Bird's-eye view
This passage, the law of jealousy, is frequently misunderstood and maligned by modern critics as a piece of primitive, misogynistic magic. But to see it that way is to be stone-blind to its function and beauty. This is not a trial by ordeal; it is a divine ordinance for resolving a crisis that no human court could possibly resolve. The scenario is one of agonizing suspicion of adultery where there are no witnesses. Such a situation is pure poison to a marriage and a threat to the covenant community. God, in His wisdom, provides a way out. He provides a liturgical ceremony where the accused woman is brought "before Yahweh," and God Himself serves as the witness, the judge, and the jury. This law powerfully protects the innocent woman from the unbridled rage of a jealous husband, giving her a divine means of public vindication. At the same time, it exposes the guilty and cleanses the camp of hidden defilement. It is a stark reminder that marriage is a public, covenantal institution, and that God is its ultimate guardian. This is a gospel-drenched law, revealing a God who sees in secret and brings all things into the light.
The entire procedure is designed to take the matter out of human hands. The husband cannot act on his suspicion alone, and the wife cannot simply be dismissed by a lack of evidence. The matter is brought to God's house, handled by God's priest, and resolved by God's direct intervention. The result is either a supernatural curse upon the guilty or a supernatural blessing of vindication and fertility upon the innocent. It is a fearsome and holy thing, designed to cultivate a profound reverence for the marriage bond and for the God who ordained it.
Outline
- 1. The Covenant Crisis (Num 5:11-31)
- a. The Occasion: Unprovable Suspicion (Num 5:11-14)
- b. The Offering: A Reminder of Iniquity (Num 5:15)
- c. The Ceremony: Before Yahweh (Num 5:16-22)
- d. The Adjudication: God's Verdict (Num 5:23-28)
- e. The Principle: Resolving Jealousy and Guilt (Num 5:29-31)
Context In Numbers
This law of jealousy is not placed randomly. It appears in the first major section of Numbers, which is concerned with the purity and order of Israel's camp as they prepare to march from Sinai. God dwells in their midst, and therefore the camp must be holy. Chapter 5 begins with the exclusion of the ceremonially unclean (lepers, those with discharges). It then moves to the law of restitution for sins committed against a neighbor, which defile the community. And now, it addresses the potential defilement at the heart of the community: the marriage bed. Adultery is not a private peccadillo; it is a covenantal crime that pollutes the land and the people. This law provides a means to deal with the threat of such pollution when normal judicial processes are impossible. The integrity of the family is essential for the integrity of the nation, and the integrity of the nation is essential for their relationship with a holy God.
Key Issues
- The Nature of Divine Justice vs. Trial by Ordeal
- The Protection of Women from Vigilante Justice
- The Sanctity of the Marriage Covenant
- The Role of the Priest as Mediator
- Symbolism of the Barley, Dust, and Water
- Corporate and Covenantal Defilement
- The "Amen" of Self-Malediction
Before the Jealous God
Our God is a jealous God. This is not the petty, insecure jealousy of a fallen man, but the righteous, holy jealousy of a husband for His own bride. He is jealous for His name, for His worship, and for His people. And because human marriage is a picture of the ultimate marriage between Christ and the Church, God is intensely jealous for the integrity of that bond. This entire ceremony is an outworking of that divine jealousy. A husband's jealousy over his wife is a faint echo of God's jealousy for Israel. When that human jealousy arises, whether rightly or wrongly, God provides a way for it to be resolved before Him, the ultimate jealous husband. This is not an appeal to magic or chance. It is an appeal by the earthly husband to the Heavenly Husband, asking Him to reveal the truth about the faithfulness of the bride.
Verse by Verse Commentary
11-14 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him, and a man lies sexually with her, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected; but she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, and she has not been caught in the act, if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife and she has defiled herself, or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife but she has not defiled herself,
The Lord sets up the specific and difficult scenario this law addresses. It is a case of suspected adultery where there is no proof. There are no witnesses, and she was not caught in the act. Without two or three witnesses, a standard Israelite court could do nothing. This creates an impossible situation. The husband is consumed by a "spirit of jealousy," and the text is careful to note that this spirit can come upon him whether his wife is actually guilty or not. The law is designed to deal with the suspicion itself, which is a destructive force in the marriage. This is God making a provision for the limits of human justice.
15 the man shall then bring his wife to the priest and shall bring as an offering for her one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, a reminder of iniquity.
The husband cannot act alone. He must bring his wife to the priest, to the house of God. He also brings an offering, but it is a very specific kind. It is barley meal, the grain of the poor. And it is stripped of the normal accompaniments of a grain offering: there is no oil (symbol of the Holy Spirit, of joy) and no frankincense (symbol of prayer, of a sweet aroma). This is a stark, severe offering. Its purpose is stated plainly: it is a grain offering of jealousy and a reminder of iniquity. It is a formal, liturgical act of bringing the potential sin before God for His examination. It calls upon God to remember and to judge.
