12/07/13

The test of whoredom

Numbers 5:12, 13 - Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him, And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;


Numbers 5:11-31 talks of doubt of adultery by a husband on his wife and when there is no eye witness to the adultery.

The Lord commands a test and ultimately the test result is fulfilled by the Lord not by man. For the test the following items were required.

An earthen vessel
Holy water - not the holy water like of the Catholic / Orthodox Church but this was the water kept in lavers [Solomon's temple had 10 lavers - 5 on ether sides of the vast brazen sea] used solely for sacrifices.
Dust - earth from the ground

The priest would make the woman stand before the Lord and let her hair loose [women were commanded to cover their hair] then the priest would put the dust into the water and make the woman drink it. If she was guilty of adultery her thighs would rot and her belly would swell. This swelling is not to be confused with conceiving but something like coeliac disease. The adverse effects other than this were that the woman would not conceive in the future.

If we want to understand it like the Jews did then there is not much of an explanation required but if we want to understand it the way Jesus did, in its truth, then a lot of explanation is required. I would possibility write about 25 to 30 pages on this matter, even more. But in this short message I will take just the conclusion.

Note something odd about the test result - the thighs rotting. One needs to ask why the thighs only why not any other parts of the body, also we need to give attention to the selection of the objects and the loosening of the hair all of them symbolize a message.

In the Bible whenever man went after other gods, the Lord accused man of whoring. Whoring is a term when someone has relation with a person outside a relationship. We are bride of the Lord and when we go after other gods we are accused of adultery and thus whoring. This same example the Lord showed through the prophet Hosea.

In today's message the Lord is says this is the test He will cause on us when we (His people) go whoring after other gods. You might say Brother I am a Christian, I worship the Lord Jesus Christ and follow the Bible.

If we read the book of Hosea we see the Lord tested Israel who were considered God's people yet they went whoring and the Lord punished them for it.

The punishment was that they were rejected from the plan of God, for they rejected His Christ (swelling of the belly). They also saw the prophecies of destruction come upon them (rotting of the thighs). This happened when they drank the bitter waters. The bitter water consist of sacred water (symbolizing the message of life - Living water - Word of God - Christ) and dust (symbolizing - death).

When the Jews put Christ to death they went through the test as stated in today's message. We too even today can put Christ again to death again (not physically) but when we make His sacrifice void in our lives and then again and again claim His death in our lives.

The Catholics do this at every Mass, they symbolically try to sacrifice Christ again and again when they do their tradition of celebrating the Eucharist. But incidentally they lift up a wafer and not unleavened bread. Christ is symbolized by unleavened bread and not by wafer.

We may physically not do what the Catholics do but like Paul says Christ offered His blood once for all and there is no more offering for sins like this. In another place the Lord says the worst thing we can do is overcome the Lord and then there is no hope.

When we do things knowingly, when we know what we are doing is going to destroy our relationship with the Lord and yet continue in it. We may be tempted and fall but when we have knowledge of the Truth and continue to keep falling, the Lord does not take that likely and may put us to the test.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord we pray like how Jesus told us to, Father do not put us to the test. Father there are many time we almost gave up on You and went on making the things of this world our God. We did not mind harming and cheating our own brethren just to possess things of this world. We blinded in our carnal desire making our desire our god have caused people to stumble and be hurt. Lord we ask for forgiveness and mercy in our lives...

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference ]
Numbers 5:11-31

Hebrew 10:10-18
11 And every priest indeed standeth day by day ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, the which can never take away sins:
12 but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13 henceforth expecting till his enemies be made the footstool of his feet.
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also beareth witness to us; for after he hath said,
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws on their heart, And upon their mind also will I write them; then saith he,
17 And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

Songs of Solomon 6:5-8
5 Turn away thine eyes from me, For they have overcome me. Thy hair is as a flock of goats, That lie along the side of Gilead.
6 Thy teeth are like a flock of ewes, Which are come up from the washing; Whereof every one hath twins, And none is bereaved among them.
7 Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate Behind thy veil.
8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And virgins without number.

The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others. (All rights are with God)