May 4, 2023

Do you value purity?

Numbers 5

Antoinette Davis
Thursday's Devo

May 4, 2023

Thursday's Devo

May 4, 2023

Thursday's Devo

May 4, 2023

Thursday's Devo

May 4, 2023

Big Idea

God's instruction can always be trusted.

Key Verse | Numbers 5:2

"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."

Numbers 5

Unclean People

1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous 1 5:2 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. 3 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.” 4 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.

Confession and Restitution

5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “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, 7 he shall confess his sin that he has committed. 2 5:7 Hebrew they shall confess their sin that they have 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. 8 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. 9 And every contribution, all the holy donations of the people of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. 10 Each one shall keep his holy donations: whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his.”

A Test for Adultery

11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the people of Israel, If any man's wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, 13 if a man lies with her sexually, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, since she was not taken in the act, 14 and if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself, 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah 3 5:15 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters of barley flour. He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, 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 earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD and unbind the hair of the woman's head and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And in his hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse. 19 Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, ‘If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband's authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse. 20 But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband's authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your husband has lain with you, 21 then’ (let the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse, and say to the woman) ‘the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD makes your thigh fall away and your body swell. 22 May this water that brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, ‘Amen, Amen.’

23 Then the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the water of bitterness. 24 And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain. 25 And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand and shall wave the grain offering before the LORD and bring it to the altar. 26 And the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. 27 And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman shall become a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.

29 This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, though under her husband's authority, goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife. Then he shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall carry out for her all this law. 31 The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”

Footnotes

[1] 5:2 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
[2] 5:7 Hebrew they shall confess their sin that they have committed
[3] 5:15 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters

Num 5:11-31 - "Suspected infidelity? What do we do with this text?"

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Numbers 5

Ever want a glass of brown water? Grey milk? Not me—I want the pure, clean thing! 

Well, so does our Heavenly Father. God calls His people to purity. If we are going to walk in fellowship with God, there must be a cleansing of the sin in our lives.

In Numbers 5, God calls the Israelites to live pure lives that include ceremonial cleansing, reconciling personal relationships, and justly dealing with accusations. God is saying to His people, "It's time to clean things up! I am dwelling in your midst, you are My chosen people, and now I am calling you to holy living." Purity is freedom from anything that contaminates our hearts and minds. It is the quality of being faultless, uncompromised, or unadulterated.  A pure life is one in which sin no longer contaminates or controls us.

Like the Israelites wandering in the desert, we, too, need a sin cleansing. Romans 3:23 tells us, "[F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Even what we consider good behavior is often driven by selfish motives, people pleasing, or pride. Left to ourselves, it is impossible to be completely free from sin.

But in His mercy, God provides a way for us to be cleansed of sin. Not by any action of our own, but by the gift of His Son Jesus Christ. Sin cleansing is found one way, through Jesus Christ. When we come to Christ by faith and trust Him to forgive and cleanse us of all our sin, we are in that moment born again, and we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). God gives us a new heart that is now turned toward obeying and pleasing Him, and the Holy Spirit indwells us to help. As we yield to the Holy Spirit to lead us, purity will more and more define our thoughts, our words, and our actions.

The message is clear: God calls us to live a life of purity. It starts with accepting Christ and progresses as we walk in fellowship with Him.

This month's memory verse

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

– Philippians 2:3-4

Discussion Questions

1. If you know Christ, how is your life different from before you knew Him?

2. Do you blend in with the world around you, or are the people around you influenced by your lifestyle? How does your lifestyle look different from theirs?

3. Where are you struggling with purity? 

4. What's one change you can make today to live a more pure life?

5. In what ways does your life demonstrate God's call for believers to be set apart, pure, and holy?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

