Daily Scripture Reading Numbers 5:1-10
Michael was a Christian who managed a small logistics company. When a big contract was on the line, he quietly changed a few numbers on a report so the numbers looked better than they were. He told himself it was just “strategic communication.” When a team member made a mistake that cost the company money, Michael made sure the blame landed on that employee’s record, not his own.
At home he was short with his wife, Lisa, and their two teenagers. He snapped at them during dinner most evenings, then retreated to his study with the door closed. He told Lisa he was preparing for Sunday School, but most nights he just sat in front of the computer, scrolling through news that fed his anger at the world.
Michael prayed before meals and read a chapter of the Bible most mornings, but the words felt flat. His son started talking back the way Michael talked to his employees. Lisa stopped asking how his day went because the answer was always short and irritated. At church, people still smiled and shook his hand, but Michael felt a growing distance inside himself, like he was standing just outside the circle where he was supposed to be.
It is easy to fall into sin and coast through the Christian life, doing what the world does. However, Yahweh expects Christians to be holy because He is holy (see 1 Peter 1:15). This requires us to be proactive in removing sin from our lives. The fifth chapter of Numbers illustrates what it means to act proactively.
In the second year after the Exodus, Yahweh commanded Moses to take a census of all the Israelite men of fighting age. There were 603,550 of them. The tribes were arranged in formation around the central tabernacle, with the Levites placed closest to the sanctuary. The Levites were counted in a separate census and assigned duties in the tabernacle. Each Levitical family had a specific responsibility when it was time to journey through the wilderness.
Num. 5:1 ¶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Num. 5:2 “Command the sons of Israel that they send away from the camp every leper and everyone having a discharge and everyone who is unclean because of a dead person.
Take note of the word “unclean”. Yahweh commanded the Israelites to remove anything unclean from the camp. Since Yahweh is holy, it was necessary for the Israelite camp to be holy. It was not enough to simply avoid unclean people. They had to remove unclean people from the camp.
Num. 5:3 You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they will not defile their camp where I dwell in their midst.”
Look at the words “defile” and “in their midst”. Yahweh lived in the midst of the Israelite camp; thus, the camp had to be clean.
This illustrates how we should live the Christian life. Paul wrote that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and 6:19-20). Thus, we should flee sin and strive to live righteously.
James commanded us to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts (see James 4:8). That requires proactive action on our part. We should not wait for sin to magically remove itself from our lives. We need to intentionally rid ourselves of unrighteousness.
Num. 5:4 And the sons of Israel did so and sent them outside the camp; just as Yahweh had spoken to Moses, thus the sons of Israel did.
Num. 5:5 ¶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Num. 5:6 “Speak to the sons of Israel, ‘When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against Yahweh, and that person is guilty,
Num. 5:7 then he shall confess his sins which he has committed, and he shall make restitution in full for his wrong and add to it one-fifth of it and give it to him whom he has wronged.
Notice the word “confess”. When the Israelites sinned, they needed to acknowledge their sin.
Notice also the word “restitution”. When they defrauded a fellow Israelite, they had to restore what they had taken.
Now look at the word “add”. It wasn’t enough to simply restore what they had stolen; they had to give more than they had taken.
Num. 5:8 But if the man has no kinsman redeemer to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution which is made for the wrong must go to Yahweh for the priest, besides the ram of atonement, by which atonement is made for him.
Num. 5:9 Also every contribution pertaining to all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they bring near to the priest, shall be his.
Num. 5:10 So every man’s holy gifts shall be his; whatever any man gives to the priest, it becomes his.’”
It is easy to fall into sin and coast through the Christian life, doing what the world does. However, just as Yahweh expected Israel to be proactive in keeping the camp free of uncleanness, so too God expects us Christians to be proactive in keeping our lives free of sin. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit; thus, our lives need to be clean. James commanded us to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts.
What do you need to do to cleanse your hands and purify your heart?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”