Numbers 5
Ceremonial unclean to be removed from campverses 1-4
And the LORD spoke to Moses
saying
Command the children of Israel – that they put out of the camp
every leper – and every one that has an issue
and whosoever is defiled by the dead
both male and female shall you put out
without the camp shall ye put them
that they defile not their camps
in the midst whereof I dwell
And the children of Israel did so
and put them out without the camp
as the LORD spoke to Moses
so did the children of Israel
Guilt requires restitution and sacrificeverses 5-10
And the LORD spoke to Moses
saying
Speak to the children of Israel
When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit
to do a TRESPASS against the LORD
and that person be GUILTY
Then they shall CONFESS their sin which they have done
and he shall RECOMPENSE his trespass with the principle thereof
and add to it the fifth part thereof
and give it to him against whom he has
TRESPASSED
But if the man have no kinsman to RECOMPENSE the TRESPASS to
let the TRESPASS be RECOMPENSED to the LORD
even to the priest
Beside the ram of the atonement
whereby an atonement shall be made for him
And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel
which they bring to the priest – shall be his
And every man’s hallowed things shall be his
whatsoever any man gives the priest – it shall be his
Dealing with jealousyverses 11-15
And the LORD spoke to Moses
saying
Speak to the children of Israel
and say to them
IF any man’s wife go aside – and commit a trespass against him
and a man lie with her carnally
and it be hid from the eyes of her husband
and be kept close – and she be defiled
and there be NO WITNESS against her
neither she be taken with the manner
And the spirit of jealousy come on him – and he be jealous of his wife
and she be defiled – or IF the spirit of jealousy come on him
and he be jealous of his wife – and she be not defiled
THEN shall the man bring his wife to the priest
and he shall bring her offering for her
the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal
he shall pour no oil on it
nor put frankincense thereon
FOR it is an offering of jealousy – an offering of memorial
bringing iniquity to remembrance
Test for Adulteryverses 16-31
And the priest shall bring her near – and set her before the LORD
and the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel
And of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take
and put it into the water – and the priest shall set the woman
before the LORD – and uncover the woman’s head
and put the offering of memorial in her hands
which is the jealousy offering
and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causes
the curse – and the priest shall charge her by an oath
and say to the woman
IF no man have lain with you
and IF you have not gone aside to uncleanness
with another instead of your husband
be you free from this bitter water that causes the curse
BUT IF you have gone aside to another instead of your husband
and IF you be defiled – and some man have lain
with you beside your husband
THEN the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing
and the priest shall say to the woman
The LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people
when the LORD does make your thigh to rot
and your belly to swell
And this water that causes the curse shall go into your bowels
to make your belly to swell – and your thigh to rot
And the woman shall say
AMEN AMEN
And the priest shall write these curses in a book
and he shall blot them out with the bitter water
and he shall cause the woman to drink the
bitter water that causes the curse
and the water that causes the curse shall
enter into her – and become bitter
THEN the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand
and shall wave the offering before the LORD
and offer it on the altar
and the priest shall take an handful of the offering
even the memorial thereof
and burn it upon the altar
and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water
And when he has made her to drink the water
THEN it shall come to pass – that IF she be defiled
and have done trespass against her husband
that the water that causes the curse shall enter into her
and become bitter – and her belly shall swell
and her thigh shall rot
and the woman shall be a curse among her people
And IF the woman be not defiled – but be clean
THEN she shall be free – and shall conceive seed
This is the law of jealousies – when a wife goes aside to another
instead of her husband – and is defiled
Or when the spirit of jealousy come on him
and he be jealous over his wife
and shall set the woman before the LORD
and the priest shall execute on her all this law
THEN shall the man be guiltless from iniquity
and this woman shall bear her iniquity
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 “Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse.” (2931 טָמֵא [tameʾ /taw·may/] adj. From 2930; AV translates as “unclean” 79 times, “defiled” five times, “infamous” once, “polluted” once, and “pollution” once. 1 unclean, impure. 1a ethically and religiously. 1b ritually. 1c of places.)
