Numbers 5-6

Here we start to see some laws that were set out.

1. Unclean People Sent Away
Ceremonial unclean Israelites (e.g., infectious disease, discharge, etc) had to leave the camp so that they did not defile the camp.

2. Restitution for Sins
When one wrongs another, he must confess his sin, make FULL restitution for his wrong, and then add 1/5 to it and give it back to the person he has wronged. If that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made, then he must give it to the priest. Would you give it to a relative if, for some reason, that person is gone? Like . . if you'd killed him or something?? I'm a little unclear on the relative part.

3. How to Know If Your Wife Has Cheated On You
If a husband suspects his wife is cheating on him and feels jealous, he can bring his wife to the priest. He must bring a grain offering for jealousy, a "reminder offering to draw attention to guilt."

The priest takes some holy water, puts it in a clay jar, and adds dust from the tabernacle floor. The water is bitter. The priest then recites the following oath/curse:

"If no other man has slept 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. 20 But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and you have defiled yourself by sleeping with a man other than your husband may the LORD cause your people to curse and denounce you when he causes your thigh to waste away and your abdomen to swell. May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells and your thigh wastes away."

The woman then drinks the bitter water. If the woman has really cheated, these things will happen to her and she will suffer greatly.

Numbers 6 goes into describing the Nazarites, people who have decided to make a vow of separation for the Lord. During the time of separation, these people cannot cut their hair, nor drink wine. Furthermore, they cannot be in the presence of a dead body. If they are, they must shave their heads and present burnt offerings as an atonement for the sin of being in the presence of a dead body. At the end of the period of separation, he is to shave off the hair of his dedication and the priest will present several offerings to God.