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THEME - The Red Heifer
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It
is our desire to make these devotionals readily available to anyone
who can use them. We pray that as you daily read and meditate on God's
Word, you will be able to use these to help you spiritually grow in
your daily walk with the Lord
LBC devotionals
are written by the following men:
- DW - Senior Pastor, Dan Wilkenson
- RJS - Retired Pastor, Dr. Bob Shifflett
May God richly bless you this day!
Sunday, January 1st
Ashes for Beauty
Numbers 19
For those who are not familiar with the Red Heifer, we are spending this month with this subject and trusting to bring out some great truths regarding this Jewish cleansing that was instituted by Moses during the forty year wanderings in the Wilderness.
Several years ago, there was a great stir
among the Orthodox Jews that they had located a red heifer that could be used
for the cleansing of the future Temple to be built in Jerusalem. Worldwide
press coverage greeted the arrival of a red calf in
The ritual of purification using the
ashes of the Red Heifer is one of the least understood of Hashem's
commandments. Though these ashes were necessary to cleanse anyone entering the
The Hebrew text reveals why the practice
is so shrouded in mystery. More than a commandment, this is an ordinance that
is to be followed without question or understanding. To be continued
tomorrow. RJS
Ashes for Beauty
Number 19
The
Jewish Sages offer a hint to this puzzle by linking the Red Heifer with the sin
of the Golden Calf. The idol was burned and pulverized. This powder was poured
into water and the Israelites were forced to drink it. Also of note are the
continual references to burning the red cow, since the Golden Calf was not
sacrificed, but burned. It is the powdered form of the Red Heifer, the ashes,
that is mixed with water to purify the children of
There may be another intriguing clue in the apocryphal Book of Enoch. In chapter 84, section 17, he tells his son Methuselah of a dream. Its prophetic imagery portrays the key figures of biblical history as animals: "I saw a vision in my bed; and behold, a cow sprung forth from the earth; and this cow was white. Afterwards a female heifer sprung forth; and with it another heifer: one of them was black, and one was red. The black heifer then struck the red one, and pursued it over the earth. From that period, I could see nothing more of the red heifer." In Enoch's dream the black cow symbolizes Cain and the red cow represents Abel. After the elder slays the younger, we read in Genesis how the blood of Abel cried out from the ground. Cain had also buried the body of his brother.
Not only does the Torah detail the first homicide in history, but it also records the first ritual defilement. And that's the initial purpose of the purification process: to cleanse one after coming in contact with the dead. Could this first murder of an innocent be the origin of a perplexing but sacred right?
We are introduced to the ordinance of the Red Heifer halfway through the Book of Numbers, in chapter 19. According to Jewish tradition it was actually instituted on the second day of the first month (now called Nissan), in the second year of the Exodus (2449 from Adam). The previous day the first services of the newly completed Tabernacle. The following day, Moses was instructed to have a perfect red cow led outside the camp by Eleazar. To be continued. RJS
Ashes for Beauty - the Red Heifer
Numbers 19
There it was to be slaughtered. The animal was then burned with a mixture of cedar, hyssop and scarlet coloring. A minute amount of the finely sifted ash was thrown into water. It could be a vessel or even a large body of water. Purification occurred only if the surface of the
water was disturbed upon contact with the ashes.
In the Mishnah, we learn that there have been a total of nine perfectly red cows burned. The first was under the supervision of Moses. The second was prepared by Ezra; two by Shimon Ha Tzaddik; Yochanan, the High Priest also sacrificed two; Eliehoenai, the son of Ha-Kof was the seventh. Hanamel, the Egyptian burned the eighth. The ninth Red Cow was sacrificed by Ishmael, son of Piabi. The tenth Red Heifer will
be burned in the time of Mashiach (Messiah).