DEVOTION: Defilement was a serious issue with God for the nation of Israel. For a group of people numbering perhaps three million or more it was essential that the hygiene and association between people be kept as sanitized and pure as possible. Whenever a disease like leprosy, which could spread throughout the camp was discovered, the Lord gave specific and immediate standards to stop the disease before it spread. As the spread of a disease was discussed in this chapter, it also addresses other forms of defilement that was possible to the nation. In each case, the Lord ordered the individual to be removed from the camp.
As is true in the physical sense, the Lord desired for His people to be cleansed and pure spiritually. By the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, He saved us so that we are justified by His grace (Titus 3:5-7). Peter tells us that we are to have a living hope to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled (1 Peter 1:3-4). Peter again tells us that this is possible by not conforming ourselves to the former lusts but to be holy in all our conduct because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy” (1Peter 2:13-16).
As the nation of Israel was instructed to maintain a standard of purity and remove the unclean from their midst so the church is requested to hold God’s standard. Paul instructs the church to remove offenders (1 Corinthians 5) and to help individuals be of the same mind (Philippians 4:2-3). John also challenged the believers to test the spirits, whether they are of God (1 John 4:1) and again in 3 John where he warns the church of Demetrius and states that, “I will call to mind his deeds which he does” (3 John 10).
Churches today are having a difficult time holding people to the standard that God set for His people. Like the nation of Israel and the early New Testament church we are called to keep the defilement of sin and impure teachings from tarnishing our congregations today. John’s cry to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 was for them to hear what the Spirit said to them. God was specific in Numbers and He is just as exact to us today. “Repent, or else I will come to you quickly…” (Revelation 2:5; 16).
CHALLENGE: We are challenged to wear masks and to social distance so that the spread of COVID does not occur in our churches. State governments have restricted the free and open worship of congregations to slow or eliminate this disease. May we also take seriously the command of the Lord and set aside those things that will defile, contaminate and hinder us from being effective witnesses for Christ. (Brian Miller)
: 3 Both male and female shall you put out, without the camp shall you put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell (2930 “defile” [tame’] means unclean, desecrate, to make morally or ritually unclean, pollute, to profane God’s name, contaminated or dishonor)
DEVOTION: The LORD wanted the camp of the Israelites to be pure. HE didn’t want anyone who was unclean to be in the camp at any time. Those who were unclean for a short time and were declared clean at evening time could come back into the camp.
Now there were others who had contagious diseases that were to be outside the camp until they could be declared clean again. This was a type of quarantine to protect the other people in the camp from contact with those who have diseases that were spread with contact.
Today we have the same medical procedures in place to make sure that some people don’t spread a disease throughout a community. There are many movies that deal with this type of problem. Some of the movies use dead men walking around trying to cause healthy people to become dead men walking as well.
These types of movies are telling the truth about dead men walking as all those who are without Christ are dead in trespasses and sins according to the Word of God. They are dead in their relationship with Jesus Christ.
The only way for these individuals to be healed from sin is for them to repent of their sins and become genuine followers of Jesus Christ.
You are going to meet many people this week who are dead men/women walking. Give them the gift of life. That can only be true if they change the beliefs to include Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven.
CHALLENGE: One of the problems the church faces is that we are more influenced by those dead in trespasses and sins then they were influenced by us.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 7 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. (3034 “confess” [yadah] means express grace, to worship, to bemoan, to throw, shot, cast, or to give thanks)
DEVOTION: The breaking of any of the LORD’S commandments is a sin. Sin has consequences. Sins can be done against individuals. However, the sin is also always against the LORD as well. Any man or woman who sins has to bemoan their sin and pay a consequence.
When the sin is against another person, the payment has to be made to make up for the sin. If the sin involves money there has to be a recompense make with twenty percent added to compensate the one that was hurt by the sin.
The children of Israel were given specific instructions regarding all matters that pertained to life and worship. The LORD didn’t leave much for interpretation.
This chapter deals with purity in the camp. The first part deals with people who have leprosy. The last part deals with husbands who feel their wife has not been faithful to him.
This middle section deals with those who have done something against their neighbor. The individual who committed the trespass had to repay what he took or defrauded his neighbor in some way. If the individual didn’t have a relative to pay then the person who acknowledged his sin had to pay the priest the amount. The amount of the payback was the amount plus 20% more.
