Numbers part 4 | Maintaining the Integrity of the People
Numbers 5 is one of the more interesting (possibly bizarre) chapters for modern ears. We have three passages linked with the fidelity of the people. In chapters 1-4, the Lord has prescribed how the camp should be organized. Here, the Lord commands how to maintain the integrity of the holiness of the people as they go on their journey.
The three sections of chapter 5 deal with (1) physical purity (2) moral purity (3) marital purity. As we read together, I should note the second section is probably the easiest for us to understand because it is what we are most used to thinking about. The first, however, will present a paradigm of Scripture that is lost to the modern world, and, once we have it under our belt, we will better understand the final passage which is certainly the most bizarre to modern ears.
What to do with the Unclean People of the Nation | Numbers 5:1-4
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.” And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.
Numbers 5:1-4
This section is an extension of the Levitical Law concerning the ritually unclean. It can be quite difficult for modern ears to hear these commands because we have lost the concept of “unclean” for the most part. We tend to think in terms of hygiene, and so many times commentators will talk about the contagious diseases that are connected with such matters. While there is a layer of truth to this (especially in regards to skin diseases), that doesn’t really explain the bodily discharges. Added to this problem is the fact that Leviticus doesn’t say, “send them out because they could get other people sick.” It says,
Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate form their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.
Leviticus 15:31
The problem has to do with their ability to approach the tabernacle. They are ritually, or ceremonially, unclean. It is a spiritual problem with physical evidence and a physical rite to cleanse them.
Another layer of confusion in the modern world is we tend to relegate “sin” to a moral issue. It makes sense simply because of the number of sins that are moral sins. Unfortunately, the Levitical Law has commands (or “instructions" may be a better term) that concern morality, ritual cleanliness, and civil matters. It is difficult to divide Leviticus or Numbers into sections that divide the Law into these categories because the Bible simply rolls them all together. Nevertheless, as we read through Leviticus and Numbers, these categories become apparent.
We can clear the confusion regarding the Law in general and these categories specifically when we stop thinking in human terms. Physical hygiene, Civil law, and prescriptions of worship do point to human relationships, but ultimately:
The Law isn’t about how we deal with one another, it is about how we are able to approach the throne of God.
Let’s fast forward a bit to see if we can make some sense of this idea. In Matthew 22, the Pharisees ask Jesus an important question.
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:34-40
Our relationship with others is directly related to our relationship with God. The Law and the Prophets depend on the Two Great Commands. Some of the Law looks like how to worship and how to approach the tabernacle while other parts look like how to relate to people. In either case, the root matter is how the person is able to stand before God. Some of the Law deals with physical ailments, but even still, the Law is concerned with holiness and whether a person is in a defiled state. Their uncleanness can contaminate another person, and so to keep the uncleanness from spreading, the infected are to go out of the camp.
But something miraculous happened when Christ came. Turn with me to Mark 2.
And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Mark 2:1-5
Why does he say, “your sins are forgiven”? The man needs working legs. The scribes sitting there asked the same thing, but they also know only God can forgive sin. Jesus is blaspheming in their eyes.
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Mark 2:9-12
Jesus’ miracles were signs of His Divinity and identity as the Messiah. He can heal the paralyzed and forgive sin because of who He is. The Presence of God came down from heaven and tabernacled among us in Jesus.
The Law of Leviticus and Numbers establishes the contagious aspect of sin and death. The people needed to separate themselves from the unclean because the uncleanness would spread. The whole camp would be unable to approach the presence of God, if the uncleanness was allowed to spread.
Yet, with Jesus something else happens. Jesus comes down and spreads His holiness to the unclean. If you turn over a couple of pages to Mark 5, we see a woman who is in a state of uncleanness and has been for 12 years. For 12 years, she has been afflicted with a blood disease. For 12 years, she has been unable to worship in the Temple and unable to touch another person without them becoming unclean also.
In faith, she knew all she needed to do was touch the hem of his robe, and Jesus would heal her. That is exactly what happens. Instead of her uncleanness contaminating Jesus, His holiness cleansed her.
In Jesus, the throne of God approaches us and heals our sin and uncleanness.
