Numbers Chapter 5
As I read through the laws and the punishments commanded for sin in the Old Testament, I become ever more grateful for what Jesus did when He took my punishment for my sin upon the cross in my stead. It also makes me more aware of what a terrible sinner I am and am so humbled and grateful that God would love me that much that He would die for a terrible sinner like me. Thank you, Jesus.
There are three categories of sin that are addressed in this chapter. The first category was meant to be a reminder of the effects of sin. And as such sin separates us from a Holy God. It was not necessarily that the person who had leprosy had committed sin, but rather they carried in their body the curse of sin and could not be where God dwelt which was in the center of the camp. They were put outside the camp as a picture that sin separates us from the holiness of God. Once the uncleanness of sin was resolved they were welcomed back into the fellowship of the camp and more importantly they were welcomed to come near the dwelling place of God.
The other two categories of sin were instructions on how they were to deal with sin that has been committed against another person or presumed to have been committed. The second category included sins such as making an oath to another person but not keeping it. And the third category was the sin of adultery when a husband became jealous of his wife, suspecting that she had been unfaithful to him.
Let's Reflect
1. A person was put outside the camp means they were not left to die but rather they just were not to reside with the general population. They were considered unclean. Three broad examples are given of a person who was considered unclean: a leprous man (this included all types of skin diseases), a person who has a discharge (referring to an ongoing health issue), and a person who has touched a dead body (although this did not include touching the dead body of a close relative). Was this separation from camp put on men only?
2. The second category of sin is a sin committed by breaking faith. It was most likely a sin of an oath made to another person but not kept. According to verse 6 when a man or a woman commits this sin, they are guilty of breaking faith with whom?
3. The person who committed the sin was to confess his or her sin and make restitution to the person wronged. But if that person wronged was no longer alive nor was there any relative alive, who was the confession and restitution given to?
4. The third category was how to deal with a jealous husband who suspects his wife has been unfaithful and how to deal with the suspected wife. (A note here, although the Bible often does not talk about a man committing adultery, but we know that he would be guilty of that sin just as a woman would be. There was most likely a similar test and judgement made against a husband who committed adultery.) In this scenario has the suspected adultery been made known?
5. The steps the priest would take to bring about the truth were things that would humiliate the suspected wife. She would have to let down her hair and she would be made to drink a bitter drink. Later the truth would come out if she was telling the truth or lying and if she were lying there would be personal suffering and more public embarrassment for her to endure. There was nothing magical about the water that she was to drink but it involved a supernatural working of God in her life. The priest added two things to water to make it bitter, the dried ink from the things he wrote down in a book and what was the second thing?
6. If the husband’s jealousy was correct, the woman’s belly would later swell from bad intestinal issues, and she would have a problem with her thigh (perhaps like an abscess growth that would make sexual contact painful). According to verse 21 this punishment came from whom?
7. What happened to the wife when she drank the bitter water and the husband’s jealousy was unfounded?
8. Verses 29-31 would indicate that if the man’s jealousy was unfounded, he would bear the iniquity of sin. God does not want us to carry the spirit of jealousy around towards our spouse. But if the woman was found guilty, she would have to bear the iniquity and 27 tells she would also be what?
