Chapter 5

We have now left the organization and lists for a time. But we’re still looking at the practicalities of living as a movable city in the desert.

Chapter 5 has 3 sections, two of which are short and the third long.

Verses 1-4 refer to infectious skin diseases (commonly referred to as “Leprosy”, but this causes confusion because today that term is defined more precisely than it once was. Today it refers to an illness which doctors call “Hansen’s Disease,” caused by Mycobacterium Leprae; in the old days they weren’t so fussy, and the diagnostic procedure was basically “That spot looks bad.”), bodily dischargers, dead bodies and anything else that could make people ritually unclean. It is worth mentioning that today these regulations (draconian as they may seem at first) can be demonstrated to be moderately effective in helping to control the spread of disease, so they are quite logical rules to keep in the circumstances.

Whilst verses 1-4 refer to physical uncleanness, verses 5-10 are about SPIRITUAL uncleanness. They outline how a person is to make things right with God. Elsewhere we read about the details, but the general principle is seen here, and is fairly simple – confession, followed by repentance and restitution. Times and methods have changed, and since the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, sacred offerings are no longer needed; but still we need to confess our sins (to God, and to anyone else who has been affected), repent and do whatever is necessary to make things right with other people our sin has hurt.

Verses 11 – 31 go through a fascinating little ceremony. If a woman is suspected of unfaithfulness, this procedure is to be followed which basically amounts to getting her to drink a potion while the priest prays. If she is guilty, she will suffer immediate physical results from the potion.

At first glance this seems barbaric – why is the woman treated this way and not the man? And why such a graphic physical effect?

Interestingly, I can see something immediate and healthy here. There is nothing so destructive to a marriage as an unresolved suspicion of infidelity. And in the ancient world, it was invariably the woman who was under a cloud; for some reason men were often assumed to be innocent. At any rate, this ceremony gave an opportunity for the allegations to be tested and for the woman to be finally declared guilty or innocent.

This is important because once the ceremony was complete, an innocent woman could rule off from that incident and continue with her life. She would be free of the stigma (hopefully!) of being accused of adultery; her name was cleared and the couple could rebuild their marriage, hopefully with a clean slate.

Sometimes I wish there was such a thing available to us. I have seen in the marriages of friends how destructive it is when one partner accuses the other of infidelity, and there is no way to be completely free of the allegation afterwards. So in these words from Numbers, God demonstrates his concern and love for the individual – especially the woman, who in many civilizations had little recourse. He is in the business of cleaning slates, and this fits with His personality.