20250326 [새벽묵상] 거룩한 공동체를 이루기 위해 해야할 일 | Creating a Holy Community: What We Must Do (민/Num 5:1~10)

5:1 여호와께서 모세에게 말씀하여 이르시되

5:2 이스라엘 자손에게 명령하여 모든 나병 환자와 유출증이 있는 자와 주검으로 부정하게 된 자를 다 진영 밖으로 내보내되

5:3 남녀를 막론하고 다 진영 밖으로 내보내어 그들이 진영을 더럽히게 하지 말라 내가 그 진영 가운데에 거하느니라 하시매

5:4 이스라엘 자손이 그같이 행하여 그들을 진영 밖으로 내보냈으니 곧 여호와께서 모세에게 이르신 대로 이스라엘 자손이 행하였더라 

1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. 3 Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.” 4 The Israelites did so; they sent them outside the camp. They did just as the Lord had instructed Moses.

5:5 여호와께서 모세에게 말씀하여 이르시되

5:6 이스라엘 자손에게 이르라 남자나 여자나 사람들이 범하는 죄를 범하여 여호와께 거역함으로 죄를 지으면

5:7 그 지은 죄를 자복하고 그 죄 값을 온전히 갚되 오분의 일을 더하여 그가 죄를 지었던 그 사람에게 돌려줄 것이요

5:8 만일 죄 값을 받을 만한 친척이 없으면 그 죄 값을 여호와께 드려 제사장에게로 돌릴 것이니 이는 그를 위하여 속죄할 속죄의 숫양과 함께 돌릴 것이니라

5:9 이스라엘 자손이 거제로 제사장에게 가져오는 모든 성물은 그의 것이 될 것이라

5:10 각 사람이 구별한 물건은 그의 것이 되나니 누구든지 제사장에게 주는 것은 그의 것이 되느니라

5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any man or woman who wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the Lord is guilty 7 and must confess the sin they have committed. They must make full restitution for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged. 8 But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the Lord and must be given to the priest, along with the ram with which atonement is made for the wrongdoer. 9 All the sacred contributions the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him. 10 Sacred things belong to their owners, but what they give to the priest will belong to the priest.’”

                  민수기 5장입니다. 1장에서는 전투원을 세고 2장에서는 진을 치는 법과 행군시 요령에 대해서 말씀하셨고 3장에서는 레위인들이 왜 하나님의 것인지 말씀하셨고 4장에서는 그 레위인들이 맡은 임무와 그들의 수를 세었습니다. 이제 정말 출정을 위한 모든 준비가 끝난 것 같았는데 오늘 말씀은 뜬금없이 레위기에서 말씀하셨던 정결 규례와 이웃에게 범죄하는 일에 대해서 다시 말씀하십니다. 그러나 5장과 6장에 제시된 규정들은 레위기와 출애굽기에는 없었던 새로운 규례들입니다. 특히 어떤 법들은 레위기의 규정들을 보완하는 특징을 갖습니다. 그렇다면 이 규례들은 출정을 앞둔 이들에게 과연 어떤 의미를 갖는 것일까요? 갑자기? 지금? 왜 이런 규정들을 업데이트를 하시는 걸까요? 그것은 바로 이들 가운데 거룩하신 하나님이 거하시기 때문에 이들 또한 거룩한 공동체를 유지해야 하는 것을 알려주시는 것입니다. 이들의 중심에는 항상 하나님이 거하시는 성막이 있기 때문에 아무리 레위인들이 구별되어 성막을 지킨다 하여도 전체 이스라엘 백성들 또한 거룩한 공동체를 이루기 위해 이 규례들을 기억해야 하는 것입니다. 오늘은 거룩한 공동체를 이루기 위해 해야 할 일이라는 제목으로 말씀을 나누기 원합니다.

Numbers chapter 5 is our text today. In chapter 1, they counted the warriors, and in chapter 2, they discussed how to set up camps and march. Chapter 3 explained why the Levites belong to God, and chapter 4 counted the Levites and described their assigned duties. It seemed like all preparations were complete, but today's passage unexpectedly returns to purity regulations and addressing sins against neighbors. However, the regulations in chapters 5 and 6 are new rules not found in Leviticus and Exodus. Some laws even complement the previous regulations in Leviticus.

What meaning do these regulations hold for those about to set out? Why update these rules right now? It is because God dwells among them and they must maintain a holy community. Since the tabernacle always resides at their center, even though the Levites are set apart to guard the tabernacle, all Israelite people must remember these regulations to form a holy community. Today, I want to share a message about what must be done to create a holy community.

