Numbers 5:25
Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar: Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar:
This verse belongs to the various vows and ceremonies given to Israel during the wilderness journeyings. It is part of the law concerning a suspected unfaithful wife, provided for when a husband suspected his wife but had no direct evidence. The jealousy offering was a tenth of an ephah of barley meal, without oil or frankincense, and it served as a memorial.
The priest takes the offering out of the woman's hand, presents it before the Lord by waving it, and offers it upon the altar. After the offering, the priest administered bitter water that would cause no harm if she was innocent, but if she was guilty it would bring a dreadful and speedy death. The procedure was not an offering to atone for sin but a means of bringing hidden iniquity to light. The chapter shows God's abhorrence of sin and warns people to shun its destructive course and fearful end. The ritual shows that sin is not limited to outward acts, which grow from an inward condition of heart and character.