Unfaithfulness = Unhealthy

And the LORD said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “Suppose a man’s wife goes astray, and she is unfaithful to her husband and has sex with another man, but neither her husband nor anyone else knows about it. She has defiled herself, even though there was no witness and she was not caught in the act. If her husband becomes jealous and is suspicious of his wife and needs to know whether or not she has defiled herself, the husband must bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring an offering of two quarts of barley flour to be presented on her behalf. Do not mix it with olive oil or frankincense, for it is a jealousy offering—an offering to prove whether or not she is guilty. [Numbers 5.11-15]

Sometimes I think we get the idea that sexual sin is a relatively modern thing. Especially with "sex" selling almost everything now, one might get the notion that temptation is worse now than ever before. But I think today's OYCB read proves differently.

Marital unfaithfulness is an age-old problem. Adultery was, in fact, a reality in OT times just as much as it is today. The Bible tells us so. We must lose any notion that somehow it was 'cleaner' or 'more dignified' than it is today! In today's OYCB reading we see the issue being dealt with. 

Today's reading describes the act of secret sexual unfaithfulness very clearly. A woman and a man both have a secret lust for one another - it leads to at least one sexual encounter - an affair. It is a secret - no one else knows about it. They have deviously conspired together in their secret relationship to take every precaution to enjoy forbidden extramarital sex without anyone else knowing it. They have experienced the titillating excitement that accompanies their secret lust and every occasional eye-to-eye contact in public places, knowing they share that secret, further fans its flames. Their secrecy proves they know it is wrong, but, by now, the secrecy and the wrongness of their affair both only trigger more lust... 

But then there is the jealous husband. How it works, no one really knows, but, it does. Not one hundred percent, mind you, but married people can oftentimes sense unfaithfulness. 

And so, this is where God gave a method for dealing with that suspicion described in Numbers 5.

Time out... ever wonder why the guilty man is not discussed ("he" is elsewhere, but not here)?

What does the marriage relationship depict? Christ and His Church. Okay, overwhelming revelation here...

What does the Bible say about God in His relationship with His people? He is a jealous God (Exodus 20.5).

The wife in question, in today's reading, will either be proven innocent by her health, or guilty by her consequent un-health.

Wait, what???

Yep, God is always jealous of us. We will often experience His jealousy with its 'tests' of our faithfulness.

What are the test results?

I remind us all here that unhealthiness is a curse for disobedience and health is a blessing from God.

That said, and if its true (which it is), then the Church today has some repenting to do because the Church today has as many health issues as the world. Should not the Bride of Christ be spotless and pure - and does not that include healthy?

Father, never before have I seen this OT scripture in this light. Help me to further process the truth of this and apply it in a way that makes a difference in me and those around me!