Oct 3-9: Preparing a People

Teaching Points

1. What three classes of people did the Lord command Moses to “put out of the encampment”? Num. 5:1–4.

ANSWER:

• Num. 5:2 – leper, everyone that has an issue, whosoever is defiled by the dead body.

OBSERVATION:

• God gave the Israelites practical guidance and knowledge regarding health and disease control.
• God cares for our soul, mind, and body.
• God does not hate the diseased ones.
• “Both men and women were expelled until, if possible, they improved in health. The Lord didn’t hate these physically impaired persons, but for the sake of the health of the nation, He separated them to an area outside the camp, a kind of quarantine. Even in modern times we have special wards in hospitals for persons with infectious diseases.” SSL p. 15

SPIRITUAL APPLICATION:

• Camp is the church.
• Leper and diseased ones are open sinners.
• “Put them out” means separation from the membership of the church. Why? Because diseases can be contagious. Sin is contagious.
• “Without the camp” means a designated place outside of the camp where the diseased ones can be treated. Today we call that hospital. However, spiritually speaking, we call that evangelism. Patients in hospitals are treated with tender care and love so likewise open sinners must be treated with tender care and love.
• “This is the earliest account we have of such separations; and probably this ordinance gave the first idea of a hospital, where all those who are afflicted with contagious disorders are put into particular wards, under medical treatment. Though no mention be made of the situation, circumstances, &c., of those expelled persons, we may certainly infer that they were treated with that humanity which their distressed state required. Though sinners must be separated from the Church of God, yet they should be treated with affectionate regard, because they may be reclaimed. It is too often the case when a man backslides from the way of truth, he is abandoned by all; finding his case desperate, he plunges yet deeper into the mire of sin, and the man who, with tender treatment, might have been reclaimed, becomes incurably hardened.” Clark’s Commentary on Num. 5:4

APPLICATION QUESTION:

• Is there a connection between health issue and character issue?
• Jesus spent time with lepers and diseased ones, what could we do for these people today?

2. According to Num. 5:6-8, what was God’s instruction on how to make a restitution?

ANSWER:

• Num. 5:7 –Confess their sin
• Num. 5:7 –Recompense his trespass
• Num. 5:7 –Add unto it the fifth part
• Num. 5:7 –Give it unto him to whom the wrong was done

OBSERVATION:

• Restitution requires acknowledging your own guilt to the person that you have done wrong.
• Restitution requires more than verbal confession. It is paying back what you owe.
• Restitution requires not only paying back what you owe but to add additional 20 percent to what you owe.
• This is God’s way of restoring “broken trust” among His people. The guilty one has to pay up big but trust and friendship is much more important than money.

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

• Share your story how you carry out your restitution with someone in your life.

3. Read Numbers 5:11-31. What was God trying to teach about marriage in these verses?

ANSWER: How to judge your spouse when you have a suspicion of unfaithfulness in your spouse.

• Num. 5:11-14 If you have a suspicion of unfaithfulness in your spouse
• Num. 5:15-22 Then bring your spouse to God and give her or him an opportunity to clear herself or himself before the Lord
• Num. 5:23-31 Trust in God that He shall bring the rightful judgment

OBSERVATION:

• A suspicion of unfaithfulness is not sufficient enough to pass a judgment upon your spouse.
• Be careful of wrongful accusation because false accusation can plant a seed of evil in the heart of the innocent.
• The blessing and cursing is based upon the obedience and disobedience to God’s law. Therefore allow God to bring the final judgment.
• When you have a spirit of jealousy then you must bring your jealousy before God as an offering and allow God to deal with it.

APPLICATION QUESTION:

• What shall we do when we hear a rumor of unfaithfulness of someone?

4. Read Numbers 6:1-21. What is Nazarene vow?

ANSWER:

• Num. 6:2 –To separate themselves unto the Lord.
• Num. 6:3 –Drink no grape juice, wine, vinegar, and strong drink. And also eat no fresh grapes or raisins.
• Num. 6:4 –During the days of separation, eat nothing from the vine tree, not even grape seeds or skins.
• Num. 6:5 –They must let their hair grow long
• Num. 6:6 –They must never go near a dead body

INTERESTING OBSERVATION:

• Jesus is from Nazareth. Matt. 26:71
• When Jesus was on earth, He drank grape juice and touch dead bodies. However before Jesus went to heaven, He said, “For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.” Luke 22:18
• Therefore Jesus will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the second coming of Christ. So in this sense, it sounds like Jesus made a Nazarene vow during the time when He is in heaven, separated Himself unto the Father for the ministry of salvation.
• In the similar sense, Jesus will not touch any “dead body”, so to speak, until the second coming of Christ when He will resurrect all His saints.
• So is it possible, therefore, that Jesus made a Nazarene vow when He went to heaven?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Do we have any unique life styles that show that we are dedicated to the Lord?
• Is it all right to practice Nazarene vows today? Or how should we spiritually practice this today?

5. Read Num. 6:24-26 and answer the following questions:

• How is the nature of the Godhead hinted at here? Matt. 28:19.
• ANSWER: LORD is mentioned three times.

OBSERVATION:

• Also compare with Rev. 1:4, 5. You will see something similar as above. Grace and peace from “Him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits…and from Jesus Christ.” You can see the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And also 1 Peter 1:2 “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”
• “The LORD make His face shine upon thee” may be talking about Jesus. See 2 Cor. 4:6 “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

EXTRA NOTE: Face to Shine

• Psa. 31:16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies’ sake.
• Psa. 67:1 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
• Psa. 80:3 Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
• Psa. 119:135 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.
• Dan. 9:17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.
  

• How does this prayer reveal Israel’s total dependence upon God? John 15:5.
• ANSWER: Blessing, protection, grace, and peace are the most important for the human soul. Without the LORD, Israel cannot have these.

OBSERVATION:

• Num. 6:24 “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee.” The word “keep” means to hedge about, guard, to protect, preserve, and watch. This reveals that the “blessing” is connected to God’s protection over His people. See below verses.
• Ex. 23:20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
• Psa. 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
• Prov. 2:11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee.
• Rev. 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

• What significance is there to the fact that the priests themselves were the ones to pray this prayer on behalf of the people? Heb. 7:25.
• ANSWER: Priests, as a representation, are the mediators between God and men. Jesus is the Mediator. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” 1 Tim. 2:5

OBSERVATION:

• Some people think the Old Testament God is a God of judgment and fear and the New Testament God is the God of grace and peace. But as you can read in the prayer (Num. 6:24-26), we can see it very clearly how God wants us to be blessed, experience His grace and peace! It is clear, God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

CONCLUSION:

• In these first six chapters, we can see how God began to set up His government. God put together His army. God organized His ministers. God arranged the tents. God gave a health plan. God instituted a social law. God put the boundary in marriage. God called for special dedication for His service. God blesses, God gives grace and God gives peace. God knows what He is doing.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

• Do you believe that God has something to say about every aspect of human life?
• If so, then are you being bothered by God?
• What areas in your life do you not want God’s interference?
• Do you trust God with every aspect of your life?