Proverbs Chapter 6 – Part 3

Pro 6:20-35″ Take Heed to Thyself“

[Study Aired Dec 26, 2024]

This last section of Proverbs chapter six is primarily about the benefit that is given to those who are blessed to read, hear, and keep the sayings of the prophecy of God’s word in this age (Rev 1:3).

We may not always think of the book of Proverbs as a form of prophecy, but all of God’s words are prophetic words, and when we understand what they are saying to us with the gift of eyes that see, and ears that hear (Luk 8:10 , Eph 2:8), they become profitable in how they can edify, exhort, and comfort those who are drawn to its spiritual message, which is an eternal message that does not change (2Ti 3:16-17 , 2Ti 2:20-22 , 1Co 14:3 , Joh 6:63 , Joh 17:3 , Joh 6:68).

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent [Joh 20:21 , Joh 3:17].

Joh 6:68  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.[Isa 55:11]

Taking heed to ourselves, is a lifelong endeavor that requires an ongoing miracle that is being accomplished in the body of Christ, who are given to die daily and keep under ourselves, so that God’s word does not return void in this age, but rather brings forth much fruit by the grace of God, that requires that we water and plant, labour in the word, and wait on the Lord to give the increase that comes from him alone (Mat 13:8-9 , Joh 3:30 , 1Co 3:6-7).

Mat 13:8  But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 
Mat 13:9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Joh 3:30  He must increase, but I must decrease.

1Co 3:6   I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
1Co 3:7  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

Pro 6:20  My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Pro 6:21  Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
Pro 6:22  When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.

These first three opening verses of our study remind us that our labour in the Lord is not in vain (1Co 15:57-58). Our father’s commandment that we are to keep and the law of thy mother, is referring to the commandments of God and the order that He establishes in the church, for our good (Jerusalem above the mother of us all), through the manifest knowledge that is foundational in what it is first doing in our lives (Mat 16:18), and ultimately what it will do for the rest of humanity who will come to know God and Christ through the church (Eph 3:10).

1Co 15:57  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Co 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

1Ti 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Rev 3:12  Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

The first commandment with promise, spoken of in (Eph 6:1-3), is speaking to God’s elect who come out of Babylon in this age, that is likened unto a mother of harlots (Rev 17:5) and Satan who is the god of this world and our first father (Joh 8:44) whose lies we reject, as sons of God (1Jn 3:1) in this age who have been promised that blessing of being in the first resurrection, being given that extended period of time or life with our Father and Christ and Jerusalem above the mother of us all (Gal 4:26) before the rest of the world (Rev 20:6).

Eph 6:1  Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Eph 6:2  Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
Eph 6:3  That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

1Jn 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Knowing these promises are true and that God is going to destroy the physical realm, we really have nothing to hold onto in this life, and nothing should compare to that which God has set before his people who are blessed to be bound to the altar, meaning we are living by the faith of Christ (Psa 118:27 , Gal 2:20), therefore we are given great incentive to “Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck“. The “them” is the merciful and truthful words of God (Pro 3:3) that, if we continue in them, they will set us free in this life (Joh 8:35-36). The heart represents where our desire comes from (Mat 6:21 , 1Th 2:19-20), and the neck is what we are burdened with, and Christ’s ways are a joyful burden that we bear for each other (Gal 6:2). The apostle Paul was beloved and at the end of his ministry he was kissed on his neck, as a symbol of the body’s appreciation for all that God gave him to suffer and bear for the body’s sake (Act 20:37).

Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

1Th 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?
1Th 2:20 For ye are our glory and joy.[“where your treasure is, there will your heart be also“]

Act 20:37 And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him,

“When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee“, is telling us that the comforter will lead us into all truth (Joh 16:13). The spirit of God will bear witness that we are His in this life (Rom 8:14-17) and when we lie down and rise up, and walk through this life we don’t lose heart (Luk 18:1), as we pray without ceasing and learn that our Creator who we serve is faithful and merciful and will never leave or forsake His own in this life (Heb 13:5 , Php 1:6). It is through the fervent continual prayers of the saints that availeth much that the importunate widow learns that “the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear”(Isa 59:1 , Mat 7:11).

Luk 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Mat 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Pro 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
Pro 6:24 To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
Pro 6:25 Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
Pro 6:26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
Pro 6:27 Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
Pro 6:28 Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?
Pro 6:29 So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.

