Numbers 5:23

Numbers 5:23 says, And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:  This is still talking about a woman whose husband thinks she is cheating on him, and the priest is to write a curse against her that would apply if she is and to blot it out with bitter water.  Verse twenty-four adds, And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.  The woman would then be forced to drink the bitter water.  It would seem that confession might have been easier, except the husband probably wouldn't have believed her if she didn't confess.  Verse twenty-five continues, Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar:  The priest was then to take the jealousy offering from the woman and wave it before before God and offer it on the altar.  It didn't matter whether the woman was guilty or innocent, since this was an offering given because of the husband's jealousy.   Hopefully, when we give offerings to God it will be for a more positive reason than jealousy.  Verse twenty-six states, And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.  The priest was then to burn a handful of the offering, and then have the woman drink the water.  I have to assume that this is just a repeating of the earlier statement about the woman being forced to drink the water and not a second time to drink it.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.  If the woman was guilty, the bitter water would cause her to suffer greatly physically.  It was really not the water though, but God's judgment of the woman’s sin, which was not hidden from Him, that would cause this.  He could have just as easily have caused this to happen without all the ritual, just as He could today.  Verse twenty-eight continues, And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.  If the woman was innocent, then she would not suffer and would be physically able to have children.  We are not told of a test for a man if the wife was jealous of him, and some people say because of this that God is not an impartial God, but we cannot believe in God as a God of love and forgiveness and see Him as being partial to some people.  Verse twenty-nine says, This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;  Verse thirty adds, Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.  This law applied to both women who were guilty and to those whose husband just believed them to be.  Matthew Henty says that if the husband was also guilty that the woman would not be affected according to Rabbinic teaching, but this does not state that, and that because of this that the ritual became almost unused in time.  We do know that men and women are held equally responsible by God when it comes to adultery.  Verse thirty-one continues, Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.  I believe that the man's iniquity would have been to divorce his wife unjustly, but if she were innocent, he would have still been guilty of allowing his jealousy been guilty of falsely accusing her.  We can never let our own fears or jealous to cause us to accuse someone else of sin and still be effective in our life as followers of Christ. 

Numbers 5:11

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. 

Numbers 5:1

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. 

Numbers 4:38

Numbers 4:38 says, Those that were numbered of the sons of Gershon, throughout their families, and by the house of their fathers,  Verse thirty-eight adds, From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,  Verse forty continues, Even those that were  numbered of them, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers, were two thousand and six hundred and thirty.  There were two thousand, six hundred and thirty men from the age of thirty to fifty total in the house of Gershon who entered into service in the tabernacle.  We are not told if they did it willing or reluctantly, but when God calls us to our place of service, we need to serve willingly, though serving reluctantly is better than not serving at all.  Verse forty-one concludes, These are they that were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, of all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, whom Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD.  This was the total of the house of Gershon numbered by Moses and Aaron.  Verse forty-two states, And those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, throughout their families, by the house of their fathers,  Verse forty-three adds, From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,  Verse forty-four continues, Even those that were numbered of them after their families, were three thousand and two hundred. These be those that were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moses and Aaron numbered according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.  From the house of Merari, there were three thouseand, two hundred men from the age of thirty to fifty who were able to enter into service in the tabernacle.  Verse forty-six says, All those that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and Aaron and the chief of Israel numbered, after their families, and after the house of their fathers,  Verse forty-seven adds, From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation,  Verse forty-eight continues, Even those that were numbered of them, were eight thousand and five hundred and fourscore. Verse forty-nine concludes, According to the  commandment of the LORD they were numbered by the hand of Moses, every one according to his service, and according to his burden: thus were they numbered of him, as the LORD commanded Moses.  We are then given the total number of Levites who were of this age.  They may have been from separate families within the tribe of Levi, but they were together in the work of God concerning the tabernacle.  We may come from different families as followers of Christ, but we should all work together to do God's work, each according to what God calls him or her to do.

