Forgotten Stories 3: An Unfaithful Wife Numbers 5,6. The passion to know Scripture and apply it to life..

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Forgotten Stories 3: An Unfaithful Wife Numbers 5,6. The passion to know Scripture and apply it to life.."

Neil Wilkins
5 years ago
Views:

1 Forgotten Stories 3: An Unfaithful Wife Numbers 5,6 How are we going with the Book of Numbers? Is it making sense? They are building an army for the Promised Land The Tabernacle is brought to the centre of camp, because God has to be at the centre They have to learn about God in worship, before they charge off to the Promised Land Today is Forgotten Stories 3: An Unfaithful Wife The passion to know Scripture and apply it to life..... underpins this series l Though sometimes it doesn t come easily When you come to read today s passage -... chapters 5 & 6 you could say it s a bit like trying to drive your car after a tornado l You can hardly drive one metre and you have to get out and move stuff out of the way n You get in and try and drive but there s another obstacle, and another n And so we often just give up u And we never actually make it down that road, to see what s at the end of it To give you an idea of the particular road blocks... I m in a group of pastors from different churches and this week we were ing about what we re all preaching on I wrote: 1

2 Can t wait for sunday! Preaching on Numbers 5 & 6 which includes the test of an unfaithful wife - seems one of the most sexist passages in scripture - as well as Nazarites who need to cut their hair if someone falls dead beside them, and removal from the camp of anyone with a 'discharge' or skin disease. Awesome!! It really is that bizarre! If you ve never heard of Nazarites the most distinctive thing about them would be that they have very long hair Modern equivalents may include front row rugby props why do props always grow bushy beards? o Or this guy who gets called the caveman he could pass for a Nazarite Or terrorists of course they always seem to have long hair And someone on the internet had already considered the Nazarite claims of Chewbacca Long hair alone doesn t qualify you as a Nazarite of course Numbers 6 says Nazarites must abstain from alcohol and even grape juice! o I doubt too many rugby players would be happy with that And randomly - they have to keep away from dead bodies even if it s a family member! So much of this passage seems inexplicable and the questions it poses are like one road block after another after another l I sent out a list of these incredibly difficult questions to the Life Groups this week... maybe to share the pain a little?!... or maybe because the view from the end of the road means so much more when you ve had to spend some time removing the road blocks So let s dive in and take a look: 2

Numbers 5: The Lord gave these instructions to Moses: 2 Command the people of Israel to remove from the camp anyone who has a skin disease or a discharge, or who has become ceremonially unclean by

3 Numbers 5: The Lord gave these instructions to Moses: 2 Command the people of Israel to remove from the camp anyone who has a skin disease or a discharge, or who has become ceremonially unclean by touching a dead person. 3 This command applies to men and women alike. Remove them so they will not defile the camp in which I live among them. 4 So the Israelites did as the Lord had commanded Moses and removed such people from the camp. l Does God need people with afflictions removed from him?! Why? - Is this not directly contrary to the actions of Jesus who sought out such people? - he went to sick people and blind people and healed them l Why did touching dead bodies make someone 'ceremonially unclean'? - Again, Jesus sought out Lazarus, rather than keeping separate from him So help me shift these road blocks here What are your answers to those questions? (And if you ve got the sermon script no looking ahead put it down for a minute I want to hear your answers) They are preparing for war! Disease spreads if not quarantined & decreases those available for the army There is no sin mentioned here; sin is not the reason people are excluded 1 The Lord gave these instructions to Moses: 2 Command the people of Israel to remove from the camp anyone who has a skin disease or a discharge, or who has become ceremonially unclean by touching a dead person. 3 This command applies to men and women alike. Remove them so they will not defile the camp in which I live among them. 4 So the Israelites did as the Lord had commanded Moses and removed such people from the camp. Why did touching dead bodies make someone 'ceremonially unclean'? - health / spread of germs - God represented holiness / life to Israel; the direct opposite of impurity / mortality (the dead) l [On Pt 1: Comparison with my flu of the last week & associated quarantine; Kids getting nits] l [On Pt 3: Death and sin were also connected in their minds Adam s sin brought death into the world] 3

