NUMBERS LESSON 9
We will begin this lesson in Numbers 6:1 "And the LORD spake unto
Moses, saying,"
This is a new message. We are reminded, again, that this message
is from the LORD spoken to Moses.
Numbers 6:2 "Speak 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:"
There is a great deal of difference in being a Nazarine and being
a Nazarite. The Nazarene means he, or she, is a native of Nazareth.
The Nazarite, or better still, Nazir, is a commitment to God for a
particular time, for a particular purpose. When a person had taken a
Nazarite vow, he was to totally separate himself from the world for
that period of time. It is a remarkable thing that the woman, as well
as the man, could take a Nazarite vow. This was such a spiritual vow
to God, that it was out of the everyday realm of the law. In a sense,
that is what Samson's mother did before his birth. Judges 13:3 "And
the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her,
Behold now, thou [art] barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt
conceive, and bear a son." Judges 13:4 "Now therefore beware, I pray
thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean
[thing]:" Judges 13:5 "For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son;
and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite
unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of
the hand of the Philistines."
Numbers 6:3 "He 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."
The strong drink was any intoxicating drink. The vinegar, spoken
of here, was alcoholic in nature. The liquor of grapes was made by
soaking grape-hulls. All of these things were forbidden. Perhaps, this
was because a person loses control of his own will under the influence
of alcohol. I am not sure what the eating of moist grapes, or dried
pertains to, unless it is the sugar in them. Fresh grapes can ferment
in your stomach and cause light-headedness.
Numbers 6:4 "All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing
that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk."
The "vine" is symbolic of an attachment to worldly things. The
person, who is moved by the Spirit to make this special vow to God,
must separate himself for the length of the time of the vow, from all
things connected to worldliness. This could be specifically speaking
of grape vines, but it could, also, be speaking of all things that
grow on the vine.
Numbers 6:5 "All 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."
This is not saying, that a man should wear long hair. It is
saying, if a man, or a woman, has taken a Nazarite vow, they must not
cut their hair during the period of the vow. This is the very reason
that some people wear long hair now, but that is not correct. The long
hair is to be worn with extreme holiness of character. Notice, the
statement "he shall be holy." Jesus has been depicted as wearing long
hair, because many people confuse the words Nazarite and Nazarene.
Jesus was a Nazarene, not a Nazarite.
Numbers 6:6 "All the days that he separateth [himself] unto the
LORD he shall come at no dead body."
The consecration of the Lord is upon him, during the Nazarite
vow, and he should not come near a dead body in his consecration.
Luke 9:59 And he said unto another, Follow me. "But he said, Lord,
suffer me first to go and bury my father." Luke 9:60 "Jesus said unto
him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom
of God."
Numbers 6:7 "He 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."
This very same warning was given to the priest, when the
anointing oil of God was upon them. During this time of consecration,
he must not touch anything unclean, or become unclean by touching a
dead body, even if it is one of his parents. For a person to be
totally devoted to God, He, or she, must be totally separated from
worldly things. His, or her, feelings must glorify God and not man.
Numbers 6:8 "All the days of his separation he [is] holy unto the
LORD."
This time of separation is a time of perfect fellowship with God.
He lives holy in the sight of God during this time. His mind, soul,
and spirit are stayed upon God during this time.
Numbers 6:9 "And 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."
This is an accidental close contact with a dead body. If this
happens, then he must shave his head, and start all over again with
the vow. "Seven" has to do with spiritually complete. The seventh day
is, possibly, when the consecration would have been over.
Numbers 6:10 "And 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:"
This offering was used for uncleanness of various kinds.
Numbers 6:11 "And 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."
This is to cleanse him, so he can begin the Nazarite vow again.
It makes no difference that it was accidental, it is still sin. His
becoming unclean must be treated as if it were on purpose, and not an
accident. The offerings make an atonement for him.
Numbers 6:12 "And 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."
A trespass offering is like paying for a guilt. Since he broke
the vow, he is guilty of sin. The lamb is to reinstate him. The days
he had already performed the Nazarite vow, cannot be used as credit
for the keeping of the vow. He must begin all over again at the
beginning. We mentioned before, that this is a time of total
separation from the world.
Numbers 6:13 "And 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:"
This vow had been taken for a certain period of time. When that
time is fulfilled, the person taking the vow comes to the temple, or
tabernacle, and comes before the priest.
Numbers 6:14 "And 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,"
This offering covers four types of offerings. The sin offering,
the burnt offering, the peace offering, and the meat offering. All of
them, in some way or other, symbolize the one great sacrifice that
Jesus made for all of us.
Numbers 6:15 "And 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."
The "meat offering" was the makings for bread. {Jesus is the
Bread of Life}. The Christian should give thanks for the great
sacrifice Jesus made for all of us, when He fulfilled every one of
these sacrifices. He fulfilled the law for you and me. He is our law.
