“And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them.”
(Jeremiah 32:38-40 ESV--- passage continued next week)
Vienna NY United Methodist Church
Numbers 6:1-27
Separated
•Nazarite- one who is separated or consecrated
•The Hebrew people were called out among the nations and were the chosen people. Because of this Yahweh held them to a higher standard (as we saw in the Holiness Code and the Book of the Covenant).
•One tribe amongst the congregation of people was to be separated from the rest of the people based on their birth into this tribe. Levites were of course the priestly tribe and every Levite was devoted to service in the Tabernacle.
•Even more specifically separated from amongst the Levites were descendants of Aaron who were called to be priests. The priests devoted their lives to the things inside the sanctuary (the lighting of the lamps, arranging the table of bread etc.) and to the sacrifices that took place on the altar.
•The common thread so far, though, has been birth. You were born into Hebrew birth but being born Hebrew did not make you a Levite. Subsequently being born a Levite did not make you a descendant of Aaron and a priest.
•Nazarite- one who is separated or consecrated
•The Hebrew people were called out among the nations and were the chosen people. Because of this Yahweh held them to a higher standard (as we saw in the Holiness Code and the Book of the Covenant).
•One tribe amongst the congregation of people was to be separated from the rest of the people based on their birth into this tribe. Levites were of course the priestly tribe and every Levite was devoted to service in the Tabernacle.
•Even more specifically separated from amongst the Levites were descendants of Aaron who were called to be priests. The priests devoted their lives to the things inside the sanctuary (the lighting of the lamps, arranging the table of bread etc.) and to the sacrifices that took place on the altar.
•The common thread so far, though, has been birth. You were born into Hebrew birth but being born Hebrew did not make you a Levite. Subsequently being born a Levite did not make you a descendant of Aaron and a priest.
Nazarite
•Numbers 6 outlines a method in which your normal Israelite could take a vow and be called out in service to Yahweh. There were two types of Nazarite vows: those taken for a specific period of time by an individual or those who were dedicated Nazarite at birth.
•Notice the requirements of the Nazarite listed in Numbers 6: No wine or strong drink, no vinegar made from wine, no drinking grape juice or eating grapes, no cutting the hair on the head, and no going near dead bodies. It is thought that the no hair cutting was supposed to indicate to others that a Nazarite vow had been taken and the restriction of contact with the dead was illustrative of a special devotion to Yahweh. •There was one person in the Bible who is specifically said to have been born into a Nazarite vow and that was Samson (of Delilah fame).
•The prophet Samuel and John the Baptist are suggested by some to be Nazarites from birth but no mention of the Nazarite vow is made in connection to them in the Bible whereas it is with Samson. In the New Testament Paul the Apostle takes a vow for an unknown period of time (but it was not for life, and it was not specifically named Nazarite) and this is the last time this type of vow is mentioned in the Bible.
•Notice the requirements of the Nazarite listed in Numbers 6: No wine or strong drink, no vinegar made from wine, no drinking grape juice or eating grapes, no cutting the hair on the head, and no going near dead bodies. It is thought that the no hair cutting was supposed to indicate to others that a Nazarite vow had been taken and the restriction of contact with the dead was illustrative of a special devotion to Yahweh. •There was one person in the Bible who is specifically said to have been born into a Nazarite vow and that was Samson (of Delilah fame).
•The prophet Samuel and John the Baptist are suggested by some to be Nazarites from birth but no mention of the Nazarite vow is made in connection to them in the Bible whereas it is with Samson. In the New Testament Paul the Apostle takes a vow for an unknown period of time (but it was not for life, and it was not specifically named Nazarite) and this is the last time this type of vow is mentioned in the Bible.
Priestly Blessing
•You may have heard the priestly blessing before- it is one of the most commonly quoted scriptures in the Old Testament but it is at the expense of the rest of Numbers 6.
•24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;
•25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
•26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”
•27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
•24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;
•25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
•26 the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”
•27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
Overview of Numbers 7-10
Various Things
•Chapter 7 lists the offerings brought by the various tribe leaders for the priests and Levites to use in the Tabernacle.
•Chapter 8 speaks of the lighting inside the Holy Place and about how the Levites were to remain separate from the rest of the people.
•In Chapter 9, exactly a year after leaving Egypt the people finally get to celebrate a remembrance of the Passover that happened to them in Egypt.
•Chapter 10 talks about the silver trumpets that it was the duty of the priests to blow at certain times. At the beginning of every month, whenever everyone had to meet, when the elders had to be summoned, and before every festival were when the silver trumpets were used.•Finally in the second half of chapter 10 the Israelites depart from Sinai.
•At the end of chapter 10 we have blessing that Moses would say about the Ark of the Covenant:
•And whenever the ark set out, Moses said,
•“Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.”
•And when it rested, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel. (Num 10:35-36)
•Chapter 7 lists the offerings brought by the various tribe leaders for the priests and Levites to use in the Tabernacle.
•Chapter 8 speaks of the lighting inside the Holy Place and about how the Levites were to remain separate from the rest of the people.
•In Chapter 9, exactly a year after leaving Egypt the people finally get to celebrate a remembrance of the Passover that happened to them in Egypt.
•Chapter 10 talks about the silver trumpets that it was the duty of the priests to blow at certain times. At the beginning of every month, whenever everyone had to meet, when the elders had to be summoned, and before every festival were when the silver trumpets were used.•Finally in the second half of chapter 10 the Israelites depart from Sinai.
•At the end of chapter 10 we have blessing that Moses would say about the Ark of the Covenant:
•And whenever the ark set out, Moses said,
•“Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.”
•And when it rested, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands of Israel. (Num 10:35-36)