In our Q&A on the “law of jealousy,” we pointed out that this law was a “ritualistic procedure,” which is no longer applied in its literal sense today. We stated that “In Numbers 5:11-31, God gave Old Testament Israel a supernatural means of determining whether a wife had committed adultery or not, although she had not been caught, and no witness was present (Numbers 5:13). When ‘the spirit of jealousy’ came upon the husband, so that he suspected a transgression of his wife, the husband could bring his wife to the priest, and he had to bring at the same time the ‘grain offering of jealousy’ (Numbers 5:15)… The priest gave the woman ‘holy’ or ‘bitter’ water to drink, after she had denied, under oath, any transgression. God then saw to it, that her belly would swell, if she was in deed guilty.”

In this Q&A, we are going to discuss further aspects which are relevant to that temporary ritual law, showing that it has still spiritual meaning for us today, even though its practical and literal application has ceased.

That the practical application is no longer valid today, will become clear throughout this Q&A. It is Satan, and not God who is ruling today this present evil world with all of its countries (John 14:30), so God will not supernaturally intervene today in the way which is described in Numbers 5. In addition, we are not to swear today (James 5:12; but compare Numbers 5:19-22), and we cannot avail ourselves of any holy water and dust from the Tabernacle which were a required part of the prescribed procedure of the law of jealousy (compare Numbers 5:17).

Discussing this law, we are presented with a situation when the wife may or may not have committed adultery, but in either case, she apparently acted in a way which raised disturbing suspicion or jealousy in the husband. Since she was not caught in the very act, no witness could bring sufficient evidence to establish her guilt.

The commentary on the Torah by Richard Elliott Friedman explains that the law deals with a “woman whose husband suspects her of adultery, but who has not been proved guilty by evidence or witnesses… even if the woman is shown guilty [through the procedure of the law of jealousy], she is not executed, which elsewhere is the penalty for adultery (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22)… this is why the woman cannot be executed: She has not been proved guilty in front of judges in a court of law through witnesses.”

This is an interesting thought. Even though some commentaries assume that the guilty woman would be killed, the Bible does not say this. It only says that she “will become a curse among her people” (verse 27). This shows that God does not allow the execution of a person based on anything but the testimony of at least two witnesses (Circumstantial evidence is never considered to be sufficient).

Commentaries also observe that this law was rarely practiced in ancient Israel, and it completely ceased to be administered in later times. Some feel that it ceased to be administered after the Second Temple was destroyed. Others, like the Ryrie Study Bible, feel that it was only administered in the wilderness. Friedman claims that it was not practiced “since the time of the First Temple in Jerusalem. It required dust from the Tabernacle floor, and the Tabernacle was only in the First Temple, not in the Second.” As mentioned, the fact that there is no Tabernacle today is one reason—but by far not the only one—why this law is no longer valid today.

Even though the Roman Catholic Church used a similar procedure in the Middle Ages (with the inevitable result that the woman was almost always found guilty and executed), God never sanctioned this procedure to be applied by them. In fact, as Dummelow points out in “A Commentary on the Holy Bible,” “During the middle ages it was frequently resorted to in Europe under sanctions of the church and the law. The most common forms of ordeal were those by fire, by water, and by wager in battle. The difference between these and the ordeal prescribed here is that the latter is not in itself injurious, but depends for its efficacy on the direct interposition of God.”

If it was established that the wife did commit adultery, then “the man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her guilt (verse 31).” Friedman states that this is “usually understood to mean that the husband is innocent of the crime [or iniquity] of making a false charge against his wife. But this is a questionable reading since the text does not say that he has made any charge against her; he has just brought her to the priest to make the determination of whether his jealousy is correct or not. This may rather refer to the other man, the one who had intercourse with the woman. The procedure proves only that the woman has had intercourse; it cannot prove who the man was. It is therefore not possible to convict the man by this procedure.” 

Under the law, both the adulterer and the adulteress had to die. When the woman, caught in the very act of adultery, was brought to Jesus to be tempted, He refused to convict her because—among several other reasons–only the woman, but not the man was brought in front of Him (John 8:1-11).

The entire procedure might look harsh to us, but it was really meant to protect the wife who had not committed adultery. In other cultures, the husband could simply divorce his wife upon suspicion of adultery, or he could even kill her. This is still the case in many Muslim countries today. But God provided “an opportunity for the woman to prove her innocence before an enraged husband” (The Nelson Study Bible).

The New Bible Commentary: Revised adds: “Such trials by ordeal were common in the ancient world in cases of infidelity. The ceremony recorded here is notable for its leniency in comparison with the fierce ordeals prescribed in pagan circles, and also for the fact that it was more likely to result in a verdict of innocence whereas the others were certainly weighted in the direction of guilt. Strange as the whole circumstance and ritual may seem to us, it compares so favourably with non-Israelite practices that it may be taken as evidence of that generally considerate attitude of the law of Moses towards women.”

The Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary explains the purpose of this law and shows that the underlying rationale is still relevant today:

“This law would make the women of Israel watch against giving cause for suspicion. On the other hand, it would hinder the cruel treatment such suspicions might occasion… The water is called the bitter water, because it caused the curse. Thus sin is called an evil and a bitter thing. Let all that meddle with forbidden pleasures, know that they will be bitterness in the latter end. From the whole learn, 1. Secret sins are known to God, and sometimes are strangely brought to light in this life; and that there is a day coming when God will, by Christ, judge the secrets of men according to the gospel… 2. In particular, Whoremongers and adulterers God will surely judge. Though we have not now the waters of jealousy, yet we have God’s word, which ought to be as great a terror…. 3. God will manifest the innocency of the innocent…”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible adds that this law deals with a situation  “not of certain adultery… but of her having committed it in the opinion of her husband, he having some ground of suspicion, though he could not be certain of it… [when the wife] goes into a private place with [another man], and stays so long with him that she may be defiled… the law of jealousies… was appointed by God to deter wives from adultery… and to keep husbands from being cruel to their wives they might be jealous of, and to protect virtue and innocence, and to detect lewdness committed in the most secret manner; whereby God gave proof of his omniscience, that he had knowledge of the most private acts of uncleanness, and was the avenger of all such… [Even if she was found] not guilty, yet as she had by some unbecoming behaviour raised such a suspicion in [the husband],…  she for it justly bore the infamy of such a process.”

This is good advice for us today. We should not allow ourselves to be found in situations which could raise suspicion. We are to avoid even the appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22, Authorized Version).

Regarding the requirement to uncover the woman’s head (in verse 18), the Pulpit Commentary states that this was done “In token that she had forfeited her glory by breaking, or seeming to have broken, her allegiance to her husband (1 Corinthians 11:5-10); perhaps also with some reference to the truth that ‘all things are naked and open to the eyes of him’ with whom she had to do (Hebrews 4:13).”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible adds, in regard to the uncovering of the woman’s head, that this was to be done “as a token of her immodesty and non-subjection to her husband” and that the priest “loosed her hair.” This is interesting in light of the fact that it says in 1 Corinthians 11:15 that “if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.” Long hair is identified, in verse 10, as “a symbol of [her husband’s] authority on her head.” This passage does not talk about any requirement for women to wear in Church services a veil or any other type of hair covering, but it refers to the fact that the hair of a woman should not be too short—otherwise, it would be as if she was shaved or shorn (verse 5).

Gill also states that the fact that the belly of the guilty woman would swell “must be ascribed to a supernatural cause” and if the husband “was not pure from the same sin himself, the waters would not search his wife… hence they say… when adulterers increased (under the second temple) the bitter waters ceased, according to Hosea 4:14; see Matthew 12:39.”

The Pulpit Commentary points out that the bitter water “was not literally bitter, but it was so fraught with conviction and judgment as to bring bitter suffering on the guilty.” It adds that “The trial of jealousy being adopted, as it was, into a system really Divine, and being based upon the knowledge and power of God himself, secured all the benefits of an ordeal and escaped all its dangers.”

The procedure of the law of jealousy REQUIRED God’s direct intervention. In former days, sometimes God would also intervene in other cases through the casting of lots.  But after the New Testament Church was founded and the Holy Spirit was given, the Bible does not record anymore any incident of the casting of lots for the purpose of Godly intervention or the determination of God’s Will. Once Israel turned away from God and rejected Him as their Leader and King, God’s direct intervention ceased, and with it the application of the law of jealousy.

If the woman was guiltless, then she would conceive seed (verse 28). The Pulpit Commentary explains this “as a sign of the Divine favour… (1 Samuel 2:5; Psalm 127:3; Luke 1:58).”

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible agrees, stating that “if she was barren before, now she would be fruitful” and that “her husband should receive her gladly, and she should live comfortably with him hereafter, and the blessing of God would be upon her, which would still be a confirmation of her chastity.”

Even though this law is no longer in effect for us today, it does still entail important spiritual guidelines and principles, as we have discussed herein. But as the New Application Bible points out, “Trust between husband and wife had to be completely eroded for a man to bring his wife to the priest for this type of test. Today… pastors help restore marriages by counseling couples who have lost faith in each other. Whether justified or not, suspicion must be removed for a marriage to survive and trust to be restored.” This is very true—and in general, the Church has been given today the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

Even if the wife was guilty of adultery, the righteous act of Joseph (who believed that his betrothed bride Mary had committed adultery) is described as such in Matthew 1:19: “Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.”

