Trinity International Baptist Church of Athens, Greece publishes these English language Bible study guides for use in its evening meetings. We are pursuing a 3-year, through-the-Bible, program. For this month’s reading schedule, look here: April 2008 daily Bible reading schedule.
Sins-ceremonial, actual and imagined-and saintliness
Segregating lepers and the otherwise unclean (5:1-4)
Guidelines:
- man or woman
- physical or spiritual uncleanness
- congregational responsibility to enforce this law
- outside the camp
- not where God dwells
Confession and restitution (5:5-10)
Principles:
- man or woman
- trespass against another person is a trespass against the Lord
- obligatory confession
- restitution plus 20%
- no statute of limitations on sin: if the offended party be dead, payment to a surviving relative; if no surviving relative, payment to the Lord
- ram of atonement
A solution for jealous husbands (5:11-31)
Guidelines:
- If a man suspected his wife of having an extra-marital affair
- he should bring her to the priest, along with the specified offering
- the priest will uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering in her hands
- he also will pronounce the rules of this “trial by drinking”
- the wife will doubly agree to the terms, willing to suffer if she is lying
- the priest will take the jealousy offering and wave it before the Lord, burning a small part on the altar
- she shall drink the mixture of holy water and dirt that the priest offers her
- if she has sinned, as her husband suspected, her thigh will rot and her belly will swell; if not, she shall become pregnant
The Nazirite vow (6:1-21)
Guidelines:
- man or woman
- voluntary separation unto the Lord
- no wine, strong drink, grape vinegar, grape juice, fresh grapes or raisins
- no haircuts
- no touching of dead bodies, not even close relatives
- even accidental defilement nullifies all previous days of separation
- the vow should be kept ( 6:21)
A priestly benediction (6:22-27)
May the Lord
- bless you
- keep you
- make His face shine upon you
- be gracious to you
- lift up his countenance upon you
- give you peace
Meditation Points:
- God will not allow the defiled in His presence; for man to abide with God, man must be cleansed from his sin. Until then, man must remain outside the camp. Remember that Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden of Eden after their sin.
- We must confess our sins to God and to one another. Merely repeating them in private to our religious leaders helps neither us nor those we have offended, and it certainly doesn’t impress God.
- Sin is a fact of life, even married life. And though love thinks no evil, sometimes our minds become overrun with jealousy. What can we do, but bring it to the Lord and have Him settle the matter.
- Extreme devotion to God is rare.
- What else would one desire from God that is not mentioned in the Aaronic blessing? If God would bless you, keep you, cause his face to shine upon you, be gracious to you, and give you peace–what else would you want?
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