He must rededicate his time of separation to the LORD and bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. But the preceding days shall not be counted, because his separation was defiled. He must rededicate his time of separation to the LORDThis phrase refers to the Nazirite vow, a special commitment to God involving abstinence from wine, not cutting hair, and avoiding contact with the dead ( Numbers 6:1-21). If the vow was broken, the individual had to start over. This rededication emphasizes the seriousness of the vow and the need for purity in one's commitment to God. It reflects the broader biblical theme of holiness and separation unto the Lord, seen in passages like Leviticus 20:26, where God calls His people to be holy as He is holy. and bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering.
The guilt offering, or "asham," was required to atone for the breach of the vow. The use of a year-old male lamb signifies the costliness and value of atonement. This offering underscores the gravity of sin and the need for reconciliation with God. The concept of a guilt offering is further explored in Leviticus 5:14-19, where it is used to address unintentional sins. This offering can be seen as a type of Christ, who is the ultimate Lamb of God, taking away the sin of the world (John 1:29). But the preceding days shall not be counted,
This indicates that any previous time spent in the vow is nullified if the vow is broken. It highlights the importance of perseverance and faithfulness in one's spiritual commitments. This principle is echoed in the New Testament, where perseverance in faith is emphasized (Hebrews 10:36). because his separation was defiled.
Defilement in the context of the Nazirite vow often involved contact with a dead body, which rendered the individual ceremonially unclean. This reflects the broader biblical theme of purity and the need to avoid defilement, as seen in Leviticus 11-15. The concept of defilement and the need for cleansing is also a recurring theme in the New Testament, where Jesus cleanses and purifies believers (1 John 1:7-9). Persons / Places / Events 1. NaziriteAn individual who takes a special vow of separation to the LORD, characterized by abstaining from wine, not cutting hair, and avoiding contact with the dead. 2. The LORDThe covenant God of Israel, to whom the Nazirite vow is dedicated. 3. Guilt OfferingA sacrificial offering made to atone for unintentional sins or defilement, symbolizing the restoration of the relationship with God. 4. DefilementThe state of being ceremonially unclean, which in this context refers to the Nazirite inadvertently coming into contact with a dead body. 5. Year-old Male LambThe specific animal required for the guilt offering, symbolizing innocence and purity. Teaching Points The Seriousness of VowsThe Nazirite vow is a serious commitment to God, requiring careful adherence and a willingness to start over if defiled. This teaches us the importance of integrity and dedication in our commitments to God. The Need for AtonementThe requirement of a guilt offering highlights the need for atonement and reconciliation with God when we fall short. It points to the ultimate atonement provided by Jesus Christ. Holiness and SeparationThe Nazirite vow symbolizes a life set apart for God. As Christians, we are called to live holy lives, distinct from the world, dedicated to God's purposes. Restoration and RenewalThe opportunity to rededicate oneself after defilement shows God's grace and the possibility of renewal. No matter our failures, God offers a path to restoration. The Cost of DiscipleshipThe Nazirite vow involved personal sacrifice and discipline. Similarly, following Christ requires us to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. Bible Study Questions 1. What does the requirement to start the Nazirite vow over after defilement teach us about the nature of our commitments to God? 2. How does the concept of a guilt offering in Numbers 6:12 relate to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ as described in the New Testament? 3. In what ways can we apply the principles of the Nazirite vow to our own lives as Christians today? 4. How does the account of Samson illustrate both the challenges and the significance of maintaining a vow of separation to God? 5. What practical steps can we take to ensure that our lives are set apart for God, reflecting the holiness and dedication symbolized by the Nazirite vow? Connections to Other Scriptures Leviticus 5Discusses the guilt offering and its role in atonement for unintentional sins, providing a broader understanding of the sacrificial system. Judges 13-16The account of Samson, a Nazirite from birth, whose life illustrates the challenges and significance of the Nazirite vow. Acts 21Paul participates in a Nazirite vow, showing the continuity and adaptation of this practice in the early church. Hebrews 9Explains the ultimate fulfillment of the sacrificial system in Christ, who is the perfect offering for sin. People Aaron, Israelites, Moses, NaziriteshipPlaces SinaiTopics Bring, Consecrate, Consecration, Count, Dedicate, Defiled, During, Earlier, Error, Fallen, Forfeited, Former, Guilt, Guilt-offering, He-lamb, Lamb, Loss, Lost, Male, Nazirite, Naziriteship, Offering, Period, Previous, Separate, Separated, Separation, Trespass, Trespass-offering, Unclean, Void, Yearling, Year-oldDictionary of Bible Themes Numbers 6:12 7348 defilement
7370 guilt offering Numbers 6:1-20 5155 hair Numbers 6:1-21 4544 wine
5741 vows Numbers 6:5-12 7340 clean and unclean 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 6:12 NIVNumbers 6:12 NLTNumbers 6:12 ESVNumbers 6:12 NASBNumbers 6:12 KJV
Numbers 6:12 Commentaries
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