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Introduction

Numbers chapters 5 and 6. And let me begin with this phone. You might be familiar. This is iPhone 16 Pro Max. I'm told it is very expensive, $2,000 over maybe up to $3,000. How would you feel if you accidentally threw it away? Well, that's what happened to Mr. Woon. He was throwing trash at the HDB rubbish chute at his house when he accidentally threw his phone down the chute. Panicking, he called the town council, he called the waste company, and again, thankfully, some eagle-eyed, eagle-eyed workers at the Tuas Plant managed to spot his phone and return it to him. Wah, you all very “heng” (Pastor spoke in Hokkien meaning “lucky”).You all feel so happy for Mr. Woon. And Mr. Woon having received his phone, took a whiff, and he realized it was so smelly. He had no choice but to throw away the phone case. He didn't throw away with the phone. But every day he says, “I now clean my phone with alcohol wipes.” I want to ask him, “How does his phone smell now?” 

The Concept of Cleanliness and Uncleanness in Numbers 5 and 6

Well, we all want things to be clean and God also wants His people to be clean. You see, we are looking at Numbers 5 and 6 and we might get lost in so many details there. But I think one thing I want to highlight is the frequent reference to clean and unclean and being defiled and undefiled. So we see, for example, in Numbers 5, “those who are leprous or who has a discharge, or everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead”. And then we see again, in verse 3 “Put them outside the camp that they may not defile or make dirty their camp”. In verse 13, we read about the wife who is suspected to have an affair. Well, if she has indeed committed that relationship, that adulterous relationship, she has defiled herself. The husband is jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself. “If you have not turned aside to uncleanness and defiled and not defiled and cleaned”. So you see these words repeat many times in chapter 5. Chapter 6, less. Nonetheless, there are still references to clean and unclean. And chapter 6, we didn't read it, because if I asked John to read it, he will kill me. I'm kidding. It will be so long. But chapter 6 concerns the Nazarite vow, and even someone who wants to dedicate himself to God in a Nazarite vow may become unclean if he should touch the dead and again, defile and cleansing. 

So I think Numbers 5 and 6, don't get lost in all the details. The big picture here is that God is speaking about cleanness and uncleanness of His people. And He's teaching that concept using various situations. Someone who has fallen into leprosy, a kind of, I think, fungal disease that can even spread to walls. We read that in Leviticus. Or someone who has some bodily discharge, including normal menstruation of women. God has said that in Israel's days, is considered unclean. Or someone who has touched the dead, the body of someone who has died. That is also considered unclean. Or someone who has defiled or defrauded, cheated, robbed, oppressed another for personal gain, that is also wrong. Or the wife who is suspected of having an adulterous relationship, or even the Nazarite. It's all these picture lessons to convey the principle of cleanness. 

So if last week in Numbers 1 to 4, we saw the organization of Israel and how God is the center of Israel, then today, we're going to learn the lesson on cleanness and the people who needs cleansing from God. So that's the big idea. I hope you're not lost. And we are going to look at five things about cleanness and uncleanness from these two chapters and each specific segment of Scripture add a particular understanding or unique contribution to the understanding of cleanness and uncleanness. 

The Result of Uncleanness: Exclusion and Provision for Cleansing

So let's begin. The first lesson we need to learn is the result of uncleanness. What happens when we are unclean before God? Well, this is supposed to teach how what happens to us when man sins against God. So the result of uncleanness. God is going to teach that via three kinds of people - the leper, the one who has a bodily discharge and the one who has touched the dead. We see that when He says, “Put out of the camp everyone who is leprous, who has a discharge, or someone who has contact with the dead”. And the consequence, the result of someone who is unclean is that he is put out. He is not to stay in the community of Israel. He is not allowed to draw near to God in the tabernacle for worship. He is to be excluded. Why? Because “that they may not defile their camp in the midst of which God dwells”. So this person is put out. 

Now for these conditions - leprosy, discharge, touching the dead, if they should recover. In other words, if the discharge stops, if the leprosy is healed, or after a period of time having touched the dead, there are provisions for cleansing and washing that they may come back. But for someone who has leprosy, it's almost like a death sentence, because leprosy is a kind of disease they can't heal in those days. It's very rare for anyone to be healed with leprosy actually. We may read of some miracles here and there, but in general, very hard. Why? For example, I share with you this text in 2 Kings. The king of Israel is approached by the Syrians. Syrians came and said to the king of Israel, “I hear someone can heal leprosy in your country. Can you get my commander, General Naaman, healed of leprosy?” The king of Israel, having received this command or this order or this request from Syria, blurted out, “Wah, am I God to kill and to make alive that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?” In other words, to the king of Israel, curing someone of leprosy is like raising the dead. It's so difficult. And then Jesus himself would say, “There were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman, the Syrian”. 

