COME AS A CHILD BIBLE STUDY
LESSON 259
In our previous lessons, we discussed the hidden meanings in a passage of scripture found in Numbers Chapter Five. It is the passage which speaks of the test for an unfaithful wife.
There are so many hidden messages in this one passage. We have decided to explore them further in the next few lessons of the COME AS A CHILD Bible Study. Look for these further lessons on Thursdays.
It is important to read last week’s lesson first. You can better understand the whole concept of what we are exploring here.
If you missed it; click here for review: /http://test-for-a-wife-accused-of-adultery-come-as-a-child-lesson-258/
We are delighted that you could join in with us for today’s discussion.
CONSIDER THE GOLDEN CALF
First, let’s think about the story of The Golden Calf.
When this terrible sin happened, Moses eventually tried to help the people by pleading with God for mercy.
Moses reminded God of the oath He had taken with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He spoke of how God had stated He would “make their descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven.”
Moses reminded God how He had promised He would give the people and their descendants all of this land. He recalled the fact that God had promised they would possess it forever.
This all plays out as if God were being depicted as the “jealous husband.” Moses was being depicted as the priest asking for righteousness to be revealed.
We are told that Moses, in his agitated state, held up his hands. They contained the two tablets of the law which were inscribed on the front and the back.
They were the words written by the finger of God.
AN OFFERING AND SOME WORDS
From this side of history; we can almost see the ten commandments were being waived before God like an offering.
We can’t help but think of the WORDS written on the scroll to accuse the woman. These were the words that would accuse the guilty when the bitter water was taken to drink.
These same words that convicted and accused also had the power to preserve the innocent. How many times have we called Christ; The Living Word?
Also; how many times have we referred to the holy scriptures as The WORD of God?
This very same story pattern just keeps repeating in a million different little ways all the way through the scriptures. We can see this amazing pattern over and over again.
TAKING THE BITTER DRINK
Moses left the mountain. He came to the camp where the idolatry and perverted worship was going on. When Moses saw this, he threw the tablets to the ground, breaking them into shattered pieces.
He burned the calf and ground it into powder, threw the powder into water and forced the people to drink.
Does this sound a bit familiar?
Were the people guilty before God?
God was a very jealous husband indeed!
THE DAY 3000 PEOPLE DIED
Moses saw how Aaron had let the people get out of control. He stood at the entrance of the camp. There he shouted; “All of you who are on the LORD’s side come here and join me.”
It was then that the Levites (which we have just studied) gathered around Moses.
Moses instructed them to take their swords. He said for them to go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. They should kill everyone – even their brothers, friends and neighbors. Amazingly; the Levites obeyed this command and about 3,000 people died that day.
That day the test for the jealous husband proved fatal for many. Verdict: GUILTY
THE BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE
Moses told the Levites they had obeyed the LORD in spite of their own feelings and desires.
He commended them and declared that God would give them a blessing because of it.
In the test of the unfaithful wife, where the test proves her innocence; God will bring justice to her. He will reward her with children and a heritage.
Moses determined to go back up on the mountain. He would try to seek forgiveness for the sins of Israel. Moses went back and confessed to God the sins of the people. He asked God for forgiveness. He pleaded with God. Moses said, “But now, if you will only forgive their sin. If not, erase my name from the record you have written!”
MOSES STANDS IN THE GAP
In the test for adultery; the woman may either drink the water or decide not to. If she decided not to (because of guilt) she was taken out right then and justice was served.
Also; she could decide to drink the bitter water. Remember the scroll in our first story? It was the scroll with the woman’s name. All of her sins were written down with the accusations that were against her. That scroll was dipped into the bitter water by the priest. He dipped it until all of the words were washed out into the mix. They no longer showed up on the scroll.
Moses was saying; “let these sins be on me. Erase my name from your book of those who will live. I will take their sins upon myself.” Moses declared he would take responsibility. He said “I was not there when all the trouble started and I am their leader.”
MERCY IS SHOWN TO MOSES
God surprised Moses with his answer. He said He would NOT erase Moses’ name from the book of the living. God indicated instead that he would forgive all of the people who had sinned against him.
Then he told Moses, GO. He told him to continue to lead the people to the promised land. However, God’s Angel would go before them. When God came to the people again, He would hold them accountable for their sins.
Accountability came around again. It always does. God sent a great plague upon the people for worshiping the Golden Calf. It is easy to see how this plague was comparable to the bitter water turning bad inside their belly. It was comparable to making the guilty party sick.
This sin with the golden calf was spiritual adultery!
God is a jealous God.
PUNISHMENT FOR PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL ADULTERY
The plague was like unto drinking the bitter waters when you are guilty. Spiritual adultery, like physical adultery, does not typically go unpunished.
Another time later, some of the priests were causing trouble for Moses and Aaron. They were trying to take over their place in the priesthood.
These selfish men made all kinds of false accusations and dishonored the men of God. God was not a bit happy. The men of Korah were jealous of Moses and Aaron and they wanted to take their place.
God spoke into the situation. Afterwards, Moses and Aaron told the people God’s words,. Then they went to the entrance of the tabernacle and they fell face-down before God.
LETTING GOD BE THE JUDGE
This act of Moses and Aaron would be comparable to the priest presenting a guilty woman before God for judgment. They had been to the tabernacle. Next they had fallen on their faces before God. Moses and Aaron were asking God to judge between them and the men of Korah.
God did.
Moses’ comments in this situation are very interesting. This is especially true if you think of the story of the test for an unfaithful wife. He said to the LORD: “Do not accept their grain offerings! I have not taken so much as a donkey from them. Also, I have never hurt a single one of them.”
Moses knew God would require a grain offering on their behalf.
