The trial by the waters of jealousy in Numbers 5:11-31
Hello fellow bible study companions;
I hope it is not too late for me to offer further exegesis on the passage in Numbers 5. I have been a busy and a happy little bee, extracting all that my feeble mind can-- to rightly divide this scripture. I believe this study can bring more light into the scriptural definition of the role of women in the church. Because this passage deals with what seems to be a partial treatment of the male over the female, by God’s law. As the text is read for itself, it seems an unrighteous judgment. But God forbid! Psalm 19:7 confirms that; “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.†Therefore this law for jealousy came from God’s own heart and mind for humankind, and is His expressed word, which abides forever.
How do we reconcile these passages with the account of the woman caught in adultery and brought for judgment before Jesus Christ? For it is still true that;
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.â€ÂJames. 1:17. He has said of Himself in the [in the Italian O.T. book, Malachi 3:6] ;) …
“For I am the LORD, I change not…â€Â
Now I believe we can harmonize these accounts and see the fulfilling of the Law thru Christ’s example. What is possible is that we are not looking at this law of jealousy in its context, and missing its fulfillment in the New Testament, so then are perhaps missing important insight into this law. As I said previously, the NT explains the OT.
I will take the liberty to state the general exegesis of the context we find this scripture within, for the purpose of shedding more light on the Lord’s meaning of the verses we have been looking at. All my biblical references are KJV. :-D
In the 3rd and 4th chapters we see God organizing His people, giving directives for priest and the elder.
In chapter 5 we see God commanding purification among His people, those who are leprous, those who have issue (are bleeding constantly) and those who cannot stay away from dead things; God commands to put them out, they cannot remain. But the reason God gives is not the obvious one--- His reason is NOT because leprosy is contagious, dead bodies are diseased, or bloody issues are dangerous. No, rather purification is required because God is in the camp. :infinity:
Holy God dwells there. See today we have Seeker friendly churches that say if you are homosexual, or practice fornication as a lifestyle, it’s okay, come on in. Sadly, no repentance from this sin or any other is preached, because... well... it’s just not friendly. . .! :crazyeyes:
But Proverbs 27:6 says;
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.†God is saying oh no, do not be IN--sensitive to sin to gain the friendship of a seeker.
Jesus is the Seeker that we are to be sensitive to. The Father desires we worship Him in spirit and in truth. Therefore, we must deal with the running issues, with the leprous, with the lovers of death, these things are to be dealt with; along with adultery and false accusation among the brethren.
"Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp...": It wasn’t that any of these things made a person, or proved them to be a notorious sinner (though that was often wrongly assumed); but leprosy, unclean discharges, and dead bodies were reminders of the effects of sin - from which Israel must separate as they prepare to march into the Promised Land.
*God is concerned with far more than our individual acts of sin;
He demands our sin nature be addressed. Only in Jesus can our sin nature - the old man - be crucified, and the nature of Jesus - the new man - be granted to us as new creations. God cannot abide with the old man,
but God can and does dwell with the new man. :fadein:
Today, Promised Land people are not sinlessly perfect; but they are not openly, obviously, walking in the sin nature either – this is illustrated by those set outside the camp.
“You shall put out both male and femaleâ€Â: You shall put out both male and female: Neither male nor female was to be excluded from this command. Neither perceived sympathy nor perceived superiority could spare someone the consequences of sin’s damages.
In Romans 2:11
“For there is no respect of persons with God.â€Â: The words respect of persons come from two ancient Greek words put together - to receive and face. It means to judge things on the basis of externals or by pre-conceived notions. These are presumptions made by looking at external appearances only, or ideas we have gained about the truth that are not true--- a notion.
(I am also saying this is be important to our study on the law for spiritual jealousy and will bring it up again, later.)
The Lord goes on to detail the separation caused from the damage of our sin, in verses 5-8.
Commit a sin against a man, it is against the Lord, and each must pay for it. Make restitution, this is Gods heart. Why? Because though for God restitution is not necessary, for human beings it provides a work toward reconciliation. Give back what you have taken away
and add 20% to it. This will win people to the Lord, when they see our deep concern for the harm we have caused them or others.
Our tendency is to weasel out of our responsibility. We know the damage that is done, but we say, I can’t repay-- the person moved away, or is dead and has no family. But even if the person is not available we are to pay our debt of restitution to the Lord. God wants restitution.
This truth also plays into this law for spiritual jealousy and false accusation of adultery.
Next God is commanding His people to be separated from the suspicion of sin.
Verses 11-14 The situation.
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'If any man's wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him, and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and there was no witness against her, nor was she caught…â€Â; If a woman commits adultery but is not pregnant from it, and there is no proof of adultery, no witnesses to prove or disprove it.
“…if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself;†So if her husband is suspicious,
whether it is true or not that she was unfaithful, the heart of God is to restore trust between the two in the marriage. Only the truth can safe-guard their union, just as our honest and open heart toward God grants us continual fellowship with Him. God will not to allow this accusation to fester without settlement.
Obviously, unfounded jealousy has spoiled many a marriage, and justified jealousy has forced attention on confronting the sin of adultery; in this passage, God gives Israel a way to deal with both. But would we deal with this issue in the same manner today? Certainly not! Why not? Isn't the law of God perfect, able to convert the soul? Yes, and indeed yes! However since Jesus Christ came to make attonement for us --- He has fulfilled the law that is wriiten in the OT.
The offering to resolve a spirit of jealousy. Verse 15.
"Then the man shall bring his wife to the priest": The jealous husband was to bring a certain amount of barley meal, and this grain only - not accompanied by any oil or frankincense, things which customarily accompanied a grain offering.
