Daily Devotion | Numbers 5:11–31 | 2026 April 16

Title: Daily Devotion | Numbers 5:11–31 | 2026 April 16

Scripture: Numbers 5:11–31 (ESV, reference only)

Date: 2026 April 16

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

Alright, dear brothers and sisters, peace to you. Thanks be to God for His grace, as we come again to Daily Devotion. Today the passage we are studying is Numbers 5:11–31. Let us pray. O God, Your grace does not cease. Lord, the reason we have not been consumed is because of Your mercy, because of Your grace. Lord, every morning these are new, because Jehovah, who loves us, is faithful. Lord, we ask You to continue to show us grace, that this morning You would still use Your word to shine on us. Have mercy on us, so that we may be shepherded by You in Your will. Lord, also grant us wisdom, that before Your word we may have understanding. May You show grace among us. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

Alright, let us look at the second half of Numbers chapter 5. The second half is about this matter: if a husband suspects his wife in such a matter, how should it be handled? After reading these verses, after reading this passage, I feel that in ancient times there was no problem with it, but now there can be a big problem with it. Why? Because many sisters may become very angry, extremely angry. Angry about what points? The first point is this: why is there no such regulation for men? That kind of thought would not have existed in ancient times, but I do want to say something about it—why is there no such regulation for men? Why, if a man did such a thing, is there no such regulation? Why is it only directed toward women? This is one thing that makes many sisters dissatisfied and very angry, as if this passage were discriminating against women, as if there were no equality between men and women here.

I know that when this passage is read in modern society, especially in a feminist society, many sisters will be very dissatisfied when they read this section. But if there is that kind of dissatisfaction, then in all likelihood they have not really understood the historical background of that time. Because in that historical background, if a husband suspected his wife, then in the days of Moses he could directly divorce the woman. Now of course you may say that time was male-dominated, but we really cannot say much about that now, right? Why? Because this is separated from us by four thousand years—sorry, three thousand years.

When something was three thousand years ago, we probably cannot stand here and accuse the regulations of those people at that time, asking whether they were reasonable or not. So from the perspective of that historical background, this section—Numbers 5:11–31—is actually a protection for women. We absolutely must understand that. Otherwise we will get very angry. People today will get upset. Many sisters feel, “Why does this seem to discriminate against women?” It is not so. In fact, in that historical background, Numbers 5:11–31 is a protection for women. That is, if she did not do such a thing, and it is only that her husband suspects her, then there is a way to prove that she is innocent.

This is also something we especially need to be clear about when reading this passage. Otherwise, if you are very angry, then you probably will not carefully look at what the passage is actually saying. That is the first point. Then the second point is that this procedure is very complicated, very elaborate. Now if this woman really had done such a thing, you could say that whether she did it or not, only she knows it. Of course, God also knows, right? So if she really did do this thing, would she be able to stand before this whole series of procedures? I think that is not very likely. If in her heart she really did this evil thing, and then God has given this law, could she really still stand before God and go through the rest of the procedure? I estimate that she probably would not dare. Most likely she would hurry up and confess.

So what is this matter showing? It is showing that these regulations, this set of complicated regulations, has as its purpose the prevention of sin. In other words, because if the husband does not know about this matter, then no one knows, and so people are more likely to do evil, right? People are prone to corruption. But because this regulation exists, it can restrain sin. Before she sins, she has to consider the cost. That is, other people may not know, but God knows. So if your husband suspects you and brings you before the priest to carry out this whole series of procedures, would you still dare to do this evil thing? So it has a restraining effect. It causes the sister, the woman within the marriage, at the very least to maintain the holiness of the marriage out of fear. She would not dare to behave recklessly. Because once something happens and this procedure is carried out, then she definitely will not be able to escape, right?

