Números 5
Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
Números 5
Wiersbe points out another factor underscores the importance of confession and restitution - Israel was about to confront their enemies, and there could be no unity in the army if the people were in conflict with one another because of unresolved offenses. The soldiers would be alienated from each other and from the Lord, and that could lead to defeat. True unity begins with everybody being right with God and with each other. Rayburn -The sin must be confessed, no doubt at the time the offender made his sacrifice and as he was laying his hands on the head of the animal; no secret restitution to protect one’s reputation is allowed. And there must be actual restitution. The penitent must pay the amount and more that he stole from his brother. The wrong must be put right: it is not enough to say that one is sorry. There is a Baptist evangelist in England who at his evangelistic campaigns provides bins in which people in his congregations can return stolen goods so that the campaign staff, wherever possible, can return them to their rightful owners. And they collect a lot of stuff! [Brown, 44] The emphasis here, however, is on the thief doing it himself or herself and paying restitution personally. It is not enough simply to give the goods back. The owner has also had stolen their use for some time. He is entitled to more. You defrauded him; you must now, as it were, defraud yourself, suffer loss yourself, to make the matter right. Among the penalties are an added amount that has to be returned and the public acknowledgement that you were the thief. Thompson - When Jesus Christ was here on earth, he completely disregarded the laws of uncleanness and leprosy and actually touched lepers (Luke 5:12-15) and He permitted lepers to touch Him (Luke 8:43-48). The reason for this is He is the One who can take away the terrible disease of our sin (I Pet. 2:24; Is. 53:4-6). Jesus Christ is the cure. Now leprosy is often a metaphorical picture of sin and the truth is we have all been infected by sin. We all need a sin cleansing. That sin cleansing is found in one Person, Jesus Christ. The point here is that God will not fellowship and bless people who have this disease and do nothing about it. God dwells with holy people. God dwells with clean people. So any unclean person needed to be removed from the fellowship if God were to bless the fellowship (I Cor. 5). This is exactly why Paul said in II Corinthians 7:1, “let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” When we sin, we need to go to God and confess it and get clean of it and get rid of it. God wants His people clean and pure. He will not pour out His blessings on those who are not clean. That is the point for Israel and for us. Brian Bell - Stealing could easily be committed in this long March since everyone lives in open tents. Can’t just confess but restitution is in order as well… + 20%. Teach your children that it is not only confession before God, but consequence toward man. {not greasy grace! David Jeremiah} Illustration: A pig ate his fill of acorns under an oak tree and then started to root around the tree. A crow remarked, “You should not do this. If you lay bare the roots, the tree will wither and die.” “Let it die,” said the pig. “Who cares as long as there are acorns?” [no pig...there are consequences!!!] Story: The year is 1887. The man...a thief named Emmanuel Nenger. The scene is a small neighborhood grocery store. Mr. Nenger is buying some turnip greens. He gives the clerk a $20 bill. As the clerk begins to put the money in the cash drawer to give Mr. Nenger his change, she notices some of the ink from the $20 bill is coming off on her fingers which are damp from the turnip greens. She looks at Mr. Nenger, a man she has known for years. She looks at the smudged bill. This man is a trusted friend; she has known him all her life; he can’t be a counterfeiter. She gives Mr. Nenger his change, and he leaves the store. But $20 is a lot of money in 1887, and eventually the clerk calls the police. They verify the bill as counterfeit and get a search warrant to look through Mr. Nenger’s home. In the attic they find where he is reproducing money. He is a master artist and is painting $20 bills with brushes and paint! But also in the attic they find three portraits Nenger had painted. They seized these and eventually sold them at auction for $16,000 (in 1887 currency, remember) or a little more than $5,000 per painting. The irony is that it took Nenger almost as long to paint a $20 bill as it did for him to paint a $5,000 portrait! It’s true that Emanuel Nenger was a thief, but the person from whom he stole the most was himself!!!