So this leprosy is like a death sentence. No one could heal you. You are cut off from community, you are ugly, you are infectious, you are an untouchable in society. Everywhere you go, you are supposed to cover your mouth and shout, “Unclean! Unclean!”. And if, according to Jewish law, someone is two meters away from you, you have to stay that distance. That's the minimum distance. Or if the wind is blowing from that person to you in this direction, stay forty-five meters away. So everybody avoids you like a plague. Would you want that kind of a life? Well, that's the picture of uncleanness. You are cut off from all that is good. Most of all, you are cut off from God. That's what we should learn in verses 1 to 4. 

The Necessity for Repentance from Uncleanness

In verses 5 to 10, we move from the result of uncleanness to the necessity for repentance from uncleanness. You need to get right. Now that you have sinned and you realize your guilt, get right. So God is going to use the example of someone who has cheated another. You have robbed him, oppressed him, deceived him, and you realize your guilt. You want to turn. You want to repent. This is what you should do. So He says, “He shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong”. So you wrong someone, you owe him something now, and this wrong is not just towards the person you have cheated, but also towards God. Because in verse 5, “You break faith with the Lord”. You are unfaithful to God. So what you do is that you confess your sin, you make full restitution, and you add a fifth to it. So you pay back not just what you owe, but you add how much? How many percent? Early morning I test your math. One-fifth is 20%. So suppose I cheat you of your car. $100,000. Nowadays, $100,000 cannot buy but supposedly $100,000, I cheat you of your car. How much should I pay you back if I realize I'm wrong? Money, you're all sure can one, I know. $120,000 that's what is required. And not only that, you are to give or offer to God a ram of atonement. How much is a ram? Well, I think like BMW price in those days. So it's very expensive, it's very prohibitive.

But that's what true restitution would look like in Israel's days. I think that's the background when Jesus met with Zacchaeus, or maybe more correctly, Zacchaeus met with Jesus. Zacchaeus that tax collector who has cheated his own people to line his own pockets. He has come to faith in Jesus Christ. He has come to faith in God. Jesus, later on said that he's the son of Abraham. He's the son of faith. And we know that he has come to true faith and repentance because he said, “Lord, behold! The half of my goods, I give to the poor. I didn't cheat them, but I will give them. I'm generous towards those who need it. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, and I've done it many times throughout my life”, he says, “I'm going to restore it.” Not 20% hor, this is 400% leh. He really means it. He's repentant, and he's turned around. 

Now some of you may say, “Aiyah, who cares about Israel and who cares about Zacchaeus?” So never mind, I give you modern example. People today are crazy about Labubu. Wow, Labubu. I don't know what in the world is so fun about this, but they like Labubu, and they will do anything to get Labubu. So I read about this father with his two kids who went to Sim Lim Square, to the claw machine and stole a hundred dollars worth of Labubu. Ah, now the claw operator owner saw the CCTV, knew exactly what they looked like, and said to them, or posted in some platform saying, “If you stole from my store and return the goods in good condition, I will not take legal action”. That was on October 27, 28. Today already passed. So that's why it came out on social media. And I think a police report has been made. But if you want to be making things right, you got to give back. So this story in Numbers 5 verse 5 onwards speaks about the need to repent, to turn back. 

The next segment is the bulk of verses we have read, and it deals with this woman who is suspected by her husband to be unfaithful to him, but there is no evidence. Last time don’t have CCTV, last time don't have private investigator, and she “die die” says, “No, I didn't. I didn't.” So how to, how to solve the problem? Well, you bring the lady to God. Because even if no one else knows, you know something, God knows. And God will be the one who will reveal the truth, and God will be the one who will judge if there should be sin committed. 