So first, it can restrain her from sinning. Second, if she really has sinned, then she will probably admit it immediately. That is, once the husband suspects her, she will immediately admit it. Because if this whole procedure is carried through, then it is extremely unfavorable for her. So from this we can see that this procedure, when the whole thing is carried through, we cannot say one hundred percent, but at least we can reasonably infer that it protects those women who are being suspected for no reason. Right? The husband suspects her, but in fact she has done nothing. What then? Then let us go to the priest. In her heart she is very clear, she knows perfectly well that there is no such thing. So when this whole series of procedures is carried out, she can still stand before God in holiness. So again, this is a regulation that protects women. A husband must not simply divorce this woman just because he suspects her casually. This is a protection for sisters.

Alright, these are the first few preliminary points we need to set out before entering the passage. Now let us look at the text itself in detail. If a husband suspects his wife, what does he do? Verse 15 says that the man shall bring her to the priest, and he shall bring barley flour, about one kilogram of barley flour, before the priest. Then what happens before the priest? Holy water is put into an earthenware vessel. So there is a jar of water. Then some dust is taken from the floor of the tabernacle, because the place of the tabernacle is holy, sacred, and that dust is put into the water. Then the woman is made to loosen her hair, and this begins. First, the grain offering is put into her hands. It is first put into her hands, and then she is made to swear whether or not she has done this thing.

And if she has done this thing, then what is the curse? It is this: may your thigh waste away and your abdomen swell, and may you become a curse among the people. This becomes an oath. Then as for the swelling of the abdomen and the wasting away, the woman says, “Amen, amen.” So I am saying, if this woman had really done evil in her heart, she would not dare to do this. She would certainly withdraw.

So those who go through this should not be said to be one hundred percent, but at least in most cases they are clean. Then what is to be done? The priest is to write these words of cursing and wash the written words into the bitter water. In the Chinese New Version it says, “wash the written curses into the bitter water.” That is, these words of curse are written on a scroll, right? And then using that water, those words are washed into it, into the water that she is going to drink. We are not quite sure what kind of ink they used at that time. Was it something like Chinese ink? We do not know. We do not really know what the ancient Israelites used. It should have been some sort of substance with pigment and color in it. In any case, the water definitely turned black, or at least dirty-looking. This water changed into a kind of dark water.

Then she had to drink this water. And the priest would take the grain offering from the woman, wave the grain offering, and place it before the altar. The priest was then to take a handful of it as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar. After that, the woman was to drink the water. Then if she had done this thing, the result would be that her abdomen would swell and her thigh would waste away, and the result was that the woman would become a curse among her people, among her relatives. This was the greatest punishment for that woman. But if she confessed her iniquity and sin beforehand, then afterward however it should be handled would be handled that way, right? Whether she should be divorced or something else. But if by the time we come to verse 20, she still hardens her heart and has gone to this point—she has done evil, yet out of an evil heart toward God she still insists on going through this procedure—then what happens? Her abdomen swells, her thigh wastes away, and she becomes a curse among her people and among her clan. In other words, this woman becomes someone cursed among her own people, and she bears a bad name.

But brothers and sisters, when you read to this point, you need to carefully think about several things. First, look at Chinese culture. Let us not even talk about the cultural background of Israel at that time—just look at Chinese culture. How are women handled in such situations? For example, in China there is a book called Water Margin, which is a very evil book. In Water Margin, after Pan Jinlian commits adultery with Ximen Qing, in the end she suffers death—she is killed, right? She is killed by Wu Song. And there are other cases—I do not quite remember who exactly—but in Water Margin, when a wife commits such acts, in the end she is often killed by her husband.

So this book, Water Margin, is extremely terrible. It is full of killing and evil. That is the real discrimination against women. There is absolutely no respect for women. And yet such a book has become a classic in China, as if the things in it are worthy of praise. These acts of killing, bloodshed, hooliganism, and banditry seem to be praised. This is a sinful culture.

