Announcement

Collapse

Deeper Waters Forum Guidelines

Notice – The ministries featured in this section of TheologyWeb are guests of this site and in some cases not bargaining for the rough and tumble world of debate forums, though sometimes they are. Additionally, this area is frequented and highlighted for guests who also very often are not acclimated to debate fora. As such, the rules of conduct here will be more strict than in the general forum. This will be something within the discretion of the Moderators and the Ministry Representative, but we simply ask that you conduct yourselves in a manner considerate of the fact that these ministries are our invited guests. You can always feel free to start a related thread in general forum without such extra restrictions. Thank you.

Deeper Waters is founded on the belief that the Christian community has long been in the shallow end of Christianity while there are treasures of the deep waiting to be discovered. Too many in the shallow end are not prepared when they go out beyond those waters and are quickly devoured by sharks. We wish to aid Christians to equip them to navigate the deeper waters of the ocean of truth and come up with treasure in the end.

We also wish to give special aid to those often neglected, that is, the disabled community. This is especially so since our founders are both on the autism spectrum and have a special desire to reach those on that spectrum. While they are a special emphasis, we seek to help others with any disability realize that God can use them and that they are as the Psalmist says, fearfully and wonderfully made.

General TheologyWeb forum rules: here.
See more
See less

The Strange Test in Numbers 5

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • The Strange Test in Numbers 5

    Why does a woman need to do this?

    ----------------

    Is this a misogynistic test? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

    In Numbers 5, we have a test that seems to us to be very strange. This is a test for faithfulness in marriage. If a man suspects that his wife is being unfaithful to him. In our continuing look at marriage and divorce, we are going to look at this.

    In this test, a woman was required to drink a substance and if her abdomen swells and her thigh rots, then she has been unfaithful. There is no doubt, some euphemistic language here, but there’s nothing to suggest that an abortion or miscarriage is taking place. It could be rendering the woman infertile, however, which would indeed be a mark of shame in that culture.

    Why would such a test be found in Scripture? Does God hate women that he puts them through this and the man doesn’t have to do anything similar? This test is not actually put in to demean the woman, but quite the opposite. It is there in order to protect her.

    For the most part, a man is not usually in danger from the women in his life. Today, with something like a gun that is an equalizer, that can be different, but in the time of Scripture, when it came to physical power, men held that. It is certainly wrong for a man to be unfaithful, but generally, he would not have to fear that if he wound up being caught, his wife would beat him. (And even in unfaithfulness, wife-beating is never okay.)

    A woman doesn’t have that benefit in the culture. Generally, women are physically weaker than men are and don’t have the upper body strength that men do. In many cultures, if a man got jealous, he could easily kill his wife if he so wanted to. If not kill, he could at least seriously injure her.

    In this culture, God steps in and has a solution. Undergo a ceremony that can have real physical effects on a woman. The result would be undeniable in that culture and would settle the manner once and for all. At least one person would leave that meeting very shamed. A husband could leave if he has falsely accused his wife and she passes the test with flying colors. If she doesn’t pass, she will leave shamed with physical conditions that she will likely be stuck with because of her unfaithfulness. He could leave shamed as well knowing that his wife has been unfaithful to him.

    This also illustrates that in Scripture, faithfulness in marriage is highly valued. Every time a man in Scripture was unfaithful in any way to his marriage covenant, it did not end well. The same happens with women who are unfaithful to their spouses. When we get to the New Testament, we will find that when it comes to the question of remarriage, there is differentiation between a spouse who has been faithful to a prior marriage and the spouse who has been unfaithful to the marriage covenant, but that’s for in the future.

    In Christ,
    Nick Peters
    (And I affirm the virgin birth)
    Is this a misogynistic test? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out. In Numbers 5, we have a test that seems to us to be very strange. This is a test for faithfulness in marriage. If a man suspects that his wife is being unfaithful to him. In our continuing look at marriage … Continue reading The Strange Test In Numbers 5

  • #2
    For the most part, a man is not usually in danger from the women in his life. Today, with something like a gun that is an equalizer, that can be different, but in the time of Scripture, when it came to physical power, men held that. It is certainly wrong for a man to be unfaithful, but generally, he would not have to fear that if he wound up being caught, his wife would beat him. (And even in unfaithfulness, wife-beating is never okay.)


    Jael and a tent spike.

    She knows where you sleep.
    Last edited by rogue06; 04-29-2022, 09:26 AM.

    I'm always still in trouble again

    "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
    "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
    "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
      For the most part, a man is not usually in danger from the women in his life. Today, with something like a gun that is an equalizer, that can be different, but in the time of Scripture, when it came to physical power, men held that. It is certainly wrong for a man to be unfaithful, but generally, he would not have to fear that if he wound up being caught, his wife would beat him. (And even in unfaithfulness, wife-beating is never okay.)


      Deborah and a tent spike.

      She knows where you sleep.
      That was Jael.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Apologiaphoenix View Post
        That was Jael.
        That's what I said

        Btw, you don't have any ideas on how I can erase a "last edited by" tag? Askin' for a friend.



        Seriously, when I was young my girlfriend worked at a Chocolate Chip cookie stand in the mall and her co-worker all too frequently came in with bruises given to her by an abusive bf.

        One day she had enough.

        Their apartment was an A-frame and their bed was on the first-floor (ground floor for Brits) against the wall that was the end of the upstairs loft. She picked up a potted plant, went upstairs with it and played "bombardier."

        What I mean is that she took aim with the flowerpot and dropped it directly onto his face while he slept.

        IIRC, busted his nose, a cheekbone, upper jaw and broke a couple of teeth.



        I'm always still in trouble again

        "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
        "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
        "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

        Comment


        • #5
          It's not unheard of, but we know that based on generalities alone and the way men and women are built, women are usually in much greater danger. They need an equalizer in the form of a weapon more often. Men usually don't.

          Comment

          Related Threads

          Collapse

          Topics Statistics Last Post
          Started by Apologiaphoenix, 03-15-2024, 10:19 PM
          14 responses
          75 views
          1 like
          Last Post rogue06
          by rogue06
           
          Started by Apologiaphoenix, 03-13-2024, 10:13 PM
          6 responses
          62 views
          0 likes
          Last Post Apologiaphoenix  
          Started by Apologiaphoenix, 03-12-2024, 09:36 PM
          1 response
          23 views
          0 likes
          Last Post rogue06
          by rogue06
           
          Started by Apologiaphoenix, 03-11-2024, 10:19 PM
          0 responses
          22 views
          2 likes
          Last Post Apologiaphoenix  
          Started by Apologiaphoenix, 03-08-2024, 11:59 AM
          7 responses
          63 views
          0 likes
          Last Post whag
          by whag
           
          Working...
          X