What does it say?
The Lord commanded the sons of Israel, through Moses, to send the persons with leprosy, a discharge and everyone who is unclean from touching a dead body out of the camp. All sin is against the Lord, therefore, if a man sins against one of his brethren, he is to confess it, pay restitution for his wrong, add one-fifth to it, but if there is no relative to receive it, it goes to the priest, just like the holy gifts. If a man becomes jealous and suspects his wife of adultery, he is to take to the priest a grain offering on her behalf. The priest puts dust from the floor of the tabernacle into an earthen jar, stands before the accused woman who is holding the grain offering, asks her if she has slept with another man, if she lies, she brings a curse upon herself. The priest then writes these words on a scroll, washes water over the scroll into the jar, takes the grain offering from her hands, waves it before the Lord, offers it up in smoke on the altar and the woman drinks the water.
What does it mean?
The Lord had previously given commands concerning leprosy, bodily discharges and uncleanness from a dead body; now was the time to institute the Lord’s command. There are two things going on: First, holiness, the Lord is holy, therefore, his people shall be holy. Second, the people are living in close quarters, therefore, it is to protect from disease spreading throughout the camp. The remainder of this chapter seems to be about a woman caught in adultery, but it is really about suppressing the unfounded jealousy of her husband. A wife was under the authority of her husband. Prior to this, a jealous husband might have beat or put his wife to death, but not in the kingdom of God. In the kingdom of God, the Lord is judge, especially when there is no proof of wrong doing. Accusations and fictitious jealousy is not justification for a husband’s anger. The Lord is truth. The Lord knows all things. Therefore, the matter is put into the hands of the Lord and not the hands of jealousy. We are to trust the Lord’s judgment. All sin is against the Lord and the Lord makes righteous judgments.
What does it mean?
John 7:24 (NASB)
“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
When there is an outward sickness: leprosy, a bodily discharge or a dead body, I can see these things and make a judgement. I also know when I have done wrong, therefore, I shall confess it and make restitution to my neighbor whom I wronged. But sometimes, there appears to be a wrong when there is not. The wrong could be cooked up in the mind. When Jesus made the aforementioned statement about judging, he was accused by the pharisees of breaking the law of God, working on the Sabbath, when he was actually keeping the commandment to love his neighbor. They were judging according to appearance and not according to righteousness. It is impossible to make a righteous judgment when angry or jealous. The pharisees were jealous of the attention that Jesus was getting. Therefore, I shall make no judgment when angry or jealous.
