Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head, take the hair, and put it on the fire under the peace offering. Then the NaziriteThe term "Nazirite" comes from the Hebrew word "nazir," meaning "consecrated" or "separated." This vow was a special commitment to God, signifying a period of dedication and holiness. The Nazirite vow is a profound expression of devotion, where an individual sets themselves apart for God's purposes, often involving abstaining from wine, avoiding contact with the dead, and not cutting their hair. This vow reflects a deep yearning for spiritual purity and closeness to God, serving as a powerful reminder of the call to holiness in the life of a believer. shall shave the head of his consecration
The act of shaving the head signifies the conclusion of the Nazirite vow. The hair, which had grown during the period of consecration, symbolizes the time and commitment dedicated to God. In ancient cultures, hair often represented strength and vitality, and by shaving it, the Nazirite demonstrates a willingness to surrender personal glory and strength back to God. This act is a poignant reminder of the believer's call to humility and the relinquishing of personal pride in the service of the Lord. at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting
The Tent of Meeting, or Tabernacle, was the sacred place where God met with His people. Performing the ritual at the entrance signifies the public nature of the vow and its fulfillment. It underscores the importance of community and accountability in spiritual commitments. The Tent of Meeting represents God's presence among His people, and this act of shaving the head at its entrance highlights the Nazirite's dedication to living a life centered around God's presence and guidance. put the hair on the fire under the peace offering sacrifice
The peace offering, or "shelamim" in Hebrew, was a sacrifice of thanksgiving and fellowship with God. By placing the hair on the fire under this offering, the Nazirite integrates their personal vow with communal worship, symbolizing the unity of personal devotion and corporate faith. The burning of the hair signifies the complete offering of oneself to God, a total surrender and transformation through the refining fire of His presence. This act serves as a powerful metaphor for the believer's journey of faith, where personal sacrifices are made in the context of worship and community, leading to a deeper peace and fellowship with God. Persons / Places / Events 1. NaziriteAn individual who has taken a special vow of consecration to the Lord, characterized by abstaining from wine, not cutting their hair, and avoiding contact with the dead. 2. Tent of MeetingThe sacred place where God met with Moses and the Israelites, serving as a central place of worship and sacrifice. 3. Consecrated HeadRefers to the hair of the Nazirite, which symbolizes their vow and dedication to God. 4. Peace OfferingA type of sacrifice in the Old Testament that symbolized fellowship and peace with God, often involving a communal meal. 5. Shaving of the HeadA ritual act signifying the completion of the Nazirite vow, marking the end of a period of special dedication to God. Teaching Points Consecration and CommitmentThe Nazirite vow represents a deep commitment to God, reminding us of the importance of dedicating aspects of our lives to Him. Symbolism of HairThe hair of the Nazirite symbolizes their vow and dedication. In our lives, we should consider what symbolizes our commitment to God. Completion of VowsThe act of shaving the head signifies the completion of a vow. We should be faithful in fulfilling our commitments to God and others. Peace with GodThe peace offering signifies restored fellowship with God. We should seek to maintain peace and fellowship with God through our actions and commitments. Public Declaration of FaithThe shaving of the head at the Tent of Meeting was a public act. Our faith should also be visible and evident to others. Bible Study Questions 1. What does the Nazirite vow teach us about the nature of commitment and consecration to God in our own lives? 2. How can we identify and maintain symbols of our dedication to God in our daily routines? 3. In what ways can we ensure that we are fulfilling our commitments to God and others, similar to the completion of the Nazirite vow? 4. How does the concept of a peace offering in the Old Testament relate to our understanding of peace and fellowship with God today? 5. What are some practical ways we can make our faith visible to others, akin to the public act of shaving the Nazirite's head at the Tent of Meeting? Connections to Other Scriptures Judges 13-16The account of Samson, a Nazirite from birth, whose strength was tied to his uncut hair, illustrating the significance of the Nazirite vow. Acts 18:18Paul, after taking a vow, cuts his hair, showing the continuation of vow practices in the New Testament. Leviticus 7:11-21Details the peace offering, providing context for its role in the Nazirite vow completion. People Aaron, Israelites, Moses, NaziriteshipPlaces SinaiTopics Burning, Congregation, Consecrated, Consecration, Cut, Dedicated, Door, Doorway, Entrance, Fellowship, Fire, Hair, Meeting, Nazarite, Nazirite, Oath, Offering, Offerings, Opening, Peace, Peace-offering, Peace-offerings, Sacrifice, Separation, Shave, Shaved, Sign, Tabernacle, TentDictionary of Bible Themes Numbers 6:18 5128 baldness
5180 shaving Numbers 6:1-20 5155 hair Numbers 6:1-21 4544 wine
5741 vows Numbers 6:13-20 4530 unleavened bread Numbers 6:17-18 7364 fellowship offering Numbers 6:17-20 4418 bread Library Separation to God.
NUMB. VI. 1-21. THE INSTITUTION OF THE ORDER OF NAZARITES. The first twenty-one verses of Numb. vi. give us an account of the institution and ordinances of the order of Nazarites. And let us note at the outset that this institution, like every other good and perfect gift, came from above; that GOD Himself gave this privilege--unasked--to His people; thereby showing His desire that "whosoever will" of His people may be brought into closest relationship to Himself. It was very gracious of GOD to permit …
James Hudson Taylor—Separation and ServiceTenth Day. Holiness and Separation.
