Thursday Night Bible Study

Numbers 5-Numbers 6 (Click on scripture reference for audio access)

"...Purification..."  •  3.22.12  •  Thursday Night Bible Study, Calvary Christian Fellowship

Intro.

            - In the first four chapters of Numbers, Moses has been laying a foundation for the society that would shape the near future of the Israeli people.

            - They were to be prepared for war, organized to walk and consecrated for worship. In the church, we must have a similar disposition.

            - We are in a spiritual battle. When we move, the Lord Jesus must be in the center of our walk. We cannot live and not worship the Lord God, who delivered and purchased us.

            - None of that matters if what we see before us tonight is allowed to take place. You can have all the structure, organization and worship apparatus in place. Without purity, it's all for naught!

            - That is what God calls His people to in these two chapters. Chapter 5 will contain the negative side of purity, while chapter 6 will present the positive side of purity.

Text

            •  Numbers 5:1-4  :  "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell.' And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did." : God had commanded this in Leviticus and now it was to become a reality. Among those living in fairly close quarters, these regulations are very necessary and reasonable.

            - In this day and age, contagious diseases and bacterial infection were deadly problems.

            - If you think of the camp of Israel as a military encampment, then the place set aside for those who were lepers and with discharge would be a triage of sorts.

            - These issues, leprosy, discharge and touching a corpse, were real problems which defiled people, making them ceremonially unclean.

            - You will recall that the priests were responsible for checking on the status of these unfortunate people. They were given very specific instructions about their health in Leviticus.

            - Whether it was male or female, they were to be put out because the camp was the place where the Lord dwelt! God moved around the camp. He dwelt there with His people.

            - The people did as they were commanded. At first, such a thing seems obvious and simple but remember that these are family members, excluded from their families and worship.

            - In doing this, God maintained a community's health and focused on a community's distress.

            - It's interesting that the Bible talks often about removing people from the camp. Though these people were not immoral or openly sinful, in a way, they represent those who are not entirely healthy.

            - God dwells in the midst of His people and when there is a clear case for removal, we may ask someone to leave, in order for the healthy to flourish and the sick to receive the proper care.

            - According to I Corinthians 5, one who is involved with unrepentant sexual activity should be removed. Why? Because a little leaven leavens the whole lump!

            - According to II Thessalonians 3:14, if one does not obey the truth of God's Word, the church is not to keep company with them. Why? So that they will be ashamed and admonished.

            - Matthew 18:15-17 tells us that we are to treat someone who refuses to commit to reconciliation as a tax collector and sinner. In every one of these cases, there is room for repentance!

            - God never once gives us the right to cut someone off permanently. In fact, when the lepers and defiled members went out, the priests were to check on them, looking for signs of healing!

            - That is what we are to do as well, but purity within the congregation is key to it's success!

            • Numbers 5:5-10 : "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the Lord, and that person is guilty, then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him. Every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. And every man’s holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be his.’"  :  Notice again the Lord spoke to Moses. These are His Words.

            - Physical sickness was one thing. Here we have spiritual sickness. This was dealing with sin.

            - Anyone that committed a sin in unfaithfulness to the Lord was first to confess the sin that he committed. The word speaks to pointing the finger at oneself. "I am the problem here!"

            - True confession centers in one taking personal responsibility for what has been committed and does not seek to justify or shift the blame in any other direction!

            - When that person confesses, the next step is to take action to right the wrong. This person was to practically return what had been lost, plus 20%.

            - If there was not a living person to receive it, they would bring it to the priests. One way or another, the person who is confessing, must show signs of repentance by restoring what was lost.

            - Somebody who is truly repentant will have no problem in this area, but those who are not, will not be ready to restore. In a good way, the Lord is giving His people a test to see the difference.

            •  Numbers 5:11-15 : "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him, and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and there was no witness against her, nor was she caught—if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself—then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity to remembrance." :  The situation here begins with the possibility of secret sin. A woman potentially gets away with committing adultery.

            - Listen to the synonyms that the Lord uses: She goes astray, behaves unfaithfully.

            - These are appropriate words to describe this condition. It's carnal and may not be caught, but sin has a way of being found out, especially in a marriage relationship!

            - Now, as much as adultery is a problem, the emphasis here is more upon the jealousy or the zeal of the husband. The NLT translates this as having raised suspicions.

            - Whether that suspicion is justified, in the case of adultery or not, in the case of over sensitive suspicion, the couple is to come with a fellowship offering to determine what had taken place.

            - Notice that it is not to be offered with frankincense or oil. Why? Because this is not a sweet smelling thing to the Lord. This offering is calling upon God to remember, not forget.

            •  Numbers 5:16-22  :  "And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the Lord.  The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. Then the priest shall stand the woman before the Lord, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse. And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, 'If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.  But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has lain with you'—then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman—'the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh rot and your belly swell;  and may this water that causes the curse go into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.' Then the woman shall say, 'Amen, so be it.'"  : Suffice it say, the Lord takes sin seriously! The woman here is being tested, and at the same time, being protected.

