Pray Thru the Bible

God Speaks

5 The Lord gave these instructions to Moses: ² “Command the people of Israel to remove from the camp anyone who has a skin disease or a discharge, or who has become ceremonially unclean by touching a dead person. ³ This command applies to men and women alike. Remove them so they will not defile the camp in which I live among them.” ⁴ So the Israelites did as the Lord had commanded Moses and removed such people from the camp.

⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, ⁶ “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If any of the people—men or women—betray the Lord by doing wrong to another person, they are guilty. ⁷ They must confess their sin and make full restitution for what they have done, adding an additional 20 percent and returning it to the person who was wronged. ⁸ But if the person who was wronged is dead, and there are no near relatives to whom restitution can be made, the payment belongs to the Lord and must be given to the priest. Those who are guilty must also bring a ram as a sacrifice, and they will be purified and made right with the Lord. ⁹ All the sacred offerings that the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him. ¹⁰ Each priest may keep all the sacred donations that he receives.”

¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹² “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.

“Suppose a man’s wife goes astray, and she is unfaithful to her husband ¹³ and has sex with another man, but neither her husband nor anyone else knows about it. She has defiled herself, even though there was no witness and she was not caught in the act. ¹⁴ If her husband becomes jealous and is suspicious of his wife and needs to know whether or not she has defiled herself, ¹⁵ the husband must bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring an offering of two quarts of barley flour to be presented on her behalf. Do not mix it with olive oil or frankincense, for it is a jealousy offering—an offering to prove whether or not she is guilty.

¹⁶ “The priest will then present her to stand trial before the Lord. ¹⁷ He must take some holy water in a clay jar and pour into it dust he has taken from the Tabernacle floor. ¹⁸ When the priest has presented the woman before the Lord, he must unbind her hair and place in her hands the offering of proof—the jealousy offering to determine whether her husband’s suspicions are justified. The priest will stand before her, holding the jar of bitter water that brings a curse to those who are guilty. ¹⁹ The priest will then put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has had sex with you, and you have not gone astray and defiled yourself while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune from the effects of this bitter water that brings on the curse. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray by being unfaithful to your husband, and have defiled yourself by having sex with another man—’

²¹ “At this point the priest must put the woman under oath by saying, ‘May the people know that the Lord’s curse is upon you when he makes you infertile, causing your womb to shrivel and your abdomen to swell. ²² Now may this water that brings the curse enter your body and cause your abdomen to swell and your womb to shrivel.’ And the woman will be required to say, ‘Yes, let it be so.’ ²³ And the priest will write these curses on a piece of leather and wash them off into the bitter water. ²⁴ He will make the woman drink the bitter water that brings on the curse. When the water enters her body, it will cause bitter suffering if she is guilty.

²⁵ “The priest will take the jealousy offering from the woman’s hand, lift it up before the Lord, and carry it to the altar. ²⁶ He will take a handful of the flour as a token portion and burn it on the altar, and he will require the woman to drink the water. ²⁷ If she has defiled herself by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings on the curse will cause bitter suffering. Her abdomen will swell and her womb will shrink, and her name will become a curse among her people. ²⁸ But if she has not defiled herself and is pure, then she will be unharmed and will still be able to have children.

²⁹ “This is the ritual law for dealing with suspicion. If a woman goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, ³⁰ or if a man becomes jealous and is suspicious that his wife has been unfaithful, the husband must present his wife before the Lord, and the priest will apply this entire ritual law to her. ³¹ The husband will be innocent of any guilt in this matter, but his wife will be held accountable for her sin.”

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.

“If any of the people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazirite, setting themselves apart to the Lord in a special way, ³ they must give up wine and other alcoholic drinks. They must not use vinegar made from wine or from other alcoholic drinks, they must not drink fresh grape juice, and they must not eat grapes or raisins. ⁴ As long as they are bound by their Nazirite vow, they are not allowed to eat or drink anything that comes from a grapevine—not even the grape seeds or skins.

⁵ “They must never cut their hair throughout the time of their vow, for they are holy and set apart to the Lord. Until the time of their vow has been fulfilled, they must let their hair grow long. ⁶ And they must not go near a dead body during the entire period of their vow to the Lord. ⁷ Even if the dead person is their own father, mother, brother, or sister, they must not defile themselves, for the hair on their head is the symbol of their separation to God. ⁸ This requirement applies as long as they are set apart to the Lord.

