V.2-3 There were certain things which would make the camp unclean, and they must be “put out” because the Lord Himself was there. This is an important thing for us to remember if we desire to honor the name of our Lord Jesus. We are responsible to see that those things which defile, whether it be moral or doctrinal, are “put out” because the Lord is there (Gal. 5:9; 1 Cor. 5:6).
V.6 The Lord now reminds His people that each one was to be individually on guard, that his own conscience was clean. If any one has acted or spoken wrongly against another, it is not enough just to tell the Lord that we have sinned we are to go to the one we have wronged and make it right with them also.
V.12-31 We often find in the Bible, the picture of husband and wife, to remind us of the Love and relationship of the Lord to His people Israel, or to us His heavenly Bride (the church). What a sad and terrible thing if the people of the Lord should turn away from Him and make friends with those who are really enemies of our Lord. In this test, the water is used to remind us of the Word of God, and the “dust” is used to remind us of death, or of self-judgment. Let the Word of God search us all through. Notice that God made the decision.