In that same tract, Mishnah 5, we discover a vital condition of any
purification preparations in the future. The ashes of any subsequent Red Heifer
must be mingled with those of the previous nine. In the days of the First and
Vendyl Jones has struggled in the heat of the desert to uncover the
K'lal, according to the Copper Scroll, this vessel holds the precious ashes
from Moses� Red Cow. Professor Jones believes that it is vital
for the restoration of the
The Red Heifer
Excerpted from Matthew Henry�s
Commentary on Numbers 19
Christ died, not only like the bulls and goats at the altar, but like the heifer without the camp. There was a great deal of care employed in the choice of the heifer that was to be burnt, much more than in the choice of any other offering.
It
must not only be without blemish, typifying the spotless purity and sinless
perfection of the Lord Jesus. It must be a red heifer, because of the rarity of
the color, that it might be the more remarkable: the Jews say, "If but two
hairs were black or white, it was unlawful.�� Christ, as man, was the Son of Adam, (Adam means
red), and we find Christ red in his apparel, red with his own blood, and red
with the blood of his enemies. And it must be one on which never came yoke,
which was not insisted on in other sacrifices. This heifer was to be provided
at the expense of the congregation, because they were all to have a joint
interest in it; and so all believers have in Christ (A type of the church).
The chief priests of that time had the principal hand in the death of Christ.
The heifer was to be slain without the camp, as an impure thing, which bespeaks
the insufficiency of the methods prescribed by the ceremonial law to take away
sin. To answer this type, our Lord Jesus, being made sin and a curse for us,
suffered without the gate, Heb. 13:12.
Eleazar was to sprinkle the blood directly before the door of the tabernacle, and looking steadfastly towards it, v. 4. This made it in some sort an expiation; for the sprinkling of the blood before the Lord was the chief solemnity in all the sacrifices of atonement. This signified the satisfaction that was made to God by the death of Christ, our great high priest, who by the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot unto God; directly before the sanctuary, when he said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. It also signifies how necessary it was to the purifying of our hearts that satisfaction should be made to divine justice. This sprinkling of the blood put virtue into the ashes. [We believe that the above and following regarding the Red Heifer is a type of cleansing as seen in the total sacrifice of Christ for His church]. RJS
The Red Heifer, Continued from Matt. Henry
The
heifer was to be wholly burnt, v. 5. This typified the extreme sufferings of
our Lord Jesus, both in soul and body, as a sacrifice made by fire. The priest
was to cast it into the fire, while it was burning, cedar wood, hyssop, and
scarlet, which were used in the cleansing of lepers (Lev. 14:6, 7), that the
ashes of these might be mingled with the ashes of the heifer, because they were
designed for purification. [One of the great miracles of Christ, was the
cleansing of the Leper in that Jesus reached out and touched this leprous man
and was not contaminated by the leprosy, rather the leper was cleansed from his
deadly disease].
The ashes of the heifer (separated as well as they could from the ashes of the
wood wherewith it was burnt) were to be carefully gathered up by the hand of a
clean person. The Jews say that this one served till the captivity, nearly 1000
years, and that there was never another heifer burnt till Ezra�s time. These
ashes are said to be laid up as a purification for sin, because though they
were intended to purify only from ceremonial uncleanness, yet they were a type
of that purification for sin which our Lord Jesus made by his death. Now
observe (1.) That the water of purification was made so by the ashes of a
heifer, whose blood was sprinkled before the sanctuary; so that which cleanses
our consciences is the abiding virtue of the death of Christ; it is His blood
that cleanses from all sin, 1 Jn. 1:7. (2.) These ashes were sufficient for
all; there needed not to be a fresh heifer slain for every person or family
this one was enough for all, even for the strangers that sojourned among them
(v. 10); so there is virtue enough in the blood of Christ for all that repent
and believe the Gospel, for every Israelite, and not for their sins only, but
for the sins of the whole world, 1 Jn. 2:2. (3.) That these ashes were capable
of being preserved without waste for many ages. No bodily substance is so
incorruptible as ashes are, they a very fit emblem of the everlasting sacrifice
of Christ. He is able to cleanse, to the uttermost, both of person and times.
