Numbers 5

Numbers 5 details various laws and rituals for purifying the camp, maintaining holiness, and dealing with suspected unfaithfulness. It highlights God's concern for cleanliness, justice, and the sanctity of relationships among His people. The chapter covers three main topics: the removal of unclean persons, restitution for wrongs, and the ritual for a wife suspected of adultery.

Numbers 5:1-3 (NKJV)
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
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.
3 You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell.”

The Israelites were instructed to remove anyone unclean due to disease, discharge, or contact with a dead body from the camp to preserve the purity of the people. This act of separation emphasizes God's holiness and His desire for the camp, where His presence dwells, to remain undefiled. It was necessary to prevent spiritual and physical contamination from spreading among the people.

Numbers 5:4 (NKJV)
4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.

The people of Israel obeyed the Lord’s command, showing their respect for God’s authority and desire to maintain holiness in the camp. This obedience to God's instructions was vital for their relationship with Him and for maintaining a healthy community.

Numbers 5:5-7 (NKJV)
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
6 “Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the Lord, and that person is guilty,
7 then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged.

When someone wronged another, they were not only guilty before the person but also before God. The offender was required to confess their sin and provide full restitution, adding an additional 20% to compensate for the harm done. This law highlights the importance of justice and restoration within the community, ensuring that relationships were made right both before God and others.

Numbers 5:8 (NKJV)
8 But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him.

If the wronged person had no living relative to receive restitution, the payment was to be given to the priest as a form of offering to the Lord. This arrangement ensured that justice was still served and allowed the offender to make things right before God, even if no earthly party remained to receive the compensation.

Numbers 5:9-10 (NKJV)
9 Every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his.
10 And every man’s holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be his.”

These verses outline that whatever was offered to the Lord belonged to the priests, as they served as mediators between God and the people. This provision supported the priests, who dedicated their lives to the service of God and His people. It also reinforced the principle that offerings to God were set apart as holy and given to His appointed servants.

Numbers 5:11-13 (NKJV)
11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
12 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him,
13 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—

This section introduces the ritual for a wife suspected of adultery. If a woman was believed to be unfaithful but there was no witness or evidence, a specific procedure was provided to determine her guilt or innocence. This law protected both parties by preventing false accusations or unproven suspicions from harming marriages.

Numbers 5:14-15 (NKJV)
14 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—
15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity to remembrance.

If a husband became jealous and suspected his wife of infidelity, he was to bring her before the priest with a grain offering. The lack of oil and frankincense, which were usually added to offerings, symbolizes the seriousness and somberness of the situation. This ritual ensured that the issue was addressed in a sacred and fair manner before God.

Numbers 5:16-18 (NKJV)
16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the Lord.
17 The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.
18 Then the priest shall stand the woman before the Lord, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse.

The priest would bring the suspected woman before the Lord, symbolizing that the matter was being placed in God's hands. The use of holy water mixed with dust from the tabernacle floor and the uncovering of the woman’s head signify her submission to God’s judgment. The “bitter water” was part of the process to reveal the truth about her actions.

Numbers 5:19-22 (NKJV)
19 And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.
20 But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has lain with you”—
21 then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman—“the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh rot and your belly swell;
22 and may this water that causes the curse go into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.” Then the woman shall say, “Amen, so be it.”

In this ritual, the woman was placed under oath before God. If she was innocent, she would be free from any harm from the bitter water. However, if she had committed adultery, she would suffer physical consequences as a sign of divine judgment. This procedure ensured that the truth would be revealed by God’s hand, not human accusation alone.

Numbers 5:23-24 (NKJV)
23 Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water.
24 And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to become bitter.

The priest would write down the curses associated with the oath and mix them into the bitter water. The woman would then drink this water, which would bring about God’s judgment if she had been unfaithful. This solemn act was intended to be a divinely guided process of determining her guilt or innocence.

Numbers 5:25-26 (NKJV)
25 Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, shall wave the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar;
26 and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water.

The grain offering was presented to the Lord as part of the ritual, symbolizing the jealousy and suspicion in the relationship. After offering the grain, the woman would drink the water, further submitting herself to God’s judgment. The ritual was not just about the physical act but about bringing the truth to light before the Lord.

Numbers 5:27-28 (NKJV)
27 When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people.
28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children.

The results of the ritual were believed to be divinely determined. If the woman was guilty, she would suffer the consequences of the curse. However, if she was innocent, she would be free from any harm and would retain her ability to bear children, thus proving her faithfulness. This ensured fairness and justice through divine intervention.

Numbers 5:29-31 (NKJV)
29 This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself,
30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife. Then he shall stand the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her.
31 Then the man shall be free from iniquity, but that woman shall bear her guilt.”

The chapter concludes by summarizing the law of jealousy. If a husband suspected his wife of unfaithfulness, the ritual provided a means of bringing the matter before the Lord for judgment. The law aimed to bring peace to the home by resolving disputes through divine intervention, ensuring that guilt was revealed and innocence was vindicated.