Read Numbers 5:1-31
Just the title of this reflection may conjure up thoughts and opinions, especially when we think of these terms as related. God was certainly interested in purity, wanting his people to be cleansed of their sin, living lives that were set apart from the lives of those who were far from God. Being “pure” seemed to make you more “holy” in God’s eyes.
There are some occasions for displaying purity involving the interaction with others. From touching a dead person and being defiled to being jealous and needing to expose your spouse, these words from God are quite intense.
Can you imagine if we still followed this procedure if there was expected infidelity in a marriage? Sexual promiscuity seems to almost be “normal” these days as we see depicted on the big screen, in novels, and even in our own communities of faith or employment. What if the guilty ones were subjected to this beverage that would lead to horrible effects for the guilty one?
Just knowing that God would subject his people to such a process speaks volumes of how he hopes his children behave. To be faithful is important to God. One of the Ten Commandments deals with the sexual sin of adultery. It shouldn’t’ surprise us that God would have given Moses a command for his people to test their allegiance and devotion to God.
When we sin, whatever that sin is, we are separated from God. We don’t have to drink some potion for God to know our guilt. How God handles our discipline is up to Him. These verses let us know that God is serious about his laws. What God prescribed as good for his people shouldn’t be questioned. Why is it that people still push the envelope and think they can get away with sexual sin?
The Bible is full of examples of what God constitutes as sexual sin and being impure, but this reflection is on our current text. When we think of God’s references to the “camp,” we can think of it in terms of the “church” as well. God is still in our midst. God wants his people, his church, to be clean and pure.
We may think God doesn’t think like this anymore. After all, he sent Jesus, and we know God as forgiving and loving. The mercy of God’s son does not mean that God accepts the sins of the sinner. Jesus goes outside the “camp” to bring hope to everyone. He even healed a leper, one of the most unclean and feared by all, and brought the dead back to life with his touch.
Thankfully, the ritual magic of this curse exposing drink has been done away with because of Jesus. For those in that day, it was God’s way of inspiring obedience and devotion. What struck me, however, is that the curse was on the woman for her infidelity. What about a husband who stepped out on his wife? That’s a question to wrestle with God.
Let’s pray. Father, I thank you for being open to my cries to you for understanding. You are always faithful, and I cling to that truth. May my eyes be open, and my heart be ready to accept what you have for me. Help me glorify only you in my words and deeds. Bless those who are following you yet still have questions and doubts. Give them the answers they need to be fully committed to you, too. May I always give you my best, my all. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
