Read

Numbers 4:1-5:31

Think

Numbers 5:11-15, "Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: If a man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him so that another man has sexual relations with her, and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected ... and if feelings of jealousy come over her husband and he suspects his wife and she is impure - or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure - then he is to take his wife to the priest...'"

Have you ever noticed that you can't say the word "jealousy" without saying, "lousy?" Whether unfounded or based on reasonable suspicion, jealousy IS lousy, and it always comes back to bite! God takes such matters seriously - especially within marriage. It must be dealt with. Otherwise, like an open wound, it can fester and cause a world of hurt.

In today's reading, God gives a system to prove or disprove jealous feelings and orchestrate truth within marriage relationships. His instructions were aimed at the potentially adulterous wife, but no matter who was at fault - by either the act of infidelity or the sin of jealousy - the issue had to be settled by a priest.

Why would God give such explicit instructions? Because He knows marriage is foundational to our lives. No wonder it's said, "So goes the marriage, so goes the family; so goes the family, so goes our world!" That's why God is so clear about protecting the purity and sanctity of man and wife.

Regardless of our sins, God wants us to confess and come clean, to bring to light anything or anyone He brought together in a sacred covenant. Although we no longer need to have a priest perform a ceremony to rid marriage of any impurity, we do need to address underlying divisions. When we do, we can move forward, united as one flesh in Christ. It not only benefits us but strengthens those within our family and sphere of influence. Because united we stand and divided - we fall.

Pray

Heavenly Father, Thank You for providing protective measures to secure marital relationships. You are a great God, and I want to live within Your guidelines and guardrails to live out Your best! Amen.