Números 5
Wiersbe - The concepts of “clean” and “unclean” were vital to daily life in Israel. Cleanliness involved much more than personal hygiene; it involved being acceptable to God in what they ate, what they wore, and how they conducted themselves at home and in public. The Israelites were in the infancy of their faith, and God used familiar pictures to teach them spiritual truth. He compared sin to disease and defilement and holiness to health and cleanliness (Lev. 11–15). Unclean people were put out of the camp until they had met the ceremonial requirements for reentry. Thompson - If we were to poll Christianity and ask them to list the attributes of God in order of importance, I am sure at the top of the list would be God’s love. I am certain that this would rank high on the list of God’s attributes. But the truth is the one attribute that the Bible actually mentions the most is God’s Holiness, not God’s love. When Isaiah was taken to the throne of God and saw God high and lifted up, the angels were not crying out “Love, Love, Love,” they were crying “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Is. 6:3). When the Apostle John was taken up into heaven to see the throne of God, the four living Creatures were not crying “Love, Love, Love,” but “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD God the Almighty” (Rev. 4:8). God is a holy God and if He is going to bless His people, He demands they be holy. This point was clearly something God wanted Israel to understand as they were about to pack up and head to the Promised Land. God wanted His people to realize if you want My blessings and My powerful presence, you must be clean. This is not a nice little suggestion; this is a demand of God. This point is true regardless of the dispensation. Robert Rayburn - We now turn to the purity of the people themselves. Israel is to be a holy people, holy because Yahweh is holy. Her camp where the sanctuary of God is located must be pure because he is there and so efforts are made to address that need, both ceremonially and morally, Command the sons of Israel that they send away from the camp - These people were not cut off from Israel, but just sent outside the area of the camp. It would be like a quarantine outside the outer perimeter of the camp. . Leviticus 13-14 describes the process of purification by which people could be restored to the camp of the holy. Gilbrant - Out of the camp. This is a brief compendium of the laws of cleanliness in Leviticus 13 to 15. There is a curious difference. In Leviticus, the sick are to be isolated; here they are to be excluded from the camp until they are well. The difference is not that the law changed, but that the camp had changed. At Sinai, the people were settled with their flock coming and going for pasture. When Israel was organized for travel, the quarantine involved exclusion so as to be effective....Possible reasons for these laws of uncleanness have been thoroughly discussed, but the view that God gave them to his people in the interests of public health seems to fit all the data. God had promised to keep them from the diseases of the Egyptians (Exo. 15:26). The best method to halt the spread of disease in ancient times was quarantine. But there were no rules like these in other ancient cultures as far as we know.
Números 5
Wiersbe - Scholars aren’t agreed on what leprosy was in ancient days, and some modern translations prefer “infectious skin disease.” Whatever it was, leprosy was a dreaded disease that made the victims ceremonially unclean. They had to live outside the camp, and if anybody approached them, they had to cry out, “Unclean, unclean!” (See Lev. 13.) If they were cured, they had to go through a lengthy process of cleansing before being admitted back into the camp (Lev. 14). NET Note on leper - The word צָרוּעַ (tsarua’), although translated “leper,” does not primarily refer to leprosy proper (i.e., Hansen’s disease). The RSV and the NASB continued the KJV tradition of using “leper” and “leprosy.” More recent studies have concluded that the Hebrew word is a generic term covering all infectious skin diseases (including leprosy when that actually showed up). True leprosy was known and feared certainly by the time of Amos (ca. 760 B.C.). There is evidence that the disease was known in Egypt by 1500 B.C. So this term would include that disease in all probability. But in view of the diagnosis and healing described in Leviticus 13 