"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." — Romans 12:1
Numbers 6 sets two pictures side by side: a man or woman choosing to be set apart for God, and God telling His priests how to bless everyone else. Lesson 30 of the Unified Bible Study Manual holds them together — the Nazirite vow and the priestly blessing — and the pairing is the point. A life given wholly to God is meant to end in blessing others.
A Nazirite is someone set apart. The word has nothing to do with Nazareth; it names a person who has taken an oath of separation to the Lord (v. 2). The vow carried visible marks. No wine, vinegar, or anything from the grape — not the juice, not the raisins (vv. 3–4). No razor on the head, the uncut hair a plain sign of dedication (v. 5). And no contact with a dead body, not even a parent's or a sibling's, so that the vow stayed unbroken (vv. 6–8). Samson is the best-known Nazirite in Scripture (Judges 13–16), and the study asks what his life teaches us.
The vow was taken freely, and it was taken seriously. Anyone could choose it, man or woman (v. 2), but no one could treat it lightly. If someone died suddenly beside a Nazirite and defiled them, the days already served were lost: the head was shaved, offerings were brought, and the vow began again (vv. 9–12). When the vow was finally complete, a ceremony of rededication and sacrifice marked the end (vv. 13–21). God wants those who dedicate themselves to count the cost first — and to finish what they started.
Then comes the blessing. God tells Moses to give Aaron and his sons these words for Israel: "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: the LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace" (vv. 24–26). He closes with a promise — they will put His name on His people, and He Himself will bless them (v. 27). The order matters. This blessing is not the priests' private favour to hand out. It is God's own desire for His people, delivered through those He has set apart to serve.
The study leaves us with questions to carry past this week. What are the things hindering your dedication and consecration to God? Given the state of the world today, how realistic is it to remain holy and separated? The lesson points back to Noah and his family, who lived set apart in a world that had lost its way (Genesis 6:13–22; 7:1), and asks the harder, more personal one: how can God's Word help you keep your vow to follow Jesus in a corrupt world?
We are not asked to let our hair grow or to stay out of the vineyard. But the call of Christ is no less total. It is a personal decision, not a forced obligation — "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). Paul carries the Nazirite's separation into ordinary life: present your bodies a living sacrifice, and be not conformed to this world (Romans 12:1–2). And Jesus says the Father is looking for worshippers who worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:23–24). Be set apart so that you can be a blessing: bless, and do not curse; keep clear of the world's contamination; and give God your best, without hesitation.