Numbers 5:14-15
if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has defiled herself, or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself, the man shall then bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring as an offering for her one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of memorial, a reminder of iniquity.
Suspicion in a marriage relationship can kill the relationship and the marriage. The above passage is only a portion of the entire chapter of Numbers 5, where Moses is given specific instructions on what to do if a man thinks his wife is unfaithful to him and has sleep with another man. The jealous husband is to bring his wife to the priest, with a very small grain offering. He is to do this if there is no evidence of adultery, but only a suspicion. The priest is to take the dust from the floor of the Tabernacle and make a concoction mixing it with the Holy Water that was held in the Tabernacle. The wife is then to make an oath before The Lord that she DID NOT have adultery and then is to drink this holy mix of Holy water and Holy dirt from the ground (just a great picture of how God sanctifies even the dirt ... see the burning bush where Moses stood as another example). IF the women did commit adultery and lied to The Lord her womb would become swollen and her thighs would waste away (perhaps referring to a miscarriage of the pregnancy caused by the adultery). If she did NOT commit adultery nothing would happen. She would go away innocent ... and, also, would her husband for the false jealousy (Numbers 5:31). Imagine such a scene playing out in any denomination or affiliation of church function. Imagine what the feminist movement would say about such a practice, if it were done today. The concept to learn from this, however, is not the specifics, but the fact that suspicion and mis-trust in a marriage relationship needs to be dealt with. This case is almost assuredly in regard to a women who gets pregnant and her husband doesn't think the child is his. What God is showing us is that He is to be sought out in these cases. Spiritual leadership is to be sought out. Oaths are to be made. God is to be asked to intervene and provide wisdom. Consequences are to be paid for wrongs done. If there is suspicion in the marriage and it is not dealt with, there will be a deterioration of the relationship that will continue to eat away at the structure. Jealousy is to be dealt with. If not, it will consume the relationship.
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