Where there is no vision, the people perish (Pro 29:18) and that vision comes from the word of God, from his commandments which are “a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life“. What the light of God’s word does specifically for us is “To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman“. This strange woman is Babylon, which we are called out of by the grace and faith of God (Eph 2:8). The admonition for God’s elect is to remember Lot’s wife (Luk 17:32) and don’t look back, “Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids“. Rather we need to keep our eyes fixed on Christ (Rom 12:1-2) and the promises that tell us we will be more than conquerors through Him (Rom 8:37).

If it were possible, Satan would deceive the very elect (Mat 24:24), and how would he, or how does he go about trying to do that, is explained in this verse, “by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: (Heb 12:16-17) and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life“.

Heb 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Heb 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

Contrast this careless spirit of Esau, with that of Moses, one chapter earlier, who typifies the elect of God who are blessed to have a hunger and thirst for righteousness in this life (Heb 11:26 , Mat 5:6).

Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Can we taste of the heavenly things of God (Heb 6:4-8) and then go back into the harlotries of this world and expect to not be burnt by such actions? This is what God’s word reveals on that matter, “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.” This fire that burns a man who goes into it, is speaking of the strange fire, that is the unholy things that defile a man (Lev 10:1-2), as opposed to the coals from the altar that represent God’s words that sanctify and purify us in this life (Isa 6:7).

Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come
Heb 6:6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Lev 10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.
Lev 10:2 And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

Isa 6:7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Pro 6:30 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
Pro 6:31 But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.
Pro 6:32 But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
Pro 6:33 A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away.
Pro 6:34 For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
Pro 6:35 He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.

The thief being talked about here is the one that goes “in to his neighbour’s wife” in the previous verse (v 29), which represents a church that they go into, after they have been in a relationship of fidelity with the body of Christ (2Ti 4:10).

2Ti 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

Loving this present world has the unfaithful going toward “Thessalonica, Galatia, Dalmatia“, places of Asia which represent the world! Another way of telling us that these were men who started in the spirit, but would conclude their life in the letter is (Gal 3:3-4), trying to be perfected in the law, in the world, being part of the whole Babylonian system once again that have forsaken God’s word (Rev 1:11 , 2Ti 1:15).

Gal 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Gal 3:4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.

Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

2Ti 1:15 This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

We are told to not despise this thieving spirit whose actions parallel with that of Esau whose pleasures of sin for a season (Heb 11:25) was more important than his birthright, which would require that he suffer in this life (Heb 12:16-17 , Heb 11:25).

Heb 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

Heb 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

We’re not to think that this thief is not in us, because he is being destroyed day by day as we die daily, and but for the grace of God go we, as we’re permitted by God’s mercy to continue to be apprehended by Christ who gives us the power to forget what is behind us, and press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling in Him (Php 3:13-14). We are apprehending because we have been apprehended of God through Christ the fit man (Lev 16:21), giving us no reason to despise others who have left us for one reason or another, “do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry“.

That man who satisfies his soul, lacks understanding, and his soul is destroyed in this life as a result of his ignorance, and in this life that dishonour that he gets, and that reproach, shall not be wiped away as mentioned earlier; and this is all being accomplished for the elect’s sake, to remind us of the severity of God, and the goodness of God that He has extended to the body of Christ, if we continue in His goodness (Heb 6:3-8 , Num 16:2-3 , Rom 11:22 , Rom 2:4-6).

Num 16:2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown:
Num 16:3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?

Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity [the 250 men of renown]; but toward thee, goodness [God’s judgements that destroys those 250 men of renown within us (25×10) or (5x5x10)], if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Rom 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
Rom 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Rom 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

God is a jealous God (Exo 20:5) and he is the man being spoken of in verse 34, “For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance“. He will have his vengeance on all such who are found in the lake of fire. And when those who are resurrected in the second resurrection say, ‘haven’t we done many wonderful works?’ (Mat 7:22), in other words, ‘why are you judging me, I’m an outstanding citizen’, God will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts“, to the point that even what they thought they had, will be taken away (Mat 25:29 , Rom 11:22 , Heb 12:25).

Mat 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

Heb 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

Our prayer for each other is that our Father will give us the strength to endure His chastening grace today, so that we are received in this age through His judgements upon us, which will burn out the spirit that thinks we’ve somehow contributed to our salvation, or the salvation of others, when it fact it was all a work of God within us that made it possible for each joint to supply in love, to the building up and edifying of the church (Heb 12:6-7 , Php 2:12-13 , Eph 4:16 , Psa 127:1).

