Being Honest

Towards the latter part of the fifth book of Numbers, God talks about how a woman who is suspected of infidelity is to be judged. Numbers 5:16-21 reads:

“The priest shall bring her and have her stand before the Lord. Then he shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. After the priest has had the woman stand before the Lord, he shall loosen her hair and place in her hands the reminder-offering, the grain offering for jealousy, while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse. Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, “If no other man has had sexual relations with you and you have not gone astray and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you.  But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and you have made yourself impure by having sexual relations with a man other than your husband”—  here the priest is to put the woman under this curse—“may the Lord cause you to become a curse[d] among your people when he makes your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell. May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells or your womb miscarries.” Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.”

The passage above states that if a man suspects his wife of being unfaithful, she must be brought to a priest who is to pour water in her. If she is innocent, the water will not affect her. However, if she is guilty, she will be cursed and made barren. To this agreement, the woman should concede by saying “Amen, so be it”.

The passage clearly shows that those who are being honest and faithful have nothing to fear. Even if others suspect them of wrongdoings, if they are truly innocent, they have no negative consequences to face.

• 2869 views
• 0 comment