                  거룩한 공동체를 이루기 위해 해야 할 첫번째는 바로 하나님 앞에서 정결해야 합니다. 2절 함께 보시겠습니다. “이스라엘 자손에게 명령하여 모든 나병 환자와 유출증이 있는 자와 주검으로 부정하게 된 자를 다 진영 밖으로 내보내되” 하나님께서 부정하게 된 자들을 진영 밖으로 내보내라고 명령하십니다. 그 중에는 나병 환자, 물론 실제 나병 환자도 있겠지만 악성 피부병을 말하는 것이라고 해석하는 경우가 많습니다. 그리고 유출증이 있는 자와 사체를 만짐으로 부정하게 된 자들이 여기에 해당되지요. 재미있는 것은 유출증을 다루고 있는 레위기 15장에서는 유출병이 있는 자를 진영 밖으로 내보내라 라는 말씀이 없습니다. 오히려 그 유출이 멈추게 되면 그는 더이상 부정하지 않고 정결하여 질 수 있는 방법에 대해서 말씀을 해주시지요. 레위기 15장 13절 입니다. “그의 유출이 깨끗해지거든 그가 정결하게 되기 위하여 이레를 센 후에 옷을 빨고 흐르는 물에 그의 몸을 씻을 것이라 그러면 그가 정하리니” 자 그러면 의문이 생깁니다. 왜 유출병에 걸린 사람을 진영 밖으로 내보내라고 하셨을까? 레위기에서의 유출증 규정에는 유출이 멈춘 사람들이 어떻게 정결하여지는지에 대해 다루었다면 오늘 말씀에서는 유출이 멈추지 않는 사람에 대한 규정이라고 생각하시면 좋을 것 같습니다. 단순한 체액의 발설이 아니라 만성적인 유출증에 대한 규례인 것이지요. 예수님 시대에도 12년 동안 혈루증을 앓던 여인이 있지 않았습니까? 그런 경우가 오늘의 말씀에 해당하는 경우이겠지요.

To create a holy community, the first requirement is to be pure before God. Let's look at verse 2: "Command the Israelites to send all those with a defiling skin disease or a discharge or who are ceremonially unclean because of a corpse out of the camp." God commands that those who have become unclean be sent outside the camp. This includes those with skin diseases - which many interpret not as actual leprosy but as a serious skin condition - those with discharge, and those who became unclean by touching a corpse. Interestingly, Leviticus chapter 15, which addresses discharges, does not say to send those with discharge outside the camp. Instead, it describes how a person can become clean again once the discharge stops. In Leviticus 15:13, it says, "When the man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count seven days for his cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean."

So why send someone with a discharge outside the camp? While Leviticus addressed how people with stopped discharges become clean, this passage seems to address those with continuous discharges. These are not simple fluid releases but chronic discharge conditions. Remember the woman in Jesus' time who had a blood discharge for twelve years?

                  이들이 정결법에 의거하여 부정하다는 것은 알겠습니다. 그러나 왜 이들은 진영 밖으로 내보내졌어야만 할까요? 3절 함께 보시겠습니다. “남녀를 막론하고 다 진영 밖으로 내보내어 그들이 진영을 더럽히게 하지 말라 내가 그 진영 가운데 거하느니라 하시매” 이들의 부정은 단순히 개인적인 부정으로 끝나는 것이 아니라 이들의 부정을 통해 공동체 전체로 그 부정이 퍼질 수 있기 때문입니다. 이들을 통하여 이스라엘 진영이 오염되어 부정하게 되면 그 오염이 하나님이 임재하신 성막에까지 미칠 수 있기 때문입니다. 이들의 부정은 이들 자신만을 부정하게 만드는 것이 아닙니다. 이들이 앉았던 자리, 이들과 접촉한 사람, 이들의 몸에 닿았던 것은 모두 부정하여 집니다. 그렇기에 하나님께서는 이들을 최대한 빨리 격리 조치하고 진영 밖으로 내보내라고 하시는 것입니다. 이스라엘의 중심에는 언제나 하나님이 거하셨기 때문에 이스라엘 진영은 언제나 정결함을 유지해야 했습니다. 이스라엘 공동체 전체가 하나님 앞에 정결해야 하는 것입니다.

Why must these people be sent out according to the purity laws? Verse 3 tells us: "Send them out so they do not defile the camp where I dwell." Their uncleanliness is not just a personal matter. Through them, impurity could spread to the entire community. If the Israelite camp becomes contaminated, that contamination could reach the tabernacle where God is present. Their uncleanliness does not just make them unclean. Everything they sit on, everything they touch, and everyone who contacts them becomes unclean. Therefore, God commands their immediate isolation and removal from the camp. Because God always dwelled at the center of Israel, the Israelite camp must always maintain purity. The entire Israelite community must be pure before God.

