You will
sometimes hear an atheist or abortion advocate who thinks they are cleverer
than they actually are make the case that abortion is supported, even
encouraged, in the Bible. The passage they use to make this case is Numbers 5,
“23
‘Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them
off into the bitter water. 24 And he shall make the woman drink the bitter
water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her
to become bitter. 25 Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy
from the woman’s hand, shall wave the offering before the Lord, and bring it to
the altar; 26 and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, as its
memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the
water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has
defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water
that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell,
her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people. 28 But
if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and
may conceive children.”
At first glance
this seems like a perfect gotcha passage for the abortion advocate to use
against Christians in their pursuit to see the crime of abortion outlawed. But,
as usual, one needs to consider the context.
Elijah Harris
from Abolish Abortion Australia explains this in a recent post,
“The Ceremonies
Alongside
this oath, certain ceremonies were administered. These acted as object lessons
for the senses. First, a grain offering of a tenth-ephah of barley flour was
made to God, as no one was to approach God empty-handed (Ex. 23:15). As a
sombre occasion and to symbolise the afflicted state of his family, no
sweet-smelling additives were mixed with the flour. The woman took the offering
in her hands to the tabernacle, as a reminder that she was entering God's
presence (Num. 5:16). Here, she was set before the Lord with her head uncovered
(v18), as an image of her distressed condition and a sign that her deeds were
not hidden before God.
The
priest then prepared the water of bitterness, which was clean water from the
tabernacle's bronze basin mixed with dust from the ground of the tabernacle
(v17) and the ink from the curses of the oath written upon a scroll (v23). It
was called "bitterness" not to describe the taste of the water, but
in regard to the curses which would come upon the woman should she be guilty -
she would be brought by God down to the dust as the curses came upon her (v24,
c.f. Gen 3:19). The woman would drink the water, symbolising the taking of the
curses into herself.
It
is worth noting that there was nothing in the bitter water that, if ingested in
these quantities, would naturally cause a miscarriage. This clearly isn't a
natural abortifacient. It would only be abortive through a supernatural act of
judgment.
The Effect
If
the woman was guilty, what she vowed would come upon her: the child she carried
would die, and she would be publicly proven an adulteress as a judgment upon
her. It is probable also that she herself would be put to death, as was a
possible punishment for adulterers (Lev. 20:10). However, if the woman was
innocent, nothing would happen, and she would be publicly exonerated, the
husband's jealousy would subside, and the relationship would be restored (Num.
5:28).”[1]
In other
words, the law is not saying that a man could give his wife abortifacient drugs
if he suspected her of immorality. The law said that the should come before a
neutral arbitrator, and after the woman has taken a series of oaths before God,
she was given water with a bit of dirt in it, and if she had lied God would
deal with her. This is not a passage teaching that abortion is ok. It is a
passage teaching that to lie before God and to commit adultery is a terrible
sin.
As Elijah
also notes, the woman would have more than likely confessed long before she got
to this point, and then her and her husband would have sought to work this out.
Be careful
when you see non-believers wielding the sword of God. The Bible is like a
sword, and when the untrained use a sword, they are likely to do as much or
more damage to themselves as to their opponents. The whole counsel of God shows
how he opposes those who harm the innocent. It is one of the most consistent
teachings in the Bible.
That does not mean that sometimes we won’t find the ancient law confronting, and that it does not gel with our modern Christian sensibilities. But then, how much are even we in the church affected by modern culture?
List of References
[1]
Elijah Harris, 2026, https://www.abolishabortionaustralia.com/blog/the-test-for-adultery?fbclid=IwY2xjawR3ctZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFzbkpJYjJpWWZRRmFLVThKc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHgrwX0tkptjt_Edh1phA9CNG0yUKnoCpib7EcTozdqqktAjXkZntRI9lHwmW_aem_vhifWrFf4HvYj7NRCc9Mbg
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