Now compare that with this passage. Even if this woman among the Israelites committed such a sin, what was the final result? First, she was cursed, and then she bore a bad name. That is all. There was no death penalty. There were no bloody scenes like those you see in Water Margin. So from this perspective, compared with that culture, this is far, far better. So here once again we see that in the Old Testament, within that historical background, there is respect for the rights of women. Indeed, later generations cannot compare with it. I think even in the Qing Dynasty, if a woman committed such a thing, it would not be so simple as just swelling of the abdomen, wasting of the thigh, and becoming a curse. She might have been killed, or even subjected to things like being drowned in a pig cage. That is the real violation of women’s rights.

So although a woman may have made a mistake, here the punishment is simply that she becomes a curse, that is, she bears a bad name, and that is about the end of it. So I think here again we see that in the Old Testament law there is protection for women. Compared with this kind of culture in China, and also considering that we do not have detailed records of other cultures at that time, it is very possible that if a man suspected his wife of unfaithfulness, he might simply kill her. Compared with that, what kind of protection for women is this regulation!

And if she had not defiled herself, what then? She would be able to conceive and bear children. That is, by faith she goes through this process, willing to prove her innocence before God. Then God will bless her, and she will conceive and bear children. In verse 29, there is a very important verse. But in the Chinese Union Version, it is not fully brought out in translation. In the New Chinese Version it says: “This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself, or when a spirit of jealousy comes upon a husband.”

So if you compare the New Translation with the Union Version, the Union Version is very simple—it just says the wife has gone astray and done something unclean behind her husband’s back. But here in verse 29, it actually highlights the main meaning of this passage. What is it? The wife is under the authority of her husband. If she turns away from her husband and is defiled, or if there is a spirit of jealousy, then this law is to be applied. And as long as the husband carries out this procedure, the man is free from guilt, but the woman shall bear her own iniquity.

So I think the part not fully translated here actually brings out the key point. What is the main idea that the latter half of Numbers chapter 5 is expressing? It is that the wife is under the authority of her husband. Therefore, the wife should be faithful to her husband. Of course, the husband should also be faithful to his wife—that is certain. But here the emphasis is on the wife. When you place this in its historical background and within the whole Bible, the meaning becomes very clear.

In fact, here it is also reminding the Israelites that as the wife of God, they must be faithful to Him. They must not think that if they do something evil, God does not know. This law very clearly shows that God knows all things. It is telling the Israelites not to commit spiritual adultery. Later, in the prophetic books, you repeatedly see the prophets warning Israel not to commit adultery, not to rely on foreign nations, and not to worship false gods. All these regulations are about faithfulness.

So on the surface, this passage is about the faithfulness required of a woman. But in reality, it is also reminding Israel: you must not love the world, you must not follow the nations to worship false gods. Everything you do, God knows. There are regulations to show whether you are faithful or not. Israel must not think that if they do evil or worship false gods, God does not know. This law clearly tells Israel that if you commit adultery, you will suffer a curse.

And later, indeed, the sins that Israel repeatedly committed were exactly this. They worshiped the idols of Assyria, followed powerful nations, first followed the idols of Canaan, and later followed the idols of political empires. This is unfaithfulness. And an unfaithful wife must receive a curse. So the whole nation of Israel was cursed by God and disciplined by God. Later they were taken into exile in Babylon.

For us today, the application is also very clear. We must be faithful to God. We have repeatedly emphasized that every Christian, in daily life, must completely give himself to God and truly live a theocentric life. Yesterday we mentioned that everyone is under covenant. Whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not, you are a covenantal person. If someone does not believe in Jesus, then he is under the covenant of works and will be judged according to his works. But as for us, we are under the covenant of grace. God has placed us in the covenant of grace and has redeemed us through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now that we have been redeemed, can we live loosely? No, we cannot. Why must we be faithful to God? As a wife is in the home, how should she be faithful to her husband? She should completely obey her husband. As verse 29 says, the wife is under the authority of her husband. So we must completely obey our husband—completely obey our God—and do according to what He requires.

