separation 'to' the Lord. In order to be separated to Him, the devoted first had to separate themselves from some things:
- Wine, similar drink, grapes, raisins, etc. This separation may have been important because grapes and raisins were associated to Canaanite fertility cults. See Hosea 3:1.
- No razor was to touch the head. Some of the cults shaved the head in particular ways to honor this pagan deity. The hair was offered to the god. Cutting the hair was a associated with mourning and humility – in the vow, it was a re-entering normal society.
- The devoted stayed away from a dead body. God was the giver of life. Death was the associated with sin and the devil. This is called corpse contamination – becoming unclean due to touching or being near a corpse.
- The days of the vow were to be maintained holy. Even the death of a family member did not warrant breaking the vow.
Numbers 6:9-12
Even accidentally coming in contact with a dead body defiled the vow of separation. The instructions were then to deal with the breaking of faith, deal with the impurity and make an offering to the Lord. This was a done through the Sin offering, the burnt offering and then the trespass offering. The days were lost, the vow was then restarted, from the beginning.
Numbers 6:13-21
The duration of the vow was determined at the beginning by the devotee. The Lord did not determine the length, but He expected the fulfillment of the vow when it was made. The completion of the vow was made at the door of the tabernacle.
- Presentation of the offering. One male lamb for a burnt offering, one ewe lamb as a sin offering and one Ram as a peace offering. A basket of unleavened bread, cakes of flour and oil, unleavened wafers, grain offerings and drink offerings.
- Shaving the head was an act of humility, shame or mourning. Blessed are the pour in heart. The hair was holy and was destroyed in the fire rather than being defiled.
The vow was ended with the sacrifice of the ram with the wave offering and heave offering.
Numbers 6:22-27
The blessing was to invoke divine favor. The Lord provided this to his people to bring the blessing on each other. Just as the curses were powerful, the blessing is equally powerful upon someone's life.
- It is the Lord who blesses. He can bring His divine favor upon your life.
- The Lord can keep us. This is to be a guard upon our lives.
- For the Lord to make His face shine on you He would have to be present in your life, right there in your midst.
- The shining upon our life, broken, flawed, fallen and sinful, would be to experience the graciousness of God.
- To lift up His countenance to us was the idea of a master or king looking with favor upon the servant and acknowledging them in a favorable way.
- He gives us a peace beyond comprehension. It is shalom, not just ceasing of hostility but of fulfillment and contentment.
God's name upon them implied ownership.
© 2023 Doug Ford, Calvary Chapel Sweetwater
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