Numbers

Numbers 5: God knows what is hidden

Begin in prayer

Before reading about hidden wrongs brought before the Lord, please ask Him for honest hearts. Pray that we will receive His holy judgment with care and come to Jesus for cleansing.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.

Psalm 119:9

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us the sin we try to hide, and lead us to Jesus for cleansing and truth. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

God commands Israel to keep uncleanness outside the camp where He lives among them. He also requires anyone guilty of wrong to confess and repay it, adding a fifth to what was taken. Then He gives a law for a husband who suspects his wife of unfaithfulness when there is no witness. The priest sets her before the Lord, and she drinks the water that brings a curse if she is guilty. God will judge hidden unfaithfulness, while an innocent woman will be free and able to bear children.

As you read Numbers 5, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The holy God knows hidden guilt and protects the innocent.

God lives among Israel, so their camp must be kept clean. Bodily uncleanness keeps someone outside for a time, and wrongs against a neighbour must be confessed and repaid. A hidden breach of marriage also matters to the God who knows every heart. When a husband suspects his wife without witnesses, he must bring the matter before the Lord through the priest. The husband’s suspicion cannot decide her guilt, for God will show whether she is guilty or innocent. God declares that the guilty woman’s body will swell and her thigh fall away. The innocent woman will be free and able to bear children. God’s judgment reaches what people cannot prove or hide.

How does Numbers 5 show us that the holy God knows hidden guilt and protects the innocent?

God’s holy presence calls His people to be clean.

Leprosy, bodily discharge and contact with the dead bring the uncleanness named here. Those affected must stay outside because God dwells among the camp. These rules teach Israel to honour His holiness without saying that every illness is someone’s personal sin.

God requires confession and repayment when someone does wrong.

A wrong against another person is also a trespass against the Lord. The guilty person must confess and restore what was taken, with a fifth added. If the injured person has died without an heir, repayment goes to the priest alongside the ram offered for atonement.

God knows the truth when a husband suspects his wife.

The priest brings the woman before God, who judges the guilty and clears the innocent. A husband must lead and love his wife sacrificially, as Christ loved His church (Ephesians 5 verses 23 to 25). Both bear God’s image with equal worth, and her husband’s suspicion cannot establish guilt. The guilty woman bears the curse, while the innocent woman remains free.

Memorise

If the woman isn’t defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive offspring.

Numbers 5:28

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what hidden sin do I need to confess and bring to Jesus?

God gives the innocent woman this promise, “she shall be free”. Her husband’s jealousy cannot make her guilty. The Lord knows the truth, even when no other person can see it. His holy judgment reaches hidden sin.

We have hidden wrongs from others, and God knows them all. Jesus took the guilt of His people upon Himself at the cross. The innocent Savior bore their curse and suffered for His people. He rose from the dead, having finished the work that fully cleanses their sin. His sacrifice is sufficient for everyone who comes to Him.

Please turn from the sin you have hidden, confess it to God and trust Jesus. He forgives those who turn to Him, even for sins they have long concealed. His mercy gives no permission to hide wrong or harm another person. Come to the Savior who knows you, and ask Him for a heart that loves the truth.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God knows the truth, and please explain the marriage test soberly without graphic detail. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He knows hidden guilt and protects the innocent, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matthew 5:8

Holy God, You know what we hide from other people. Please give us honest hearts that confess our wrong and seek forgiveness in Jesus. Help each of us to turn from sin and trust Him. Teach us to repair the wrongs we do and to speak truth this week. Amen.