During my expatriation to the Republic of Singapore, I took advantage of many of the Christian activities that are so abundant on the island. Christianity (especially the "charismania" I’ve adopted over the years) is a relatively new concept for this predominantly Chinese nation, although there was a great hunger and thirst for ministry.
Despite the fact that American traditionalism (exported by the major denominations on the island) was poisoning many of the Singaporean converts, there was a "Second Chapter of Acts-like" freshness about the worship there. The Holy Spirit was moving in many of these congregations with greater freedom than I have witnessed in any American church.
The most inspiring event was a seminar on Prophetic Gifts conducted by Dr. Gary Gregor of Los Angeles, California. My initial meeting with Gary was unplanned and quite a pleasant surprise. My dear brother Francis Ng (whom I had met during an Assemblies of God "Campmeeting" in Malaysia) was starting a fellowship group/church known as the "Prayer Tabernacle." I was anxious to pitch in with any assistance I might offer.
During one of Francis’ Sunday morning services at the Novotel on Bukit Timah Road, a gregarious "ugly American" entered with an acoustic guitar. Up until that moment, I had grown used to being the only "Ugly American" in the house. As Clint Eastwood would say, meeting Dr. Gregor made my day. His preaching style was intense. Clear, and to the point. I was so impressed by this former Rock-&-Roller (and part-time bodybuilder) that I signed up for a three-month class on Prophetic Gifts that he was conducting at the Bible House on Armenian Street (right behind the American Embassy). It was during that class that the inspiration for this booklet came about.
During one of the sessions, Gary made mention of "The Ashes of the Red Heifer." It was a brief, almost casual reference that many in the class might have missed. However, I was intrigued. But Gary was not one to spill the beans. If anyone really wanted to know what he was talking about, we had to look it up for ourselves.
And, with that challenge, the foundation for this study was laid. Armed with Larry Pierce’s On-Line Bible software and nearly a ton of reference books, I began what turned out to be an illuminating study. I hope that, as you follow this text, you too will be inspired by the Ashes of the Red Heifer.
Under the Mosaic Law, a number of practices were proscribed to the Children of Israel. These rituals generally dealt with an individual’s need to be right before a Holy God. One specific ritual, involving the ashes of a red heifer, provided cleansing from defilement involving a corpse.
God gave strict instructions to His people regarding contact with dead bodies. Apparently, the heathen nations were (to some degree) practicing necromancy and similar abominations. For individuals such as the Nazarites (which included Samson), contact with the dead was forbidden under any circumstance. For the average Israelite, however, provisions were made for cleansing after having come into contact with the dead.
From a purely physical point of view, the ritual cleansings proscribed in the Law ensured the health and welfare of God’s chosen people. Although there was no knowledge of germs, viruses or microbes, disease could be easily spread by dead bodies. Interestingly, the plagues which ravaged Europe were caused (at least in part) by a sanitation standard which was at least opposite that of what had been practiced thousands of years earlier in Israel.
From a purely spiritual point of view, these ritual cleansings were "sneak previews" of what was to come through the Messiah (Christ Jesus, our Lord). Those of us who were dead in our sins and trespasses received cleansing through Christ (see Colossians 2:13), Who is the living Word of God (compare John 15:3 and John 1:1).
What Christ provided was greater than what could be provided by an animal sacrifice. When God sent His Son, He became the ultimate sacrifice for us.
Our study of the Ashes of the Red Heifer begins in the Book of Numbers, chapter 19. In this passage, we see the ordinance regarding the red heifer which, in the Hebrew, is ‘adom parah {pronounced: aw-dome’ paw-raw’}.
The children of Israel were to use the red heifer as a sacrifice for sin. A close inspection of this scripture reveals a foreshadowing of Jesus and His sacrificial death for the sins of the world.
Numbers 19:1-2
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.As we can see from the above scripture, the red heifer had to be perfect. In his commentary on The Pentateuch, Rashi stated that the heifer "should be faultless in redness, so that if there were upon it two black hairs, it was disqualified (Parah, Chap. 2)."
It is notable that the heifer was to have a perfectly red hide, and never had been used for plowing a field. Red could symbolize blood... representing the blood of Jesus that was shed for the sins of mankind.
Hebrews 9:22 (Amp.)
22
[In fact] under the Law almost everything is purified by means of blood, and without the shedding of blood there is neither release from sin and its guilt nor the remission of the due and merited punishment for sins.Alternatively, red could represent mankind. The Hebrew word for "red" is very close/similar to Adam’s name... providing a link to man or mankind.
Regardless of what the red color stood for, it is more important to consider that the heifer had to be perfect, and should exist for only one purpose. Jesus lived a perfect life, and no one needed to remind Him of His purpose. Even when satan tried to dissuade Him (see Mark 8:31-33), Jesus would not be shaken.