                  거룩한 공동체를 이루기 위한 두번째, 공동체 안에서 서로에게 죄를 짓지 말아야 합니다. 6절 함께 보시겠습니다. “이스라엘 자손에게 이르라 남자나 여자나 사람들이 범하는 죄를 범하여 여호와께 거역함으로 죄를 지으면” 서로에게 죄를 짓지 말아야 하는 가장 궁극적인 이유가 이 말씀에 나와있습니다. 바로 우리가 서로에게 범죄하는 것이 하나님께 범죄하는 것이기 때문입니다. 특별히 공동체 안에 물질과 관련하여 발생한 범죄는 공동체 안에 심한 갈등을 일으키고 공동체 전체에 위협이 될 수 있습니다. 우리는 이러한 범죄를 그저 피해자와 피의자와의 갈등으로만 생각하기가 쉬운데 하나님께서는 이 일들을 하나님을 거역함으로 짓는 죄라고 규정하십니다. 실로 무서운 말씀이지요. 특히나 이민교회에서 이런 경우가 많은 것 같습니다. 아무래도 이민교회는 한인 커뮤니티의 성격도 가지고 있다보니 믿음이 아닌 다른 목적을 가지고 교회에 오시는 분들도 반드시 있지요. 그러다보니 우리는 심심치 않게 교회 안에서 금전적인 문제들이 일어나는 것을 보게 됩니다. 그로인해 많은 갈등이 생기고 심한 경우 교회가 갈라서는 경우도 있지요. 하나님께서는 이런 서로간의 범죄에 대해서 다음과 같이 다룰 것을 명령하십니다. 7절입니다. “그 지은 죄를 자복하고 그 죄 값을 온전히 값되 오분의 일을 더하여 그가 죄를 지었던 그 사람에게 돌려줄 것이요.” 첫번째는 죄은 지은 사람이 죄를 자복해야 한다고 말씀하십니다. 먼저 자신의 죄를 상대방에게 인정하고 사과해야 한다는 것이지요. 두번째는 그가 입힌 피해만큼 금전적인 배상을 하되 그 피해 금액에 1/5을 더하여 배상하도록 명령하십니다. 또한 8절을 보면 이는 상대방에게만 범죄한 것이 아니라 이를 통하여 하나님께 범죄한 것이니 하나님께 속죄의 숫양을 속건제로 바쳐야함을 명시하십니다. 때로 사람들은 서로에게 범죄할 때에 그 상대방에게 용서를 구하고 배상하는 것이 아니라 하나님께만 죄사함을 구하는 사람들이 있습니다. 그러나 하나님께서는 공동체 안의 서로 간의 죄악에 대해서 이렇게 말씀하십니다. 이것은 결과적으로는 하나님께 범죄하는 것이다. 그러나 너희는 나에게 와서 죄사함을 구하기 전에 먼저 서로에게 그 죄를 인정하고 사과하며 배상해야 한다.

The second requirement for creating a holy community is to not sin against one another. Verse 6 says: "Speak to the Israelites: When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the Lord, that person is guilty." The ultimate reason we must not sin against each other is that sinning against each other is sinning against God. Particularly, crimes involving material possessions can cause severe conflicts within a community and threaten the entire community. We tend to see such conflicts as merely between victim and offender, but God defines these as sins of rebellion against Him. This is a fearsome declaration.

This seems especially common in immigrant churches. Because these churches also carry the character of an ethnic community, people sometimes come with purposes other than faith. As a result, we frequently witness financial problems within the church. These lead to many conflicts, and in severe cases, can even split the church. God commands handling such inter-community sins as follows in verse 7: "They must confess the sin they have committed. They must make full restitution for the wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to the person they have wronged."

First, the one who sinned must confess their sin. They must first acknowledge and apologize to the other person. Second, they must financially compensate for the damage, adding one-fifth to the original amount. Verse 8 also shows this is not just a sin against another person but a sin against God, for which they must offer a guilt offering ram.

Sometimes people seek forgiveness from God without seeking forgiveness and making amends to the person they've wronged. But God speaks about sins within the community this way: While ultimately this is a sin against God, before coming to me for forgiveness, you must first acknowledge, apologize, and make restitution to one another.

                  말씀을 맺습니다. 거룩하신 하나님께서 이스라엘 진영 가운데에 거하십니다. 그렇기에 하나님께서는 이들 또한 거룩한 공동체가 되어야 한다고 말씀하십니다. 첫번째는 하나님 앞에 정결한 공동체가 되는 것. 두번째는 공동체 안에서 서로에게 범죄하지 않는 것. 그러나 우리가 함께 보았듯이 이 또한 결국은 하나님께 범죄하지 않는 것이지요. 민수기를 보면서 우리는 교회 공동체가 어떠한 공동체가 되어야 하는지 생각해보게 되는 것 같습니다. 우리는 하나님 앞에 정결하기 위해 힘쓰는가? 우리는 서로에게 죄를 범하지 않도록 힘쓰는가? 거룩하신 하나님의 몸 된 교회로써 우리는 어떻게 거룩한 공동체를 만들 수 있는가? 하나님 앞에서 정결하고 성도들 사이에서 덕을 세우는 거룩한 공동체가 우리 한사랑교회가 되기를 주님의 이름으로 축원합니다.

To conclude, the holy God dwells in the Israelite camp. Therefore, God says they must become a holy community. First, be pure before God. Second, do not sin against one another - which is ultimately not sinning against each other, but not sinning against God. As we read Numbers, we are led to think about what kind of community the church should be. Are we striving to be pure before God? Are we working to avoid sinning against each other? How can we, as the body of Christ, create a holy community? I pray in the Lord's name that our church becomes a holy community that is pure before God and builds up the saints among us.