Context No. 2487 of 4322 · Numbers

Numbers 6:13-20: in context

13“‘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, 14and he shall offer his offering to the LORD: one male lamb a year old without defect for a burnt offering, one ewe lamb a year old without defect for a sin offering, one ram without defect for peace offerings, 15a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil with their meal offering and their drink offerings. 16The priest shall present them before the LORD, and shall offer his sin offering and his burnt offering. 17He shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer also its meal offering and its drink offering. 18The Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the Tent of Meeting, take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings. 19The priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, 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; 20and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. They are holy for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is offered. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.

The law of the Nazirite describes not the vow's beginning but its end. When the days of separation are complete, the Nazirite comes to the Tent with offerings, shaves off the hair that had been the visible sign of the vow, and burns it on the altar under the peace offering. Then, the text says, the Nazirite may drink wine again. The set-apart season is brought to a deliberate, worshipful close.

There is wisdom in how the vow ends. The season of special dedication was real and had a purpose, and it also had a completion; it was not meant to last forever, and returning to ordinary life was not a failure but the design. What matters is that the Nazirite finished it faithfully and brought it to a proper close before God, offering the very sign of his consecration rather than letting the vow simply lapse. Some seasons of intensity are for a time. The honorable thing is to complete them well and lay them down before the Lord, not to abandon them halfway or cling to them past their purpose.

Is there a commitment or season of dedication I should bring to a faithful, deliberate close before God, rather than letting it quietly trail off?

Sources

Numbers 6:13: when the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall be brought to the door of the Tent of Meeting.
Numbers 6:18: The Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation... and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings.
Numbers 6:20: After that the Nazirite may drink wine.