and 14, the term must be broader. The whole basis for the laws of separation may be found in the book of Leviticus. The holiness of the LORD who dwelt among his people meant that a high standard was imposed on them for their living arrangements as well as access to the sanctuary. Anything that was corrupted, diseased, dying, or contaminated was simply not compatible with the holiness of God and was therefore excluded. This is not to say that it was treated as sin, or the afflicted as sinners. It simply was revealing—and safeguarding—the holiness of the LORD. It thus provided a revelation for all time that in the world to come nothing unclean will enter into the heavenly sanctuary. As the Apostle Paul says, we will all be changed from this corruptible body into one that is incorruptible (1 Cor 15:53). So while the laws of purity and holiness were practical for the immediate audience, they have far-reaching implications for theology. The purity regulations have been done away with in Christ—the problem is dealt with differently in the new covenant. There is no earthly temple, and so the separation laws are not in force. Wisdom would instruct someone with an infectious disease to isolate, however. But just because the procedure is fulfilled in Christ does not mean that believers today are fit for glory just as they are. On the contrary, they must be changed before going into his presence. In like manner the sacrifices have been done away in Christ—not what they covered. Sin is still sin, even though it is dealt with differently on this side of the cross. But the ritual and the regulations of the old covenant at Sinai have been fulfilled in Christ. Send away (07971)(shalach means to send, to send forth, to send away, to let go, to put, to expel. It is notable that the first use in Ge 3:22 describes Adam as he stretched out his hand to take of the forbidden fruit. The second use in Ge 3:23 describes God's punishment - "God sent him out (shalach) from the Garden." Uses in Numbers - Num. 5:2; Num. 5:3; Num. 5:4; Num. 13:2; Num. 13:3; Num. 13:16; Num. 13:17; Num. 13:27; Num. 14:36; Num. 16:12; Num. 16:28; Num. 16:29; Num. 20:14; Num. 20:16; Num. 21:6; Num. 21:21; Num. 21:32; Num. 22:5; Num. 22:10; Num. 22:15; Num. 22:37; Num. 22:40; Num. 24:12; Num. 31:4; Num. 31:6; Num. 32:8; and everyone having a discharge - A discharge would be a bodily emission and most think this refers primarily to the sexual organs. Wiersbe on discharge - The discharge might be natural (Lev 15:16–18, 25–30) or unnatural (Lev 15:1–15, 19–24), but it still made the people unclean. Some of these discharges might be caused by venereal diseases or other infections which would make the people toxic, so isolating them helped to maintain the health of the camp. Discharge (02100)(zub) was a verb meaning to gush, flow. TWOT says "The basic idea is a movement of liquid, flowing from one location to another. The root is used only in the Qal stem. It occurs fifty-four times, including both the verb and noun. The word usually occurs in one of three contexts. 1. The movement of water in a stream. Water is said to have "gushed forth from the rock struck by Moses in the wilderness (Psalm 78:20; cf Psalm 105:41; Isaiah 48:21). 2. A characteristic description of Palestine: it is said to be "flowing" with milk and honey. This phrase occurs many times in the OT (e.g. Exodus 3:8, 17; Exodus 13:5; Exodus 33:3; Deut. 6:3; Deut. 11:9, etc.). 3. A discharge, pathological or normal, from the genito-urinary tract. With three exceptions, Leviticus 22:4; Numbers 5:2; 2 Samuel 3:29, all usages appear in Leviticus 15. It is used in Leviticus 15:2-15, 32-33 (verb eleven times, noun seven) to refer to a diseased "discharge" from a man (possibly including diarrhea); in Leviticus 15:19-24 (verb once, noun once) to the discharge of a woman's menstrual period; and in Leviticus 15:25-30 (verb once, noun five times) to an unnatural discharge of blood from a woman." (L.J.W) Zub can be used for the movement of water in a stream or along the ground. All three OT instances of this use refer to the water which gushed from the rock when Moses struck it in the wilderness. (Ps 78:20, Ps 105:41, Isa 48:21) Zub also appears in the common phrase "flowing with milk and honey," used most often of the Promised Land of Palestine (Exo. 3:8; Nu 13:27; Nu 16:13, Dt. 6:3). Zub - 40v - Exod. 3:8; Exod. 3:17; Exod. 13:5; Exod. 33:3; Lev. 15:2; Lev. 15:4; Lev. 15:6; Lev. 15:7; Lev. 15:8; Lev. 