The Revealing of Uncleanness: The Case of the Suspected Adulteress

So the third thing I'd like us to observe is the revealing of uncleanness. We may not know, but God knows. There's no escaping. So this brings us to the case of the woman who is suspected of being unfaithful. The text says, “If any man's wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, she's unfaithful.” The man is now overcome with a spirit of jealousy. He can't know whether she has indeed defiled herself, or she has not defiled herself. So he is to now bring his wife to the priest. And the priest will do these things, or they are to do these things. Number one, they are to bring offerings. Number two, the priest will set her before the Lord. Number three, mix water with dust from the floor of the tabernacle, and then unbind her hair, like very “cham” (Pastor spoke in Hokkien meaning “pitiful”). You know, in Chinese “pi tou san fa”(Pastor spoke in Mandarian meaning “with dishevelled hair”.) When you're very grief, your hair goes down. You look like “siau lang”(Pastor spoke in Hokkien meaning “insane person”), but that's the idea. Very sad, very serious. And then place offerings in her hand, pronounce an oath or a curse, and write that oath in a book and wash it into the water of bitterness - the water that is mixed with dust from the floor of the tabernacle and with the ink of this curse and then she is to drink. 

And then the offerings are presented, and if she is found guilty, or God knows she's guilty and reveals it now. The water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman shall become a curse. Now this, this is not so strange to me. Because when I grew up, I watched a lot of Chinese Kung Fu shows, and they make the people drink this “don’t know” water and say, “I'll curse you”. And I was trying to figure out the Chinese saying, and it is something like “Chang Chuan Du Lan” (Pastor spoke in Mandarin). Wow, like your intestines will burst and your stomach will rot. Well, I think this is from the Bible. “Chang Chuan Du Lan”, except this is the womb and the thigh but same concept. 

God will judge you severely for your sins and for hiding your uncleanness. But if she has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free. She will not be sick, she will not suffer these consequences. And that's how it is to be resolved. And I think the idea here is God saying, “In essence, I saw that. I know that. I hear that. And nothing escapes from me”. Just like you see, he unlocked it. You all cannot see, never mind, see again. Unlocked it, he will take out the Labubu. What a silly man to get himself in this trouble for some Labubu. But you know, that's what we do too. We grab our Labubu. We want Labubu, so stupid. But I want my Labubu. I want my Labubu and you sin against God. And God sees all that, so the revealing of uncleanness. 

The Reach of Uncleanness: The Nazarite Vow

The fourth thing I think we need to observe from this text is now to chapter six, which granted, we didn't read but chapter six is about the Nazarite. You know, a Nazarite is someone who chooses to make a vow unto God, to dedicate himself or herself to God for a period of time. But even a Nazarite who chooses to devote himself or herself to God for a period of time can become unclean, and he will need that shaving and that washing once again. So I think what God is saying in this vow of Nazarite is that even those who are dedicated to God can become unclean. Uncleanness affects everyone. So the fourth thing I like us to observe is the reach of uncleanness. No one here is spared, as depicted in the Nazarite vow. 

Now famous Nazarites in the Bible would include this man. Who is he? Samson, probably the most famous Nazarite. Another Nazarite. This one a bit harder. Not so good picture. I'm sorry. Jesus huh? Good try. Jesus is not a Nazarite. Jesus is a Nazarene because he's from the town of Nazareth. But he, as far as we know, did not perform the vow to be a Nazarite. So this is John the Baptist. So the Nazarite vow is a vow taken by either a man or woman. So it's possible for a woman to be a Nazarite, just that, when we read the Bible, we read about the men generally. And it's a vow that they take to separate himself or herself to the Lord. And when you make this vow, there are three prohibitions. You can't take grapes or wine or vinegar from grapes. You can't cut your hair, and so QB house, Caveva, you don't go to these places. And you are not supposed to touch the body of the dead, including your own family members. And if you should be unclean, for example, your head is lying on another man and suddenly he died. What's the chances of that? But well, happens if you lie your head, lay your head on another man, and he dies. Then you touch the dead, and you, as a Nazarite, also will need cleansing and atonement. So I suppose the inclusion of the Nazarite account in Numbers 5 and 6 is that even those who dedicate themselves to God may become unclean too and they will need that cleansing as well. 

So what are we saying so far? Let's not get lost. Numbers starts off with an account about close or the centrality of God. God is in our midst, and if God is in our midst, God's people need to be clean. And to teach about cleanness, God warns us about the result. If you are unclean like these men and women are, you will be cut off from God, and it will be miserable. Instead, we should be a people quick to repent, to turn, to turn back to God and to be cleansed from our uncleanness. Don't think to yourself, you can ever hide from God, because God sees your sins, and He will reveal it one day. There's no hiding, just like the man would not be able to hide from the claw operator owner. Sin is something that affects all of us, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous. No, not one. All of us are defiled. All of us are sinful before a most holy God, and that's what we should see in Numbers 5 and 6. But there's something else that is not quite in Numbers 5 and 6, but it's in the rest of the Bible. 