16-18 ‘Then the priest shall bring her near and have her stand before Yahweh, and the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel; and the priest shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. The priest shall then have the woman stand before Yahweh and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose, and he shall place the grain offering of remembrance in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy; and in the hand of the priest is to be the water of bitterness that brings curses.
The ceremony is solemn and laden with symbolism. The woman stands "before Yahweh," at the tabernacle. This is a divine court. The priest mixes a potion. It is holy water, likely from the bronze laver used for priestly cleansing, in a common earthenware pot. To this he adds dust from the floor of the tabernacle. Dust reminds us of our lowly origin, of the curse of sin (Gen 3:14, 19), and of humiliation. Her hair is let loose, a sign of distress, mourning, or shame. She is made to hold the grain offering, identifying her with the purpose of the ceremony. The priest holds the concoction, now called the "water of bitterness that brings curses." It is bitter not in taste, but in its potential effect.
19-22 Then the priest shall have her swear an oath... “If no man has lain with you... be free from this water... if you, however, have gone astray... Yahweh make you a curse and an oath... by Yahweh making your thigh fall away and your abdomen swell... And this water that brings curses shall go into your stomach...” And the woman shall say, “Amen. Amen.”
This is the legal heart of the matter. The priest puts the woman under oath. He clearly states the two possibilities. If she is innocent, she will be unharmed. The water is just dusty water. If she is guilty, she is calling upon God to execute a specific curse upon her body. The curse, that her "thigh fall away and your abdomen swell," is best understood as a curse upon her reproductive system, a divine judgment of infertility or miscarriage. It is a fitting curse for a sin that corrupts the marital bed and the lineage of the family. The woman's required response, "Amen. Amen," is a solemn agreement. She is saying, "So be it, let this happen to me if I am lying." She is calling upon God to be her judge.
23-26 ‘The priest shall then write these curses on a scroll, and he shall wash them off into the water of bitterness. Then he shall make the woman drink the water... And the priest shall take the grain offering... wave the grain offering before Yahweh... and offer it up in smoke on the altar, and afterward he shall make the woman drink the water.
The spoken words of the curse are written down, and the ink is then washed into the water. This is a powerful symbolic act, showing that the water is now sacramentally charged with the very Word of God's judgment. The grain offering is then formally presented to God through a wave offering and the burning of a memorial portion on the altar. This is the moment of appeal. Only after the matter has been formally and completely handed over to God does the priest have the woman drink the water.
27-28 So he will have her drink the water, and it will be that, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful... the water which brings curses will go into her to cause bitterness, and her abdomen will swell and her thigh will fall away... But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will then be free and conceive a seed.
Here is the divine verdict, and it is unmistakably supernatural. If she is guilty, the curse comes to pass. God Himself exposes her sin through a physical malady, and she becomes a public example of judgment. But if she is innocent, she is not merely unharmed. She is completely vindicated and blessed. She is declared free, and God grants her fertility, "she will... conceive a seed." In a culture where children were the highest blessing, this is the ultimate sign of divine favor. Her name is cleared, her honor is restored, her marriage is healed, and her future is secured by God's own hand.
29-31 ‘This is the law of jealousy... when a spirit of jealousy comes over a man... the priest shall apply all this law to her. Moreover, the man will be free from guilt, but that woman shall bear her guilt.’ ”
The passage concludes with a summary. This law provides the one true remedy for the poison of jealousy in a marriage. It forces the issue out of the darkness of suspicion and into the holy light of God's presence. And notice the final provision: the husband is "free from guilt" for bringing the charge. He has not engaged in slander or vigilante violence; he has followed God's prescribed path for resolution. He has trusted God to be the judge. If the woman is guilty, she alone bears that guilt. If she is innocent, God Himself declares it, and the matter is settled forever.
Application
First, this law establishes the profound sanctity of marriage. God does not treat adultery lightly, and neither should we. He is willing to intervene directly in history to guard the marriage bed. This should cause us to hold marriage in the highest honor and to flee from all sexual immorality, which God promises to judge.
Second, this is a powerful illustration of how God protects the vulnerable. In a world where a powerless woman could be easily cast aside or worse by a powerful and jealous husband, this law provided her with a court of ultimate appeal. It protected the innocent from false accusation in a way no human court could. God is a defender of the defenseless.
Finally, we must see the gospel here. We are the bride of Christ, and we have been unfaithful. We have gone astray and defiled ourselves. We deserve to drink the water of bitterness and have the curse of God fall upon us. But on the cross, our Husband, Jesus Christ, drank the cup of God's curse for us. He drank the bitterness of God's wrath down to the dregs. Because He took our curse, we who are guilty can be declared "free" and clean. And more than that, we who were spiritually barren are now enabled to "conceive a seed," to bear fruit for God. This ancient law, in all its starkness, points to the astonishing grace of the God who takes the curse for His unfaithful bride, so that she might be vindicated and blessed forever.