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Except for vv.22-27, which feature the blessing of Aaron in prayer for the Israelites, ch. 6 focuses on the office of the Nazirite, one of the few positions in the OT open to male and female. The word Nazirite comes from a Hebrew verb which means “to dedicate or separate oneself.”
The law stated that a person who volunteered for such an office vowed that he/she, while in that office, would abstain from: (1) drinking intoxicants, (2) cutting his/her hair, and (3) touching a corpse (vv.3-8). Subsequent verses prescribe the ritual to be followed when the Nazirite period is terminated unexpectedly (vv.9-12) or as originally planned (vv.13-21). The major difference between the two rituals was that in the former the Nazirite presented a guilt offering (v.12), while in the second he presented a fellowship/peace offering (vv.14, 17, 18), thus indicating the serious nature of a premature end to the vow one made to God.
Clearly, ch. 6 emphasizes what the Nazirite must not do and the ritual for his desanctification from the holy office. Nothing is really said about what he was to do, how he was to spend his days while under the vow, or the nature of his ministry. Once again Numbers shows its concern for obedience and the perpetuation of holiness in God’s camp. Anything that threatens to tear this fabric must be dealt with.
Aaron’s prayer (vv.22-27) is perhaps unexpected at this point—after census lists (chs. 1-4), regulations for camp cleansing (ch. 5), and the Nazirite vow (6:1-21). Does its placement here suggest that God desires to give Israel not only directives and laws, but blessing and his presence as well? Might it suggest that where there is obedient and holy living (1:1-6:21), the result is the presence of a blessing God (vv.22-27)?