NUMBERS

Numbers Chapter 5

• Numbers 5:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, 
• 2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: 
• 3 Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell. 

In today's society this sounds strange to us but to those in the medical profession it may not sound as strange. Cleanliness in surgery and in all aspects of the medical profession is a must. Disease and germs will spread rapidly if care is not taken to be very sterile. 

To keep disease from spreading God had to show Israel the safe way to live. Yet something else is pictured here again. What is true in the natural is also true in the spiritual. 

God was dwelling among Israel by way of the tabernacle. They had to be clean in other ways. They had many washings, offerings and ordinances for cleanliness because of the presence of God in their midst. This was only temporary. For they would sin again many times and had to be cleansed again in order for God to dwell among them. 

These temporary washings and sacrifices were shadows of the perfect sacrifice that was to come in the form of God's only Son whom we know now as Jesus who was the Christ or Messiah in Hebrew. We seldom realize the great significance of what Jesus did on our behalf. 

God is so pure and holy that mankind which has been defiled by sin cannot enter into His presence. The only other alternative at the point of death is for the soul that dies in sin to enter hell which is a place prepared for the devil and his followers which are angelic beings that had fallen away from God in ages past. Those that deny God and refuse God's way of salvation will go where their father goes and that is to hell. If we reject God as our Father, Lord and Savior, we are children of Satan and will end up where he will end up to keep sin from continuing forever.

Since mankind is in a sinful state, in order to enter heaven he (she) must be cleansed from that sin. The blood of animals was only a temporary pointing toward the one that was to come to become the final and last sacrifice for sin.. We needed a complete change. 

This was provided by the death or sacrifice of Jesus who was God that had become man to die for our sins. He didn't sin Himself and was the only one eligible to die for the salvation of someone who had sinned. 

Not only are we cleansed from sin when we receive Jesus into our lives, we are given a helper. We are baptized into the body of Christ, we are given the Holy Spirit to dwell with us and we then can be completely baptized in the Holy Spirit. We are sanctified, washed and set apart for the service of the Lord. 

The murderer is no longer a murderer, the thief is no longer a thief, the drug addict is not longer bound by drugs, the alcoholic is free. The sinner is made a saint. Those bound by hate are then capable of love. We are changed from the inside out when we sincerely come to Christ by simple childlike faith that He is who He says He is. The savior sent from God to save us from sin. 

• Numbers 5:4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the LORD spoke unto Moses, so did the children of Israel. 

This typifies how sin must be put out of our lives when we come to Christ. To keep disease from spreading they had to be what we call today, quarantined. 

• Numbers 5:5 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, 
• 6 Speak unto 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; 
• 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. 

Here we have confession. In order to be cleansed from sin one has to acknowledge that he (she) has sinned. We cannot be saved if we desire to keep our sin and come to Christ just for hell insurance. It doesn't work that way. He that confesses his sin, He (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive that sin and cleanse that person from all unrighteousness. 

With this trespass mentioned in verse 7, we see that they had to confess their sin and then make restitution if the sin was against another person. If at all possible restitution should be made if we sin against someone else. The reason is that it not only helps our own soul but it will help the soul of the person wronged. He will less likely have to suffer unforgiveness and hate if we make things right with an offended person. 

• Numbers 5:8 But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him. 

They could make things right with God if no one is available to make restitution to. An atonement had to be made by an animal sacrifice. 

Jesus Christ's death on the cross makes all atonement for all sin, so no longer do we have to keep offering sacrifices but just ask forgiveness if we sin after we first come to Christ. 

• Numbers 5:9 And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his. 

The offering of restitution was also a way to provide for the living of the priest. 

• Numbers 5:10 And every man's hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his. 
• 11 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, 
• 12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him, 
• 13 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; 
• 14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: 
• 15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance. 
• 16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD: 
• 17 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: 
• 18 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 causeth the curse: 
• 19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse: 
• 20 But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband: 
• 21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell; 
• 22 And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen. 
• 23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water: 
• 24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter. 
• 25 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 upon the altar: 
• 26 And the priest shall take a handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water. 
• 27 And when he hath 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 causeth 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. 
• 28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed. 
• 29 This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled; 
• 30 Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law. 
• 31 Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity. 

This law was strict we see. In today's world where adultery is commonplace it is odd to read of this. This could explain however why there is so much sexually transmitted diseases. 

We see in reading these passages that the bitter water normally would cause the thigh to rot and the woman would never be able to conceive a child. If she was innocent she miraculously would avoid any damage. It is drastic I know but having sexual relations with someone other than one's own spouse is a serious offense. It is unclean. Through Christ this can be cleansed and mercy is shown to those that sin in this manner but the law of Moses was given to show us how serious sin is and that God does not wink at it. It needs to be cleansed or we cannot enter heaven. 

We can be forgiven but we must be willing to put away the sin. This is part of salvation that many modern teachers are missing. They claim we can just believe in Christ and then go an live how we normally live. 

Jesus said to repent (change), Peter said to repent. We must confess our sins when we come to Christ and be willing to turn away from them. Jesus saves us from sin not in our sin. We are delivered from sin not delivered to remain in the stuff Jesus died to save us from. However, when we completely come to Christ and start living in Him and by His Spirit, we will not desire to sin any longer. We may be tempted once in a while but God gives us power to overcome temptation. -DC