4 l The idea here is that the camp is to be kept pure, because God is present n It s like the 4th gradation of the Tabernacle: The Most Holy Place, The Holy Place, The Court, and The Camp Having dealt with visible outward issues that affect the camp, like skin diseases the next bit looks at less visible issues that affect the camp, like theft and betrayal We betray God when we hurt each other If God is to be present among us, we can't be a community where betrayal and theft happen So here, your sin is not your business, it's everyone's business l 5 Then the Lord said to Moses, 6 Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If any of the people - men or women - betray the Lord by doing wrong to another person, they are guilty. 7 They must confess their sin and make full restitution for what they have done, adding an additional 20 percent & returning it to the person who was wronged. 8 But if the person who was wronged is dead, & there are no near relatives to whom restitution can be made, the payment belongs to the Lord & must be given to the priest. Those who are guilty must also bring a ram as a sacrifice, & they will be purified & made right with the Lord. 9 All the sacred offerings that the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him. 10 Each priest may keep all the sacred donations that he receives. 1st point: v6: If we betray the Lord by doing wrong to another person Why is that betraying God? Because He can t dwell where there is sin We ve changed the rules in His community u Psalm 51 Against you only have I sinned. l 3rd point: n If we want God to take us to the Promised Land, purity amongst the people is essential u Because it s God that s going to get us there! l We can t brush things under the rug. n Your business is not your business. 4

5 n Everyone needs to keep everyone accountable. Now we come to the big one the Test for an Unfaithful Wife Notice that having dealt first with outwardly obvious things like skin diseases it next deals with less visible things like theft and betrayal and now it comes to the most intimate and hidden issue of all faithfulness in marriage But brace yourselves this is no walk in the park Horrifying? Sexist? Why is there no similar test for unfaitfulness in the husband? Can we still believe that God is into equality? 12b Suppose a man s wife goes astray If her husband becomes jealous the husband must bring his wife to the priest The priest will then present her to stand trial before the Lord... The priest will stand before her, holding the jar of bitter water He will make the woman drink the bitter water... When the water enters her body it will cause bitter suffering if she is guilty... 27b Her abdomen will swell and her womb will shrink, and her name will become a curse among her people. 28 But if she has not defiled herself and is pure, then she will be unharmed and will still be able to have children. 31 The husband will be innocent of any guilt in this matter, but his wife will be held accountable for her sin. Again I d like your help in shifting the road blocks How does this strike you? Is it horrifying? Is it sexist? Can you find anything in the passage that calls men equally to account? Why would there be no similar test for men? Can we really believe Paul who later says we are all equal in Christ both male and female, if Numbers 6 suggests the opposite? And Jesus if he was a champion of the rights of women, then why is this part of the Bible so removed from that? 5

Chat with each other about it for a moment The legal systems of the day were controlled by men 12b Suppose a man s wife goes astray... 14 If her husband becomes jealous.

6 Chat with each other about it for a moment The legal systems of the day were controlled by men 12b Suppose a man s wife goes astray If her husband becomes jealous the husband must bring his wife to But here, the woman's destiny is the priest The priest will then present her to stand trial before the Lord... in God's hands, not the hands of men The husband has to get over his suspicions if he's wrong & recommit to his wife In this society, suspicion of infidelity doesn't get the chance to brew The priest will stand before her, holding the jar of bitter water He will make the woman drink the bitter water... When the water enters her body it will cause bitter suffering if she is guilty... 27b Her abdomen will swell and her womb will shrink, and her name will become a curse among her people. 28 But if she has not defiled herself and is pure, then she will be unharmed and will still be able to have children. 31 The husband will be innocent of any guilt in this matter, but his wife will be held accountable for her sin. The legal systems of the day were controlled by men! But here, the woman s destiny is in God s hands, not the hands of men l Men initiated marriages & divorces & charges of sexual misconduct u So women were vulnerable to suspicion of infidelity u To protect innocent but suspected women from the inevitable bias of a male dominated trial God removes their fates from human jurisdiction l And interestingly: This right to a Supreme Court trial belongs only to women! Can you imagine how frightening it would otherwise be in a male-dominant culture where an angry suspicious husband could strike out against his wife without any proof even to the extent of being able to take her life? And this process also forces the husband to get over himself and his suspicions, if she really is innocent 6

