March 2

Deuteronomy 21:10-14, 24:5, 22:13-21, 24:1-4; Leviticus 18:1-5; Deuteronomy 5:18; Leviticus 18:20, 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22-24; Leviticus 19:20-22; Numbers 5:11-31; Leviticus 19:29; Deuteronomy 23:17, 18; Leviticus 18:6-8; Deuteronomy 22:30; Leviticus 20:11, 18:9, 18:11, 20:17, 18:10, 18:12-14, 20:19, 20, 18:15, 20:12, 18:16, 20:21, 18:17, 20:14, 18:18, 19, 20:18, 18:22, 20:13, 18:23; Exodus 22:19; Leviticus 20:15, 16, 18:24-30, 20:22-24; Deuteronomy 22:5

Ok, wake up.  God's talking about sex again.  He seems to talk about it a lot.  But then, so do we.  Except in Bible class.

So that's a pretty interesting ceremony for testing a woman's faithfulness and curing jealousy.  Drinking holy water mixed with dust from the tabernacle floor from a clay jar.  [Num. 5:11-31]  If she's been falsely accused, she's fine.  And, if not, her abdomen swells and her thighs waste away.  Apparently men didn't have to undergo the test because every middle-aged man has a swollen abdomen and wasted thighs.  

Seriously, what about the guys?  Even in our culture and our time, it seems like the greater responsibility for sexual purity has been placed in the hands of woman.  This is an area where they have leadership.  And it is a very difficult responsibility.  Perhaps the Lord credits them with clearer thinking?  I don't know.

The test may seem odd.  But it was important to rid a relationship of doubt and jealously.  They're such destructive emotions in a marriage.  It would be nice to have a drink today that would rid us of doubts and jealousy.  Maybe we do have one.  Drinking the cup of Christ together as man and wife.