Numbers 4:29

Numbers 4:29 says, As for the sons of Merari, thou shalt number them after their families, by the house of their fathers;  Verse thirty adds, From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old shalt thou number them, every one that entereth into the service, to do the work of the tabernacle of the congregation.  Next, we have the house of Merari that are to have the men between thirty and afifty counted from God's command to Moses.  These men were to serve in the tabernacle of the congregation.  Verse thirty-one continues, And this is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the tabernacle of the congregation; the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and sockets thereof,  Verse thirty-two concludes,  Andthe pillars of the court round about, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name ye shall reckon the instruments of the charge of their burden.  They were then given their particular responsibility for the moving and setting up of the tabernacle.   Just like the priests then, we all have a certain responsibility in doing the work of God, and it is all important to the overall work.  We cannot be envious of what someone else is called to do while neglecting what we are called to do.  Verse thirty-three states, This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the tabernacle of the congregation, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.  They were to serve under Aaron's son Ithamar.  Verse thirty-four adds, And Moses and Aaron and the chief of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kohathites after their families, and after the house of their fathers,  Verse thirty-five continues, From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation:  Verse thirty-six concludes, And those that were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred and fifty.  Moses, Aaron and the chief of the congregation counted them and there were two thousand seven hundred and fifty men from thirty to fifty years old in the house of Merari.  Verse thirty-seven says,  These were they that were numbered of the families of the Kohathites, all that might do service in the tabernacle of the congregation, which Moses and Aaron did number according to the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.  Moses and Aaron did what God commanded them to do, as so must we as Christians today. 

Numbers 4:15

Numbers 4:15 says, And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation.  Aaron and his sons were to pack up all the things of the sanctuary, and the sons of Kohath were to carry them once they were packed.  The sons of Kohath were not to touch the Holy things themselves though.  We are blessed to no longer have these distinctions between Christians.  We all have the same access to the things of God.  Verse sixteen adds, And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.  Eleazar,  Aaron's son, was to be in charge of the oil for the lamp, the sweet incense, and the meat offering.  As followers of Christ, we do have different things that we are called to do.  Verse seventeen states, And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,  Verse eighteen adds, Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:  Verse nineteen continues, But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden:  The Kohathites were not be cut off from the other Levites. because of something the sons of Aaron failed to do.  We should never act in such a way that we cause others to fail to come to Christ for salvation.  Verse twenty concludes, But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.  Though the Kohathites were to bear the holy things of the temple, the Levites were to keep them from seeing them, so the Kohathites wouldn't die from doing so.  We should never do anything to cause others to fail to come to Christ, nor to stumble in their walk with Christ.  Verse twenty-one says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse twenty-two adds, Take also the sum of the sons of Gershon, throughout the houses of their fathers, by their families, Verse twenty-three continues, From thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shalt thou number them; all that enter in to perform the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.  God next instructed Moses to number the men of the family of Gershon who were between thirty and fifty years old.  Verse twenty-four states, This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, to serve, and for burdens:  Verse twenty-five adds, And they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering, and the covering of the badgers’ skins that is above upon it, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,  Verse twenty-six continues, And the hangings of the court, and the hanging for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and by the altar round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and all that is made for them: so shall they serve.  The men of Gershon who were in this group were to carry the curtains and the things associated with them.  We are all called by God to do something, but we are not all called to do the same thing or things.  Verse twenty-seven states, At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens, and in all their service: and ye shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens.  Verse twenty-eight continues, This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.  The Gershonites were to be under the authority of Ithamar, Aaron's son.  We today are under the authority of Christ, or more specifically the Holy Spirit alone, as Christians. 

Numbers 4:1

Numbers 4:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,  Verse two adds, Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers,  Verse three continues, From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.  The sons of Kobath who were from thirty to fifty years old were to be counted separately from the house of Levi.  Verse four states, This shall be the vice of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things:  Verse five adds, And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it:  These men were to be in charge of moving the ark of testimony.  They were not to start at to young an age nor to serve until they were very old.  We,as followers of Christ though, have no age restrictions on us for serving God, though we are told that preachers should not be novices.  Verse six continues, And shall put thereon the covering of badgers’ skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof.  Aaron's sons were then given specific instructions about how to move the ark.  When we are doing God's work, we must do it in accordance with His guidance, which first means it should be in accordance with what the Bible teaches and then done by the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse seven says, And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon:  Verse eight adds, And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put in the staves thereof.  Verse nine continues, And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the candlestick of the light, and his lamps, and his tongs, and his snuffdishes, and all the oil vessels thereof, wherewith they minister unto it:  Verse ten concludes, And they shall put it and all the vessels thereof within a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put it upon a bar.  These are very specific instructions to be followed when moving the table of the shew bread.  It, like thecother things of God, was to be treated reverentially and by following God's direction, which I believe that we as followers of Christ should do in everything that we do today.   Verse eleven states, And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue, and cover it with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put to the staves thereof:  Verse twelve adds, And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers’ skins, and shall put them on a bar:  Verse thirteen says, And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon:  Verse fourteen adds, And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof, wherewith they minister about it, even the censers, the fleshhooks, and the shovels, and the basons, all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of badgers’ skins, and put to the staves of it.  Then, they were given instructions for moving the altar and everything associated with it.  There were no short cuts that could be taken, just as there are no short cuts in doing God's work today.