Numbers 5:11 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Verse twelve adds, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him, Verse thirteen continues, And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner; God then began to speak to Moses about a woman who commits adultery. God presented the case of a woman committing adultery, but no one knowing about it. There are many sins committed today that people never find out about, but God knows. This woman was defiled for her husband, but he didn't really know it. Verse fourteen states, And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled: God then spoke about the man becoming jealous, or suspicious, of his wife, which could occur if she was guilty or not. Some men today are unjustifiably jealous or suspicious of their wives, while others may be justifiably so. Of course, the same could be said of wives. Verse fifteen adds, Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance. God then told Moses that the man who was jealous of his wife was to bring her before the priest, along with jealousy offering, which was to be plain barely meal. The offering was not to have anything added to it, because it was a jealousy offering. Verse sixteen says, And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD: The woman was to be brought near and set before the LORD, with it still undetermined if she was guilty of adultery or not. If we have concerns about anything today, we need to bring it to God, and we no longer have to go through a priest. Verse seventeen adds, And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water: The priest was to mix holy water with the dust of the floor of the tabernacle. There was really nothing miraculous about this mixture, except that it was what God told the priest to do. If we expect miraculous things to happen today, we must start by doing what God tells us to do. Verse eighteen continues, And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse: The priest was to set the woman before the LORD with her head uncovered and the memorial offering in her hand. This would be the case whether she were innocent or guilty. Verse nineteen states, And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse: The priest the was to tell the woman that if she were innocent, she would be free from the curse that the water would cause. Matthew Henry says if she were guilty and confessed that she would have simply been divorced from her husband, and if she were innocent she would still have to go through the same thing. Sometimes, innocent people suffer because of their presumed guilt. Verse twenty adds, But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband: Verse twenty-one continues, Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell; The woman was to be given a chance to confess to the priest, and if she didn't, the priest was to continue with the ceremony. It is always best if we are guilty of sin to just confess it to God, because He already knows about it. If she was guilty, the water would be a poison to her. Sin always poisons us spiritually. Verse twenty-two says, And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen. If she were guilty, the water would affect her physically, and all she could do was say amen and amen. When we are guilty of sin, all we can do is confess it to God and allow Him to deal with us. As Christians, we should not expect to sin without God still holding us accountable. Salvation is not a license to sin just because we know we are already forgiven.
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