1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
2 This 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:
3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:
4 And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:
5 And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:
6 And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.
7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.
8 And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.
9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.
10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.
11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.
12 He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.
14 This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.
16 And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
17 And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:
18 And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:
19 And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.
21 And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.
22 And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.
View All Numbers Chapter 19 Comments...
GiGi's Numbers Chapter 19 comment on 6/03/2023, 10:18pm...
NUMBERS CHAPTER 19
Continued...
The account goes on to say that anyone who refuses to be sprinkled according to this ritual remains unclean and cannot participate in religious life of the congregation. They are cut off from the people.
Perhaps this emphasis on following the way God directed to be cleansed has a few purposes: 1) for people to recognize the depth of their sinfulness that will always result in death 2) that each person needs to be cleansed from sin that comes from our sinful nature 3) that God has prescribed on way to be cleansed from touching a dead body-there is no other way for the OT Israelites 4) For us, this rite reminds us that there is only one way for us to be cleansed of our sin-not by this rite (it is a foreshadowing)but by the sacrifice of Jesus and for us dying and rising with Him to become holy, pure, and reborn spiritually.
GiGi's Numbers Chapter 19 comment on 6/03/2023, 10:11pm...
NUMBERS CHAPTER 19
This chapter gives God's explanation and institution of the rite of the red heifer for purification from sins.
The heifer blood of the heifer is to be sprinkled before the doorway of the tent of meeting seven times by the priest, although the priest does not slay it, nor burn it, nor collect the ashes, He is to observe this part of the preparation of the ashes for purification.
Next the whole carcass is burned completely to ashes outside of the camp. Cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet (wool) is to be thrown on the fire to be burned with the heifer. The ashes are to be collected and stored in some type of vessel to be used with running water and hyssop in the cleansing process.
After all of this is done, the priest and the one(s) who did the work are to wash themselves in water and also their clothing. They will be unclean until the evening begins.
Matthew Henry speaks of the heifer rite being a foreshadowing of the complete giving of our Lord as a sacrifice unto death for the cleansing and remission of our sins. He says that the running water may refer to the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit at conversion. I think these are fair assessments by Mr. Henry.
Whenever someone touches a dead human body or human bones or any affects touching the body, the person is considered unclean for seven days. He is to go to the priest on days 3 and seven to receive upon himself the cleansing water mixed with ashes and sprinkled upon him with a branch of hyssop. Also, all of the belongings and things inside the tent and the tent itself of the one who has died must be sprinkled with this red heifer water for cleansing from death.
Matthew Henry also mentioned that the institution of this rite specifically for contact with a dead person demonstrates that death is a result and punishment of sin. It is directly linked with sin, since sin brings death to every person that every lived.
See part 2
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