Matthew Henry Commentary Numbers 6:1-21

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself unto Jehovah, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the grape-vine, from the kernels even to the husk. All the days of his vow of separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in which he separateth himself unto Jehovah, he shall be holy; he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow long. All the days that he separateth himself unto Jehovah he shall not come near to a dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die; because his separation unto God is upon his head. All the days of his separation he is holy unto Jehovah. And if any man die very suddenly beside him, and he defile the head of his separation; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it. And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tent of meeting: and the priest shall offer one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, and make atonement for him, for that he sinned by reason of the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day. And he shall separate unto Jehovah the days of his separation, and shall bring a he-lamb a year old for a trespass-offering; but the former days shall be void, because his separation was defiled. And this is the law of the Nazirite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tent of meeting: and he shall offer his oblation unto Jehovah, one he-lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt-offering, and one ewe-lamb a year old without blemish for a sin-offering, and one ram without blemish for peace-offerings, and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings. And the priest shall present them before Jehovah, and shall offer his sin-offering, and his burnt-offering: and he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto Jehovah, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also the meal-offering thereof, and the drink-offering thereof. 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. 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 upon the hands of the Nazirite, after he hath shaven [the head of] his separation; and the priest shall wave them for a wave-offering before Jehovah; this is holy for the priest, together with the wave-breast and heave-thigh: and after that the Nazirite may drink wine. This is the law of the Nazirite who voweth, [and of] his oblation unto Jehovah for his separation, besides that which he is able to get: according to his vow which he voweth, so he must do after the law of his separation." — Numbers 6:1-21 (ASV)

The word Nazarite signifies separation. Some were appointed by God, before their birth, to be Nazarites all their lives, like Samson and John the Baptist. But, in general, it was a vow of separation from the world and devotion to religious services, for a limited time, and under certain rules, which any person could make if they chose. A Nazarite is spoken of as well known, but the obligations of this vow were established with greater certainty than before.

To prevent the fancies of superstitious people from endlessly multiplying the restraints, God gave them rules. They were not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat grapes. Those who separate themselves to God must not gratify the desires of the body, but keep it in submission. All Christians should be very moderate in the use of wine and strong drink; for if the love of these once gains mastery over a person, they become an easy prey to Satan.

The Nazarites were to eat nothing that came from the vine; this may teach us the utmost care to avoid sin, and all that borders on it, leads to it, or may be a temptation to us. They were not to cut their hair. They were neither to cut the hair of their heads short nor shave their beards; this was the mark of Samson being a Nazarite.

This signified a neglect of the body, and of its ease and adornment. Those who separate themselves to God must keep their consciences pure from dead works and not touch unclean things. All the days of their separation they were to be holy to the Lord. This was the meaning of those outward observances, and without this underlying holiness, they were of no account.

No penalty or sacrifice was appointed for those who willfully broke their vow of being Nazarites; they would have to answer on another day for such profane trifling with the Lord their God. However, relief was provided for those who did not sin willfully. There is nothing in Scripture that bears the least resemblance to the religious orders of the Church of Rome, except these Nazarites. But mark the difference, or rather, how completely opposed they are!

The religious of that church are forbidden to marry, but no such restriction was laid upon the Nazarites. They are commanded to abstain from certain foods, but the Nazarites could eat any food allowed to other Israelites. They are not generally forbidden wine, not even on their fasting days, but the Nazarites were not allowed wine at any time. Their vow is lasting, even to the end of their lives; the Nazarite's vow, however, was only for a limited time, taken at their own will, and in certain cases, only if permitted by husbands or parents.

Such is the thorough difference between rules of human invention and those directed in Scripture. Let us not forget that the Lord Jesus is not only our Surety but also our example. For His sake we must renounce worldly pleasures, abstain from fleshy lusts, be separate from sinners, make an open profession of our faith, moderate our natural affections, be spiritually-minded, and devoted to God's service, and desirous to be an example to all around us (Numbers 6:22–27).