The Rescue from Uncleanness: The Healing Miracles of Jesus

Numbers 5 and 6 speaks about these uncleannesses, but there is a glorious point number five that we all must know. You want to guess. Will start with “R” one. The resurrection. Okay, so let me read. The result of uncleanness, the repentance of uncleanness, the revealing of uncleanness, the reach of uncleanness, the resurrection of uncleanness. “Buay sai lah, buay sai lah”. (Pastor spoke in Hokkien meaning “cannot”). So not resurrection, but simple word. The rescue, very good word. Or simply put, the removal of uncleanness. 

You see, we started this chapter with the account of the man with leprosy. And you know, there was this man diagnosed by a doctor. His name is Luke. Doctor Luke diagnosed a man to be full of leprosy. Whole body full of leprosy. And this man came to Jesus. He knelt before Jesus. Has anyone come before you and knelt before you? No one will do that, because who do you think you are? But this leper immediately recognized that Jesus is no ordinary man. He came and knelt and fell down and worshiped Jesus, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean”. You see, no one can make this leper clean. No doctor, no priest. He is alienated from community. He cannot draw near to God. Everywhere he goes, he has to shout, “Unclean! Unclean!” He is an untouchable, and no one has bothered with him. But one day Jesus came, and he knew Jesus can heal him, and so when he said this, the Bible tells us Jesus touched him. You know, this is a detail that we don't appreciate, because we are not lepers in Israel. But if you are a leper in Israel and you read that someone touched a leper, you will be shocked. Who would dare touch a leper? He will be rendered unclean. But Jesus touched the leper because He was moved with compassion for the leper. I think this might be the only touch the leper has experienced for many years. And then Jesus said, “I will. Be clean”. And immediately he was cleansed. Immediately he was. Can you imagine? I mean, can you imagine people with “chit da chit da” (Pastor spoken in Hokkien meaning “one patch one patch”). Face all over, the red plaques, ugly spots, and then when Jesus touched him and said, “Be clean”, all the spots melted away, and now his face is even better than those with SKII. Wow. That's an amazing miracle. Jesus cured the leper, and it is not a once off. It's not aiyah lucky la. No, because Jesus subsequently also healed Simon, the leper and healed the 10 lepers who came to Him. I think the gospel writers gave us the story of the lepers in particular, in contrast with Numbers 5. People who are lepers are cut out. But one day, there will come a Savior who is not going to be made unclean by leprosy, but instead will make the leper clean. Jesus paid it all. He alone can cleanse the lepers’ spots and make our skin white as snow. 

Not just the leper because let's talk about women. There's a story of a woman in the Bible who is stricken with this terrible sickness we call in modern medicine today - menorrhagia. What is menorrhagia? Menorrhagia is excessive menstrual bleeding. And there's this woman who has bled for twelve years. Can you imagine bleeding for twelve years? Super inconvenient, uncomfortable. But not only that, you are greatly weakened because you are losing blood every day. I can imagine her. I think the artist drew her quite well, you know. “Bin chhe chhe”. (Pastor spoke in Hokkien meaning “face is pale and white”) Look pale and anemic and I think that is quite accurate. She should be weak, maybe even breathless, because there's not enough oxygen carrying capacity in her blood, not enough blood. And the Bible tells us she has gone to many physicians and suffered under the physicians. And instead of getting better, she has gotten worse, and she has spent all her money trying to get well. And now, when she heard Jesus is in town, she must have crawled her way there, possibly. And she said, “If I could only touch the hem of His garment, I will be made well”. And with that, I don’t know whether it's true. 

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But with that goalkeeper’s launch, because she's unclean, you know, she cannot draw near the people. The people has to avoid her. She has to avoid the people. But when she spot the gap, she touch the garment, and immediately she is healed. I can imagine her, just pale “bin chhe chhe”, now suddenly become like peaches, her cheeks “ang ang” (Pastor spoke in Hokkien meaning “reddish”), red and chubby and wow, it's just a dramatic transformation for her. Again, she did not make Jesus unclean. Jesus healed her and made her clean. The leper, the discharge, and lastly, the dead.