Today we need to make sure that we are not hurting our neighbors because it is part of our testimony. We have to have the best looking house and yard in the neighborhood. We have to be available to help a neighbor in need. We should watch for problems in the neighborhood to make it safe. If we hurt a neighbor, we should try to make it right. If we borrow things from a neighbor, we should bring them back in good shape. If something happens, we need to make it right. This is pleasing to the LORD.
Community is important to God. The children of Israel were not to sin against each other. Even members of a local church are not to sin against one another for the same reason. We are family. This is hard today with the families so divided today. This is hard today because many churches are divided against one another. Remember when one member hurts that whole-body hurts.
CHALLENGE: Try not to hurt your fellow believer. When you correct it the LORD will bless you. God wants the church to show their love for one another at all times. We are to be encouragers of one another.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water. (4229 “blot” [machah] means to wipe clean, to wipe out, annihilate, to remover by the application of water, destroy, wash off, or exterminate)
DEVOTION: The formula for testing a woman who is suspected of having a relationship with a man who is not her husband was given. There was a combination of water and dust from the Tabernacle floor with grain that was the start of the test. Then the priest was to write curses in a book and then take the sheet from the book and rinse the ink off into the bitter water made from grain and dust.
Once she drank the water there would be two results. Either she would have no reaction and be declared innocent or the water would cause her belly to swell and her thigh to rot.
During this whole process the woman had to declare her innocence. She would have to repeat after the priest “Amen, amen” while she was going through the process.
What would happen today if this procedure was done in our society? The LORD wants purity in marriage. Our goal should be to be faithful with the LORD’S help starting today if there has been failure in the past. If not failure the goal should be to ask the LORD to give strength for faithfulness in marriage.
Society doesn’t like marriages between one woman and one man that stay together. In fact even today we find that the law of the United States is going to change even more with a state allowing polygamy.
CHALLENGE: We are living in dark times regarding marriage. Our God is able to help any couple that trusts in HIM.
: 30 Or when the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute on her all this law. (7068 “jealousy” [qin’ah] means zealous vigilance, zeal, envy, anger, passion, or wrath)
Today we live in a world that everyone seems to be suspicious concerning everything and everything. We are suspicious that a car dealer is cheating us. We are suspicious that our boss is cheating us. We are suspicious that someone who says that they love us really doesn’t love us.
Here we have a husband that is suspicious concerning his wife and their relationship together. If jealousy is a crime than most men and women are guilty. The LORD gave husbands a way to test to see if their wife was not faithful to him. If he had any question there was a ritual law given by God to deal with this type of accusation.
Many times, the jealousy of the husband is not warranted but the LORD gave a way to make sure that it was not happening. God wanted marriage to be sacred. HE wanted one woman to marry one man for all of their life together.
This is not happening very much today. Most people who marry have their marriage end in a divorce today. In our society many just don’t marry because they don’t want to make a commitment.
The LORD gave a ground for divorce but every marriage can be worked out with the help of the LORD if both parties are willing. There are some rare cases where two believers cannot work out their differences and stay together not just for the children’s sake but the testimony of the family.