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Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Antoinette! Thanks to you and Barry for all you do for Watermark. You all are a blessing to all of us. Totally with you on the need for purity and cleansing of sin. It’s clear to me that Satan is after us and we only have one direction to run. Q1. Flashback. August 2015. It’s time for me to confess my inventory to my mentor and my community group guys. This was my 2nd time through Re:gen and my third inventory Including my AA version in 2014. As you may know, the call is to make an inventory of sins of various types that is “fearless and searching”. To my surprise, as I got deeper and deeper into my list, I could feel the weight coming off me. I dug deeper and deeper. So many things that I was going to take to my grave filled up page after page. When time came for the full confession, I sat down with my mentor and CG and just read left to right. Page after page after page. I got very emotional. At the end of about two hours of tears and sobbing was done. My mentor looked at the pages, put his finger on them, looked at me and said, “Hugh, I don’t know THAT man”. Q2. One of the many passages that I missed in prior readings is that of the “mixed multitude” from Exodus 12:38. From the notes- “Moses referred to the "mixed multitude" often, in the account of the wilderness wanderings that follows. This group probably included Egyptian pagans and some God-fearers (v. 38; cf. 9:20), plus an assortment of other people, including other enslaved Semites. For one reason or another, these people took this opportunity to leave or escape from Egypt along with the Israelites. This group proved to be a source of trouble in Israel, and led the Israelites in complaining and opposing Moses (e.g., Num. 11:4).” At the risk of stretching a bit- I’d link the “mixed multitude” to today’s presence of “the world around me” or “culture”. Later in Numbers they’re referred to as the “rabble”. As I am taught, these persons were not counted in the census nor allowed to fight. While God allowed them to be present and part of the physical rescue form Egypt, until they were fully committed, they would not be part of the war preparation and would not have the presence of God or His blessings in any full measure. God is serious about being duly surrendered. There’s no drive through window in the tabernacle.
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Hugh Stephenson

Q3. As I presume is the case with virtually all men, it is tough to walk around Dallas and not have my eyes distracted. I learned in re:gen about the dangers of 2nd looks and lingering looks. Q4. Just one? I think about a broad definition of purity which includes thoughts, words, and deeds. In words and deeds the Holy Spirt has helped me to simply hit the pause button before speaking or acting. Thoughts are much harder. Spending a lot more time on the presence of God is a big help. Q5. Hitting the pause button as in Q4 is probably the most obvious. Ephesians 4:29 is a key verse for me. As is Matthew 5:28. Plus most of Proverbs.
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Hugh Stephenson

Very helpful edification from the notes- “God gave the following laws to maintain holiness in the nation, so He could continue to dwell among His people and bless them. This was particularly important because Israel would soon depart from Sinai to enter the Promised Land, in which she would need to be holy to be victorious over her enemies. These were requirements for the whole nation, not just the priests.” “The focus shifts from safeguarding holiness among the clergy to safeguarding holiness among the laity." "Between covenant promise and covenant possession lay a process of rigorous journey through hostile opposition of terrain and terror. Israel had to understand that occupation of the land could be achieved only through much travail, for Canaan, like creation itself, was under alien dominion and it had to be wrested away by force, by the strong arm of Yahweh, who would fight on behalf of His people." “Note the importance of proper interpersonal relationships in these chapters.”
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Michael Sisson

