Numbers 5:1

The Bible says in Numbers 5:1-4, “And the LORD spake 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.[4] And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the LORD spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.” Of course, there is an important symbolic meaning in these verses to understand one of the restrictions of the law. The law required perfection, and human beings are not perfect. That is why we cannot be saved by the law or by attempting to keep the law. That also means that we cannot be saved by our good works. Your attempt at your good works simply defines the law that you have accepted to try and live under. All false religion and false Christianity fails at this point. True religion and true Christianity turns to Jesus for forgiveness because we know that we are sinners and keep the law perfectly. The following verses teach the need for forgiveness.

The Bible says in Numbers 5:5-10, “And the LORD spake 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.[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.[9] And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his.[10] And every man's hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his.” Notice that Leviticus 5V6 says, “When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit…” Men and women lived under the same spiritual principles and were treated equally in the Bible even three thousand five hundred years ago. God does not want us to sin, but He provides a solution when we do. God knows that human beings are weak, selfish, and rebellious; but He still loves us. Notice that verse six speaks of “a trespass against the LORD.” All sin is against God because He sees everything that is going on and He is holy. God does not like sin. It offends Him and makes Him angry. It says in Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” That is why Jesus had to die on the cross. Someone had to suffer the wrath of God. But because Jesus suffered and died, we can be totally justified, forgiven, saved, rescued, sanctified, and given eternal life. Verse seven says there must be confession of sin. Forgiveness is not automatic. We must admit that what we have done was wrong and our purpose must be to not fail again. But in some situations repentance and confession must be followed by restitution. If we have harmed someone else in any way, we should make restitution. That is why it says, “he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof.” According to verse eight, under the law, if there was no one to make restitution to, then an offering would be given to the priest. This symbolized giving to the Lord. All Christian giving is to the Lord. The reason that we give is to show our appreciation to Jesus for what He has done for us. We owe Him everything.

The Bible says in Numbers 5:11-19, “And the LORD spake 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:” This whole passage about jealousy and possible infidelity and what to do about it emphasizes how important it is not only that a married couple be faithful to one another, but also that they do everything they can to make sure that the spouse has no reason to be suspicious. For example, it is wise for a Christian man to make sure that he is never alone with any woman except for his own wife: not in a car, not in a room, and not in a building. That will not only stop jealousy, but that will also stop any gossip or rumors from starting.

The Bible says in Numbers 5:20-31, “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 an 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.” When it has been discovered that a woman has committed adultery, the priest says to the woman in Leviticus 5V21, “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.” The way this is written, it appears to be some kind of supernatural judgment that would fall on such a woman. Of course, there is no such thing today. But there is something similar that can happen when someone is unfaithful: he or she can get a sexually transmitted disease; and once that happens, one could say “the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot.” If someone is willing to commit immorality with you, then they probably have also been willing to do it with others, and the odds are that they have a disease that they are going to give to you. Concerning the phrase “thy belly to swell,” we can relate to pregnancy. Babies should be made by husbands and wives. Why are there so many abortions: because people are having intimate relations when they are not ready to take care of a baby. If you do not want your thigh to rot or your belly to swell as a result of adultery, then be faithful to your marriage vows.

The Bible says in Numbers 6:1-8, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,[2] Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD:[3] He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.[4] All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.[5] All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no rasor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.[6] All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.[7] He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.[8] All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.” The vow of a Nazarite is explained in Leviticus 6V2. A person would make such a vow when they wanted “to separate themselves unto the LORD.” What are they separating from? They are separating from the rest of the world (most of whom do not serve God.) The first thing mentioned for someone who wants to be separated unto the Lord is to stay away from alcohol. And just to make sure that they do not come close to alcohol, they could not have anything that came from grapes. What is the problem with alcohol? Alcohol alters behavior because it affects the mind. People who are under the influence of alcohol do things that they otherwise would not do. Serving Jesus is all about trusting in Him and having the best behavior that we can. Alcohol is habit-forming and addictive. Over the years millions and millions of people have become alcoholics and ruined their families, their careers, and their health. Tens of thousands die every year in car accidents caused by those under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol is a poison. It will slowly poison your organs so that you will probably die many years earlier than necessary. It is no wonder that the angel Gabriel said to Elizabeth in Luke 1:15, “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.” Elizabeth’s son was John the Baptist. Why did John the Baptist become great? The first reason mentioned was that John did not drink “wine nor strong drink.”

The second thing stated about a Nazarite was that he “shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.” Samson is well known for his long hair and how he lost his strength after Delilah had his hair cut. Why the long hair? The Nazarites were to be separated from the world and unto the Lord. Most men had their hair cut, but not a Nazarite. And so a Nazarite would be easily identified and obvious just by looking at him. Jesus wants us to have a testimony by the way that we live. We should be different from the world: not conformed to this world according to Romans chapter twelve. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven.” Do not be afraid to stand out as a Christian. That is God’s will as part of our testimony to Christ.

Finally, a Nazarite must not come into contact with any dead body. Notice that verse seven states that this restriction is not lifted even if a close family member dies. This symbolizes that God is to be more important than any family member. Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 19:29, “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”

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