(4.) These ashes were laid up as a treasure, for the constant purification of
believer. Matthew Henry
The Red Heifer - Continued from Matt. Henry
All
those who were employed in the preparing of the ashes were made ceremonially
unclean by even Eleazar himself, though he did but sprinkle the blood, v. 7. He
that burned the heifer was unclean (v. 8), and he that gathered up the ashes
(v. 10). So all that had a hand in putting Christ to death contracted guilt by
it: his betrayer, his prosecutors, his judge, his executioner, all did what
they did with wicked hands, though it was by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God (Acts
Directions
are here given concerning the use and application of the ashes which were prepared
for purification. They were laid up and in one place to keep them in all
The taking care of the dead, to see them decently buried, is not only necessary, but a very good office, and an act of kindness, both to the honor of the dead and the comfort of the living, and yet uncleanness was contracted by it, which intimates that the pollutions of sin mix with and cleave to our best services. There is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not. This pollution was contracted by what was done privately in their own houses, which that God sees what is done in secret, and nothing is concealed from divine Majesty. But why did the law make a dead such a defiling thing? (1.) Because death is the wages of sin, entered into the world by it, and reigns by the power of it. RJS
The Red Heifer, Continued from Matthew Henry
Death to mankind is another thing from what it is to other creatures: it is a curse, it is the execution of the law, and therefore the defilement of death signifies the defilement of sin. Because the law could not conquer death, nor abolish it and alter the property of it, as the Gospel does by bringing life and immortality to light, and so introducing a better hope. Since our Redeemer was dead and buried, death is no more destroying to the Israel of God, and therefore dead bodies are no more defiling. Christ triumphed over death. O grave, where is thy victory? Where is thy pollution?
As
the ashes of the heifer signified the merit of Christ, so the running water
signified the power and grace of the blessed Spirit, who is compared to rivers
of living water; and it is by his operation that the righteousness of Christ is
applied to us for our cleansing. Hence, we are said to be washed, that is,
sanctified and justified, not only in the name of the Lord Jesus, but by the
Spirit of our God, 1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Pt. 1:2.
David prays, purge me with hyssop. Faith is the bunch of hyssop wherewith the
conscience is sprinkled and the heart purified. In allusion to the application
of water of separation by sprinkling, the blood of Christ is said to be the
blood of sprinkling (Heb.
Even he that sprinkled the water of separation, or touched it, or touched the unclean person, must be unclean till the evening, that is, must not come near the sanctuary on that day, v. 21, 22. Thus, God would show them their imperfection, and their insufficiency to purify the conscience, that they might look for the Messiah, who in the fullness of time should by the eternal Spirit offer himself without spot unto God, and so purge our consciences from dead works (that is, from sin, which defiles like a dead body, and is therefore called a body of death), that we may have liberty of access to the sanctuary, to serve the living God with living sacrifices. RJS
Eleazar an Alternate High Priest
Numbers 16 and 19
The 16th Chapter deals with the sins of Korah and his followers. It also introduces to us an alternate High Priest for the cleansing of the people. This man was a son of Aaron, the High Priest, but in this chapter and the 19th Chapter Eleazar was used of the Lord and Moses to officiate in a cleansing of the people lest they die of a plague after the untimely deaths of the rebels as recorded in Chapter 16. It would be worth your time to read this 16th chapter and the 19th have a better understanding of this man and how God used him. [We must refer back to the event when two of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, brought strange fire before the Lord and were devoured by fire from the Lord, Lev. 10:1-2. This left two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar to assist in serving the Lord with Aaron. Eleazar was the third son and in line for the High Priest and at the death of Aaron, Eleazar became the High Priest]. The High Priest could not contaminate himself with a dead body or anything that would cause him to become unclean. This was why Eleazar was chosen, while Aaron was the High Priest, to prepare the Red Heifer for the cleansing of all that were contaminated by a dead body, or a grave, or bones of the dead.