⁹ “If someone falls dead beside them, the hair they have dedicated will be defiled. They must wait for seven days and then shave their heads. Then they will be cleansed from their defilement. ¹⁰ On the eighth day they must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle. ¹¹ The priest will offer one of the birds for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way, he will purify them from the guilt they incurred through contact with the dead body. Then they must reaffirm their commitment and let their hair begin to grow again. ¹² The days of their vow that were completed before their defilement no longer count. They must rededicate themselves to the Lord as a Nazirite for the full term of their vow, and each must bring a one-year-old male lamb for a guilt offering.

¹³ “This is the ritual law for Nazirites. At the conclusion of their time of separation as Nazirites, they must each go to the entrance of the Tabernacle ¹⁴ and offer their sacrifices to the Lord: a one-year-old male lamb without defect for a burnt offering, a one-year-old female lamb without defect for a sin offering, a ram without defect for a peace offering, ¹⁵ a basket of bread made without yeast—cakes of choice flour mixed with olive oil and wafers spread with olive oil—along with their prescribed grain offerings and liquid offerings. ¹⁶ The priest will present these offerings before the Lord: first the sin offering and the burnt offering; ¹⁷ then the ram for a peace offering, along with the basket of bread made without yeast. The priest must also present the prescribed grain offering and liquid offering to the Lord.

¹⁸ “Then the Nazirites will shave their heads at the entrance of the Tabernacle. They will take the hair that had been dedicated and place it on the fire beneath the peace-offering sacrifice. ¹⁹ After the Nazirite’s head has been shaved, the priest will take for each of them the boiled shoulder of the ram, and he will take from the basket a cake and a wafer made without yeast. He will put them all into the Nazirite’s hands. ²⁰ Then the priest will lift them up as a special offering before the Lord. These are holy portions for the priest, along with the breast of the special offering and the thigh of the sacred offering that are lifted up before the Lord. After this ceremony the Nazirites may again drink wine.

²¹ “This is the ritual law of the Nazirites, who vow to bring these offerings to the Lord. They may also bring additional offerings if they can afford it. And they must be careful to do whatever they vowed when they set themselves apart as Nazirites.”

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, ²³ “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:

²⁴ ‘May the Lord bless you
    and protect you.
²⁵ May the Lord smile on you
    and be gracious to you.
²⁶ May the Lord show you his favor
    and give you his peace.’

²⁷ Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.”

Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com

We Respond

[TBR-144  Psalms 108-110  (May 24 2023)  Prayers and action points for these psalms are covered in the PTTB archives. Therefore, we will go back and present prayers and action points for Numbers 5-6. TBR-056]

Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Numbers 5-6:

1. What does this chapter tell me about God?

2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?

Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.  

Numbers 5

1. God knows and watches out for His people whether in regard to infectious diseases, any kind of wrongdoing to other people, or marital unfaithfulness and/or jealousy.

2. People are prone to participate in activities that result in a need for quarantine or repentance or cause jealousy.  

Numbers 6

1. God desires to bless His people, and He has given specific instructions as to what people should do or not do when they make a special vow to Him.

2. People often need physical reminders that God takes vows very seriously, but if they will obey the LORD, He will bless them.

Prayer:

3. How might I pray regarding Numbers 5-6?  

Dear LORD God, because You love people, You set up procedures that facilitate forgiveness and assuage jealousy.  May I avoid wronging anyone, but if I do, may I admit my guilt to myself, to You, and to the offended party. Then, help me to make restitution and restore any damaged relations as quickly as possible. LORD, pastors, priests, and other spiritual leaders have the difficult tasks of representing people before You and representing You before people. Help me and other followers of the faith (specifically of Jesus) to give them their due and follow their godly lead. If I am married, please keep me from saying or doing things that would make my spouse suspicious or jealous. Instead, may I be diligent in serving my spouse and seeking their good. If I am single, may I show my utmost respect for the bonds of marriage as You intended. LORD God, You take death (the loss of life) so seriously that You gave instructions as to what to do if a death occurred during the special period of a vow. Holy Spirit, please help me (and other Christ followers) to take life and death much more seriously. May we value and celebrate life and look forward to Your ultimate banishment of death. Holy Spirit, please help me to make few vows and to be faithful to carry out the ones I do make. I join Aaron and his sons in speaking the following blessing over those You, LORD God, have called me to love: “May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you His favor and give you His peace.”  As You proceed to answer this prayer and blessing, we will all bring You glory, LORD. AMEN

Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)

4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Numbers 5-6? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:

• I will self-quarantine when I have been exposed to a disease or condition that would harm others. 
• I will watch my words and actions so I will remain pure to my wedding (or other) vows.
• I will not falsely accuse someone of wronging me. Instead, I will go to them privately (and in the presence of God) in order to settle the matter.  If necessary, I will appeal to someone in authority.
• I will pray Numbers 6: 24-26 (AKA the Aaronic blessing) over my family, friends, strangers, and enemies on a regular basis.

Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.