Read: Numbers 5-6
Focus Verse: “…and if feelings of jealousy come over her husband and he suspects his wife and she is impure—or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure—then he is to take his wife to the priest.” (Numbers 5:14-15a).
Devotion: There’s a point in this section that a man can bring his wife before the priest if his jealousy leads him to suspect his wife has cheated on him. Jealousy, that’s all it takes? However, hear this, the priest has a ritual that will punish the guilty, but also abstain the innocent. Yes it seems radical to us that essentially there’s a trial whose basis can be little more than jealousy, but the whole process wants to prove innocence. If the woman is guilty (proven by her pregnancy) she is to be cursed, equating to basically something like the scarlet letter (everyone will know she’s a cheater). If innocent, absolutely nothing happens and she is blessed to bear children. The heart of the process is innocence, but with allowance of consequence in chance that none can be found. The desire isn’t to seek or prove guilt—as though guilt already exists—but it’s a process put in place if innocence can’t be found. Guilt isn’t assumed, innocence is. In our lives we should strive to assume positive intentions from others until otherwise proven wrong.
Pray: LORD help me to rid all suspicion in my life, help me to seek to trust others, seeking the good in all humanity. Amen.
Additional Scripture: “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”(Heb 13:5).