7 ... and he s accountable to his community to do so And even more than that this passage recognises that suspicion kills community It doesn t allow suspicion to linger it gets brought into the open and dealt with It s fascinating to think that today marital infidelity is not even a crime it s considered your own business But it s not just your own business o It affects lots of people around you o And it really is wrong at heart, we know that And most importantly here, it affects the shalom in the community: o God can t live with it Now consider this: Numbers 5 involves a woman of questionable repute coming to a man of God... letting down her hair... holding an offering in her hands... in an attitude of sorrow and mourning u Does any of that sound familiar? A woman who d lived a sinful life heard one day that Jesus was eating at a Pharisee s house l So she sought him out and came to him n She began to wet his feet with her tears 7

8 n And kissed them, and poured perfume on them When his Pharisee host saw this he said: If this man were a prophet, he would know the kind of sinful woman she is! Jesus is dealing with a Numbers 5 situation! l The loosened hair, the offering, the sorrow and the man of God l And here is a man next to Jesus, declaring this woman guilty l Though in this situation there s nothing to judge - everyone, including Jesus, knows she s guilty She doesn t even need to drink the bitter water l She just needs stoning to death n It s clear cut I tell you, said Jesus... her many sins have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little, loves little. l He turned to the woman and said: Your sins are forgiven l The guests began saying: Who is this who even forgives sins? l Jesus said to the woman: Your faith has saved you; go in peace. n Guilty, yet forgiven Is Jesus undermining Numbers and the law against adultery? l No - he recognises her guilt fully l He s saying: You really get what forgiveness means, when you ve felt the full extent of your wrong 8

9 l This is in fact, the second time Jesus saves a woman from being stoned to death l You could almost say: He s bringing her back inside the camp I m thinking about how it feels to be brought back inside the camp l I m thinking about she felt as she walked away forgiven l I m thinking about the desperation that drove her to find Jesus... about how she d rather be judged by God than men And I wonder whether it s only women who ve run to the arms of God at such times... and whether God s grace is only for them... but then I notice King David saying: 14 I m in a desperate situation! David replied to Gad. But let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands. What Numbers 5 says is that we can t live with God in our midst, if there s sin in the camp l Sin and God s holiness just can t live together l You can t be unfaithful in your marriage l And you can t play around outside of marriage l You can t cut corners at work l Or cheat on your tax l You can t chase porn on the internet l Or cut family members out of your life l You can t hoard your money and give nothing away... because these dishonour God, and God can t live with them l It d be like showing up to heaven and trying to bring everything down to your level 9

10 But if you have done those kind of things or anything else, that you know just isn t right l Learn from King David, and from that sinful woman and run to God... don t just amble or walk, run... seek Him out... kneel at his feet... with a repentant heart... put yourself in the hands of God I don t know what He ll say to you, when you do that But you re better off in the hands of a forgiving God, than men as fair as their justice may be When people like King David and that woman who came to Jesus encountered the grace of God first hand recognising what they really deserved you can imagine how it would make their heart sing So it s no surprise to me that after the compassion of Numbers 5 comes the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6 People wanted to know back then: If you re really excited about God and you want to point others to him what s a way of doing that? 10

11 is there a special way we can commit ourselves to God, to show that? That s why people became Nazarites And people wanted to know if we want to bless our kids or our friends in the name of this amazing compassionate God how can we do that in a way that has God s authority behind it? And so at the end of chapter six comes the blessing of Aaron which you ll hear soon If God is living amongst us we can t just live sinfully We must be accountable to each other because sin affects the camp You truly know forgiveness when you understand the impact of your sin So run to Jesus, kneel at his feet, with a repentant heart May he forgive your sin And may He move your heart like the Nazarites to point others to the grace of our amazing God PRAYER When we started the Book of Numbers I asked what we know from this book I m guessing you will have heard the blessing of Aaron many times o But may not have known it s from Numbers chapter 6 It s a bit like the Lord s Prayer in the sense that people learn it from memory 11

12 and that God himself instructed us to say it How do you say a blessing over someone and know it really has the authority of God behind it, because God himself taught it? Numbers 6 from verse Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing: [And may this also be true for each one of us] 24 May the Lord bless you and protect you. 25 May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. 26 May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace. 27 Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them. 12

Numbers Chapters 5 John Karmelich

Numbers Chapters 5 John Karmelich 1. What prevents us from focusing on God? I ask that question as this chapter has several million Jews gathered in the wilderness with the tabernacle of God as the centerpiece