Divorce is NOT the unpardonable sin but it should be avoided if possible. The only one who wins in a divorce is the lawyer. The ones who lose the most are the children. There is no stability in a divorced home.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Priestverses 9, 10, 15-21, 30
Amen amenverse 22
Offering of jealousyverses 15, 18, 25
Holy waterverse 17
Dust from the floor of the Tabernacleverse 17
Oath of cursingverses 21-24
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Law of jealousiesverse 29
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD (Jehovah)verses 1, 4-6, 8, 11, 16, 18, 21, 25, 30
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Husbandverse 20
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Defiledverses 2, 3, 13, 14, 20, 27, 29
Sinverses 6, 7
Trespassverses 6-8, 12, 27, 28
Guiltyverse 6
Wife go asideverse 12
Lie with another man’s wifeverse 13
Iniquityverses 15, 31
Uncleannessverse 19
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Confessverse 7
Recompenseverses 7, 8
Atonementverse 8
Offeringverse 9
Cleanverse 28
Freeverse 28
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Mosesverses 1, 4, 5, 11
Children of Israelverses 2, 4
Put out of the camp:
Leper
Issue of blood
Defiled by the dead
Both male and femaleverse 2
Spirit of jealousyverses 14-30
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
Verses 23–28 give the final step in the procedure. After the words of the cursing had been announced, the priest would write them on a scroll (or perhaps a wooden tablet) and then blot the letters off into the water. The woman was not only going to hear the words, but in a dramatic, figurative sense she was to drink them. In this way the awful sense of taking the curse into one’s own body was realized. The bitterness of the waters, again, was not in their taste but in the potential they bore in their association with the curse attendant to them. The NIV suggests the very drinking of the water would cause suffering: “this water will enter her and cause bitter suffering” (v.24). This phrase may also be read in a more benign manner: “and the waters that cause curses shall enter her for bitterness.” The bitterness was not in taste, convulsions, or physical shock but in the latent sense of the potential judgment on her body of childlessness. “Bitterness” is a most appropriate term for just this potential judgment. The innocent woman would not suffer the bitterness of the water, for she was innocent of the curses associated with it. (Allen, R. B. (1990). Numbers. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, p. 747). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House)
5:19–31. When all was ready, the priest told the woman she would not be cursed if she were innocent but would be cursed if guilty. She was to reply, So be it. If she was guiltless no ill effect (harm) would follow her drinking of the bitter water, the water mixed with dust. If she was guilty, on the other hand, her guilt would be manifest by the wasting away of her thigh and the swelling of her abdomen. This curse clearly refers to some physical disorder which would render the woman sterile (vv. 27–28). After the woman had taken the oath (v. 22), the ink with which the curses were written was rinsed off the scroll and into the jar of dust and water (v. 23). That is, the woman must now symbolically “eat her words.” She then was to drink the potion while the priest offered the barley to the Lord (vv. 24–26). If guilty, she suffered the penalty of the curse. If innocent, she came through unharmed with her child-bearing capacity intact (vv. 27–28). In either case the husband was absolved of guilt for if the wife was innocent he had acted only because he had been affected by a feeling of jealousy over which he had no control (vv. 29–31).
The physical manifestations of guilt were not inherent in the properties of the liquid mixture itself or, as stated earlier, could they be attributed to magic. More likely it was a matter of a psychosomatic reaction caused by genuine guilt or innocence, a reaction prompted by one’s conscience and the convicting work of the Holy Spirit. (Merrill, E. H. (1985). Numbers. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 222). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)
First, the husband brought his wife to the priest at the door of the tabernacle, along with the prescribed offering (Num. 5:15–16). This test was a public event that others could see and hear. There the priest presented her to the Lord, because God alone was the Judge in this case (vv. 15–16; Lev. 5:1–13). The phrase, “before the Lord,” is found four times in this passage (Num. 5:16, 18, 25, 30), and the name of the Lord is mentioned twice in the oath (v. 21). The offering was the humblest possible gift, the kind a poor person would bring, and it was presented without oil and frankincense. The couple stood before the Lord as the poorest of the poor.
Second, the priest took water from the laver and dust from the tabernacle floor and mixed them in a clay vessel (v. 17). Perhaps the dust was a reminder of man’s humble origin (Gen. 2:7) as well as his ultimate destiny—death (Ps. 22:15). Third, the priest loosened the woman’s hair, letting the tresses fall as if she were in mourning (Num. 5:18). A woman’s hair is her glory and covering, and in this act, she was presenting her glory to the Lord and hiding nothing from Him (1 Cor. 11:15). At the same time, the priest put the offering into her hands.
Fourth, the priest put the wife under oath before God (Num. 5:19) and then announced the curses attached to the oath (vv. 20–22). She submitted to God’s righteous judgment by saying, “Amen, amen,” which means, “Let it be so.” Fifth, the priest then wrote the curses on a scroll and washed them off into the bitter water (v. 23). Sixth, the woman then drank the water (v. 24). The word “bitter,” used five times in the passage (vv. 18–19, 23–24), doesn’t refer to the taste of the water but the effects in her body. If she was guilty, God would send her bitter suffering.
