Faithful Bride

Today's Reading: Numbers 5

Comments: Another rough one to be cleaned up and completed later...

	Protect the church-
	Numbers 5:1–3 (ESV) 5 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. 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.” Personalize it method (Rick Warren's 40 Days in the Word): Teach me from your Word today Lord and let me see the application you aks of me.  I ask this in Jesus name, amen. See that I am asking that defilers not partake in the fellowship lest they be cleaned by confession nd repentance. Terrible damage is done by filth in the tabernacle Jeff. Do not allow it in your heart and do not allow it in my church. How many of my people who witnessed the sinful actions of Aaron's sons would have been injured in their faith had I not acted justly in my dealing with them?… Leviticus 10:1–2 (ESV) 10 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Let not your own heart bear such willing sin against me. Then come to the aid your brothers who are walking in darkness and give the faithful wounds that are required… Proverbs 27:6 (ESV)  6  Faithful are the wounds of a friend;  profuse are the kisses of an enemy. Hebrews 3:12–14 (ESV) 12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. Matthew 18:15–17 (ESV) 15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
	It's about me and God-
	Numbers 5:5–8 (ESV) 5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, 7 he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. 8 But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him. See Jeff that I require restitution if you break faith with anyone that would take from them property or money by your sinful dealings. This is not simply for the sake of the oppressed, but it is against the Lord that you have sinned and it is for the sake of your relationship with me that you need to present evidence of your repentance. This law involves social standards of living but greater is the significance of maintaining a right relationship with me. From the Matthew Henry Commentary- Satisfaction must be made for the offence done to God, whose law is broken, as well as for the loss sustained by our neighbour; restitution in this case is not sufficient without faith and repentance. 3. Yet the sacrifices would not be accepted till full amends were made to the party wronged, not only the principal, but a fifth part added to it, v. 7.
	Faithfulness required-
	Numbers 5:11–12 (ESV) 11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the people of Israel, If any man’s wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, Numbers 5:20 (ESV) 20 But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your husband has lain with you, See that you do not go astray Jeff and live as if you are not under my authority. Do not conduct yourself in private any differently than in public. Know that I bear witness against you and you cannot defile the tabernacle of your heart without penalty. I am a jealous God and I desire your heart be devoted to me. If you desire to ascend the holy hill and live in communion with me, to abide in me, to have open relationship with me, to have answered prayer…then walk blamelessly before me. Confess and do not willfully sin against me and do not attempt to hide anything from me or others. Psalm 24:3–5 (ESV)  3  Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?  And who shall stand in his holy place?   4  He who has clean hands and a pure heart,  who does not lift up his soul to what is false  and does not swear deceitfully.   5  He will receive blessing from the Lord  and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Psalm 15:1–2 (ESV)  1  O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?  Who shall dwell on your holy hill?   2  He who walks blamelessly and does what is right  and speaks truth in his heart; 2 Corinthians 11:2–4 2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.  Ephesians 5:25–27 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.  From the Matthew Henry Commentary- From the whole we may learn, (1.) That secret sins are known to God, and sometimes are strangely brought to light in this life; however, there is a day coming when God will, by Jesus Christ, as here by the priest, judge the secrets of men according to the gospel, Rom. 2:16. (2.) That, in particular, Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. The violation of conjugal faith and chastity is highly provoking to the God of heaven, and sooner or later it will be reckoned for. Though we have not now the waters of jealousy to be a sensible terror to the unclean, yet we have a word from God which ought to be as great a terror, that if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, 1 Co. 3:17. (3.) That God will find out some way or other to clear the innocency of the innocent, and to bring forth their righteousness as the light. (4.) That to the pure all things are pure, but to the defiled nothing is so, Tit. 1:15. The same word is to some a savour of life unto life, to others a savour of death unto death, like those waters of jealousy, according as they receive it; the same providence is for good to some and for hurt to others, Jer. 24:5, 8, 9. And, whatsoever it is intended for, it shall not return void. Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged in one volume (Nu 5:11–31). Peabody: Hendrickson.