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Scripture Reading: Num. 5:1-10
In order for God's people to be formed into an army, certain terms, or conditions, must be met. One of these conditions is the requirement to deal with defilement. In this message we will begin to consider what Num. 5 reveals concerning the dealing with defilement.
God is righteous and holy and cannot tolerate defilement. His people, therefore, must deal with defilement.
The cause of the dealing with defilement is threefold. First, God's people are His dwelling place and habitation (v. 3); second, God's people are His warriors fighting for Him (Num. 1:20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42); and third, those who are formed into an army are also priests to serve God (Num. 3:3). For God to have a dwelling place, an army, and a priesthood, His people must deal with defilement. They, like God, must be righteous and holy and therefore clean.
The dealing in Numbers 5 is in a very good sequence. Numbers 5:1-4 begins with a corporate dealing. The whole army should have a corporate dealing, not just a dealing as individuals. This corporate dealing mainly concerns three things — leprosy, discharges, and uncleanness through contact with the dead.
In the church life as God's army, there should be no leprosy. Leprosy signifies the evil issues of the natural man, especially in rebellion. In this sense, we all are leprous and have leprosy. Leprosy is something within us, in our very element. It is deep and subjective, and it needs a thorough dealing. If we do not deal with the leprosy within us, we will become defiled and unclean.
According to the Old Testament teaching, leprosy comes mainly from rebellion against God's authority. The first illustration of this was the case of Miriam and Aaron, who rebelled against God's deputy authority, Moses (12:1-10). By rebelling against God's deputy authority, Miriam became leprous.
The rebellious nature, the rebellious element, is within our blood and nature. Hence, it is something very natural. As a natural man, every one of us is a leper.
The second thing that must be dealt with is the discharges. Anything that comes out of our being, such as sweat, is a discharge. Spiritually, the discharges are the excessive, abnormal, and unrestrained issues of the natural man, signifying one's being without control, being unbridled, in relation to one's self, temper, preferences, likes, and dislikes. In our daily life, if our being is somewhat excessive and unrestrained, it becomes abnormal. This abnormality is a discharge. For example, if we lose our temper, we are excessive, unrestrained, and abnormal. This is a discharge, an issue, of the natural man. An unrestrained expression of our likes or dislikes is also a discharge.
The third thing that must be dealt with is the uncleanness through contact with the dead — the spiritual deadness. The Israelites were not to contact anything that was dead, whether an animal, an insect, or a person (Lev. 11:24-47; Num. 19:11). If they touched these things, they would be defiled.
Death is more dirty than sin. If we contact those who are spiritually dead, we will be defiled by spiritual deadness.
The defilements of leprosy, discharges, and uncleanness through contact with the dead were to be kept away from the camp, which is the dwelling place of God in the midst of His people. God is righteous, holy, and living. Thus, leprosy, discharges, and spiritual deadness cannot be allowed to remain in God's dwelling place, army, and priesthood.
The three kinds of defilement dealt with in the camp of Israel constitute all the uncleanness that needs to be dealt with in the church. These three things — leprosy from rebellion, discharges from being excessive, abnormal, and unrestrained, and uncleanness through contact with the dead — are a full type of the uncleanness that should be dealt with and removed from the church life. If we deal with these three things, the church will be clean.
After the corporate dealing with defilement, there is the individual dealing (5:5-10). The church as a body needs the corporate dealing. This body is composed of the saints, and they should have the individual dealing.
In the individual dealing, we must first deal with the guilt of our sinning against God (v. 6). This is to deal with the defilement of unrighteousness, of being guilty before man and condemned before God.
In some things we may not be righteous with God. We might have wronged God, and thus there is something sinful between us and God. This is the defilement of unrighteousness, and it needs to be dealt with.
We also need to deal with the guilt that is before man. If we steal something from others, we are wrong with them and have become unrighteous. This unrighteousness is condemned by God. In such a case, we are not only wrong with man but are also under God's condemnation.
Numbers 5:6 and 7a say, "When a man or woman commits any of the sins of men so as to act unfaithfully against Jehovah, and that person is guilty, then he shall confess his sin which he has committed." Here we see that to deal with our sin, trespass, or guilt, we must make a thorough confession.
After confessing our sins to God (1 John 1:9), we should go to the one we have wronged to make restitution in full for our trespass (Num. 5:7b). Suppose you have stolen something from a certain person. As a result, you are unrighteous in relation to him and also under God's condemnation. You need to repay that person what you owe him. This is to make restitution for your trespass.
Numbers 5:7c says that the person who committed the trespass should add one-fifth to the trespass, "giving it to him to whom he did the trespass."
Because we Christians are still in the old man, we do not realize in how many things we desire to make a gain for ourselves at others' expense. For instance, in sitting next to others, we may want more space for ourselves and thus may not be careful to keep our legs in front of our own chair. If our conscience is keen, we will realize that this is wrong.
Furthermore, sometimes we may take advantage of others' possessions, perhaps using them without permission. School teachers may bring home pens, chalk, and stationery. We should not consider this insignificant; this is stealing.
In many things we make a gain for ourselves at others' expense. Unconsciously we may wrong others and thereby become indebted to them. We need to confess our wrongdoing to the Lord. No doubt, He will forgive us, and the blood of Jesus will cleanse us (7, 1 John 1:9). But a problem still exists between us and the one we have wronged. Thus, we must go to that one and make restitution, paying what we owe, and even more than we owe.
Our God is righteous and holy, and we must be righteous and holy as He is. Otherwise, we will be condemned by God's righteousness and holiness. Whenever this is our situation, we must confess our trespass and then make restitution.
If the wronged one is deceased, then the restitution should go to his relative. "But if the man has no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the trespass, the restitution for the trespass shall go to Jehovah for the priest" (v. 8a), just as every man's portions were to be presented to the priest (vv. 9-10). Whenever we have a holy portion to present to God, we give it to the priest. Here we see that this restitution for dealing with our guilt becomes holy, just like a holy portion given to God. Today we may give this to the church or to one who serves God as a priest and lives by faith.
Numbers 5:8b speaks of "the ram of propitiation with which propitiation is made for him." Besides confessing and making restitution, the propitiation by a ram was to be made for the guilty one. This ram typifies Christ.
This portion of the Word reveals how fine our God is. First, we confess our sin to God and then go to make restitution. Afterward, we come back to God to offer Christ as the ram of propitiation.
The individual dealing described in these verses may seem like a small matter, but it is like a small screw in a big machine. If one small screw is wrong, the whole machine cannot run. Therefore, we need this kind of dealing. The church must have the corporate dealings, and the saints must have the individual dealings.
We may think that it is impossible to see on earth a church that has been purged of defilement. According to our view, all kinds of confusion, troubles, and defilements are among us. However, as the story of Elijah makes clear, in God's eyes He has seven thousand hidden ones. Elijah accused the people of God, saying, "Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life" (Rom. 11:3; 1 Kings 19:10). The Lord answered Elijah, saying, "I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal" (Rom. 11:4; 1 Kings 19:18). Here God seemed to be saying, "Elijah, in your eyes the situation may be a mess, but I am satisfied with these seven thousand."
Through the centuries, God has always had the "seven thousand" who could be counted on by Him. Hence, God still has His testimony today. We need to learn how to be counted among the seven thousand. This means that we need to have a thorough dealing corporately and individually that will keep us right according to God's conditions and terms for the formation of His fighting army. Apparently, the formation of such a fighting army cannot be seen today. But in God's eyes there is such a formation, and there is such an army. The fighting for God is still going on. God still has a people on earth. He can see His army fighting and His priesthood serving.