In the New Covenant our Lord Jesus was the Prophet, Priest and
King and His Priesthood was after the order of Melchisedec For this
Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham
returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also
Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of
righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without
father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor
end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually, Hebrews
7:1-3. Melchisedec was a type of Christ as the King of Salem (
The Burning of the Red Heifer was Outside the Camp
Numbers 19:3-ff.
The killing and burning of the Red Heifer prefigures the death of
Christ in so many ways and we will try to cover some of them today. 1. Outside
the camp and Christ was crucified outside the city walls, or the camp. 2. All
the other sacrifices were preformed in the Tabernacle or
Cedar Wood, Hyssop, and Scarlet
Numbers 19:6 and Leviticus 14:4-7
Cedar is listed in the above Scriptures. The Levitical reference has to do with the cleansing of the leper. Leviticus 14:4-7 4Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: 5And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: 6As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: 7And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. Leprosy was cleansed by the using the same three ingredients; cedar wood, hyssop, scarlet and blood removed the curse of leprosy and restored the leper clean and he was able to enter into the camp and return to his family.
Hyssop as we know it today is not found in the
Scarlet (a crimson grub) this worm was used for making the red color to dye clothes. The word "worm" is found in Job 25:6 where man is called a worm and is contrasted with the son of man, none other than Christ, Psalms 22:6-18. Truly Christ is seen in the sacrifice of the Red Heifer. rjs
The Burning of the Red Heifer and
The Sufferings of Christ and the Church
Numbers 19
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not
greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute
you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also, John 15:20. The persecution of the Church began almost
as soon as the church was born. The first opposition is recorded in Acts 5 and
in Acts 8; Stephen suffered death as Saul, the future Apostle Paul, stood by
and watched the stoning of Stephen. Just like the Priest Eleazer stood by and
watched the killing of the Red Heifer. Both mankind and Satan have persecuted
the church from the beginning. Satan detests the true and faithful believers in
the church with an unquenchable passion. Some of my ancestors escaped
knees these days for Christian statesmen and leaders that may be able to turn
the tide of opposition towards Christian values and our children in the
schools. RJS
Free from the Yoke of the Law
Numbers 19:2 and Compare Deuteronomy 21:1-9
2This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath
commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a
red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke.
In Deuteronomy 21 we have an interesting parallel to Numbers 19 regarding a red
heifer. The requirements as regards place and victim are symbolic. 1 If one be
found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying
in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him. 2Then thy elders and thy
judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round
about him that is slain. 3And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the
slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not
been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke...6And all the elders
of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the
heifer that is beheaded in the valley: 7And they shall answer and say, Our
hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Be merciful, O
LORD, unto thy people
'Washing the hands, is reference to such
a subject as this, was a rite used to signify that the persons thus washing
were innocent of the crime in question. It was probably from the Jews that
Pilate learned this symbolical method of expressing his innocence before he
condemned Christ."
God's Mercy is Taught in the
Mixture of Ashes and Water
Numbers 19et al.
Mercy is a word that the
world does not understand. It is used sometimes to name a hospital i.e. "
1. In Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith
he loved us.
2. hi Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the
Holy Ghost.
3. Luke 1:72-73 tells us that God remembers His covenant with the Jews, To
perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he sware to our father Abraham.
4. To all mankind in Luke
5. Romans 15:9, And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is
written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing
unto thy name.
6. Hebrews 4:16, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we
may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
7. Galatians
Our Lord Touched the Dead and the Leper
and was not Contaminated
Luke
...Jesus
went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much
people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead
man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much
people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion
on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14And he came and touched the
bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto
thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered
him to his mother. And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, Luke
7:11-16 The ashes of the Red Heifer were
not needed to cleanse the Lord for He was clean. However, those who bore the
body to the grave and performed the ritual of burial were contaminated and they
needed the cleansing of the ashes of the Red Heifer and water which was applied
for their cleansing. They were still under the law. The law was not fulfilled
until Christ said, "It is finished." as he died on the cross. When he was come down from the mountain, great
multitudes followed him. 2And, behold, there came a leper and
worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 3And
Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And
immediately his leprosy was cleansed, Matt.