Apart from the fact that the practical application of the law of jealousy was apparently not available anymore at the time of Joseph, this Scripture shows that he would not have used it anyway, as he did not want to make Mary a public spectacle (which the procedure of the law of jealousy would have done), but that he was thinking about divorcing her secretly. Even at the time of Moses, a suspicious husband did not HAVE to have this law applied to his wife. But God allowed it because of the hardness of the people’s heart.

Lead Writer: Norbert Link

The astounding truth of the Bible is that generally, He does not hear, nor does He answer the prayers of just anyone. In fact, at this time and throughout human history, only a small proportion of people have had the kind of relationship with God in which their prayers would be heard by Him!

In the very beginning messages of Jesus Christ, He taught about praying, and throughout His ministry, He continued to teach His own disciples how to pray. His example gives us an important key to God hearing our prayers, and what is recorded in the Book of Hebrews about Christ is vital for us to understand:

“who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:7-9).

Note again what is stated, that Christ “was heard because of His godly Fear”! Jesus Christ’s prayers were heard by His Father. There are specific examples of when He went before God with important and difficult decisions. One such instance is found in Luke:

“Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles” (Luke 6:12-13).

Another example occurred just before His crucifixion, but in this instance Jesus asked for something that God did not grant. Jesus agonized over His impending death and even asked for a way out, but after presenting His request to the Father three successive times, He yielded to God’s Will in the matter (compare Matthew 26:36-46).

Did God hear Him? Absolutely, and the proof of this is in the outcome of what followed. God raised Jesus from the dead! (compare Acts 2:24, 32; 3:15, 26; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30, 33, 37; Romans 7:4; 10:9; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 15:15; Galatians 1:1; Colossians 2:12; 3:1; 1 Peter 1:21).

The fact that Jesus Christ is alive has everything to do with God hearing our prayers!

Before His death and resurrection, Jesus gave very detailed instructions to His disciples about how to have God hear their prayers:

“‘Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it’” (John 14:12-14).

Jesus continued to explain exactly what He meant about praying and asking in His name:

“‘And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full… In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God’” (John 16:23-24, 26-27; compare John 15:16).

Jesus Christ is our great High Priest—seated at the right hand of God the Father (Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 8:1). His is an ongoing role:

“Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

God hears the prayers of those who have access to Him through Jesus Christ!  Note, as well, that Jesus very specifically instructed His disciples to address the Father when they prayed, and He gave them an example of how this should be done (Matthew 6:9-13). In the context of this teaching, He also gave other important guidelines for prayer:

 “‘And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him’” (Matthew 6:5-8).

Quite clearly, Jesus taught that not everyone praying was being heard by God! However, for those who have been called and who have established a relationship with God, prayer is the vital communication with God to obtain His guidance—His oversight in our lives!

Sometimes, even for those who are able to have their prayers heard by God, the answer is not always immediate or exactly what we seek (just as we read about the prayers of Jesus before His death). In these circumstances it is important for us to continue in faith, presenting our requests to God, as Jesus instructed:

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!’” (Luke 11:9-13).

In another example, we find more of what Jesus taught about prayer:

“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: ‘There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, “Get justice for me from my adversary.” And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, “Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”’ Then the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?’” (Luke 18:1-8).

The New Testament emphatically teaches that Satan is the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4). The whole world has been deceived by him (Revelation 12:9), and those who are deceived may be even praying to Satan, without knowing it—not to God the Father! Jesus Christ is not serving as their High Priest, nor does God generally hear their prayers (For more information, please see our Q&A on John 9:31, as to whether or not God hears the prayers of sinners.)

God is not now trying to save this world! Rather, He has called some to be a kind of “firstfruits” of His salvation (compare James 1:18)—identified as His “elect” (compare Matthew 24:22, 24, 31). God hears the prayers of His “saints” (compare Revelation 8:3) because of what Jesus Christ accomplished in becoming our Savior.

The elect have been chosen for salvation at this time, and they have the opportunity for God to hear their prayers. They are those who seek God with a true humility to be obedient to Him. They have gained access to God:

“There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, ‘Cornelius!’  And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, ‘What is it, lord?’ So he said to him, ‘Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God’” (Acts 10:1-4).

Consider, also, that God is willing to respond to those who truly turn to Him:

“‘… But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word’” (Isaiah 66:2).

Sadly, this does not describe the people of our age—not even the countless millions who profess to be followers of Christ! We have prepared a booklet, titled, “Teach Us To Pray,” which offers much more detail on this subject—available free upon request, or it can be accessed on our webpage in the literature section.

Lead Writer: Dave Harris