The Removal of Uncleanness: The Resurrection of the Dead

The Gospel writers, I think, are precise to give us not just generalities, like Jesus healed all diseases, but specifically the leper, the discharge and the dead. Because there's a story of the son of the widow of Nain. He's dead and Jesus came. He did not quite touch the dead man, but He touched the casket where the dead man laid and the son was brought back to life. Not just him, but you remember Jairus’ daughter, and the detail given by the gospel writer is that Jesus held her hand. You know, these details to me, are significant, because in Numbers, they cannot touch anybody. Nobody is supposed to touch them. But Jesus purposely touched them and healed them and cleansed them. 

This is the glorious message of the Bible. Oh, we are a people because of our sin, cut off from God. We need to turn back to God because God sees our sin and sin affects everyone. But the great news of the Bible is that there is a removal possible for your uncleanness. See, the Bible starts with bad news. The bad news is we are all unclean. The Good News - Jesus paid it all. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel veins. Emmanuel is God with us, Jesus. And sinners like you and me, can plunge beneath that flood and wash our guilty stains. You can be clean. 

The Blessing of Cleanness: The Aaronic Blessing

So Israel, in Numbers, faces God at Mount Sinai. God gives them the organizational structure that all the tribes and all the Levites will be centered, will be around the centrality of God. They will face God because God is to be the center of it all. But if God is to dwell amongst them, then they too must be a clean people. “Israel, if you will center yourself on me. Israel, if you will be clean. Then Moses, I want you to say to Israel, I want you to pronounce this blessing”. This blessing is the “Aaronic blessing” the high priest is to pronounce over Israel. It's a blessing that many churches, even today still recite. Some of you may come from church backgrounds where in a worship service, at the beginning or at the end, the pastor would say these words in Numbers chapter 6. And in fact, they even sing this. There's a song. I don't dare to sing. I've not sung this for a long time, sure will go out of tune. Better not. So it goes “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” You know, God made sure in Numbers 6:23, that Moses would say these words to Israel, after the instructions about centrality and cleanness. “I will be your God and I will bless you in essence.” There is a three fold repetition of the Lord so that we know the source of blessing is God Himself. But besides that, scholars have kind of dug deeper into this passage and noted that the first line is three Hebrew words, the second line is five Hebrew words, and the third line is seven Hebrew words. And it's twelve syllables in a Hebrew language, fourteen syllables in the Hebrew language, and sixteen syllables. And if you are not bored already, let me tell you fifteen consonants, twenty consonants, and twenty-five consonants. You say,“ Why you tell me all these things?” Well, scholars say this perhaps convey the ever enlarging blessings of God upon his people. That's a small point to make from a complicated word study. But this is the blessing God wants Israel to know. “I will be your God, if I'm in your midst, and you will be a clean people.” God wants to bless Israel, and I want to say this. 

The Invitation to Repentance and Cleansing

The reason why we are preaching God's Word is not so that you will be condemned, but so that you will be blessed. And I hope today you would see that there is forgiveness, there is cleansing, there is salvation found in Jesus Christ. May God lead you to plunge beneath that sinful flood and wash all your guilty stains.

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Let's bow for a word of prayer together. We are all a sinful people. We are like that phone of Mr. Woon that is now stained and smelly and undesirable. Thank God He didn't throw us away like Mr. Woon threw the phone case away but He wipes us, not with alcohol wipes but with the precious blood of the Lamb. My friends, you can be clean. If you are willing to be like that leper who will fall down before Jesus and say, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” Then I pray Jesus will come and touch your life and say to you, “I will. Be clean”. Why? Because Jesus went to the cross and suffered and died on your behalf to wash your sins away.

Will you today humble yourself like that leper and come to Jesus Christ. Ask Him for forgiveness, turn from your sin, believe upon Him. I say to my brothers and sisters in Christ too. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel veins and sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all our guilty stains. Maybe this week, this season in your life, you have been living in rebellion and sin. Maybe you are feeling ashamed of yourself. Maybe you come with guilt in your heart. But today, I want to tell you. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Would you soak in the love of God? Rejoice in his generosity and magnanimity. Repent, confess, appropriate the promise in 1 John 1:9. May we live then lives of purity, holiness and love unto God. So Father, we thank You. Thank You that even though we are a sinful, filthy people, you have not forsaken us, but in your goodness, you sent your Son Jesus to be our Savior. May men and women today come to Him for the removal of uncleanness. Bless each heart and may you be glorified in the cleansing of our lives. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.