Psa 127:1 A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

Numbers 5:1-31  Our Jealous God and His Unfaithful Wife

[Study Aired May 29, 2023]

Num 5:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 5:2  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: 
Num 5:3  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. 
Num 5:4  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. 
Num 5:5  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 5:6  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; 
Num 5:7  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. 
Num 5:8  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. 
Num 5:9  And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his. 
Num 5:10  And every man’s hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his. 
Num 5:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 5:12  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him, 
Num 5:13  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; 
Num 5:14  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: 
Num 5:15  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. 
Num 5:16  And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD: 
Num 5:17  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:
Num 5:18  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:
Num 5:19  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:
Num 5:20  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: 
Num 5:21  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; 
Num 5:22  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. 
Num 5:23  And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water: 
Num 5:24  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.
Num 5:25  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: 
Num 5:26  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. 
Num 5:27  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. 
Num 5:28  And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed. 
Num 5:29  This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled; 
Num 5:30  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.
Num 5:31  Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.

Overview

Numbers chapter 5 can be divided into two parts. The first part deals with defilement in the camp of the Israelites, the corporate action to be taken and the guilt of one’s sinning against the Lord. The second part focuses on an unfaithful wife over whom her husband is jealous and the need for the unfaithful wife to undergo a test of unfaithfulness with the water of bitterness. As we indicated at the beginning of the study of Numbers, the book focuses on the formation of an army of the Lord. As an army, the key conditions in winning a war are that the people are physically and mentally sound for battle and that they are loyal to their commander in chief.  Being physically fit means the absence of disease or wounds, and having a mentally sound or fit posture means having a winning mentality. When there is an infectious outbreak of disease or if there are several wounded soldiers in an army, there is no way the army can win a war. During our time in the physical churches of this world (Babylon), there was defilement in our camps, and as a result, our camps were filled with infectious disease of sin. There was therefore no way for us to defeat the enemy – our flesh. This is what the Lord said about our state when we were in Babylon:  

Isa 1:4  Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 
Isa 1:5  Why should ye be stricken anymore? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 
Isa 1:6  From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

Similarly, if we are already defeated in our minds regarding a war we are going to wage, it is a recipe for disaster as we shall surely end up being defeated. For example, when Moses sent spies to Jericho as Israel prepared to fight them, a type of our flesh, they were defeated in their minds because of the evil report of the spies, except for Joshua and Caleb. This is what they said: 

Num 13:31  But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 
Num 13:32  And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 
Num 13:33  And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. 

As the army commander of the army of the Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ knows all the issues that can result in our total defeat by the evil one.  

Jos 5:13  And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 
Jos 5:14  And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

The Lord, being our army commander, therefore, prepares us for battle by first destroying all that is within our hearts and minds as He comes to take residence in our heavens. This is what the word of the Lord says about this:

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 
Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 
Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 
Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

In today’s study, the Lord is teaching us what to do in order to have an army which is totally fit for battle against our flesh when there is contagious disease in our midst. The second part of the study focuses on our unfaithfulness as the wife of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our army commander and His demand for us to be faithful to Him and not provoke Him to jealousy.

1Co 10:22  Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?

Num 5:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 5:2  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: 

Three things are mentioned here as having the propensity to defile the people of God, or the Lord’s army, and therefore cause them to be defeated. They are leprosy, discharges and uncleanness resulting from contact with the dead. Leprosy signifies the evil that naturally issues from the natural man. The reason that all humanity naturally commits evil is because of the beast within every individual. This beast is the same as our old man or flesh. In this sense, we are all leprous except for the grace of the Lord Who has delivered us from our rebellious old man. According to the word of the Lord, leprosy is the result of our rebellion against God’s authority. This is illustrated by Aaron and Miriam who rebelled against the Lord’s designated leader, Moses, who represents Christ.

Num 12:1  And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 
Num 12:2  And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.
Num 12:3  (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) 
Num 12:4  And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. 
Num 12:5  And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.
Num 12:6  And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
Num 12:7  My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
Num 12:8  With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? 
Num 12:9  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them; and he departed. 
Num 12:10  And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

As we can see, our old man, or the beast within us, rebels against the Lord and His designated authority which is His elect. We were all leprous before Christ came into our lives to transform us.  

Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 
Rev 13:5  And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 
Rev 13:6  And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 
Rev 13:7  And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 

Just as leprosy is highly infectious, so is sin. If a member of the body whose walk is as an enemy of the cross of Christ and is not dealt with, over time many members of the body will be defiled and will walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. This was what happened to the Philippian church in Paul’s time.

Php 3:18  (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 
Php 3:19  Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

The second disease mentioned in verse 2 has to do with those with discharges from their bodies. These are uncontrolled or unrestrained emissions from the body due to a diseased body. In the spiritual sense, these discharges constitute one being without control and unbridled in relation to the deeds of the flesh, such as one’s temper, covetousness, likes, and dislikes. This is a discharge, an issue of the natural man. If a member of the body is inordinate in wrath or drunkenness, for example, and the body of Christ does not deal with such a person, the whole body will be infected. This was what happened to the church in Corinth when the man who slept with his father’s wife was allowed to continue fellowshipping. The man is an example of one who has a discharge, as he is not able to control his passions. 

1Co 5:1  It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 
1Co 5:2  And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. (ESV)

The third disease has to do with uncleanness due to contact with the dead. We become spiritually unclean when we take in or accept the teachings of those who are spiritually dead. That is what characterized our walk with Christ when we were in Babylon. We accepted the teachings of our leaders who were spiritually dead and so we became defiled.

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

This is to warn us to be circumspect as a body of those who try to introduce heresies originating from their revered men of God who are dead spiritually or from within themselves (idols of the heart). If the body of Christ does not deal swiftly with such people who have contacted the dead and therefore have their minds corrupted by the simplicity which is in Christ and as a result, introduces heresies, the whole church will become defiled.

2Co 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 
2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. 

Act 20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 
Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

Num 5:3  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.
Num 5:4  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.

All the three categories of infectious diseases must be dealt with swiftly by removing them from fellowship. As we indicated earlier, Paul warned the Corinthian church concerning the gentleman who slept with his father’s wife to be removed from the assembly.

1Co 5:9  I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 
1Co 5:10  not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 
1Co 5:11  But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 
1Co 5:12  For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 
1Co 5:13  God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” (ESV)

2Jn 1:7  For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
2Jn 1:8  Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 
2Jn 1:9  Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 
2Jn 1:10  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
2Jn 1:11  For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

Num 5:5  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 5:6  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; 
Num 5:7  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 these verses, we can see that to deal with our sins or guilt, we must confess our sins. This is what the word of the Lord says about confessing our sins:

1Jn 1:8  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 
1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
1Jn 1:10  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

Apart from confessing our sins, we should go to the one we have wronged and make restitution for our sins. In verse 5, we are required to add one-fifth to the trespass to the one we wronged. We have all committed sins of which we are all to pay restitution. However, we did not have what it takes to pay for restitution. For example, the bible says that hating a brother or sister amounts to murder. We were therefore all guilty of murder. Our Lord Jesus Christ therefore paid for the restitution we were to pay by offering the ultimate sacrifice of His life. The Lord’s coming to us is a time of restitution!!

Act 3:19  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 
Act 3:20  And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 
Act 3:21  Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

Num 5:8  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. 
Num 5:9  And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his. 
Num 5:10  And every man’s hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his. 

If the wronged person is deceased, then the restitution should go to a relative. However, if the deceased did not have a relative to whom restitution may be made, the restitution must be made to the Lord, who is represented by the priest. As we have indicated, Jesus Christ is our restitution, and He is the ram of atonement on our behalf. 

1Jn 2:2  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Num 5:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Num 5:12  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him, 
Num 5:13  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;
Num 5:14  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: 

Since the Lord is Spirit and we are of the flesh, the Lord uses the day-to-day occurrences of life to teach us spiritual truth about who He is. Understanding spiritual things is therefore dependent on knowing the physical types.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Here in these verses, a man is jealous of His wife even though he is not sure whether his wife has defiled herself with another man or not. We know from the word of the Lord that we are the church, or the assembly of the elect, which is the wife of Christ. So, these verses show us the jealousy of the Lord for His church. 

Zec 1:14  So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.

Zec 8:2  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

Isa 54:5  For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. 
Isa 54:6  For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. 

Unlike a natural man, our Lord knows all that His wife does – whether she has defiled herself or not. The Lord wants us to know how He feels towards us when we are enchanted by the evil one. Of course, it is the Lord Himself who directs our steps to be enchanted by the enemy.

