Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Numbers 6:13-21
His Actions On The Completion of His Vow (Numbers 6:13).
“ And this is the law of the Nazirite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled. He shall be brought to the door of the tent of meeting, and he shall offer his oblation to Yahweh, one he-lamb a year old without blemish for a whole burnt offering, and one ewe-lamb a year old without blemish for a purification for sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace-offerings, and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of milled grain mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their grain offering, and their drink-offerings.”
From this point on there is a complete reversal of the situation, brought about by the fulfilment of the days of his separation, the arrival of the last day in his period of total and complete dedication, after which he would return to normal life, yet never to be the same again.
Once the period of his separation was successfully completed the Nazirite would be brought to the door of the Tent of Meeting (i.e. be brought into the courtyard where sacrifices were made) and there he was to offer a whole burnt offering, an act of dedication and atonement which would be a pleasing odour to God; a purification for sin offering, which would remove his sin and again make atonement for him; a ram ‘for peace or wellbeing offerings' which would put him at peace with Yahweh and again make atonement and be a pleasing odour to God; and a grain offering which would also be a pleasing odour to God, dedicating his life and activity to God; and drink offerings which regularly accompanied a whole burnt offering (Numbers 15). The cakes and wafers were regularly offered with peace/wellbeing offerings (Leviticus 7:12). For all the major offerings see our commentary on Leviticus 1-4.
Comparison with Leviticus 8 will bring out how close all this was to the offerings for the consecration of the priests, slightly reduced because only one person was involved. This might suggest that the Nazirite was being returned to being one of the people and yet was still to be seen as someone specially consecrated. He/she could no longer be the same again. Note also the requirement for the purification for sin offering. Like all men, what he was, and what he had done, was not perfect before God. Sin always reveals its ugly presence in even the best of men and interferes in the most holy of activities.
“ And the priest shall present them before Yahweh, and shall offer his purification for sin offering, and his whole burnt offering. And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace-offerings to Yahweh, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer also its grain offering, and its drink-offering.”
So all the whole range of offerings, with all their significance, were to be duly offered by the priest in accordance with the requirements of Leviticus 1-4. Here instead of death negating his vow (as in Numbers 6:6), it was sealing it. The result would be purification, and forgiveness, renewed dedication, the offering of tribute and thanksgiving, and renewed reconciliation and peace with God. While his vow was over his dedication to Yahweh was to continue permanently.
“ And the Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tent of meeting, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace-offerings.”
The reversal continues. In contrast with allowing his hair to grow long the Nazirite will shave it. The Nazirite will then shave ‘the head of his separation' there in the courtyard ‘at the door of the Tent of Meeting', as close to Yahweh's physical presence as he was permitted, and take his hair and place it on the fire under the peace offerings on the altar, in order that it might be burned up. For the one and only time an ‘ordinary' Israelite could approach the altar. This had two purposes. Firstly in that it was itself an offering to God of the Nazirite's period of separation, now ended, and secondly in order to ensure that the hair could never be taken and used for superstitious practises. The hair of such holy men would have been highly prized, and could have been greatly misused.
“ And the priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaved the head of his separation,”
One unleavened cake and one unleavened wafer would have been retained from what was in the basket (the remainder having been offered). Once the Nazirite had shaved off the indication of his separation, the priest was to take these, along with the boiled shoulder of the ram, and place them on the Nazirite's hands. This indicated that he was identifying the Nazirite with them.
“ And the priest shall wave them for a wave-offering before Yahweh. This is holy for the priest, together with the wave-breast and heave-thigh, and after that the Nazirite may drink wine.”
The priest would then ‘wave' or present them before Yahweh, an indication that they were an offering to Him, after which he would retain them for his own use as the servant of Yahweh. This was in addition to the wave-breast and the heave-thigh which normally went to the priests. The ram's shoulder was an addition to the priest's portion in this case. It may well be seen as confirming that the Nazirite was still leaving something of himself in the hands of Yahweh. No one who had been a Nazirite could go back totally to ‘normal' life. But after that, in contrast with ceasing from wine he could once again drink wine. He would then partake of the remainder of the peace/wellbeing offering, and probably drink again of the wine from which he had previously refrained.
“ This is the law of the Nazirite who vows, and of his oblation to Yahweh for his separation, besides that which he is able to get. According to his vow which he vows, so he must do after the law of his separation.”
As previously (see Numbers 5:29) the instruction is now summarised. In it has been described the Nazirite's oblation to Yahweh for his separation as evidenced in the offerings described. ‘Besides that which he is able to get' may suggest that this was the minimum and that a Nazirite usually offered much more. But what was most important was that he had performed his vow once he had entered under the ‘law of separation'.
The dedication of men and women as Nazirites was a picture of what it would mean for Israel to be a ‘kingdom of priests' (Exodus 19:6). The intention was probably that all should at one stage or another voluntarily take such vows. While they would not perform priestly functions they would for the period of their vows become as holy as priests. It was a foretaste of what being in the kingdom of priests meant, and as we have suggested, once having experienced such a dedication the person would be expected to still continue to be bound by the principles of the higher life, even though the outward trappings had gone. They could not fully return to their old ways. It was a call to live such a higher life.
It is important to us because it reminds us that God seeks from us all a higher dedication, and especially times when we lay all else aside so as to seek Him (compare 1 Corinthians 7:5; Romans 12:1), a dedication that is then to continue on in our daily lives. Once we have wholly committed ourselves to Him we can never return to what we were. We are to put off the old man, and put on the new (Ephesians 4:22).