- Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, 7 he shall confess his sin that he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. Numbers 5:6-7 – The situation outlined in our passage isn’t a confusion one. If someone of Israel committed a sin and realized what they did, they were to confess it and make things right. “Making things right” included not only covering what was wronged, but a fifth added to it (Example: if someone stole a loaf of bread they were to return a loaf of bread with an extra fifth of a loaf). Yet all this was Old Testament time, how about for us under the new covenant? When we realize our guilt with sin we too need to confess that to the Lord and ask for His forgiveness. Yet it’s not our sacrifices that bring restitution, it’s only the sacrifice of Jesus that can make things right between us and God. While this is wonderful, don’t allow yourself to take this as a sign your sin has no consequences in this life. While confession was made, and Jesus makes us right with God, we still will find ourselves existing in the brokenness our choice of sin caused. While made right with God, we still will likely have to make things right with the people we hurt by our sin. Relationships will need to be mended, and trust will need to be rebuilt. Know that some damage will never be able to be brought back to what you once had with some people. That shouldn’t hold you back though from seeking restitution. Know Jesus made restitution between you and the Father for your sin. Now live seeking to make restitution between you and those your sin hurt. If Jesus has made things right in your life with the Father, use your life to make things right with others. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3355
- This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, though under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself, or when the spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife. Then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall carry out for her all this law. Numbers 5:29-30 – Here almost the whole chapter surrounds the jealousy and suspicion a man has about his wife over her sleeping around. God gives an entire process on how to handle the jealousy, to bring the matter into the light, and resolve it once and for all. While the process isn’t too applicable for today, we see how God is about crushing anything that could cause division or tension between us. God’s saying if you detect in yourself this jealousy growing, bring it to me and let’s deal with it so we can move on. What then has come up between you and someone else that has created division? Have you brought it to God? Have you asked Him to step in and seek healing there or are you content with the separation? While healing may not happen and separation isn’t something only you can fix alone, God’s heart is for us to live at peace as much as possible with others. Bring then the source of separation to Him today. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1421
- Numbers 5 – Pastor Mac Daily DEVO And the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord. Numbers 5:16 – The majority of this chapter outlines a test that was to be made if a woman was suspected of adultery. If a woman had committed adultery, but no proof of it was left or if the husband suspected unfaithfulness to him, he could have his wife undergo the test. As you read through the verses and see not only the process but the punishments attached, it’s a lot for sure. While shocking and so vastly differently than our culture today, see what God was doing here with all this. First, God knew how hidden sins could cause vast damage to relationships and His people, so He was giving a way to unearth the sin that have been buried so it would no longer fester and cause hurt. Second, God was giving innocent women a means to prove their innocence. In a time where the voice of a woman wasn’t held highly and where adultery would be punished with death, this gave the accused, yet innocent, women a means to prove they had not sinned and had remained faithful. So as foreign of a process this may seem to us today, what God set up here would have done two beautiful things. It would have given the people a way to identify hidden sins and identify faithfulness. For us, trust what God is doing today has the same heart. God works to uncover sins among us for He knows well the death sin brings. He also wants those who are faithful to be identified as such. God may be working in unique, and even strange to us ways, but His heart is after holiness in His people. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2286
Daily DEVO 