15:9; Lev. 15:11; Lev. 15:12; Lev. 15:13; Lev. 15:19; Lev. 15:25; Lev. 15:32; Lev. 20:24; Lev. 22:4; Nu 5:2; Nu 13:27; Nu 14:8; Nu 16:13; Nu 16:14; Deut. 6:3; Deut. 11:9; Deut. 26:9; Deut. 26:15; Deut. 27:3; Deut. 31:20; Jos. 5:6; 2 Sam. 3:29; Ps. 78:20; Ps. 105:41; Isa. 48:21; Jer. 11:5; Jer. 32:22; Jer. 49:4; Lam. 4:9; Ezek. 20:6; Ezek. 20:15 ISBE on "discharge" - [Heb. zôḇ] (Lev. 15:1-33; Lev 22:4, 22; Nu. 5:2; 2 Sa 3:29); AV ISSUE. Not all the discharges mentioned in Lev. 15 would be infectious, but making a distinction between infectious and noninfectious would necessitate microscopic examination not available until modern times, so the course of treating all discharges alike was then the safest one. The Levitical laws for controlling gonorrhea, source of the main infectious discharge in view, were among the earliest recorded. Vivid descriptions of the disease are to be found also on second-millennium B.C. Assyrian tablets. Lev. 15:19–24 refers to menstruation. Jensen - Three cases of uncleanness are cited: the leper, the one with a running issue, and the one defiled by the dead. Apart from any hygienic reasons, the directions for such purging reflect the ways of God in speaking to the Israelites. They thought in terms of the concrete and the visible, and so God continually used the visible, the tangible, and the audible to make clear His message. Here was a threefold reminder that God did not want habitual sinners in the camp: The leper was a picture of the awfulness and ugliness of sin. The running issue was a reminder of sin unhealed and taking its toll. Defilement by a dead body was a reminder of the ultimate result of sin, eternal death. (Ibid) and everyone who is unclean because of a dead person - Obviously because of touching a dead person (the word "dead" is not actually in the Hebrew text).. Considering that they had 2 million people in the camp, it was likely that every day someone would come in contact with a dead person. Mattoon - If a person prepared a body for burial, he was certified as unclean for a week. This is the reason for the tombs being whitened in New Testament times. The solution to those who were defiled were to be quarantined and put out of the camp. This medical practice was discovered or understood 3400 years later by the medical society as an effective method for dealing with contagious diseases. The Bible is the only ancient book to insist on this practice. Why? The Bible is the Word of God! Wiersbe - The law concerning defilement by the dead is spelled out in Numbers 19:11–22 and Leviticus 21:1–4. The decayed carcass of an animal was likely to be contaminated and therefore able to spread disease, but even human corpses were considered unclean. Those who prepared their loved ones for burial were ceremonially unclean for a week and had to go through ritual cleansing before being received back into the camp. NET Note on person - The word is נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh), which usually simply means “[whole] life,” i.e., the soul in the body, the person. But here it must mean the corpse, the dead person, since that is what will defile (although it was also possible to become unclean by touching certain diseased people, such as a leper). Unclean (02931)(tame) describes that which is (ceremonially) defiled or impure, ritually impure and unfit for use or consumption. It describes that which is not cleansed in a ceremonial sense and that which must be abstained from according to the Levitical law, lest impurity be contracted. Lawrence Richards explains that tame "designates ceremonial (ritual) uncleanness in the early books. Later the prophets use the term primarily of moral impurity. In the early books of the OT, cleanness and uncleanness are ritual issues. That is, calling a person or thing “unclean” was not a moral judgment. “Unclean” meant simply that a person or thing was unable to participate in Israel’s worship of Yahweh. During the time of ceremonial uncleanness, one could not attend any worship ceremony or eat meat that had been offered in sacrifice (Nu 5:1-4; 9:6-12). Under certain circumstances an unclean person must be isolated from others in the community (Lev 13:45-46)… The rules concerning the clean and the unclean seem to draw attention to central issues in human experience—to birth, death, sex, health, and food. In so doing, these ritual issues graphically demonstrated God’s concern for everything in His people’s earthly