Seventh, as the woman drank the water, the priest took the offering from her hands and presented it to the Lord. If the woman was indeed guilty, the results would prove it. If she conceived, the baby would miscarry; or she would become barren for the rest of her life. She would feel in her body the terrible consequences of her sins and live with those consequences until the day of her death. Of course, for a Jewish wife to be childless was a tragedy, for her most important task in life was to give her husband heirs and maintain his name in Israel (Gen. 30:1–2; Ruth 4:14).
Now let’s consider some of the issues involved in this ceremony. There’s no record in Scripture that any husband ever used it or that any accused wife asked for it. Perhaps the very existence of this law proved a barrier to adultery and a warning that sin would be found out. There are clearly some built-in “roadblocks” that would make a husband hesitate to rush to the priest and ask for his wife to be tried.
To begin with, it was a public event, performed at the door of the tabernacle, and the whole camp could know about it. Would a husband want to expose his marital problems that openly, especially when he couldn’t know the results of the trial?
Furthermore, what transpired there told something about the husband as well as about the wife. If the husband loved his wife and was deeply hurt by her possible infidelity, why would he want to expose her publicly? But if he didn’t love her and only wanted to hurt her, he might be embarrassed and proved wrong. A wise man would think twice before having his wife judged this way.
The husband would have to live with the consequences. If his suspicions were proved wrong, he owed his wife an apology and had to work at rebuilding the relationship. (Why wasn’t he punished in some way for false accusation?) If she was found guilty, he had to live with her, wonder who her lover was, and suffer with the physical consequences of the curse and her bad reputation. She could never bear him children, but he still had to provide for her and for any children she gave him before committing her sin.
There are many perplexing questions associated with this ritual, but let’s not miss the major message: God wants purity in marriage, and husbands and wives can’t escape the bitter consequences of marital unfaithfulness. God can forgive adultery (John 8:1–11) and husbands and wives can make new beginnings in the Lord. However, adultery hurts everybody, and it’s sometimes difficult to live with the consequences of forgiven sin. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1999). Be counted (pp. 24–26). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub.)
5:11–31 These verses deal with the most intimate of human relationships and the most secret of sins. Adultery was to be determined and dealt with to maintain the purity of the camp. To accomplish that purity, God called for a very elaborate and public trial. If adultery was proven, it was punished with death, and this ceremony made guilt or innocence very apparent. It was not a trial with normal judicial process, since such sins are secret and lack witnesses, but it was effective. The ceremony was designed to be so terrifying and convicting that the very tendencies of human nature would make it clear if the person was guilty. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nu 5:11–31). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 27. And when he hath made her to drink the water, &c.] For, as before observed, and here by Jarchi again, if she says I will not drink it, after the roll is blotted out, they oblige her, and make her drink it whether she will or no, unless she says I am defiled: then it shall come to pass, that if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband; or has committed adultery: that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter; the water drank by her, and having the curses scraped into it, shall enter into her, and operate and produce bitter and dreadful effects: and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot; not through any natural virtue in the water, or what is put into it, either the dust of the floor of the tabernacle, or the scrapings of the parchment-roll, these could have no physical influence to produce such effects; but they must be ascribed to a supernatural cause, the power and curse of God attending this draught. A certain Jewish writer says, though very falsely, that the priest put poison into the water, which produced such effects; but then, how could an innocent woman escape the effects of it? that must be allowed to be miraculous and supernatural, was it so; but there is no manner of reason to believe that anything of this kind was put into it, The Jews sayc, as soon, or before she had made an end of drinking the water, the effects appeared; her face turned pale immediately, her eyes bolted out, and she was filled with veins, her body swelled, and they called out, Cast her out, cast her out, that she may not defile the court. And the text seems to intimate, as if the operation was immediate; yea, moreover, they say, that as the waters searched her, so they searched him (the adulterer), because it is said twice, shall enter, shall enter; and that the same effects appeared in him as in her, but in neither, unless the husband was innocent; for if he was not pure from the same sin himself, the