The Remedy for Death
Introduction:
Life and death are the two extremes of human existence. Holiness, God, and life are associated together as are uncleanness, sin, and death. During the time of the Law of Moses, a very unique ordinance was given as a remedy for contamination with the dead. This cleansing revolved around the ashes of a red heifer and was different from other sacrifices in the Mosaical system. Apparently God gave this rite toward the start of the period of wilderness wanderings. Death, except for limited cases, had been suspended prior to this time. But now death returned. With its return, came the possibility of contamination with the dead.
Text: Numbers 19:1-22
Body:
I.The Choice of Victim (Verses 1-2)
- “Red” was most likely signifying blood. (Isaiah 1-18)
- Note what John says about Christ in Revelation 19:13. “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.” NKJV
- “Heifer” was possibly because the female is the bearer of life. (Romans 5:21)
- “No defect or blemish” would be a very valuable and rare sacrifice. (II Corinthians 5:21) (I Peter 2:21-22) (Hebrews 7:26)
- “No yoke” – Jesus’ sacrifice was a voluntary one. (John 10:18)“No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” NKJV
II.The Manner of Sacrifice (Verses 3-10)
- “Killed outside the camp” This was the only animal killed outside the camp. It was without spot and yet without the camp. It seems strange. Holy, yet treated as unclean, just as Christ was treated. (Hebrews 13:11-13) He was despised and rejected of men. (Isaiah 53:3)
- The priest dipped his finger in its blood and sprinkled it seven times towards the front of the tabernacle. The entire heifer was burned, even its blood. In all other offerings, the blood was not burned. The priest added cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet yarn to the fire. Cedar was resistant to disease and rot so it represented incorruption. Hyssop was used for cleansing or purging. (Psalm 51:1-2, 7) Scarlet yarn was used in the veil and curtains of the tabernacle as well as in the robes of the high priest. It signified both blood and royalty.
- The ash produced from the burning of the heifer, the cedar, the hyssop, and scarlet yarn were gathered up and placed in water to be used for the water of purification or separation.
III.The Cleansing Procedure (Verses 11-22)
- Any person touching a dead body was unclean for seven days. This meant they were barred from the regular fellowship and worship of God until they were made clean. A lesson to be learned here is that uncleanness makes one unfit for the company of God and His people. (I Corinthians 5:11-13) Sin defiles! The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)
- The procedure for cleansing involved a clean person taking hyssop, dipping it in the mixture of ashes and fresh water, and sprinkling it on the unclean on the third day and seventh day. Note: (Hebrews 9:12-14)“Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience form dead works to serve the living God?”(Hebrews 10:22) “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” NKJV Jesus’ blood purifies the sinner.
- The uncleanness of the person could not correct itself. He had to submit to this ordinance – water of purification. If he did not, he was “cut off” from the assembly. It is God who sets the requirements for approaching Him. If a man is rendered unfit for approach to God, only God himself is able to provide the cleansing he needs.
Conclusion: Sin is contagious. It pollutes and defiles. One must come continually to God in repentance to have the blood of Christ purify him. (I John 1:7-10)“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” NKJV
Bobby Stafford July 19, 2015