A Sanctifying Sacrifice (Numbers 5:1–4)

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.” And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.
—Numbers 5:1–4

You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell. And the people of Israel did so and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.

Here we have one of those pictures in the Old Testament, again, of someone with leprosy being put outside the camp, in part because of the risk that person posed of the disease spreading rapidly to many others.

What I want to emphasize, though, based on these verses—and in light of the repeated phrase outside the camp—is its significance. We see it again and again: outside the camp, outside the camp, outside the camp.

When we fast-forward in Scripture to Hebrews 13, verse 11 says, “For the bodies…”

This is a picture of uncleanness—to be dirty, unclean, in a place of shame, dishonor, or death. That is the association with the phrase outside the camp. Then Hebrews 13:12 says, “So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.” What a statement.

Jesus went to the unclean—to the dirty, the despised, the place of shame and dishonor. This is what he did at the cross when he took our shame, our guilt, and ultimately our death upon himself. So these verses in Numbers 5 ultimately point us to Jesus, who would go outside the camp for us. Then listen to Hebrews 13:13: “Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.”

In other words, if we are going to follow Jesus, it means we will go to those who are unclean, despised, and in places of shame or dishonor—because that is whom Jesus came for. That includes you and me.

In a world filled with many pictures of uncleanness—people who are despised, shamed, and in need, like lepers outside the camp—the New Testament calls us to move toward need, not away from it, knowing this is what Jesus has done for us. Because his Spirit dwells within us, this is where we go. This is how we live: by going to the neglected, the downtrodden, and the ostracized. We go outside the camp.

So, God, we pray that this would be true of our lives. By your Spirit in us, Lord Jesus, draw us toward those in need, not away from them. We think about the parable of the Good Samaritan and how the religious leaders avoided the man who was injured and in need by the side of the road. Yet a Samaritan came and helped him.

God, we pray that this would be the story of our lives—that we would not ignore those in need, that we would not turn a deaf ear or a blind eye, but that we would go to them, knowing that we ourselves are needy and that you have come to us. Your Spirit now dwells in us, so we ask that, by your power, you would help us go to you outside the camp.

We know this will lead to reproach. We know it will be difficult and require endurance. O God, help us to live with the Spirit of him who went outside the camp for us.

We pray for unreached peoples around the world who live in hard-to-reach, dangerous places. Draw us toward them, not away from them. Help us to forsake the safety, security, and comforts of this world so that we might play whatever part you desire in reaching those who do not yet have the gospel.

A Prayer for the Lao Wieng People

We pray for the Lao Wieng people, that this small Buddhist people group in Thailand would be reached with the gospel through your church going outside the camp. We ask all this in light of your Word in Numbers 5 and Hebrews 13. In Jesus’s name, amen.