Numbers 5:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Verse two continues, Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: Moses was commanded by God to remove lepers and anyone else who might have some contagious disease from the camp, as well a anyone who had been defiled by a dead person. Verse three continues, Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell. This was to apply to both male and female, and was to be done so that they would not defile the camp where God lived. As followers of Christ, we have the Holy Spirit living within us, so we must put anything that does defile us out of our life. Verse four concludes, And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the LORD spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel. Moses and the people of Israel did as God commanded, and so must we. Verse five states, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Verse six adds, Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty; God again spoke to Moses, concerning people who commit sins. This is still God's concern today, but as Christians it is not for us to condemn them. God will take care of the judgment. Verse seven continues, Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. In this case, God was speaking of someone who had somehow cheated another person. They were first to confess, then make restitution above what they had gained from cheating the other person. Though we are forgiven from all sin as Christians, I believe that when we do something to harm others that we must confess and accept the responsibility for our actions, no matter what it may cost us. Verse eight concludes, But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him. If the person who had been wronged had died and had no relatives, the person who had wronged him was still not free of his obligation. He was to bring the recompense to the priest, as well as a ram of atonement. Our sins have ramifications that go beyond just this life, and we must confess them and have them atoned by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross if they are to be forgiven. Verse nine says, And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his. God said that all the offerings brought to the priests would be his to use. Of course, the priests couldn't just demand that the people bring more than what God required them to bring. This was not a way for the priests to become rich, but was a way for their needs to be met. Verse ten adds, And every man’s hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his. God repeated that anything hallowed that was given to the priest would be the priests. Just as God provided for the priests then, He will provide for us today if we are followers of Christ, and therefore a part of the priesthood of believers.
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