Sin Offering Compared with the Red Heifer Offering
Exodus 30:10 and Lev. 4:1-16
The sin offering differs from the trespass offering in that the trespass offering was an offering for one special offence or a transgression committed through ignorance. The sin offering symbolized a general redemption. The sin offering is the most important of all the sacrifices under the old covenant. The sin offering begins with the case of the high priest, provided he should sin through ignorance; for the law made men priests who had infirmities. His ignorance was before others the least excusable, yet he was to bring his offering. If he sinned according to the sin of the people, which supposes him in this matter to stand upon the level with other Israelites, and to have no benefit of his office. He must bring a bullock without blemish for a sin offering as valuable an offering as that for the whole congregation. This intimated the greatness of the guilt connected with the sin of a high priest. The hand of the high priest must be laid upon the head of the bullock with a penitent confession of the sin he has committed. No remission without confession; he that laid his hand on the head of the beast thereby owned that he deserved to die himself and that it was God's great mercy that he would be pleased to accept the offering of this animal to die for him. The Jewish writers themselves say that neither the sin offering nor the trespass offering made atonement, except for repentance and believing in their forgiveness. The bullock must be killed and a great deal of solemnity there must be in disposing of the blood; for it was the blood that made atonement, and without shedding of blood there was no remission, v. 5-7. Some of the blood was to be sprinkled seven times before the veil, with an eye towards the Mercy Seat. Some of it was to be put upon the horns of the golden altar, because at that altar the priest himself ministered and thus was signified the putting away of that pollution which from his sins did cleave to his services. It likewise serves to illustrate the influence which Christ's satisfaction has upon the Priest's, or we could say, the believer of today. Note, this offering differs greatly from the offing of the Red Heifer that we have been studying this month. We shall see more about the sin offering tomorrow and the Red Heifer's sacrifice. rjs
Sin Offering Compared with the Red Heifer Offering
Exodus 30:10 and Lev. 4:1-16
The blood of his sacrifice is
put upon the horns of the altar of incense and sprinkled before the Lord. When
this was done the remainder of the blood was poured at the foot of the brazen
altar. By this rite, the sinner acknowledged that he deserved to have his blood
poured out like water. It likewise signified the pouring out of the soul before
God in true repentance, and typified our Savior�s pouring out his soul unto death. The
fat of the innards was to be burnt upon the altar of burnt offering, v. 8-10.
By this, the intention of the offering and of the atonement made by it was
directed to the glory of God, who, having been dishonored by the sin, was thus
honored by the sacrifice. It signified the sharp sufferings of our Lord Jesus
when he was made sin (Who is, our sin offering for us, especially the sorrows
of his soul and his inward agonies). It likewise teaches us of the death of
Christ and we, too, are to crucify the flesh; the duty of repentance, which is the putting away of sin as a
detestable thing, which our soul hates. True penitents say to the Tempter,
"Get you hence Satan; what have we to do any
more with you?'' Oh the privilege of remission. When God pardons sin he
abolishes it, casts it behind his back. The iniquity of
The Red Heifer
Numbers 19
The principle that death and all that pertains to
it, as being the manifestation and results of sin are defilement, that lead to
the interruption of the living relationship between God and His people. It is
not introduced for the first time, nor is it at all peculiar to the Mosaic law.
