Unclean people – Numbers 5:1-4
In Old Testament times, (v 1-4) it was not proper for an unclean person to enter a holy place nor for an unclean person to mix with other people. In the camp, people might be unkind to a person with an infectious disease of the skin. So, people with infectious diseases of the skin lived together outside the camp, where they would be safe. Also, the people inside the camp would be safe because the disease would not spread. ‘Outside’ meant at the edge of the camp. They lived in caves or in tents there. They were still protected by God.
There were many reasons why a person was unclean. It did not mean just that the person needed to wash themselves. Leviticus 15 and Numbers 19 describe the laws about this. For example:
· A person became unclean if they had a disease of the skin. They might give this disease to another person.
· A person became unclean if blood or other liquid came out of the sexual parts of their bodies. A disease might have caused this. Also, women were unclean during the time of the month when they were bleeding (menstruation).
· A person who touched a dead human body was unclean for a week. God was living among the Israelites in a special way, in the tabernacle. Anyone who came near to the tabernacle had to be clean. God is not like a man. He is holy.
As there were different ways that people became unclean, so there were different rules about this. Some people who were unclean had to separate themselves from the rest of the camp. Other people had to wash in a special way.
Today, people do not need to follow these rules in order for God to accept them. Everything changed when Jesus came. He touched people who had diseases of the skin. He cured them. He touched dead people, and they became alive again (for example, Luke 17:12-19; Luke 8:40-56).
However, people who do not believe in Jesus are unclean because of their sins. They cannot, of themselves, come near to God. The only way to come near to God is by means of Jesus. We must believe that Jesus died as a sacrifice for us. If we repent, His blood cleanses us from all our sins (1 John 1:7). Only Jesus can make us clean, so that God will accept us.
People who hurt other people – Numbers 5:5-10
‘Do a wrong act’ (v5-6) probably refers to Leviticus 6:1-5 which describes the rules about a person who takes something for himself. And then he is not honest about the matter. All sins against other people are sins against God. In this passage, God reminds Moses of this fact. Later in Psalm 51 David said that he had sinned, and that sin was against God.
v7 The laws of Israel were much stricter than the laws of other nations. A person had to confess that they had done a wrong act. But this was not enough, they also had to pay money to the person against whom they had done the wrong act, for any loss or damage. Then, the guilty person had to add an extra one fifth to the amount.
So, God taught the Israelites that it costs a lot to sin! If a person were really sorry, they would be glad to pay more. This showed that they were sincere. Also, when a person paid this money, the other person had to forgive him or her. The other person must not seek revenge against the guilty person. The question of revenge is very important because today it is uppermost in peoples’ minds. We live in a litigious society where we want to put the blame on somebody, whether directly responsible or not, usually to receive compensation. We live in a ‘blame culture’.
v 8-10 The guilty person had to pay money, even if the other person had died. The dead person’s relatives received the money instead. If the relatives were all dead, the guilty person had to pay to the priest. The priest was God’s representative and who acts on behalf of someone else. Also, the priest had to sacrifice a male sheep that the guilty person had bought.
This law was very important. The Israelites were preparing to travel together to the Promised Land. There had to be no quarrels between them. They had to respect God and other people. This law helped to prevent crimes. It helped people who had been hurt in any way. They could show God that they were sorry. Then he could forgive them. In our day we can see that most of our laws are based upon the Ten Commandments and the penalties are very much in line with God’s laws.
Husbands who suspect that their wives have been unfaithful – Numbers 5:11-31.
V 11-14 Families were very important to the Israelites. They kept records of their ancestors. If a man’s wife had sex with another man, this was a serious crime. Her husband could not be certain that he was the father of her children. God’s Law warns husbands and wives that they must never be unfaithful to each other (Exodus 20:14).
The punishment for this crime was death, but there had to be evidence. The husband had to prove that his wife was guilty. If the husband had no evidence, he could follow the instructions in this passage. And then God would act as the judge.
It is likely that many innocent women carried out this ritual because if they were innocent, they would not be afraid to follow it. God would protect them. But if a woman was guilty, she would be very afraid of God’s judgement. So probably she would tell her husband that she was guilty first and she would hope that he would forgive her, or she might run away.
However, if a woman was not guilty of adultery, this ritual proved this fact to her husband and everyone else. Her husband would not be able to punish her. He had to take her back to live with him as his wife again. So, this ritual provided God’s protection for innocent women.
The passage includes many details about this ancient ritual. It records the words that the people had to say. The husband and wife went to the priest with an offering. Barley was a type of cheap grain. The man did not add oil or incense to the offering. So, it was like a poor man’s offering, for when someone was unclean (Leviticus 5:11-13).
‘Holy water’ (v 17) was water that the priests kept in the tabernacle. The priest mixed it with dust. Also, he mixed it with the ink that he had used to write the curses. The water and the dust were symbols. Perhaps the dust reminded people that the unclean snake ate dust (Genesis 3:14). Perhaps it reminded them also that God had made people from dust (Genesis 2:7). However, we cannot be certain because the passage does not explain the meaning.
‘Then the priest must unfasten the woman’s hair’ (verse 18). This showed that the woman was unclean. People who had diseases of the skin had to untie their hair.
‘The bitter water brings a curse’ (v 18). The water was not just bitter because it tasted bad. It was bitter because it could cause bad things to happen. If the woman was guilty, she would not be able have children. In the Israelites’ society, this was usually a shameful thing and a woman who was not able to have babies felt very sad. If the woman was not guilty, the water would not hurt her. It proved that she was innocent. God showed everyone whether a woman was guilty or innocent.
This passage reminds us that adultery is a serious sin. God does not want husbands or wives to be unfaithful.
Adultery hurts people and destroys families. However, we need to remember that God forgives sins if people repent. Jesus forgave a woman who had been unfaithful (John 8:2-11). He did not punish her. However, he told her that she must not sin again.
Also, Paul warned people that they must not continue to sin in this way. If they did continue, they could not belong to the church (1 Corinthians 5:11-13).
God’s people must not be unfaithful to their husbands or wives. Also, it is bad for a husband to suspect his wife without evidence. It can destroy his love for her. It can destroy her love for him. Husbands must be able to trust their wives and wives must be able to trust their husbands.
