Numbers 5

The fighting men of the conquest have been numbered. The Levites, left out of that first census, were then numbered twice; once as the substitutes for the firstborn men of Israel, and then for service, numbering the males among the clans between the ages of 30 and 50 who were able to serve in the tent of meeting.

The resting position of the camp of Israel, and the order of Israel on the march have been established. Leaders have been appointed, and the place of Moses, Aaron, the Levites and the various tribes with Judah in the lead have been communicated through Moses to all of Israel.

With all this in mind, the Lord again spoke to Moses about holiness. The leper, the one with a discharge, and the man who has touched a dead body must be put outside the camp, and the uncleanness of sin must not spread among the people of God.

Wrong done to a neighbor must be addressed in the Lord's holy camp. There must be confession and full restitution on the part of the guilty. The adulteress must not entertain thoughts that her offense will remain hidden in secrecy.

All of this is very overwhelming to consider. The details of the test for possible adultery in response to a spirit of jealousy which might come over a husband hardly seem like the Lord's highest and best plan for public justice in His kingdom and throughout the world.

What is the function of these regulations? God's camp could not be ordered in rest or in action merely by being in the right place and under the leadership of the correct tribal authorities. The Lord demanded something much more.

The demands of the Lord for an outward and inward holiness were most exacting, and even frightening.

Who can meet the demands of full righteousness that come to us from the Lord? Do we think that test for adultery was a bit much? Would we not expect that there would be accommodation for the leper and the near relation who simply was showing respect for a deceased loved one? Yet how do we feel about the real fullness of the Lord's righteous requirements for His people?

We remember that God is the One who said, “Be holy, for I am holy.” We are reminded of the words contained in the Shamah: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your everything.” These verses should cause us more concern than anything written in Numbers 5.

The only way we can have peace with a God who has a perfect love for holiness is through our association with the Man who has kept the holy commands of the Lord in our place. He is the true Israelite. He has a right to be in the camp.

Yet look what happened to this Holy One! He suffered outside the camp for our sake as if He were the unclean thing. Let us go to Him outside the camp, and let us find His love for the weak that so fills His holy heart. He spoke grace to prostitutes, and even showed the self-righteous the way to be justified by God. In Him we have a place in God's camp, for through this Jesus the Lord will make His people holy.