(It was traditional among the Israelites from the earliest times, and it is
traceable in various forms among other nations, both ancient and modern). God
led Moses to adopt a new and significant sacrifice for the cleansing of all who
were defiled by the dead. This new ordinance was given after the plague which
happened (Numbers
The Red Heifer
Numbers 19
The
red heifer was expelled from the precincts of the camp; so was the Saviour cut
off in no small measure during His life from the fellowship of the chief
representatives of the theocracy, and put to death outside
THE LAW CONCERNING PURIFICATION FROM
THE UNCLEANNESS OF DEATH
In
order that God�s covenant relation might be kept alive during the
dying of the older generation (all who were 20 or over that left
Preparation of the Purifying Water
As
water is the ordinary means by which all kinds of uncleanness is removed, it
was also to be employed in the removal of the uncleanness of death. As this
uncleanness was the strongest of all religious defilements, fresh water alone
was not sufficient to remove it; and consequently, a certain kind of
sprinkling-water was appointed, which was strengthened by the ashes of a
sin-offering, and thus, formed into a holy alkali. The main point in the law
which follows, therefore, was the preparation of the ashes, and these had to be
obtained by the sacrifice of a red heifer. Numbers 19:2 The sons of
Eleazar the priest was to supervise the death,
but not touch the Red Heifer
NUMBERS 19:3-4
The sacrifice itself was to be superintended by Eleazar the priest, the eldest son of the high priest. The High Priest�s presumptive successor in office because Aaron, or the high priest, whose duty it was to present the sin-offerings for the congregation (Lev 4:16), could not, according to his official position, which required him to avoid all uncleanness of death (Lev 21:11-12), perform such an act as this. This sacrifice stood in the closest relation to death and the uncleanness of death, and for that reason had to be performed outside the camp. The subject, to �bring her forth� and �slay her,� is indefinite; since it was not the duty of the priest to slay the sacrificial animal, but of the one who offered or in the case before us of the congregation, which would appoint one of its own number for the purpose. All that the priest had to do was to sprinkle the blood before the Tabernacle. Eleazar was to sprinkle some of the blood seven times toward the front of the tabernacle (seven times, as in Lev 4:17). Through this sprinkling of the blood the slaying became a sacrifice, being brought thereby into relation to Jehovah and the sanctuary. While the life, which was sacrificed for the sin of the congregation, was given up to the Lord, and offered up in the only way in which a sacrifice prepared like this, outside the sanctuary, could possibly be offered. Numbers 19:5-6 After this, they were to burn the cow with the skin, flesh, blood, and dung, before his (Eleazar�s) eyes, and he was to throw cedar-wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool into the fire. The burning of the sacrificial animal outside the camp took place in the case of every sin-offering for the whole congregation. In the case before us, the whole of the sacrificial act had to be performed outside the camp, because the design of this sin-offering was not for the congregation that might thereby be received through the expiation of its sin into the fellowship of the God; only the unclean person who had preformed the sacrifice. God was present at the altar and in the sanctuary, but this was an antidote provided for the entire congregation, which had the infection of death. RJS
The Blood was Retained in this Sacrifice
Numbers19:5
In this sacrifice, the blood which was generally poured out at the foot of the altar was burned along with the rest, and the ashes to be obtained were impregnated with the substance thereof. In order to increase the strength of these ashes, which were already well fitted to serve as a powerful antidote to the corruption of death, as being the incorruptible remains of the sin offering which had not been destroyed by the fire, Cedar-wood was thrown into the fire as the symbol of the incorruptible continuance of life; and hyssop, as the symbol of purification from the corruption of death. The scarlet wool, a symbol of the deep red of which fore-shadowed the blood of Christ; the strongest of the strong and vital energy so that the ashes might be regarded �as purified and refined by the fire.� NUMBERS 19:7-9 The persons who took part in this sacrifice, that is the priest and the man who attended to the burning, and the clean man who gathered the ashes together, deposited them in a clean place for subsequent use became unclean until the evening in consequence. Not from the fact that they had officiated for unclean persons, and in a certain sense had participated in their uncleanness, but through the uncleanness of sin and death, which had passed over to the sin offering. Just as the man who led into the wilderness the goat which had been rendered unclean through the imposition of sin, became himself unclean in consequence of taking the goat into the wilderness (Lev 16:26). Even the sprinkling water prepared from the ashes defiled every one who touched it (v. 21), but when the ashes were regarded in relation to their appointment as the means of purification, they were to be treated as clean. Not only were they to be collected together by a clean man, but they were to be kept for future use in a clean place, just as the ashes of the sacrifices that were taken away from the altar were to be carried to a clean place outside the camp (Lev 6:4). These defilements like every other which only lasted until the evening, were to be removed by washing. The ashes were collected to serve the congregation for years to come. RJS
Ceremony of purification
Numbers 19:17-20
They were to take for the unclean person some of the dust of the burning of the cow, i.e., some of the ashes obtained by burning the cow, and put living, i.e., fresh water upon it in a vessel. A clean man was to take a bunch of hyssop (see Exodus 12:22), because of its inherent purifying power, and dip it in the water, on the third and seventh day after the defilement had taken place, and to sprinkle the tent, with the vessels and persons in it, as well as every one who had touched a corpse. Whether a person slain, or one who had died a natural death, or a grave; after which the persons were to wash their clothes and bathe, that they might be clean in the evening. The uncleanness in question is held up as the highest grade of uncleanness, by its duration being fixed at seven days, i.e., an entire week. So the appointment of a double purification with the sprinkling water shows the force of the uncleanness to be removed. In v. 20, the threat of punishment for the neglect of purification is repeated from v. 13, for the purpose of making it most emphatic.
