The Fourth Book of Moses, called Numbers
Numbers 19
Chapter XIX · Vol. I, pp. 445–447
1 The water of separation made of the ashes of a red heifer. 11 The law for the use of it in purification of the unclean.
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 a red heifer1 withoutb spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which c never came yoke:
a Ga. 4.4. Is. 53.4-6. Re. 1.5. He. 9.13, 14.
1 'Red' is the emblem of sin, Is. 1.18. For a heifer of that colour, without any spot or blemish, and as yet unyoked, the people are required to search. The difficulty of the discovery naturally leading them to inquire, Why is this appointed? (comp. Ex. 12.26, 27), and thence to self-examination, acknowledgment of guilt, and refuge in atonement. With this ordinance, which could extend but to 'the purifying of the flesh,' Paul beautifully contrasts the death of Christ, 'who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God,' and 'cleanses the conscience from dead works,' He. 9.13, 14.—C.
b Ex. 12.5. Le. 22.20-25. Lu. 1.35. He. 7.26. 1 Pe. 1.19; 2.22.
3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her d forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:
d Le. 13.45, 46; 24.14. ch. 5.2; 15.36. He. 13.11-13.
4 And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and e sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:
5 And one shall f 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 g cedar-wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.
7 Then h 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.2
h Ex. 19.10. Le. 16.26, 28; 11.25, 40; 14.8, 9, 47; 15.5, 8, 11, 22; 16.26, 28. ver. 8, 10, 21.
A.M. 2533. B.C. 1471.
2 The heifer was not brought to Aaron the high-priest, but to Eleazar his son, for the high-priest must not render himself unclean, Le. 21.10-12. In this distinction Aaron was the emblem of our High-priest Jesus; while Eleazar represents those who, like Paul, acknowledging themselves to be 'chief of sinners,' 1 Ti. 1.15, yet having, like him, 'obtained mercy,' 1 Ti. 1.13, are commissioned to lead fellow-sinners to the 'blood of sprinkling, and the 'washing of regeneration,' Tit. 3.5.—C.
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 i man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and k 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:3 it is a purification for sin.4
i ver. 18. He. 7.26. 2 Co. 5.21. 1 Pe. 3.18; 2.22.
k ver. 17. He. 9.13, 14.
3 Literally, 'water of impurity.' Because it cleansed those that were impure it was considered as itself contracting impurity. All the great sacrifices which were offered for sin, though they purified those for whom they were made, became themselves impure. The sins of those that offered them were laid upon them. In all this they were typical of him who was made sin for us, though he knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God by him.—I.
4 So Joseph of Arimathea, who was clean or innocent of any part in the death of our Lord, Lu. 23.51, a 'good and a just man,' because he lived by faith in the Son of God, Ro. 1.17. took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in the sepulchre.—C.
10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be l unto the children of Israel. and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.
l Ex. 12.49. Le. 24.22; 19.34. ch. 15.15,16,29. 1 Jn. 2.1,2. Ro. 3.29,30. Col. 3.11.
11 He that m toucheth the dead body of any man5 shall be unclean seven days.6
m Le. 11.24; 21.1. ch. 5.2; 31.19. La. 4.14. Hag. 2.13. 2 Co. 6.17. Ep. 5.11; 2.1,5.
5 Heb. soul of man.
6 Whilst some, by the necessity of removal, and others by the impulse of affection, are compelled to touch the dead, it should never be forgotten that death entered by sin, Ro. 5.12, and that the very touch of sin pollutes in the sight of a holy God. Col. 2.21.—C.
12 He shall n 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.
n Ac. 15.9. Phi. 3.9, 10. Ro. 4.25.
13 Whosoever o 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; p All that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days:
p Ro. 8.20. Is. 24.5. 1 Co. 15.33. Pr. 9.6; 13.20.
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 q for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes7 of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running8 water9 shall be put thereto in a vessel;
q He. 9.13,14. 1 Co. 6.10,11. 1 Pe. 1.18,19. Tit. 2.14.
7 Heb. dust.
8 Heb. living water shall be given.
9 Water is generally employed as an emblem of the Spirit, Eze. 36.25; running or living water adds a new and expressive feature to the resemblance.—C.
18 And r 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 s 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.
s ch. 31.19,20. Re. 1.5,6. Ep. 5.25-27. Jude 23. 2 Co. 7.1. 1 Jn. 3.2,3.
20 But t 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 u he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.
u Le. 16.26, 28; 11.25,40; 14.8,9; 15.5. ver. 7-10.
Notes
Reflections.—Behold how polluted are men, dead in trespasses and sins—much more abominable than the beasts that perish! To carnal reasoning, some of God's ordinances appear absurd. How strange is it to make ashes, mingled with water, the mean of purification from the deepest defilement! But it is infinitely dangerous to contemn the least of his institutions. These ceremonies are indeed insufficient to take away sin; for the most remarkable of them for atonement or purification spread the defilement! But the meaning here is concerning Christ and his church. Being apprehended by the chief priests and elders of Israel, slain without the camp, burned in the furnace of his Father's love; and his blood, his life, offered to God for the completion of his justice: the virtue of his death, connected with the clean water, the pure influences of his Spirit, doth, in all generations, purge his people's consciences, and all their concerns, from dead works to serve the living God. Let it then be the care of my soul to begin, continue, and end my life, with a believing application thereof. It is death, it is despair, if I neglect it. Having fellowship with him in his resurrection, by justification and regeneration, I shall, in due time, enter on his eternal Sabbath, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.