waters would not search his wife: hence they sayf, when adulterers increased (under the second temple) the bitter waters ceased, according to Hos. 4:14 see Matt. 12:39 This practice has been imitated by the Heathens; the river Rhine, according to Julian the emperor, tried the legitimacy of children; and so lakes have been used for the trial of perjury and unchastity, as the Stygian lake for perjury, and another of the same name near Ephesus for unchastity; into which, if persons suspected of adultery descended, having the form of an oath hanging about their necks, if they were pure, the waters stood unmoved, but if corrupt, they swelled up to their necks, and covered the tablet on winch the oath was written. The priestesses of a certain deity being obliged to live a single life, were tried by drinking bullocks’ blood, upon which, if false to their oath and corrupt, they immediately died, as Pausanias relates; and Macrobiusk speaks of some lakes in Sicily, the inhabitants called the Cups, to which recourse was had when persons were suspected of any ill, and where an oath was taken of them; if the person swore truly, he departed unhurt, but if falsely, he immediately lost his life in the lake. Philostratus relates of a water near Tyana, a city in Cappadocia, sacred to Jupiter, which the inhabitants call Asbamæa, which to those that kept their oaths was placid and sweet, but to perjured persons the reverse; it affected their eyes, hands, and feet, and seized them with dropsies and consumptions; nor could they depart from the water, but remained by it, mourning their sad case, and confessing their perjury: but what comes nearest to this usage of the Jews is a custom at marriages among the savages at Cape Bretonm: at a marriage-feast, two dishes of meat are brought to the bridegroom and bride in two ouragans (basins made of the bark of a tree), and the president of the feast addresses himself to the bride thus, “and thou that art upon the point of entering into a respectable state, know, that the nourishment thou art going to take forebodes the greatest calamities to thee, if thy heart is capable of harbouring any ill design against thy husband, or against thy nation: shouldest thou ever be led astray by the caresses of a stranger; or shouldest thou betray thy husband, and thy country, the victuals contained in this ouragan will have the effects of a slow poison, with which thou wilt be tainted from this very instant; but if, on the other hand, thou remainest faithful to thy husband, and to thy country, if thou wilt never insult the one for his defect, nor give a description of the other to the enemy, thou wilt find this nourishment both agreeable and wholesome.” Now if these relations can be credited, then much more this of the bitter waters, for though there was something wonderful and supernatural in them, yet nothing incredible: and the woman shall be a curse among her people; the time she lives; but then all this while she was looked upon as an accursed person, and despised and shunned by all. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, pp. 728–729). London: Mathews and Leigh)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
All told, ṭāmēʾ and its derivatives occur 279 times, about 64 percent in Lev and Num, and 15 percent in Ezk. The LXX translates these words by akathartos 121 times, akatharsia 38 times, and miainō 94 times, respectively “unclean,” “uncleanness,” and “to defile.” (Yamauchi, E. (1999). 809 טָמֵא. Animals and foods were considered clean or unclean by their nature. Persons and objects could become ritually unclean. Personal uncleanness could be incurred through birth, menstruation, bodily emissions, “leprosy,” sexual relations and misdeeds and contact with death. Priests and levites were especially concerned with the issues of cleanness and uncleanness.
The greatest uncleanness was idolatry which defiled the temple and the land. The prophets, in denouncing moral uncleanness, used ritual uncleanness as a metaphor for the wickedness which only God can cleanse. (R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke, Eds.)Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press.)
Pi. defile: 1. sexually; the land by sexual impurities of the people; Isr. by spiritual whoredom. 2. religiously: the land, by bloodshed; by allowing the dead body of the murderer to hang on the tree over night; by idolatry; Isr. defiled the sacred places by the sacrifice of ch;ildren, and God defiled him thereby; he defileth the sacred places by idolatry; the holy name of ˊי; Josiah defiled the idolatrous places of worship by destroying them and making them unfit for use; of Isr. defiling idolatrous images, and the nations the temple of God. 3. ceremonially: by ceremonial uncleanness, the sacred places; the camp; the temple by dead bodies; the Nazirite’s head of separation by a death occurring in his presence; the people defile themselves by creeping things. 4. pronounce or declare ceremonially unclean: the leper; unclean animals. (Whitaker, R., Brown, F., Driver, S. R. (Samuel R., & Briggs, C. A. (Charles A. (1906). The Abridged Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament: from A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Francis Brown, S.R. Driver and Charles Briggs, based on the lexicon of Wilhelm Gesenius. Boston; New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company.)
