v1-21 The word \u2018Nazirite\u2019 is from the Hebrew word \u2018nazir\u2019. \u2018Nazir\u2019 means to separate someone (or something) from everything else for a special purpose. The Nazirites\u2019 special purpose was to give themselves to God completely for a period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Nazirites were not priests. A man or woman chose to become a Nazirite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A person who chose to be did not have to be a Nazirite for all of their life. They promised to give themselves to God completely for a particular period of time. This period of time varied. When the time as a Nazirite finished, they had to bring sacrifices to the tabernacle (verses 13-20). Then, they were free from the promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was usual for the Israelites to make promises to God. Usually, people promised to give or to do something for God. People became Nazirites for different reasons. Perhaps they had problems that had made them depend on God alone, so they wanted to show this when they gave themselves to him. Sometimes God stated that they were to be Nazirites from birth e.g. Samson, so in that sense he didn\u2019t initially choose to be one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Nazirites made special promises. In verse 2, the Hebrew word for \u2018to make a promise\u2019 means \u2018to do something wonderful or extraordinary\u2019. Nazirites had to obey special rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 God did not allow them to eat grapes or raisins (grapes dried in the sun), or to drink alcohol or vinegar (a type of sour wine). A Nazirite could never become a drunkard!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Nazirites had to grow their hair. Hair that was growing was a symbol of their life that they had given their life to God for a particular period of time. During that time, they did not cut their hair. Their long hair showed that they belonged to God completely. Female Nazirites had long hair anyway. Probably, they did not tie it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Nazirites had to avoid dead bodies. If an ordinary Israelite touched a dead body, he had to wash in a particular way (Numbers ch 19). But if someone died near a Nazirite, the Nazirite had to bring expensive offerings to God\u2019s Tent and to shave off his\/her hair and they had to make promises again. Even if the time as a Nazirite had finished almost, they had to start again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Nazirites were holy, but unlike priests Nazirites could not enter God\u2019s Tent or offer sacrifices. Priests wore special clothes, but Nazirites did not. People gave offerings to the priests. Nazirites did not receive offerings. They had to give offerings to the priests, too. When a person\u2019s time as a Nazirite was over, they gave the four main types of offering (Leviticus chapters 1 to 4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The animal that the person offered had to be perfect, without any spots or blemishes. The person put his\/her hands on the animal which showed that the animal represented him\/her. They wanted to show that they had given themselves to God completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This offering showed the end of a person\u2019s time as a Nazirite. Then the priest burned the whole animal on the altar. The smell pleased God. It was an act of the total sacrifice of the Nazirite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flour, bread and biscuits were types of grain offerings. People burned part of the grain offering on the altar. The grain had to be the best that the person could give. It was a gift to God. Also, it was a gift for the priests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was similar to the burnt offering. However, the priests burned the animal\u2019s fat only. The Israelites thought that this was the best part of the animal. They offered it to God because God had told them to offer it. It was usual for the person who brought it to share the meat with their family. The priest received some of the meat also. Usually, he received the front part and the back leg only. But from a Nazirite, the priest received the shoulder, a loaf and a biscuit too. This was an offering to show that the person was at peace with God. It showed that God accepted that person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The person made this offering so that God would forgive their sins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was the custom to give offerings of wine with the burnt offering and the peace offering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
v22 The LORD spoke to Moses. He said, v23 When Aaron and his sons bless the Israelites, they must say certain words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is said that this prayer is for family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
v24 They must say, \u201cI pray for the LORD to bless you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I pray that the LORD will protect you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
v25 I pray that the LORD will be kind and merciful (not to punish people when they deserve it).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
v26 I pray that the LORD will be good to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I pray that He will give you peace.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Verses 22-27 This beautiful prayer is one of the most popular poems\/prayers in the Bible. What makes it more so is that is a prayer for the family. How we need that today? The family is really under fire. Both Jews and Christians still say it today. The prayer asks for God\u2019s blessing. His blessing is life with him always. His blessing includes all that we need to live this kind of life. It includes all that we need to help other people. It includes strength to do what God wants. And it includes God\u2019s protection from bad things. We must not use God\u2019s gifts to do things that are wrong and selfish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of us deserve God\u2019s punishment for our sins. But God is kind. We can ask him to forgive us. He will answer that prayer always if we are sincere (1 John 1:9). Then we will know his peace. Jesus died to make this possible (John 3:16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Hebrew word for peace is \u2018shalom.\u2019 It is one of the most important words in the Hebrew language. It is a gift from God. We have peace when we obey God. God\u2019s peace helps us not to be anxious, even when we are in danger. We feel content inside our spirits, whatever happens to us. God takes care of us. He provides everything that we need. When we realise this, we have peace. In these days fear seems to be prevalent, we need God\u2019s peace more than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, we shouldn\u2019t really fear, because the Bible says, \u201cFor God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.\u201d (2 Timothy 1:7)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rules for Nazirites \u2013 Numbers 6:1-21 v1-21 The word \u2018Nazirite\u2019 is from the Hebrew word \u2018nazir\u2019. \u2018Nazir\u2019 means to separate someone (or something) from everything else for a special purpose. The Nazirites\u2019 special purpose was to give themselves to God completely for a period of time. \u00b7 Nazirites were not priests. A man or woman chose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-numbers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n