April 04, 2024 | Be God's Light
Ceremonial Cleansing
Scripture: Numbers 19(NIV)
1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke. 3 Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. 5 While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines. 6 The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer. 7 After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. 8 The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.
9 “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin. 10 The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening. This will be a lasting ordinance both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.
11 “Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days. 12 They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean. 13 If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the Lord’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.
14 “This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, 15 and every open container without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.
16 “Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.
17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them. 18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death. 19 The man who is clean is to sprinkle those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them. Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean. 20 But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean. 21 This is a lasting ordinance for them.
“The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening. 22 Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”
Devotional
Here in the Old Testament, this chapter is filled with interesting questions that come up. Why was a red heifer used for this sacrifice? How do ashes of the burned heifer make the person collecting them unclean, but when mixed with water make people ceremonially clean? How does all this work?
From New Testament times forward, we continue to ask those kind of questions often when it comes to faith. How does Jesus’ death on the cross save me from eternal death for my sins? How can the Spirit of God live in me, yet I can continue to sin? How is it that I am not saved by good works, but I am called to good works? How does all this work?
The passage in Hebrews 9:13-14 ties together these Old and New Testament concepts. “The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Faith is not a science formula, with clear proofs for each side of the equation. Faith is more about trusting God’s way and obeying God’s will.
How has God made you both outwardly and inwardly clean? Are there any areas where you still need the cleansing touch of the Lord? Are you trusting God’s way and obeying God’s will? What is God saying to you?
Poem
Ash
The heifer bawled
As it came to the place
Of sacrifice
The red of its blood
Staining the red of its coat
And all was burned
Not a speck of life
Or hide Or bone
Or even dung
Remained
Only silent
Ash
As I come, crying, LORD,
To the place
Of sacrifice
Pour your blood
Over my stained hide
And burn away all of me
So not a speck of my old life
Or mask
Or pride
Or even the waste
Remains
Only silent
Awe