With reviewing what to do in cases of physical uncleanness, Numbers turns our attention to acts of sin.
Daily Sacrifice of Guilt | Numbers 5:5-10
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him. And every contribution, all the holy donations of the people of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. Each one shall keep his holy donations: whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his.”
Numbers 5:5-10
In this section, we see the instruction for how to deal with the situation of sins against one another. Again, it is an extension of the Law in Leviticus, and so it makes sense the passage is relatively small. Here, though, Numbers is dealing with the situation in which the person that needs to pay restitution has no one to pay such restitution. In that case, the payment is made to the priest.
It is a straightforward command, but it points us to some deeper realities related to our previous passage.
Our devotion to God can be evaluated in our relationships with those around us.
The “sins” in question of verse 5 have to do with sins against other people, and yet committing such actions “break[s] faith with the Lord.” This notion shouldn’t be too novel for us. Consider 1 John in which John spends considerable time explaining how we know what love is because God sent His Son to us. In 1 John 4, he tells us to discern the spirits knowing who is speaking truth and who isn’t, and then he goes on to teach about God’s love which we understand because it was demonstrated to us through Jesus Christ.
Our love for God is demonstrated in our love for others—not just our feelings for God. Our love is perfected in us when we abide in God and God in us. He then concludes this section with:
We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
1 John 4:19-21
And so, as we consider how Numbers 5 speaks to us today, we can clearly see the principle before us. When we sin against another person, we must make restitution—and quickly. Jesus spent much of his teachings on forgiveness—forgiving others and seeking forgiveness from others. Paul said as much as you are able, live at peace with one another. This command only happens when we are willing to humble ourselves and make restitution.
If you happen to be in the situation where you cannot make restitution to the person, then Numbers tells us what to do—go to the next of kin. Do what you can for the closest family member. If there is no family member to make amends, then devote your offering to the Lord’s work—whether that be an offering to the church or some other way. However God leads you, the principle is simply:
The pursuit of holiness includes taking responsibility for your misdeeds and making things right again.
I once had a pastor who put it this way. He called it “spiritual breathing.” As we inhale the Holy Spirit— listening to what He says in our prayers, reading Scripture, etc.—we exhale our confessions. We acknowledge our sins, and acknowledge them quickly. We ask for forgiveness so the sin does not take root and make things worse. But, there is another layer to it. As we seek forgiveness from the Lord, inevitably, He will tell us to make things right with others. All sins are ultimately between us and the Lord, but some of those sins affect the people around us. In those cases, we need to make things right with those people.
You may have seen the bumper sticker, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” That bumper sticker is slightly deficient because Christians also seek forgiveness from those they have wronged.
The Test of an Adulterous Woman | Numbers 5:11-31
The last part of chapter 5 deals with marital fidelity. We will not read the whole passage for the sake of time, but I would like to preface the discussion with a couple of notes. First, this particular passage comes across as one-sided—the woman gets the brunt of the test. There is no man to drink the “bitter waters.” But before accusations of misogyny get thrown around, we should consider the punishment for adultery was death for both the male and female. Additionally, the Levitical Law had codes for the protection of women that did not exist in the pagan world. Second, in this particular case, the problem is on the husband. He is suspicious of his wife but has no way to prove what happened. If he is right, then the priests have a means of bringing her to justice. If he is wrong, then the woman has nothing to fear, but the guy is going to have to deal with the situation of bearing false witness against his wife.
The passage is deeply rooted in a culture and time that is completely foreign to us, and so it is easy to miss the underlying principles here.
The test of “bitter waters” is a means of either restoring a marital relationship or asserting justice against an adulterer.
The fact that the topic of marriage is given the lion’s share of chapter 5 points us to the importance of marriage fidelity in terms of holiness.
In Dennis Cole’s commentary on Numbers he notes this section is also organized in a chiasm—a Hebrew literary device in which the middle of the passage asserts the emphasis.
A The Case [Presented] (11-14)
B Preparation of the Ritual Ordeal (15-18)
C The Oath-Imprecation (19-24)
B’ Execution of the Ritual Ordeal (25-28)
A’ The Case [Summarized] (29-31)
It is also worth noting this is the only command in biblical legal literature in which adjudication of a case rests on a miracle of God. While it is very true pagan literature is replete with such rituals, this is the only one in biblical law.