Jer 10:23  O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

The whole essence of bringing the issue of infidelity before a priest is for us to become aware, not only of our sins, but to let us know that our Lord is jealous of us. The Lord’s jealousy leads to judgment which results in our deliverance from our enemies. In other words, unlike man’s jealousy which kills, the Lord’s jealousy is for salvation – delivers us from our enemies. Once we become aware of our infidelity, then the occasion has come for the Lord to judge us. It is through this judgment that we learn to be faithful to the Lord. 

Pro 6:34  For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

Isa 42:13  The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Num 5:15  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. 

It is very instructive in verse 15 to note that the man who is accusing his wife of unfaithfulness is the one who brings her or drags her to the priest and also pays for the offering for the wife which is one-tenth of an ephah. What this means is that it is the Lord who drags us to an elect (a priest) to help us to offer a sacrifice of jealousy. This offering of jealousy is the fiery trials we go through as it causes us to remember our iniquity. For example, it was through the trial to which Joseph subjected his brothers, that they recalled their sins (which nobody knows except them) in treating him wrongly.

Gen 42:19  If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: 
Gen 42:20  But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. 
Gen 42:21  And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
Gen 42:22  And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. 
Gen 42:23  And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.

The offering of jealousy is one-tenth worth of barley meal. In the Bible one-tenth or a tenth spiritually signifies a remnant or the remains, which represent the elect. What this means is that the offering of a tenth of a barley meal is offered only by the elect. In other words, it is the elect (the remnant) who are being judged in this age because of our infidelity. The offering of jealousy is therefore a symbol of the elect submitting to the judgment of the Lord so that we learn righteousness.

Amo 5:2  “Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel; forsaken on her land, with none to raise her up.”
Amo 5:3  For thus says the Lord GOD: “The city that went out a thousand shall have a hundred (a tenth) left, and that which went out a hundred shall have ten (a tenth) left to the house of Israel.”  

Lev 27:30  “Every tithe (one tenth) of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD’s; it is holy to the LORD.
Lev 27:31  If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. 
Lev 27:32  And every tithe (one-tenth) of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman’s staff, shall be holy to the LORD.

Num 5:16  And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD:
Num 5:17  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:
Num 5:18  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:

As we have indicated, the priest represents the elect. It is through what the elect say that we are drawn closer to Christ. In verse 17, the holy water in earthen vessels is the truth of the word of the Lord which is spoken by the elect who are earthen vessels.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

As we know, humanity came from the dust and therefore represents dust. The putting of dust into the holy water is to pollute the water with man’s tradition and wisdom.

Gen 3:19  By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

It is very important to note that the dust was put into the water by the priest. We, His elect, are the priest, who is also Christ. We can therefore say that the false doctrines we imbibe in Babylon are all part of the counsel of our Lord Jesus Christ, as He is the one who puts dust in the Holy water.

2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

Num 5:19  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:
Num 5:20  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: 
Num 5:21  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;
Num 5:22  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.

The polluted water, or the false doctrines, we imbibe in Babylon causes us to become unfruitful and also make our bellies swell. Being barren or unfruitful signifies our inability to produce the fruits of the spirit. In the Bible, our belly signifies the flesh as shown in the following verses:

Rom 16:18  For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

1Co 6:13  Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.

Php 3:19  Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

The belly swelling therefore signifies the manifestation or the showing forth of the deeds of our flesh. As we drink bitter water or accept false doctrines, we become unfruitful and worse off. This is the curse that we, as the unfaithful wife of the Lord Jesus, were under during our sojourn in Babylon.

Num 5:23  And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water: 
Num 5:24  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.
Num 5:25  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:
Num 5:26  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.
Num 5:27  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.

As indicated earlier, the Lord wants us to know that we have been unfaithful to Him so that He can help us to become faithful wives. The whole ordeal that the woman endured is to reveal to the woman her sins so that she can be saved. The belly swelling signifies the revealing of the deeds of the flesh. These verses show us that the false doctrines we imbibe in Babylon are all ways the Lord uses to bring forth our sins so He can deliver us. As long as we are oblivious of our sins, that is being blind spiritually, our sins remain and therefore, we are under a curse!! The unfaithful woman in this study is also Babylon who is under a curse!

Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Joh 9:39  Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”
Joh 9:40  Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?”
Joh 9:41  Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

Num 5:28  And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
Num 5:29  This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled; 
Num 5:30  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.
Num 5:31  Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.