After the woman had taken the oath (v. 22), the ink with which the curses were written was rinsed off the scroll and into the jar of dust and water (v. 23). That is, the woman must now symbolically “eat her words.” She then was to drink the potion while the priest offered the barley to the Lord (vv. 24–26). (Merrill, E. H. (1985). Numbers. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 222). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
While students at Oxford, John Wesley and a few friends (including his brother, Charles, and George Whitefield) formed a group called “The Holy Club.” The purpose was to deepen their faith, and help them to live it day by day. They created the following list of personal reflection questions to be used during their daily private devotions (I suggest you read them in light of Romans 8:1):
1. Am I creating the impression that I am better than I am?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words?
3. Do I break confidence — tell others’ secrets?
4. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, habits?
5. Can I be trusted?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
7. Did God’s Word live in me today?
8. Am I enjoying my prayer time?
9. When was the last time I shared my faith?
10. Do I pray about the money I spend?
11. Do I go to bed on time and get up on time?
12. Do I disobey God in anything?
13. Do I have an uneasy conscience?
14. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
15. Am I jealous, impure, critical, touchy, irritable, or distrustful?
16. Am I proud?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Do I thank God that I am not like others?
19. Is there anyone I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, disregard or resent?
20. Do I grumble and complain?
21. Is Christ real to me?
2 Corinthians 4
Man’s evident weakness presents an opportunity for God to manifest His power.
INSIGHT
When we look at Israel and the Mosaic Law, we tend to think that the Jews performed poorly. All they had to do was be obedient to some basic laws, and God would bless them beyond measure. Yet they might say the same about us. With the Holy Spirit living in us, we have only to live in love toward God and man and God will bless us spiritually beyond measure. While human frailty is glaring in both systems, the work of God is being accomplished nevertheless. God’s message is carried in “jars of clay” so that in eternity the glory of the redeemed will go to God and not to man. (Quiet Walk)
IS INSTRUCTION NEEDED?
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.2 Peter 3:18
The Bible does not teach that Christians do not need instruction. “But surely,” says someone, “that must be wrong. Look at this verse from 1 John: ‘the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you’(2:27). John says we do not need any man to teach us, and yet you say that the Christian church still needs instruction. How do you reconcile this?”
It seems to me that the answer is as simple as this: The very fact that John is writing to them proves that they need instruction. If they do not, then John need have no concern about them at all. If the Christian needs no instruction, then the apostles’ claim to be divinely inspired when they wrote their epistles was a sheer waste of time. These epistles are full of instruction. We are told that the Christian is to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” There is milk provided for him, and there is strong meat. That is impossible if you take this statement literally and maintain that John is saying the Christian never needs teaching. Clearly that is not what he means.
So let us put it in this positive form: Surely the context here determines the interpretation. What John is really saying is what the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:13-14. He is saying that the Christian has spiritual understanding that the natural man does not have. These things are only understood in a spiritual manner, and what John is here saying is that the Christian, having received the
Holy Spirit, has a spiritual understanding. “You,” says John, “are holding fast to this truth because the Holy Spirit has given you this enlightenment and understanding.”
A Thought to Ponder: The Christian, having received the Holy Spirit, has a spiritual understanding. (From Walking with God, pp. 125-126, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Line upon Line
“The word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.” (Isaiah 28:13)
This familiar passage (repeated mostly from Isaiah 28:10 just before it) is often cited in support of a detailed, verse-by-verse method of Bible study and exposition. However, the context is one of rebuke to the people of Ephraim (that is, the Northern Kingdom of Israel) in the days of the divided kingdom. Isaiah especially castigates the priests and prophets who should have been teaching God’s Word to the people but who had instead become proud and then drunkards, leaving the people in great ignorance and spiritual confusion.
Therefore, cried Isaiah: “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts” (v. 9). Before they can really grow in the knowledge of God, they must be built up carefully, line upon line, for they are yet carnal babes in spiritual matters.
A very similar rebuke was administered to the early Christians and would be even more appropriate today: “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age” (Hebrews 5:12-14).
Such an admonition is greatly needed today, when Christian believers subsist almost entirely on spiritual milk—or even worse, on the froth that passes for evangelical literature in most Sunday schools and Christian bookstores today. We need to get back to the strong meat of the Word, lest we “fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.”
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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