So here I especially want to remind the brothers and sisters: for us Christians, there are only two choices. This is something I have repeatedly mentioned, whether in Daily Devotion or in other teachings. You are either under the authority of God, or under the authority of Satan. There is no possibility that you are under your own authority. Many people say, “I am very busy, I need some time for myself.” But I tell you, when you think you have your own time, usually that is when you have left God.

So we must be careful about this matter and not take it lightly. Because we always want autonomy, we always want freedom. We want to have no husband, we want to do what we like. But what we like is often what Satan leads us to do. Every part of our time—even our time of rest and relaxation—must also be under the guidance of God, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There is no such possibility that sometimes I am in the Spirit, sometimes I am in Satan, and then there is another period that belongs to me, my own time to relax and do what I like. There is no such time, brothers and sisters.

You must be clear about this. I am not saying you cannot rest, and I am not saying you cannot have recreation. But even when you rest and have recreation, you must still be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit guide your rest. Let the Holy Spirit guide your relaxation. In this way, you are in Christ, you are a faithful woman, and you are truly a person centered on God.

In everything, look to God and entrust everything to Him. In every matter of your life, you must look to God and entrust it to Him. This is a very important principle: the wife is under the authority of the husband; Israel is under the authority of God; and today, every one of us in the church is under the authority of God. So we must live a faithful life. I think this is the reminder this passage gives us.

Finally, I will share something that I myself also do not fully understand. It is a very strange matter—an application of this passage, from my own personal experience. I will share it with you. Once, when I had just started serving as a preacher, I went to a church, and then to a hospital to visit a patient. Someone said, “Why don’t you come with me to visit a patient in the hospital?” When we first begin serving, we are always very willing to go to hospitals to visit people.

After arriving at the hospital, the patient was an elderly sister. They hoped that we would pray and her illness would be healed. At that time, there may have been some charismatic influence. But when this person described her symptoms, it was very strange. The hospital had examined her and found no illness, but she felt very uncomfortable. Who said this? It was her son. Her son was not a believer. This elderly sister was said to be a Christian who had attended church.

Her son described her symptoms like this—this person definitely had not read the Bible, that is certain. He said her condition was this: her abdomen was swollen, and her thigh was wasting away. Her abdomen was swollen, and her thigh was thin. This is very strange. There was no disease, but she was very uncomfortable. What kind of discomfort? Swelling of the abdomen, wasting of the thigh. And her son said it twice. How could there be such a situation?

Since no illness could be found, I spoke by faith. I said, what exactly is her problem? At such an advanced age, it does not seem easy to connect it to anything. So I asked her what was going on. I asked, “Is there something in your marriage?” When I asked this, I think it was either another sister or her son who responded—no, it was another preacher who went with me who explained it. This woman’s husband had either passed away or they had divorced, I cannot remember clearly. But now she was living together with another man, also an elderly man, and they had not registered their marriage—they were cohabiting.

When I read this passage, I thought of this situation. Then I instructed her: first, you must immediately repent. You must confess your sin right away. Then you must immediately separate from that man. So we gave this kind of instruction. This was a very unique experience for me. I never expected that this passage could be applied in such a way.

Thanks be to the Lord. Later, it was said that after she repented, she became well. As for whether she later continued living with that man, I do not know. But I think this is a case—a very unique experience God gave me. The word of Scripture was fulfilled in such a strange way in a person’s life. This is my experience. I also feel that the word of God truly has power. Although this way may not seem to fully conform to strict hermeneutics, and may even appear somewhat literalistic, this is something I personally experienced. So I share it with you. I believe the word of God truly has power and authority. We do not fully understand how God will apply and use His word.

Alright, that is our sharing for today. May God keep us, that in our real lives we may truly become a faithful woman. First, our marital life must be holy. This is the most basic thing. If we do not even understand this literal level, then we completely miss the meaning of this passage. In our personal life, there must be absolutely no violation of the seventh commandment. We must be careful about this. At the same time, spiritually it means that in every aspect of our life, we must be faithful and holy. Alright, we will stop here for today. Thank you, everyone.