life… What we conclude is that Israel’s God sets apart what he chooses for his people, and he sets them apart from whatever he rejects. Israel is God’s people. Everything in their daily life is to testify to their exclusive commitment to the Lord… Ceremonial and ritual uncleanness cut off an individual from participation in worship of the Lord. The lesson is clear: one must be clean to approach a holy God. (New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words) (Bolding added for emphasis) THOUGHT - In all three examples of defilement/uncleanness, God was trying to teach Israel of their call to be holy as He is holy. The same call applies to believers today, Paul writing "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. " (2 Cor 7;1+). NIV SB - In the new Jerusalem (Rev 21:2-3) the dwelling of God with his people will be uncompromised by any form of uncleanness (Rev 21:27+). and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Question: What are the bodily discharges mentioned in Leviticus 15, and why did they make a person unclean? Answer: There are four types of bodily discharges mentioned in Leviticus 15, and all four rendered one “unclean” for at least seven days and required sacrifices to be declared “clean” again. The four types of discharge are 1) a chronic male discharge (verses 1–15), 2) emissions of semen (verses 16–18), 3) a woman’s discharge during menstruation (verses 19–24), and 4) a chronic female issue of blood (verses 25–30). The chronic male discharge was most likely due to some kind of venereal disease, so all four bodily discharges have to do with fertility (or periods of infertility) and the proper function of the sexual organs. The Law does not give a direct reason for the rules concerning bodily discharges, but a verse near the end of Leviticus 15 gives the best hint: “So they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place, which is among them” (Leviticus 15:31). The question naturally arises, why should discharges from sex organs put someone at risk of death for defiling the sanctuary? The answer is most likely related to the analogy between the “one-flesh relationship” of a man and woman, and the desired relationship between God and His people. The prophets often spoke of idolatry in Israel as “adultery,” in view of the fact that God had chosen Israel as a holy people unto Himself. The rite of circumcision was given to Abraham in Genesis 17. Thus, all the males among God’s people were to be physically marked (on the sexual organ) as set apart for the Lord. Abraham and all his “seed” were to “walk before me faithfully and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1). In light of circumcision as a covenantal sign, an entire chapter devoted to the productivity and proper use of the sexual organs (Leviticus 15) doesn’t seem so out of place. The very first command to Adam was “be fruitful and increase in number” (Genesis 1:28). After sin entered the world through Adam, Abraham and his miraculous seed were to fulfill Adam’s commission to “be fruitful” as God’s representative on earth (see Genesis 12:2–3). From the beginning, nothing bore greater witness to the God of Creation than the proper means of procreation; so, when the Law was given, the children of Israel were instructed to take seriously the proper and productive use of their sexual organs—all four bodily discharges in Leviticus 15 are “markers” of inappropriate or unproductive use of those organs, just as circumcision “marked” one as a “separated” child of God through the seed of Abraham. During periods of uncleanness (of which the bodily discharges were a sign), sexual activity was unfruitful and least likely to be honoring to God, and so God forbade physical contact, including sexual activity, with the “unclean.” Leviticus 15 also enforced the ongoing awareness among God’s people of their need to remain set apart for Him alone. In times of uncleanness, God’s people were to have an eager desire to return to full productivity for God’s sake among the nations, given that He had made His “dwelling place” among them (verse 31). The Law’s added requirement of cleansing and sacrifice once the bodily discharges had ended was primarily to express the individual’s re-consecration to God. The cleansed were “betrothed” to God and spiritually “fertile”; they were “separated” to God and desired to increase their tribe and thus publish God’s name throughout the whole earth. Christians are