We are first the woman who was unfaithful to her husband and therefore was under a curse, before we become the faithful woman who is fruitful. As shown in verse 28, this woman who has not been defiled is free. This woman is Jerusalem above or the church of the firstborn who is free from bondage to sin and fruitful (will have more children), of which we all belong!!! Amen!!

Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

In summary, the test for chastity is to show us that as His elect, we are to love only our husband Jesus Christ with all our hearts, soul and mind. He wants us to have no one else and nothing else, other than Him, as our only first and unique love. We can of ourselves do nothing in terms of loving Him as our first and unique love. However, He who has called us is capable of dragging us to the finish line by causing us to love Him!!

Mar 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

May His name be praised forever!! Amen!!

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Awesome Hands – part 125

The spirit of Jealousy

November 22, 2017

Our study today finds us with a topic that all can relate to. By the end of this study, I hope we can all appreciate the love the Lord has for us considering we have all been “an adulterous wife and an adulterous generation” in our own time.

Also, the initial thoughts that can come into play with this chapter are something along the lines of “why is the wife addressed here and not the man?”. We will cover some of these details within the study.

The verses for consideration today are found in Numbers 5.

Numbers 5:18  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:

Numbers 5:25  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:

These verses alone only offer a glimpse of what the Lord has shown us in this chapter. Expanding past this chapter, I hope we can read some additional verses to help is learn how the lessons in this chapter can help us today as Christians.

Given the verses above, I want to read them in their context so that we can gain a clearer picture of what is happening in these verses.

Remember, if you commit adultery in the old testament law, the penalty was death.

Leviticus 20:10  And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

The fact that we have the procedure we are about to read, indicates that there is “more than meets the eye” since the wife in this scenario has not been CAUGHT in the act.

Numbers 5:11  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 5:12  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,
Numbers 5:13  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;
Numbers 5:14  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:

Notice, in either case of a man being jealous, whether or not she is known to have committed adultery, this is the procedure that is prescribed for the husband, wife and priest.

Numbers 5:15  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.

The fact that this situation was being brought before the priest is a testament as to why barley meal was being used instead of the normal fine grained wheat powder that was normally used.

Barley meal was worth half as much as fine wheat.

2 Kings 7:1  Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

Barley cakes/loaves were also fed to the poor. The poor were not highly looked upon, similar to this situation being brought before the priests.

John 6:9  There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

The woman is not yet condemned or found guilty, because if she was found guilty, then she couldn’t have been making any offerings what so ever. However, needing to go before the priest to “prove” herself to her husband via the miraculous happenings that occur through this process, would have caused quite the stir within the home and family unit.

Numbers 5:16  And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD:
Numbers 5:17  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:

I searched for any other mentioning of the floor of the tabernacle being mentioned and I can’t find any other references to its use. This is the sole use of the floor of the tabernacle other than it’s obvious one which is to be walked upon.

A significant parallel can be seen in knowing the we are dust and to dust we shall return, and the serpent was cursed to eat dust.

Genesis 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Genesis 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Isaiah 65:25  The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

Now, we have the dust of the floor mixed with the holy water which shows us a spiritual connection to the temple we are, being connected to, the flesh that covers it.

Numbers 5:18  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:
Numbers 5:19  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:
Numbers 5:20  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:
Numbers 5:21  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;
Numbers 5:22  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.

The oath being given is being agreed to by the wife before she takes the bitter water and drinks it. The water itself was not bitter as we normally think of something being bitter, but the fact of this whole situation needs to be dealt with, is a bitter ordeal indeed.

The wife must commit herself to this “oath of cursing” which would have been quite a thing to proclaim before God. The priest and the husband have no way to know if adultery has happened, so the result of drinking this water would either show guilt or innocence.

There must also be some belief on the part of all involved. Remember, divorce was allowed in the law, but this would be a very bold thing for a woman to do if she in fact were guilty. Naturally, just the drinking of the water would be an act of proclaiming yourself innocent because the woman is taking the oath of a curse if she is found guilty by God.

Having “your sin” mixed with water and then drinking it was something that was not to be taken lightly as can be seen with the golden calf and Israel.

Exodus 32:20  And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
Exodus 32:21  And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?

This whole event brought a plague upon Israel.

Exodus 32:35  And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.

So, for the wife to take on the oath of a curse, if she were indeed secretly guilty, would be a very bad thing for her indeed. Her belly would swell and her thigh would rot, and most likely her husband would have kicked her to the curb. Not good. Additionally, she has to say “amen, amen” and if she didn’t then guilt would be presumed.

