Numbers 5 - Purity in Israel’s Camp

In chapter 5, God gave some instructions to Moses which created some questions for me. Remember, this is a personal journey, my personal journey with God and HIs Word....a word that MAN wrote; although inspired by God....is man’s agenda woven into God’s Word??? A topic for conversation, right? Let’s dig in!

So God begins by saying, “Command the people of Israel to remove anyone from the camp who has a contagious skin disease or a discharge….remove them so they will not defile the camp, where I live among you” (Numbers 5:2-3). Ok, I get that. We live in a time where we completely understand the term QUARANTINE. However, those verses were a trigger for me because of some instructions God gave Moses, allegedly, in the book of Leviticus. In Leviticus 21:16-21, God says to Moses, “Tell Aaron that in all future generations, his descendants who have physical defects will not qualify to offer food to their God. No one who has a defect may come near to me, whether he is blind or lame, stunted or deformed, or has a broken foot or hand, or has a humped back or is a dwarf, or has a defective eye, or has oozing sores or scabs on his skin, or has damaged testicles.” Really? God continues in verse 23, “...because of his physical defect, he must never go behind the inner curtain or come near the altar, for this would desecrate my holy places.” This doesn’t sound like my loving God! This sounds like Jim Crow! This sounds like rules put into place because you didn’t like how someone looked; you felt they were dirty...like they were less than human. You can’t sit next to them; you can’t drink after them. Man thoughts, not God thoughts.

Ok, chapter 5 continues with some more questionable content. Let’s dig in.

This section is titled Protecting Marital Faithfulness. The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel: suppose a man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to her husband. Suppose she sleeps with another man, but there is no witness since she was not caught in the act. If her husband becomes jealous and suspicious of his wife, even if she has not defiled herself, the husband must bring his wife to the priest with an offering of two quarts of barley flour to be presented on her behalf….for it is a jealousy offering, an offering of inquiry to find out if she is guilty” (Numbers 5:12-15).

The priest then performs this detailed ritual to find out if the woman has been unfaithful (check it out for yourselves beginning with verse 16). She is subjected to this intense violation of herself because her husband has a suspicion and is jealous. He is required to bring her to the priest. The section and chapter ends with verse 31, “The husband will be innocent of any guilt in this matter, but his wife will be held accountable for her sin.”

I wrote in my bible, “What if the man is unfaithful?” Where is that content? There are no women authors in the bible, which could possibly explain the difference in accountability.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I love my God and His Word. It is what grounds me; it’s life’s instructions….the owner’s manual. However, God states, “The heart is wicked.” He also says, “Do not put your trust in man; he will disappoint you.” Well, man wrote this book! Is it possible that man, with his wicked heart, who you can’t trust (God’s words, not mine), inserted his own agenda periodically throughout the bible?

Just questions, and I’m seeking answers. I would love your insight, so please comment if you have thoughts to share.

Lord, thank you for your Word today! We know that throughout this bible your overarching theme of LOVE comes out, which draws us all to you. We love you!

“May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)

….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.