Men and Women - Bad and Good

Today's reading is from Number 5 & 6.

The summary of today's readings is that provisions are made in the law to protect relationships.

The first protection is for the marriage. Chapter 5 records what seems to us to be a rather archaic ritual to decide if the jealousy of a man is justified. If he suspects his wife has been unfaithful she is taken to the Priest and there a vow is spoken to proclaim her purity. She then drinks a potion and the proof of her purity is that nothing bad happens to her. While this seems so archaic from our view, it served it's purpose to highlight that faithfulness of partners in marriage was crucial to a nation's stability.

The second part dealt with how men and women could enter into a "Nazarite" vow of dedication to the Lord. Conceivably they entered into this for a period of time, rather than for their whole lives; and it consisted of making a pledge to serve God in some particular way, while avoiding anything connected to the grapevine, including wine.

There are several places in scripture where Nazarites vows appear in persons - perhaps the most famous being John the Baptist.

Peace

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