Before we get to down on the husband for not believing his wife and bringing her before the priest, let us remember that the man could not even covet his neighbors wife without sinning. It was a commandment!

Exodus 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Exodus 20:18  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
Exodus 20:19  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Time to drink up! I don’t know about you all, but I find this whole scenario very intense!

Numbers 5:23  And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:
Numbers 5:24  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.
Numbers 5:25  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:
Numbers 5:26  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 wife drinks the water and it is bitter in her belly. An offering is made and the woman takes this judgment into her.

Numbers 5:27  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.
Numbers 5:28  And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
Numbers 5:29  This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;
Numbers 5:30  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.
Numbers 5:31  Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.

What we can take away from this is that jealousy does happen. When it does, there needs to be away to deal with the situation.

We do not have priests today that can perform these procedures in order to prove a woman innocent or guilty. Even if we did, a guilty woman probably wouldn’t want her thigh to rot and belly to swell for the rest of her life, and an innocent woman would most likely find great offense in not being trusted.

Equally of note, a man becoming jealous is not a sin in and of itself. In fact, we, men and women, are permitted to become angry but to not sin in doing so. There are certainly things that will cause us to become angry in life and with our spouses. How we handle that anger is really what we need to figure out before we actually become angry.

Note, our God is a jealous God and He is the Husband in the scenario.

Exodus 34:14  For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

Deuteronomy 6:15  (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

Joshua 24:19  And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

It is very important today to have trust in a relationship. In fact, it is a foundational stone that relationships are built upon. Without trust, your home, family and relationships with struggle tremendously.

I have personally lived in such a home and eventually my parents divorced. This isn’t blaming anything on my parents, but it is simply acknowledging the turmoil that happens due to a lack of trust that comes from adulterous spouses.

Given what we have read so far, how do we generally deal with this topic in our world today?

I hearken back to the “adulterous woman” that Jesus dealt with. I know this is a familiar story, but it fits perfectly with this study today.

Proverbs 30:20  Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

John 8:1  Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
John 8:2  And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
John 8:3  And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
John 8:4  They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

This scenario is slightly different because this woman was actually caught in the act; whereas, the woman described in our study today in Numbers 5 has NOT been caught.

However, it is really important to note how Jesus looks upon a GUILTY woman. This will give us indications on how we should also treat none guilty or simply accused spouses where there is no proof.

John 8:5  Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
John 8:6  This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
John 8:7  So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
John 8:8  And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
John 8:9  And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
John 8:10  When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
John 8:11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Jesus’ answer was not to cast a stone at her. In fact, He goes a step further and asks her accusers to look at themselves first, THEN convict her of her crime. Where then are her accusers?

When we know, in ourselves, that God knows the sins we have committed, it is MUCH EASIER to show others mercy knowing that we ourselves have been shown mercy.

The one thing that Jesus tells us is permitted for divorce, as far as being a “cut and dry” scenario, is fornication/adultery.

Matthew 5:31  It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
Matthew 5:32  But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Matthew 19:8  He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
Matthew 19:9  And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

“Except it be for fornication,” tells us just how serious this is to God the Father. Even then, knowing that we all fornicate against our “Husband”, what does He do in action in forgiving us our sins?

Matthew 19:10  His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
Matthew 19:11  But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

Flee fornication.

1 Corinthians 6:17  But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:18  Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
1 Corinthians 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Revelation 2:14  But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

Revelation 2:20  Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
Revelation 2:21  And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

Just as was with the start of Jesus’ ministry, true Godly repentance, asked for from God and given by God, is what is needed. Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.

Romans 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Romans 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We must all do our part as Christians to make sure that jealously does not cloud or judgment of the situations we must deal with, but when situations do arise, we must also be willing to examine everything to know what has and is happening.

In addition to all of this, I believe it is the calling of us all, where we are given the heart and strength to do so, to forgive those that repent of their actions that cause jealousy to come about, and then do not do it again.

For those of us who have the spirit of jealousy come upon us, we must ask God to guide and direct us in all things so that this jealousy does not get out of control and cause us to sin.

Dear Mike,

The other day I came across a video that I thought by the title was some sort of joke, but the speaker in the video said he was serious, so I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Anyway, he was dealing with the passage in the bible where Jesus tells his audience that if a man even looks upon a woman to lust after her he has commited adultery with her in his heart.