This is a very similar situation. It concerns jealousy. Only, instead of a husband and wife suspecting one another; the priesthood is participating against another part of the priesthood. How sad this must have been (and still would be) in God’s eyes.
DO NOT COME AGAINST GOD’S APPOINTED
In order to settle the matter, Moses told the men from Korah to come tomorrow. They were to present themselves before the LORD at that time.
Korah stirred up the people against Moses and Aaron. The the next morning the whole community was against the men God had appointed.
I can’t help but think of situations in today’s culture where God’s church is persecuted and wrongly accused. It happens today just as it happened with Moses and Aaron in this particular story. There is someone always waiting to do the devil’s work for him. Someone is always stirring up the people and playing on their emotions instead of declaring the righteousness of God.
ONE MAN’S SIN AFFECTS THE WHOLE COMMUNITY
When everyone gathered at the entrance to the tabernacle the next day; God told Moses and Aaron to move away. He said this because He was going to destroy everyone there.
Moses and Aaron fell on their faces. They pleaded with God not to destroy the whole community because of one man’s sin (Korah’s.)
I think of Abraham. Remember his famous conversation with God when he asked if there were only so many innocent men; would God consider and not destroy a city? Abraham’s pleas with God for the innocent saved not only his nephew Lot; but many others too.
What will happen today? Will a whole nation be destroyed for the sins of a few? I had to consider that possibility.
THE SUMMONS IS REFUSED
Back to the original story though; we know that when Moses summoned the accusers, they refused to come. (Remember how this is an automatic “guilty” verdict in our original story?)
So; Moses went to their tent. He told them they would soon know that the Lord had sent him. God told him to do all of the things he had done. He proclaimed he had not been acting on his own accord.
Godly men who are simply doing right and following God’s will never have to worry about self-defense. God looks after those who follow Him. He will not forsake His own. In the affairs of men; God always has the last word.
GUILTY THROUGH NEGLECT
In this particular case; Moses spoke out. He declared if his accusers died a natural death; then the LORD had not sent him;. But if the LORD does something entirely new; they would know that his accusers had shown contempt for the LORD.”
This is just like the judgment of the woman accused of adultery by a jealous husband. We know the woman has to show up and participate in the proceedings in order to be pronounced innocent;. If she doesn’t, it is assumed by all that she is admitting guilt.
The test will prove who is innocent and who is guilty in the end.
250 MEN DIE
Moses had hardly finished speaking before the ground split and swallowed up Korah. Fire blazed from The LORD and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense with Korah.
Again, the whole community was muttering against Moses and Aaron and saying “You have killed the LORD’s people!”
It was then that the Presence of The LORD appeared at the Tabernacle. God told Moses and Aaron to move out of His way because He was going to destroy all of the people.
Moses told Aaron to take an incense burner and place burning coals on it from the altar. He told Aaron to lay incense on it and carry it out among the people.
Aaron did this but the plague had already begun to strike down many of the people.
STANDING BETWEEN THE DEAD AND THE LIVING
That day the High Priest of Israel (Aaron) stood between the dead and the living;. He was purifying the people who were left. Aaron stood firm until the plague stopped.
14,700 people died that day not counting those who had already died in the earlier episode with Korah.
This time of the plague would be similar to the effect of the bitter waters on the guilty. People’s true actions were being proved out by God’s judgment.
PRAYERS OF INTERVENTION
Moses’ and Aaron’s intervention and prayers to God saved the others. Their actions were comparable to Christ bringing salvation to the earth. Many who did not deserve forgiveness received salvation and were saved from death and separation from the camp forever.
All of this can be compared to a woman accused and being proven either guilty or innocent by God.
There are NUMEROUS stories of this in the scriptures. All of these stories have the same bones and the same basic results.
Almost every story of the bible brings some type of remembrance to this story of the jealousy offering. Many passages speak of the test of the jealous husband.
BRINGING THE STAFFS
God proved that Aaron was still to be the High Priest. He did this by telling Moses to have the people of Israel bring him twelve wooden staffs. Each tribe of Israel was represented by a different staff.
Their names were carved and inscribed on each staff.
Aaron’s name was inscribed on the staff for the tribe of Levi.
The staffs were to be placed before the tabernacle in front of the Ark.
Again, this act was a lot like the woman being positioned in front of God in the original story. The staffs were “official.” Names were on them. This seemed a lot like the name of the woman being written down on parchment. Her name was written along with her accusations and washed in the water of the bitter mixture.
The Ark contained the tablets of the law. It is clear that the names were being placed before the weight of the law.
BUDS WILL SPROUT FROM THE CHOSEN ROD
God told Moses that buds would sprout from the rod of the man that He had chosen.
The next day Moses saw that the rod of Aaron representing the tribe of Levi had sprouted. It had budded. The staff of Aaron had blossomed. It produced ripe almonds.
Aaron’s staff was placed permanently before the Ark of the Covenant. It was to serve as a warning to all rebels.
God is a jealous husband. We see this with the woman accused of adultery but innocent. Again, this shows up with the accusations against Jesus outside the gates of the city. Another time we see this is when Moses was standing with the law in his hands beside the golden calf. It happened again when Moses and Aaron stood against Kora. Once more we saw this pattern with the Levites who were obedient at all cost. I’ll say it again; God is a jealous husband. He does not wish for his people to worship any other gods. He judges those who do; and He defends those who do not.
GOD IS A JEALOUS HUSBAND
I’ll ask every nation on earth to take a closer look at how they stand. The same God who brings judgement also brings chesed love, mercy and forgiveness.
What do you want?
We will look into much more of these amazing comparisons next week. The possibilities of teachings are endless as we read straight from this tiny, little obscure book of Numbers, Chapter five.
There is so much more to see!