The passage we are studying today and tomorrow is probably going to seem quite strange and unfair to us. Or at least that was my first reaction to it. I had never done an in-depth study of the book of Numbers before and was only vaguely familiar with today's text due to my church's associate pastor using it in a sermon once. Our text deals with a jealous husband who may or may not have any real reason to suspect his wife has been unfaithful.
I don't know about you, but I've personally known several people who've dealt with a spouse who has been obsessed with the idea that they're being betrayed even though that wasn't the case at all. I've known innocent women whose husbands seemed obsessed with the idea that their wives are being unfaithful or that their wives would be unfaithful if given the chance. So at first, the idea that a husband could take his wife to the priest and make her go through a ritual to see whether or not she had been unfaithful seemed like unfair treatment to the wife. But on the other hand, if the Lord hadn't provided a ritual to undergo---a ritual whose outcome is intended to be taken as an answer straight from God---women who lived with jealous and suspicious husbands might have had to endure a lifetime of unfounded accusations. This ritual would not be acceptable in our own times in nations where women have equal legal standing with men. But we are studying a period of ancient history involving a patriarchal society where men had most of the authority and power and where women had few protections under secular law, so the Lord laid out a procedure to be followed so that the husband would know if he has been betrayed or to show him he was wrong so he can repent and let the Lord heal his insecure and jealous nature.
"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 (since there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act), 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. He must also take an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour on her behalf. He must not pour olive oil on it or put incense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a reminder-offering to draw attention to wrongdoing." (Numbers 5:11-15) The husband may feel like something is off in his household. A discerning person may just "know" when their spouse is being unfaithful even though there's nothing specific they can point their finger at and even though they may not have any concrete proof. On the other hand, some people are so insecure that they are jealous for no reason and they may keep looking for proof that isn't there. Going to the priest is intended to provide the true answer and the husband is to accept the answer even if it doesn't line up with his suspicions.
The grain offering isn't to be sweetened or dressed up in any way. Jealousy is a bitter emotion. Betrayal is a bitter thing. No matter who is in the wrong in this matter (the wife for adultery or the husband for being jealous for no reason), the plain and bitter grain symbolizes the plain and bitter truth.
"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." (Numbers 5:16-18) The woman's head covering is removed. The head covering worn by a married woman was a symbol to everyone that she was under the protection of a husband. If she is proven to be unfaithful, her husband can't and won't protect her from the resulting penalty.
"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." (Numbers 5:19) The woman is going to drink this water, and if nothing happens to her, her innocence is proven. Her husband must accept this verdict as the word of God, her Judge. God knows whether or not she has been unfaithful. If nothing happens after she drinks the water, her husband cannot persist in accusing her. God has witnessed her living a faithful life and He has given true and unquestionable testimony on her behalf.
Could a woman bring her husband to the priest if she suspects her husband has been unfaithful? There is nothing in the Bible to suggest she could. In the Old Testament so far we have studied various laws being given in which only the men were addressed when these laws were handed down, but we understood that the laws were intended to apply to men and women alike, so we can't rule out the possibility that the test for faithfulness could be applied to men as well as to women. But I tend to think that in an ancient patriarchal society only the men could bring their spouses up on charges of infidelity. There are some patriarchal cultures in the world today in which a woman has no legal recourse if her husband has been unfaithful, but her husband can divorce her or have her maimed or even put to death for unfaithfulness. At least here in Numbers the jealous husband isn't allowed to lay a finger on his wife if she is found to be unfaithful. If she is guilty, her judgment comes only from the Lord.
Does this mean the Lord allowed men to get away with adultery? No. "Thou shalt not commit adultery" is one of the ten commandments. The Lord never turns a blind eye to sin. Even if a woman of the Old Testament era couldn't bring her husband to the priest upon suspicions of adultery, God knew whether or not her husband had broken his holy marriage vows. God would deal with the unfaithful husband. A clear example of this is how God dealt with King David. David was the most politically powerful man on earth at the time, answerable to no human authority, and he thought he could conceal his sin. He thought he could go on with his life as if he had done no wrong. But there was an authority to whom he was answerable---Almighty God---and God didn't allow him to get away with his sin or continue living in unrepentant sin. God is righteous and won't overlook sin. God is also loving and He won't allow a child of His to keep going astray. He disciplines those He loves, just as a good parent corrects the behavior of a child. A woman in Old Testament times may not have had much recourse under the law against an unfaithful husband, but she could certainly appeal to God, and His is the highest court in the land.
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