I always figured that Jesus was only speaking of married women, but you get a lot of people saying that Jesus was speaking of women in general. They imply that we actually sin if we lust after the opposite sex, married or not. This sounds pretty ridiculous to me.

First of all I know God spoke to people in the Old Testament and told them to be fruitful and multiply. Their is no doubt going to be lust involved when people are being fruitful and multiplying.

I know a lot of Christians who are married. No doubt there was probably lust involved during the dating/courtship process.

I want your opinion on this matter, if you will give it.

Was Jesus only speaking of married women when he said you have commited adultery with them in your heart when you lust after them? Or was he speaking of all women married or not?

If the latter is true, then is everyone, including Christians, commiting adultery by dating the opposite sex?

I am going to paste the link to the video that I spoke of earlier to watch if you will. Tell me what you make of this man’s teaching on this subject if you don’t mind. I don’t think the video is too very long.

R____

Hi R____,

Thank you for your question.

You ask:

Was Jesus only speaking of married women when he said you have committed adultery with them in your heart when you lust after them? Or was he speaking of all women married or not?

If the latter is true, then is everyone, including Christians, committing adultery by dating the opposite sex?

I watched the video, and the answer to your question is that he is right when he simply believes these words of Christ:

Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

The word ‘whosoever’ is a very all-inclusive word, and the fact that Christ is speaking of adultery does not mean that he is excluding single men. Sex outside of marriage is a sin. The form of the relationship it takes does not change the fact that it is a physically and spiritually ‘adulterous’ relationship.

The fact that men lust after their future wives before they are married does not mean that it is just fine to do so. Most of us have been taught that God created Adam and Eve in a perfected state while the scriptures teach the exact opposite.

I think we can all agree that God made Adam out of the dust of the ground:

Gen 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

When Christ finished His creation, he said it was “very good”:

Gen 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

But for what purpose was it all “very good”? Was mankind created as “very good” flesh and blood for the purpose of inheriting the kingdom of God in that condition? The Biblical answer to that question is absolutely not! God created mankind in “corruption… marred in the Potter’s hand”. Adam was created for the very purpose of disobeying God, lusting after the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that is exactly what Adam and Eve did. They were both created in “corruption… marred in the Potter’s hand” for the express purpose of coming to see their own spiritual nakedness into which they were created, and to come to realize that they needed a savior to deliver them from the law of sin which the “one lawgiver” placed within their marred bodies of corruption.

Jas 4:12  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

We know from the scriptures that “the first man Adam” was created to be destroyed because we are told:

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

For those who are given eyes to see it and ears to hear it, 1Co 15:50 informs us that flesh and blood are corruption, and that is what this verse also tells us:

Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Adam and all who are in him are “marred in the hand of the Potter”. So it follows that Adam and all who are in him have within their members what the scriptures call “the law of sin and death”, and that is exactly what we are told is the case:

Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

There is no man on earth who can, of himself, resist lusting after women. So how then can any man be saved?

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

The man making that video relates in another video that he had a near-death experience in which he went to hell and came back a changed man who no longer lusts after women in his heart.

I rejoice with him that the Lord has delivered him from lusting after women, but of course I cannot agree with the lie that he went to hell and came back a changed man. I have no doubt he is sincere in saying that, but the Lord is answering him with the idol of his heart, because “the dead know not anything”, including the pain of literal flames of fire.

Ecc 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

The parable of Lazarus and the rich man is just that, a parable, simply because this is the fact of that matter:

Mat 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

Moses and Elijah are not in heaven in spite of the fact Peter, James and John saw them on the mount of transfiguration for this simple reason:

Mat 17:9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

A vision, like a dream, seems very real, but the fact is there was no one on the mountain with Christ but Peter, James and John.

I hope all of this helps you to see that Christ was right when He said:

Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

He is including all women, and not just married women. Certainly single Christian men commit adultery in their hearts while dating their future wives. Many a child is conceived before a couple is married, and yes, that is a sin. But it is not a sin to date a woman who is in Christ and who you intend to marry. The sin is not the dating, the sin is lusting after her before you are married. While it is ideal not to lust after your fiancée, yet sin is integral to “the wonderful work’ God is working and doing ‘to the children of men’ (Psa 107:21-31). God created us as sinning machines who are in need of dying to that law of sin He has placed within us before we have any hope of being saved from that sinful condition.

Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Your brother who knows that we can do all things, including no longer lusting after women, through Christ who dwells within us:

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Mike