April 14, 2011 – Numbers 5

This may sound cruel and unfair, but after reading commentaries on this chapter, here are a few things to think about before we jump the gun.  At first, you may think that it is unfair because it only seems to place punishment on the wife that is unfaithful.  This is not the case.  Leviticus 20:10 "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.”  So a wife that is unfaithful goes through this testing process, a husband that is unfaithful in killed.  So, there is no gender bias here.  The reason this was done for wives is precisely because back then, women did not have the same protections or rights as men.  This law was made to stop men from just getting rid of wives if they suspected them of being unfaithful.  It was used to curb men’s passions and also to try to stop adulterous acts. 

Secondly, the water that was drunk was not water that would cause the hip to fall or thighs to waste.  The water was going to go in and out if there was no guilt in the woman.  Only if she was unfaithful would anything happen, and this was a miracle from God to show that she had been unfaithful. And if she wasn’t unfaithful, as compensation for being accused, it says that she will bear children.  Just some things to think about, because when I first read this I had reactions that may be similar to yours.  Once I look at some of the commentary and thought about it, you can see that these rules are all done for a reason and purpose.