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Dave Burnette's Commentary

Numbers Chapter 6

Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Moses
Date Penned: (1450-1410 BC)
Overview: A Record of Israel's Unbelief (c 1-27)
Theme: Preparing for the Journey (c 1-10)
Message: Rules For the Nazarite Vow (v 1-27)

Numbers 6 Commentary

(6:1-4) The Nazarite Vow - In Moses' day, a personal vow was as binding as a written contract. It was one thing to say you would do something, but it was considered much more serious when you made a solemn vow to do it. God instituted the Nazarite vow for people who wanted to devote some time exclusively to serving him. This vow could be taken for as little as 30 days or as long as a lifetime. It was voluntary;, with one exception--parents could take the vow for their young children, making them Nazarites for life. The vow included three distinct restrictions: (1) Nazarites were to abstain from wine and other fermented drinks; (2) their hair could not be cut, and the men's beards could not be shaved; and (3) they were prohibited from touching a dead body. The purpose of the Nazarite vow was to raise up a group of leaders devoted completely to God. Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist were probably Nazarites for life.

(6:24-26) Asking for God's Favor - A blessing was one way of asking for God's divine favor to rest upon others. The ancient blessing in these verses helps us understand what a blessing was supposed to do. Its five parts conveyed hope that God would (1) bless and keep (favor and protect) his people, (2) make his face shine on them (be pleased with them), (3) be gracious (merciful and compassionate) to them, (4) turn his face toward them (give them his approval), and (5) give them peace. When you ask God to bless others or yourself, in a sense you are asking him to do these five things. The blessing you offer will not only help the person who receives it. It will also encourage others and provide a model of caring to those who are watching.


Dave Burnette's Life Application

The Vow of a Nazarite

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue the book of Numbers with Chapter 6 and in today's text we see the people of Israel moving toward the promise land gaining instruction from the Lord. Unfortunately they made many wrong choices and lacked faith but we can learn from their mistakes and apply the truth,as to not make the same poor choices. Today we see the vow of the Nazarite explained as a promise to God to separate from designated sinful things as showing of Love toward God. In making application we see that today the Lord has given us a "call of Separation" as it relates to our relationship to the world. We are to be "in the World" but not "of the world" a separate people devoted to reach the World with the Gospel. How about you? Do you see the call of the Lord to be separate but to reach the lost? Let us learn from today's text and the Nazarite call to understand that God wants us to be separate people reaching the world with the Gospel.

 

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Numbers 6

Numbers 6

 1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

 2Speak 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 themselves unto the LORD:

 3He 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.

 4All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.

 5All 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.

 6All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.

 7He 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.

 8All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.

 9And if any man die 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 it.

 10And 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:

 11And 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.

 12And 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.

 13And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:

 14And 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,

 15And 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.

 16And the priest shall bring them before the LORD, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering:

 17And 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.

 18And 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.

 19And 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:

 20And 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.

 21This 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.

 22And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

 23Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,

 24The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:

 25The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

 26The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

 27And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.

 

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