            - This was not a shaman's curse. These priests were the representatives of the Most High God, who dwelt there with His people! Believe me, her sin, if committed and denied, would cost her!

            - By saying, "Amen, so be it" she was willing to concede to the curse. Let it be so to me!

            - If she was guilty, she would receive the guilt in the organs of her body that the adultery took place in. If that happened, she and her accomplce would be executed. If not, she'd be free.

            •  Numbers 5:23-28  :  "Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water. And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to become bitter. Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, shall wave the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar; and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water. When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people. But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children." : The result of this test would come back quickly. God protected this woman by giving a definitive test that would prove her innocence and keep her husband from arbitrarily divorcing her.

            - It would literally take a miraculous act of God to prove that she did anything wrong.

            •  Numbers 5:29-31 : "This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself, or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her. Then the man shall be free from iniquity, but that woman shall bear her guilt.’"  : The man here is the husband who would have treated her severely if he believed that adultery had taken place.

            - However, this was God's law and It was severe, but was mandatory to curb human slides into sin. God's holiness and Israel's covenant with the Lord demanded such action.

            - From the negative, prohibitive side of purification, to the positive side of purification.

            •  Numbers 6:1-8 : "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. He shall not make himself unclean even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the Lord."  :  The word "Nazarite" means "a dedicated one." This was open to men or women who wanted to separate themselves to the Lord.

            - One might think that the priests could only be close to the Lord. The law of the Nazarite speaks otherwise.

            - This law tells us that any member of the community could have as close a relationship with the Lord as they wanted!

            - Truthfully, you will always have the exact relationship with God that you want!

            - In order to separate themselves to the Lord, they separated themselves from some things, such as strong drink or anything that would come from the vine.

            - Alcohol was used to purify water and grapes, raisins, etc., were luxury items.

            - However, long his vow was, and it could be quite long, he was to abstain from this.

             - They were not to allow for a haircut, nor was he or she to go near a dead body, even if it was a family member. These days were separate and considered other by the Lord.

            •  Numbers 6:9-12  :  "And if anyone dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. Then on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting; and the priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned in regard to the corpse; and he shall sanctify his head that same day. He shall consecrate to the Lord the days of his separation, and bring a male lamb in its first year as a trespass offering; but the former days shall be lost, because his separation was defiled." : You could go so long, but all could be ruined if someone died next to them. They would have to perform a sacrifice and then begin again!

            - None of the days prior to the incident counted. They were all lost due to his defilement.

            - Notice that this was not his fault, but the Lord considered this to be a sin. Even that which was incidental could be considered as a disqualifying mark. The law is harsh.

            - Notice also that one who is Nazarite is not to concern himself with past accomplishment, but with current consecration. Where am I now? What do I do now to draw closer to the Lord?

            •  Numbers 6:13-18  :  "Now this is the law of the Nazirite: When the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall be brought to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And he shall present his offering to the Lord: one male lamb in its first year without blemish as a burnt offering, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish as a sin offering, one ram without blemish as a peace offering, a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their grain offering with their drink offerings. Then the priest shall bring them before the Lord and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering; and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall also offer its grain offering and its drink offering. Then the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offering."  : The Nazarite vow was finished when he was brought to the door of the tabernacle.

            - He presented his offerings to the Lord, then he would come before the Lord and then he would take his hair and offer that to the Lord.

            •  Numbers 6:19-21 : "And the priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them upon the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his consecrated hair, and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord; they are holy for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave offering. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.’ This is the law of the Nazirite who vows to the Lord the offering for his separation, and besides that, whatever else his hand is able to provide; according to the vow which he takes, so he must do according to the law of his separation.'"  :  The Nazarite could go back to normal life after he had gone through the time of his vow.

            •  Numbers 6:22-27 : " And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.' So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.'"  :  After the sacrifices of that were brought to the tabernacle, the Lord uttered a blessing that Aaron was to speak to the children of Israel. They were to hear this on a daily basis.

            - He was to tell them of God's blessing and protection over them. Israel's God was one who wished to bless His people, to protect them.

            - The Lord would make His face to shine upon them, meaning that His smile would be upon them and give Him grace.

            - The Lord look upon you with His face and give you peace! What beautiful words to a people that God put His name upon.

            ˚  "The three-fold repetition of Lord does not prove the Trinity, but it certainly illustrates it. God the Father blesses and keeps His children; God the Son makes God’s face to shine on us and brings us grace; God the Holy Spirit communicates God’s attention to us, and gives us peace"

Conclusion

            - God calls us to keep the camp and our hearts clean before Him. We are to be concerned with the cleanliness of the camp, not sniffing out sin, but dealing with it when we see it.

            - We are to concerned with our hearts, keeping them clean before the Lord. What is it that best protects us from negative, prohibitive behavior? Positive, proactive behavior!

            - As the Nazarite Vow reminds us, we are called by God to draw as close to Him as possible, looking not to the past or to that which has interrupted our walk with the Lord.

            - We are to look at our lives right now and ask, "Lord, how would you draw me near to you?" What will we find and hear?

            - The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make His face to shine upon thee. The Lord lift up His countenance and give you peace!