"He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it": There was to be no oil or frankincense offered - which were thought to sweeten a typical grain offering; See, there is nothing sweet about this because it is an
"...offering for remembrance, for bringing iniquity to remembrance." This was not for those involved to remember their iniquity,
but for the whole community to remember the terrible nature and consequences of either adultery or false accusation.
The oil is a symbol the Spirit of God and frankincense is a pleasing aroma, this is not mixed with this offering to prove that man’s or woman’s jealousy is an unpleasant stench, certainly not a sweet savor to God. This offering is not something the Lord anoints. This offering was truly bitter, not sweet, because either a wife would be found guilty of adultery, or a husband would be found guilty of unfounded suspicion and false accusation.
:
Nowâ€â€
in the ceremony of the offering it is where we can see the harmonized truth of God’s word with the woman caught in adultery. Verses 16-28 I will go through it step by step.
God says there is to be purification, in immorality, from the start. God does not want us caught up in immoral behaviors. But what about the guy she played around with? What about his unfaithfulness? The Rabbis say this applies both ways, because of the clear commands in this chapter earlier
to both male and female, and because when caught in adultery the law commanded both the man and the woman to be stoned. Certainly this is adultery, and men were not kept from the law of God in regards to adultery. Both were to be slain.
Yet again, would we practice the law of stoning adulterers in the church today? Certainly not! The woman is used as an illustration. But why is the woman used and not the man?
This ceremony may only have dealt with an adulterous wife and not a husband because for the most part, the Mosaic Law was “case law†- not meant to anticipate every potential situation, but to give examples that will set precedence for other cases. It is likely that the same ceremony would be practiced if a wife became suspicious of a husband’s adultery. (Pastor David Guzik commentary)
From my perspective further,
because the woman is a picture of you and me, and the man is a picture of the Lord; just as with the woman caught in adultery in the Temple --- she typifies us before salvation. See, we are the woman; we have been unfaithful to our husband the Lord. The bride of Christ speaks of the entire church, not only of women, and when the Lord speaks to His sons, He is including the whole body of Christ, not only the men.
"The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel",
We have this treasure in earthen vessels, The earthen vessel is God manifest in the flesh; Jesus Christ came to earth in an earthen vessel, became like you and me , He who was rich was made poor for our sakes.
The earthen vessel is filled with holy water: Jesus was filled with the holy water, water is a symbol of the word, he is the word, made flesh, He is filled with the word.
"Take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water": This water was made bitter not from the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle, but from the curse of the law scraped into the water; and while the woman held the grain offering in her hand (a reminder of fellowship with God through Jesus Christ the Bread of Life), the priest pronounced an oath over the woman.
"Then the priest shall stand the woman before the Lord, uncover the woman's head",
LOOK there it is again, the covering... The idea of uncovering the woman’s head in verse 18; is to unbind and “let down†her hair. “The unbinding of the woman’s hair is another hint that she was viewed as unclean. ‘Lepers’ had to let their hair hang loose as a mark of their uncleanness.†(From commentary by Wenham)
Though again I also see this as a removal of her outward symbol of male headship and provisional protection.
"The priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman": In his oath, the priest would solemnly announce that if the woman was innocent of the accusation of adultery, she would be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. But if she was in fact guilty of adultery, she would be under the curse.
See, the woman is a picture of you and me… The priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water: After reading the curse, and hearing the woman’s agreement, the priest would write these curses on a scroll - and scrape the dried ink into the bitter water.
But you and me, we, as Christians, are no longer under the curse of the law! Praise be to God through His Son Jesus Christ!
“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree:†Galatians 3:13.
"The priest shall take the grain offering and wave it before the LORD": This offering is a picture of fellowship we have with God thru His Son the Bread of Life. The accused woman would drink the bitter water.
However for us… now...
Jesus absorbed the curse; the curse was blotted out that ran into the holy water. He became an earthen vessel, baring our bitter sin, Jesus took our sin on Himself, and was slain for it, and our debt has been paid. Praise the Lord Most High, full of mercy!
See at the Feast of Tabernacles the water libation was poured out. This happened the day before the woman was caught in adultery and brought before Jesus to judge. Jesus was in the temple, teaching the word (the grain was being offered/The Bread of Life was being offered), He was giving out the water (the word). In fact that day Jesus said;
“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.†John 7:37.
Now when He heard their accusations against this woman caught in adultery, what did Jesus do?
He wrote in the DUST, in the dust of the temple floor, previously this was the dust of the tabernacle. Same location, same dust just many years later. . .
And He wrote against those who held stones, those who would continue to carry out the curse, though they were none of them able to cast a pebble--- because of their own sin.
And Jesus set her free asking her;
“When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those your accusers? Has no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord.†And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.†He freed her from her unfaithful tendency, as He frees us from ours; he put her in a place of liberty. He freed her from her immorality the rotting legs (our walk was so crooked) and the belly bloated from rotten stupidity.
Jesus came to set us free, by fulfilling the perfect law.
The rabbis also wrote that if the woman was guilty, the same disease would come upon the man she had committed adultery with; but they also said that even if the wife had been guilty, but her husband had been guilty of adultery also, the bitter water would have no effect on her.
Clearly, this is evidence that God does not want couples to live in an on-going state of jealousy. He gave a mechanism how jealous feelings could either be proved or disproved, and the relationship would deal with the truth from there.
Surely, both the holiness of God and the perfection of His word testifies against us. We should be forced to drink a bitter cup that would destroy us.
But Jesus drank it for us. :-D
Well this was a very long study, so I apologize for the length.
bonnie
