This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;
This is the law of jealousies in Numbers 5 and 6, standing alongside the laws concerning the Nazarites and just before the blessing the priests were instructed to place upon the children of Israel. It gives the law for when a wife goes aside to another instead of her husband and is defiled. The procedure applied when a husband had suspicion of infidelity but no direct evidence, using an offering of jealousy to expose the truth.
That offering was of barley meal without oil or frankincense, serving as a memorial bringing iniquity to remembrance. The bitter water did no harm to an innocent woman but brought a fatal consequence upon one who was guilty. The ordeal was God's appointed means for removing suspicion of impurity from Israel. Read rightly, the chapter shows God's abhorrence of sin and warns against its destructive course and fearful end.
This is the law of jealousies in Numbers 5 and 6, standing alongside the laws concerning the Nazarites and just before the blessing the priests were instructed to place upon the children of Israel. It gives the law for when a wife goes aside to another instead of her husband and is defiled. The procedure applied when a husband had suspicion of infidelity but no direct evidence, using an offering of jealousy to expose the truth.
That offering was of barley meal without oil or frankincense, serving as a memorial bringing iniquity to remembrance. The bitter water did no harm to an innocent woman but brought a fatal consequence upon one who was guilty. The ordeal was God's appointed means for removing suspicion of impurity from Israel. Read rightly, the chapter shows God's abhorrence of sin and warns against its destructive course and fearful end.