not under the Law (Romans 6:14) and are not bound by the Law’s strict requirements concerning circumcision, bodily discharges, and sexual activity. However, we are still a “sanctified” people in that we are set apart in Christ to be holy—we are God’s sanctuary now. As such, we are to behave sexually as those “betrothed” to God and honor Him with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:12–20; Ephesians 5:18–33). (Source - GotQuestions.org) Numbers 5:3 "You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they will not defile their camp where I dwell in their midst." BGT Numbers 5:3 ἀπὸ ἀρσενικοῦ ἕως θηλυκοῦ ἐξαποστείλατε ἔξω τῆς παρεμβολῆς καὶ οὐ μὴ μιανοῦσιν τὰς παρεμβολὰς αὐτῶν ἐν οἷς ἐγὼ καταγίνομαι ἐν αὐτοῖς NET Numbers 5:3 You must expel both men and women; you must put them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps, among which I live." NLT Numbers 5:3 This command applies to men and women alike. Remove them so they will not defile the camp in which I live among them." ESV Numbers 5:3 You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell." NIV Numbers 5:3 Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them." KJV Numbers 5:3 Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell. YLT Numbers 5:3 from male unto female ye do send out; unto the outside of the camp ye do send them; and they defile not their camps in the midst of which I do tabernacle.' LXE Numbers 5:3 Whether male or female, send them forth out of the camp; and they shall not defile their camps in which I dwell among them. outside the camp: 1Ki 7:3 1Co 5:7-13 2Co 6:17 2Th 3:6 Tit 3:10 Heb 12:15,16 2Jn 1:10,11 Rev 21:27 will not defile: Nu 19:22 Hag 2:13,14 in their midst: Lev 26:11,12 De 23:14 Ps 68:18 Isa 12:6 2Co 6:16 Rev 21:3 Numbers 5 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Exodus 29:45 “I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. Leviticus 26:12 I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. REASON TO REMOVE IMPURITY GOD DWELLS IN THE CAMP You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp - If they are sent away then where are they to stay? The ESV note says they "must live in places such as caves or wilderness tents, separate from the people (cf. Lev. 13:46; 2 Kings 7:3)." Clean and unclean cuts across the lines of gender. Irving Jensen - God had placed the tabernacle in the center of the camp, to emphasize that the life of the Israelites centered about Him. Now He stated this fact very explicitly and clearly, and applied it to the life of the camp: The fact: I dwell “in the midst” of your camp (Nu 5:3). The application: “Put out of the camp every leper,” and so forth (Nu 5:2). When the Holy One settles down to dwell, uncleanness and sin cannot find a home there. There is no room for joint occupancy. If God is in the midst, uncleanness must be put out. (Ibid) Mattoon - The camp was to be kept clean not only for health and hygiene purposes, but also to teach the meaning of separation and holiness. God dwelt in the midst of His people. So that (term of purpose) they will not defile their camp where I dwell (shakan) in their midst - The problem with defilement is the presence of Yahweh in the camp. The Shekinah glory cloud over the Tabernacle was the evidence that God dwelt in their midst. The purpose of sending all unclean people out of the camp was that His presence in the midst of the camp would not be defiled. Note defile is clearly a key word in Numbers 5 (8x in 7v - see below) We also see why the removal of defiling influences from the camp was absolutely critical For the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you lest He turn away from you. (Dt 23:14). THOUGHT - If follows from this passage that Israel would not be able to defeat their enemies if they had in their camp things that were indecent (Hebrew - ervah - nudity, and speaks of shameful exposure of sexual organs, male or female.) Given the seductive influence and infiltration of the internet into our society, including Christian circles and including male and female viewers, this principle calls for all of us to practice Psalm 101:3 "I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me." Note that last phrase "fasten...grip" means to be joined to another (as used in Ge 2:24), as we might say "stick like glue!" Don't play with indecent images on the internet, because they are not innocent and you may end up thoroughly entangled (cf Ps 25:15). Are you Entangled?