Numbers 19:21-22, this also was to be an everlasting statute, that he who sprinkled the water of purification, or even touched it and he who was touched by a person defiled (by a corpse), and also the person who touched him, should be unclean until the evening a rule which also applied to other forms of uncleanness. No blemish - A fit type of Christ. Upon which never came yoke - Christ in himself was free from all the yoke or obligation of God�s command, until for our sakes he put himself under the law; or that Christ was not forced to undertake our burden and cross, but did voluntarily chose it. He was bound and held with no other cords but those of his own love. Eleazar was the second priest, and in some cases, the deputy of the high priest, not to Aaron, because this service made him unclean for a season, and consequently unfit for holy ministrations, whereas the high priest was, as far as he could be preserved from all sorts of defilement. It was done without the camp partly because it was reputed an unclean and accursed thing, being laden with the sins of all the people; to signify that Christ should suffer without the camp, in the place where malefactors suffered. RJS
The Mystery of the Red Heifer
Colossians 1:24-29
The Red Heifer provides an alternate path to cleansing relative to the sin offering and the fellowship offering. It comes on the heals of dead bodies in the place of worship. The responsibility of the High Priest was to guard the place of God�s special presence from defilement. At various times, these high priests had to defend the tabernacle with force of arms even from kings. We read about, King Uzziah trying to offer incense before the veil of the temple, and the high priest with the temple guard standing in his way with force of arms, I Chronicles 26:16-21. We read about the cooperation between the high priest, the rulers and the captain of the guard in dealing with these different jurisdictions during the usurpation to the throne of Queen Athaliah, I Kings 11:1-16.
When the clean place of the temple itself was defiled this could only be cleansed by the coming of a Red Heifer. Today Jews look for the coming of the Red Heifer. Indeed, there may well be a literal Red Heifer, but make no mistake, Jesus Christ and His church are the spiritual Red Heifer. As we have seen in our devotionals this month, the parallels are unmistakable. You could think of the tabernacle as a great fortress where fellowship with God and that which was spiritually clean was defended from all impurity. The same picture is not true of the church of Jesus Christ. The cleansing offered by the Red Heifer is powerful and unstoppable. Jesus said, (Matthew 16:18) � I will build my church, and the power of death will not be able to defeat it. The present church is clean through the Red Heifer and cannot be defiled. As such Jesus said, (Matthew 28:18-20) � �All power in heaven and on earth is given to me. 19 So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you, and I will be with you always, even until the end of this age.� This fulfills the promise that God gave Abraham that in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.� I wonder today, have you been made clean by the ashes of the Red Heifer. Jesus said, (John 6:37) � the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. Salvation and cleansing is available to all through the ashes of the Red Heifer. The Red Heifer unites both the old and the new covenant for they are one in Christ. It unites Jew and Gentile for they are one in Christ. Have you come to Him without the camp? DW