Re: Num 5:1-5 The operative Hebrew word in this passage is traditionally translated “leprosy,” but the same Hebrew word was used for various diseases affecting the skin—not necessarily the leprosy we think of today. Within Jewish tradition, skin diseases are also associated with “lashon hara” (“evil speech” i.e. gossip, slander, etc.), but I’ll save going into greater detail for another time In Num 5:2, defilement through contact with the dead is mentioned. In Num 9:6 and following, we will read how this ordinance leads to the establishment of the rather obscure feast of Second Passover; an occasion which reminds us we serve a G-d of second chances. Moreover, Num 5:2 provides important cultural context for the ancient practice of whitewashing tombs so unwitting defilement could be avoided. Likewise, Yeshua picks up on this theme in His chastisement of the Pharisees in Mt 23:27. See also Ex 4:6; Lev 13:46; 14:3,32; 15:2; Num 9:6; Dt 24:8; Mt 9:20; 23:27 While there is no direct reference to Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) in Num 5:1-5, the passage essentially tees up one of the criteria used to identify the Messiah to come. (See also Isa 35:5-6) “On the day Yeshua sent the first cured leper to the temple to be checked over by the priest, it would have been the first time any priest had ever had to consult the details of the Law on the matter… it had never happened before in history!“ — One For Israel For a deeper dive into our Messiah’s relationship to leprosy, checkout “The Leper Messiah” by One For Israel: https://www.oneforisrael.org/bible-based-teaching-from-israel/the-leper-messiah/ Re: Num 5:5-10 If anyone sins, he or she must confess it and make teshuvah (full restitution) for the offense + 20% in damages to the offended party. While this seemingly implies the sin in view is theft, as creatures made in G-d’s image we should understood ALL of our sins rob G-d of the glory due His Name. Re: Num 5:11-31 “This is called the law of the ‘Sotah,’ or the wife suspected of unfaithfulness by her husband (Num 5:12-31). “In an unusual ritual, a husband would bring his wife to the kohanim and present a ’jealousy’ offering (actually, an offering of barley rather than wheat, without added oil and spices as was customary for the minchah offering). A kohen [priest] would then take the offering and put it in the woman's hand and the woman was required to make an oath of her innocence before the LORD. “After this, the kohen [priest] would prepare ‘bitter water’ that the woman would be required to drink. The priest would take an earthen drinking vessel and fill it with water taken from the Kiyyor Nechoshet (bronze laver or wash basin), mixing some dust from the mishkan [Tabernacle] floor and stirring it into the water. The priest would write on a scroll a curse that described the woman's punishment, written with the sacred Name of God, and immerse it in the water so that the words of the oath ‘rubbed off’ (dissolved) into the water of the drinking vessel. “Finally she was made to drink ‘bitter waters.’ If she was indeed guilty of adultery, she would die a painful death: her body would swell, her face would become ashen, and her limbs would weaken. If she was vindicated, however, the water would not harm her at all, and she would be given a special blessing that she would no longer have pain during childbirth. >>>Note that the Talmud (Sotah 27b) states that though it is the woman who was made to drink the bitter waters, the death sentence was also given to her male partner in adultery.”<<< — Hebrew For Christians https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Naso/naso.html
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Chris Landry

Good morning, Antoinette. Thankful to the Davis family. Barry and the Betterman material was an amazing way for the Lord to shape my heart in my early fatherhood days. So thank you, both, for being so faithful! Overall - as it pertains to Numbers 5 - we can learn that God is about Justice, Holiness (Purity), and Right Relationships. Jesus ultimately righted our relationship to God. And through the messiest of sins, we can have the water of bitterness taken away. Jesus asked God to let the cup pass from him (Luke 22:42) if there was any other way. So glad he didn't!! Praise God. https://www.gotquestions.org/let-this-cup-pass-from-me.html I can only imagine how bitter that cup must have been. BUT GOD has always been faithful and, ultimately, willing to save us and take that cup from us. Numbers 5 and The Good News of Jesus (The Gospel) are both about Justice, Holiness, and Right Relationship! Side note: Loved this quip by Hugh, "There’s no drive through window in the tabernacle." So true...all through Numbers (so far) and Exodus we can see that God is quite insistent about us meeting with Him. Not just "how" we meet with him, but the overarching message is "THAT" we meet with Him. (cf. Psalms 84:10)
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Michael Scaman

For the wife suspected of adultery based on jealousy, no witnesses, no evidence, only a spirit of jealousy.. One benefit for women and even the man, an article in the the Jerusalem Post what brought up about the 'test of adultery of a jealous husband' , They suggested in a way it protects women from an obsessively jealous husband providing an official God sanctioned test to end the matter and move on past the obsessive jealousy. Who 'the lover' is is not even an issue here but other laws cover that if found out. Other laws cover cases where there is concrete evidence.
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Sue Bohlin

Thanks so much, Antoinette! OK, I'll say it outright--the instructions for dealing with an adulterous wife, even the suspicion of one, are weird. Strange. Yet another question to be added to the list when I get to heaven . . . I do find it interesting, though, that God made a provision for an innocent wife married to a paranoid, jealous, suspicious husband. (And given the complete inequity of men and women in that culture, what recourse did women have in ANY unfair situation?) She could drink the potion knowing she was innocent, and the fact that nothing would happen would be Yahweh's stamp of approval on her vindication. That sounds like Old Testament grace to me!
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Amy Lowther

1. The grass is greener. You act with courage to complete things in good ways when usually you would give up. 2. Both. Life offers a variety of things. God and Jesus help a variety of people. Everybody can influence everybody because we each offer something interesting and good that can make us all better if we give it a chance. We each have gifts from God and we should use them. 3. Interpretations of purity sometimes vary so it is important to look to God, put opinions aside, and do as God prefers. 4. I need to continue working at life with Gods guidance. 5. I am helpful and encouraging.