Fifth of Numbers

[abide]

When I was a young girl growing up. I heard my mother said, women who commit adultery get the 5th of Numbers.[/COLOR] She meant those who had large bellies and were adulterers.

It was only sometime later that I realised what she meant.

The scripture in Numbers 5: 21
My mother meant Numbers 5 so she called it the 5th of numbers.

Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing and the priest shall say unto the woman, the Lrod make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the Lord doth make thy belly to rot and thy belly to swell. I am sure that there were women who had large bellies and were not adulterers. What is interesting is that there seems to be no punishing similar to this for the male adulterer.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

When you understand that the 'woman' can be understood symbolically as the church you can see that barrenness (unfruitfulness) is the sign of having been unfaithful to husband Christ. The test, or 'proof' of unfaithfulness to God in the church is not being able to bear the fruit of the Spirit.

I think that's what we need to take away from Numbers 5.


I would like to talk about Abraham in a similar spiritual/ figurative way in your other thread, but I know that's not really the topic of that thread, but one I think is very edifying.


(Oh, by the way. Take the smilee out of your closing color tag and the tags won't appear in your post.)

 

[abide]

When you understand that the 'woman' can be understood symbolically as the church you can see that barrenness (unfruitfulness) is the sign of having been unfaithful to husband Christ. The test, or 'proof' of unfaithfulness to God in the church is not being able to bear the fruit of the Spirit.

I think that's what we need to take away from Numbers 5.


I would like to talk about Abraham in a similar spiritual/ figurative way in your other thread, but I know that's not really the topic of that thread, but one I think is very edifying.


(Oh, by the way. Take the smilee out of your closing color tag and the tags won't appear in your post.)

I was planning to correct this but got caught up in something else. Thanks:p

Matthew Henry's Commentary on this chapter in Num 5. 14

Spirit of Jealousy'
The sin of adultery is justly respresented as an exceedingly sinful sin. It is committing a trespass against the husband, robbing him of his honour, alienating his right. Let all wives be admonished not to give any the least occasion or the suspicion of their chastity. Let all husbands be admonished to to entertain any causeless or unjust suspicions of their wives.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

No doubt there is a practical application for women from the passage...except that adultery does not keep women from having children. That's why I prefer the spiritual intent of the passage. It means so much more to not just women, but all of us in the church that way.

 

[for_his_glory]

Would this not be a literal and a Spiritual lesson in separating oneself from God caused by the action of infidelity in adultery as one lust after a deceptive religion that labels itself Christian causing one to be defiled before the Lord with no excuse for what they learned in error and have taught others in error then nullifying the sacrifice of Jesus allowing their sin to rot away in them causing themselves to be separated from Gods grace and bring Gods curse (wrath) upon them in final judgement.