Numbers 6:16 "And the priest shall bring [them] before the LORD,
and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering:"
Any offering omitted during this time of separation, is covered
in all of these offerings here.
Numbers 6:17 "And 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."
Jesus is the unleavened {without sin} Bread. He is our peace. His
flesh is our meat, indeed, and His blood our drink. John 6:53 "Then
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat
the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in
you."
Numbers 6:18 "And 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."
The hair of the Nazarite was holy unto the Lord, as long as the
vow was in effect. The hair that had been dedicated to God, would be
burned in dedication to God. This would be the last of the commitment.
Numbers 6:19 "And 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:"
This is showing that God has accepted his Nazarite vow. The
shoulder of the ram and the unleavened cake were, generally, eaten of
the priest. We see the dedication of the hands of the Nazarite here.
This speaks of the Lord accepting his work as holy. The hands speak of
work.
Numbers 6:20 "And 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."
They are waved before the Lord, offering them first to God. They
may eat and drink wine now. The Nazarite vow is completed. Some
people, like John the Baptist, were Nazarites all of their lives. John
was, from his mother's womb. The person, in the lesson today, was,
just for a short period of time.
Numbers 6:21 "This [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."
This is explaining, that all we have read has to do with the
taking of the Nazarite vow, and the seriousness of keeping it. We,
too, must understand that promises and vows we make to God are
serious. We must not take them too casually. God expects us to do what
we promise to do, without exception.
Numbers 6:22 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,"
Again, we see a separtion from the previous verses.
Numbers 6:23 "Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this
wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,"
Aaron and his sons represented God to the people. It is
interesting to notice, that Aaron and his sons were given the
authority from God to speak a blessing upon the people. It is
important to note, here, that Aaron symbolizes the great High Priest,
Jesus Christ, who has all power and authority to bless. He, also, in a
way, is speaking of the minister in the church who is subordinate to
Jesus. The minister is given the authority to bless the people, in the
name of Jesus. The priests, Aaron's sons, are symbolic of all
believers in Christ. Then, this is saying, that all believers can
speak a blessing from God on the people of the world, if they do it in
the name of Jesus. We are His hands on this earth. We are the
mouthpiece that He speaks through on the earth.
Numbers 6:24 "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:"
The priests, or high priest, speak the blessing, but the blessing
is from the LORD. This magnifies the great love that God has for each
of us.
Numbers 6:25 "The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be
gracious unto thee:"
By grace are you saved, and not of yourself. God's graciousness
toward us is the saving factor. He looks upon us with love and
compassion, and saves even the unlovely. John 1:17 "For the law was
given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
Numbers 6:26 "The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and
give thee peace."
Jesus is our peace. He is King of Peace. Romans 5:1 "Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ:" Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth
all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus."
Numbers 6:27 "And they shall put my name upon the children of
Israel; and I will bless them."
To put the covenant name of God upon the people, was like a seal
of approval. God claimed them for His own. The Christian bears the
name of Christ. Hebrews 8:10 "For this [is] the covenant that I will
make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will
put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I
will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:"
Numbers 9 Questions
1. Who could take a Nazarite vow?
2. Tell the difference between a Nazarite and a Nazarene.
3. What is a better word for Nazarite?
4. Why could the woman, as well as the man, take this vow?
5. Quote Judges chapter 13 verses 3, 4, and 5.
6. He shall separate himself from wine and ________ _______.
7. What, that was non-alcoholic was he to separate himself from?
8. A person loses control of his own ________ under the influence of
alcohol.
9. What was forbidden for him to eat, during his entire time of
separation?
10. What is the "vine" symbolic of?
11. All the days of his separation there shall no ________ come upon
his head.
12. Is this saying a man should wear long hair? Explain.
13. Why has Jesus been depicted as wearing long hair?
14. Why should a Nazarite not come near a dead body?
15. Is it different, if the body is his father, or mother?
16. Quote Luke chapter 9 verses 59 and 60.
17. All the days of his separation he is _______ unto the LORD.
18. What happens, if someone dies suddenly by him?
19. What does "seven" mean?
20. What shall he bring to the priest on the 8th day?
21. The offerings, in verse 11, make an ___________ for him.
22. Where does his next vow start?
23. When he has fulfilled his vow, what does he do?
24. In verse 14, how many sacrifices are covered?
25. The "meat offerings" were the makings for _______
26. Why was this so?
27. Jesus is our unleavened Bread. He is, also, our ________.
28. What does he do with his hair?
29. What does the unleavened bread in his hand show?
30. What lesson can the Christian get out of this message of the vow?
31. What is the blessing Aaron is to speak on the people?
32. By _______ ye are saved.
33. Quote Hebrews chapter 8 verse 10.
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