I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people. And ye shall be holy unto me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from other people that ye should be Mine.'--Lev. xx. 24, 26. 'Until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy.... All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord.'--Num. vi. 5, 8. 'Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered without the …
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ Of the Duties which we are to Perform after Receiving the Holy Communion, Called Action or Practice.
The duty which we are to perform after the receiving of the Lord's Supper is called action or practice, without which all the rest will minister to us no comfort. The action consists of two sorts of duties:---First, Such as we are to perform in the church, or else after we are gone home. Those that we are to perform in the church are either several from our own souls, or else jointly with the congregation. The several duties which thou must perform from thine own soul are three:--First, Thou must …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety These Things, My Brother Aurelius, Most Dear unto Me...
38. These things, my brother Aurelius, most dear unto me, and in the bowels of Christ to be venerated, so far as He hath bestowed on me the ability Who through thee commanded me to do it, touching work of Monks, I have not delayed to write; making this my chief care, lest good brethren obeying apostolic precepts, should by lazy and disobedient be called even prevaricators from the Gospel: that they which work not, may at the least account them which do work to be better than themselves without doubt. …
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks. The Worship of the Synagogue
One of the most difficult questions in Jewish history is that connected with the existence of a synagogue within the Temple. That such a "synagogue" existed, and that its meeting-place was in "the hall of hewn stones," at the south-eastern angle of the court of the priest, cannot be called in question, in face of the clear testimony of contemporary witnesses. Considering that "the hall of hew stones" was also the meeting-place for the great Sanhedrim, and that not only legal decisions, but lectures …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life Peace
Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. I Pet 1:1. Having spoken of the first fruit of sanctification, assurance, I proceed to the second, viz., Peace, Peace be multiplied:' What are the several species or kinds of Peace? Peace, in Scripture, is compared to a river which parts itself into two silver streams. Isa 66:12. I. There is an external peace, and that is, (1.) (Economical, or peace in a family. (2.) Political, or peace in the state. Peace is the nurse of plenty. He maketh peace in thy borders, …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Gen. xxxi. 11
Of no less importance and significance is the passage Gen. xxxi. 11 seq. According to ver. 11, the Angel of God, [Hebrew: mlaK halhiM] appears toJacob in a dream. In ver. 13, the same person calls himself the God of Bethel, with reference to the event recorded in chap. xxviii. 11-22. It cannot be supposed that in chap xxviii. the mediation of a common angel took place, who, however, had not been expressly mentioned; for Jehovah is there contrasted with the angels. In ver. 12, we read: "And behold …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Covenanting a Privilege of Believers.
Whatever attainment is made by any as distinguished from the wicked, or whatever gracious benefit is enjoyed, is a spiritual privilege. Adoption into the family of God is of this character. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power (margin, or, the right; or, privilege) to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."[617] And every co-ordinate benefit is essentially so likewise. The evidence besides, that Covenanting …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting Prayer
But I give myself unto prayer.' Psa 109: 4. I shall not here expatiate upon prayer, as it will be considered more fully in the Lord's prayer. It is one thing to pray, and another thing to be given to prayer: he who prays frequently, is said to be given to prayer; as he who often distributes alms, is said to be given to charity. Prayer is a glorious ordinance, it is the soul's trading with heaven. God comes down to us by his Spirit, and we go up to him by prayer. What is prayer? It is an offering …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Annunciation to Zacharias of the Birth of John the Baptist.
(at Jerusalem. Probably b.c. 6.) ^C Luke I. 5-25. ^c 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judæa [a Jewish proselyte, an Idumæan or Edomite by birth, founder of the Herodian family, king of Judæa from b.c. 40 to a.d. 4, made such by the Roman Senate on the recommendation of Mark Antony and Octavius Cæsar], a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course [David divided the priests into twenty-four bodies or courses, each course serving in rotation one week in the temple …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Things to be Meditated on as Thou Goest to the Church.
1. That thou art going to the court of the Lord, and to speak with the great God by prayer; and to hear his majesty speak unto thee by his word; and to receive his blessing on thy soul, and thy honest labour, in the six days past. 2. Say with thyself by the way--"As the hart brayeth for the rivers of water, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, even for the living God: When shall I come and appear before the presence of God? For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Numbers
Like the last part of Exodus, and the whole of Leviticus, the first part of Numbers, i.-x. 28--so called,[1] rather inappropriately, from the census in i., iii., (iv.), xxvi.--is unmistakably priestly in its interests and language. Beginning with a census of the men of war (i.) and the order of the camp (ii.), it devotes specific attention to the Levites, their numbers and duties (iii., iv.). Then follow laws for the exclusion of the unclean, v. 1-4, for determining the manner and amount of restitution …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Numbers 6:18 NIVNumbers 6:18 NLTNumbers 6:18 ESVNumbers 6:18 NASBNumbers 6:18 KJV
Numbers 6:18 Commentaries
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