And so, with all that said, this truly is a unique passage of Scripture.
It’s so unique, in fact, that through the decades, many commentators have wondered how chapter 5 all fits together. I believe Dr. Cole is correct in his assessment. The three passages in chapter 5 point us to the necessity of faithful relationships as part of Israelite holiness. Each of them are extensions or summaries of Levitical Law. As the Israelites are preparing to move about in their camps, the Lord through Moses is telling them, “Don’t forget to uphold the Law as you go.” There will be times when things get challenging, but they are to remain faithful. And when they struggle, when they sin, there is a route back to holiness. The Law gives them that route.
I don’t believe it is coincidence that this section ends with an emphasis on God’s ability to adjudicate a possible crime. The Israelites have been warned about approaching the presence of God without proper ritual cleansing. It is dangerous to approach the tabernacle unworthily. They are also to remember God sees beyond the tabernacle also. Though His presence is seen in the Holy of Holies, His eyes go throughout the camp—and beyond. The sins done in secret will come to light.
There is no such thing as a “secret sin” because the Lord knows everything that is done.
As we close today, let’s review how this chapter points us to Christ.
First, there are situations in which we find ourselves impure that are not necessarily our own fault. Physical ailments, exposure to death, and we could even generalize/spiritualize matters of life in which we are “on the outs” with society are not necessarily immorality on our part, but they do put us at odds with others. Because we do not have “whole relationships,” we cannot worship together as we should be able to. We have a way to wholeness.
Second, there are situations in which we find ourselves that are absolutely our fault. We have sinned against others, and we know it. We may find excuses, but ultimately we know they are just excuses. We have a way to forgiveness and restitution.
Third, there are situations in which we find ourselves suspected of indecency, but we are innocent. Again, the test of bitter waters is justice against the adulterer but vindication for the innocent. In those cases in which we are innocent but are suspected of guilt, we have a way of vindication.
In each of these scenarios, that way is Jesus.
As we walk this life, even as Christians, we will find ourselves with problems. That’s just part of life. But, no matter whether those problems are our fault, someone else’s fault, or just simply part of living in a fallen world, Jesus can restore us and guide us in living as His holy people. So, as His hands and feet, let me give you some very practical things to apply this passage this week.
If you know someone who is on the outskirts of society, look for ways to reach out to them.
I don’t mean necessarily someone who is a criminal or depraved. I mean those who struggle in our community because they don’t fit the norm. There is a reason the Bible is filled with passages about caring for the orphan, the widow, the foreigner, and the prisoner. God loves these people, too, and so His people should be on the front lines of loving the outcasts.
If you need to forgive, or be forgiven, go do that.
Make your restitutions. Give back the money plus some. Pay back the insult with compliments. Do what needs to be done to make things right. It isn’t about being friends with the person, it’s about getting your conscience before God clean because you’ve done your part to make things right. \
Invest in your marriage.
Go on the date, do the dishes, watch the movie, or whatever else it looks like to show your spouse you still love them. You know what they like, go do that. If your marriage is on the rocks, go do the counseling. Take the weekend to getaway. Talk about what needs to be talked about, and do it lovingly without yelling.
If you’re single, invest in your future marriage by becoming the person your future spouse needs you to be. Commit to faithfulness now by being faithful to purity and fidelity to who God has for you in the future. Don’t give to some random person what belongs to your future spouse.
If you find yourself accused of wrongdoing, let God vindicate you.
I said “practical,” but this one is the hardest. Romans 12:19 and Deuteronomy 32:35 both say,
“Vengeance is mine says the Lord.”
Romans 12:19 and Deuteronomy 32:35
Another one that may be even more helpful is:
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
1 Peter 2:12
Remain faithful in what God has given you to do, and let Him deal with the naysayers and haters. Again, it is not coincidence that the innocent wife is vindicated through a miraculous action of God. There are times when you have done everything right, and the world still accuses you. In those times, let God sort it out. Allow the peace of God to reign in your heart and mind through Christ Jesus.