After meeting the qualifications for selection, the red heifer was taken into a ritual ceremony that culminated in its death. As we continue through Numbers chapter 19, we will continue to see parallels between the sacrifice of the red heifer and the sacrifice of our Messiah.
Numbers 19:3
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:As Jesus was crucified outside of the city (John 19:16-17), so the heifer was taken out of the camp. The high priest did not perform the actual slaying, however. This was done by a layman who, according to Rashi’s commentary, slew the heifer while Eleazar looked on. This seems to symbolize how God the Father looked on as Jesus died on the cross.
Numbers 19:4
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:
Eleazar was to sprinkle the blood seven times (the number of completion). This reminds me of how Jesus cried out, "It is finished."
Rashi commented that as the blood was sprinkled toward the front of the tent of meeting, "He {Eleazar} stood to the east of Jerusalem, and looked intently upon the door of the Temple at the time of the sprinkling of the blood (Siphre; Zeb. 105)." This reminds me of how, after the price had been paid at Calvary, the veil in the temple was rent in twain.
Numbers 19:5-6
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.
The heifer was burned in its entirety. Skin, meat, blood... even the contents of its intestines. Nothing would escape the consuming fire with which the heifer was to be burned.
It is interesting that the Lord commands that the heifer be burned with cedar-wood, hyssop and scarlet. What is it that makes these elements so unique?
Cedar wood (‘erez in the Hebrew) was used in purifications. The king of Israel dwelt in a house of cedar wood (2nd Samuel 7:2) and Solomon used cedar wood in building the temple (1st Kings 6:9).
Hyssop was also used for cleansing (see Psalm 51:7). It was used by the children of Israel to place the blood of the Lamb onto the lintel and door posts of their homes (forming the sign of a cross) to avert the death angel. Also, hyssop was used to serve vinegar to Jesus as he hung on the cross (John 19:29).
Scarlet was a color worn by the wealthy (see Lamentations 4:5) and those in positions of authority (see Daniel 5:29). Isaiah (in 1:18) uses this color to describe sin. In Matthew 27:28, Jesus was made to wear a robe of scarlet.
One interesting finding is that the Hebrew words shaniy {shaw-nee’}, towla` {to-law’} and (fem) towle`ah {to-lay-aw’} or towla`ath {to-lah’-ath}; or tola`ath {to-lah’-ath} describe an insect from which scarlet color was extracted for dying fabric. The Greek word kokkinos {kok’-kee-nos} also refers to this same insect.
In that regard, take note of the following quote from page 73 of Henry Morris’ book, "Biblical Basis for Modern Science:"
"When the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained her body and the surrounding wood. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms, the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted. What a picture this gives of Christ, dying on the tree, shedding His precious blood that He might "bring many sons unto glory" (Heb. 2:10)! He died for us, that we might live through Him! Ps. 22:6 describes such a worm and gives us this picture of Christ. (cf. Isa 1:18)"
Numbers 19:7-8
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.
Washing with water was an important part of most Old Testament rituals. From a practical perspective, God used these rituals to prevent diseases and other problems caused by unsanitary conditions. From a purely spiritual perspective, it represents the state of holiness (clean from the stain of sin) which is required to enter into God’s presence. In the current dispensation, we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus (see Hebrews 4:16).
Numbers 19:9-10
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.After the heifer was burned, the ashes were utilized (by someone who is clean/holy) for purification from sin.
This study on the ashes of the red heifer is based upon an Old Testament scripture ... covering practices which (to a large degree) are specific to that era. Before you go out and buy a cow to slaughter in your backyard, keep in mind that it is no longer necessary to sacrifice animals for atonement. Those sacrifices were merely harbingers of a greater sacrifice ... the ultimate sacrifice. That sacrifice, of course, is the blood of Jesus (the Anointed One of God) upon the cross at Calvary.
Hebrews 9:12-14
12
nor by blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, has entered in once for all into the [holy of] holies, having found an eternal redemption.13
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and a heifer’s ashes sprinkling the defiled, sanctifies for the purity of the flesh,14
how much rather shall the blood of the Christ, who by the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God, purify your conscience from dead works to worship [the] living God?Again, we see how the ashes of the heifer (mixed with "living water") brought purification and cleansing. This symbol seems a foreshadowing of what Jesus did for us on the cross. The conclusion that we could draw from this is that we see an ordinance from the Lord that served as a harbinger of the propitiation that Christ would provide through his sacrificial death at Calvary.
Numbers 19:17
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:The ashes {Hebrew word reads "dust"} of the heifer are seen here in the same context, as purification for sin.
The term "running water" in verse 17 above has an interesting reading in the Hebrew, "living waters shall be given." God refers to Himself in Jeremiah 2:13 as the fountain of living waters.
Jesus told the woman in John 4:10 that He came to give living water that would permanently satisfy her (spiritual) thirst and spring up into everlasting life. John 7:39 reveals that the living water is, in fact, the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 9:12-14
12
Nor by blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, has entered in once for all into the [holy of] holies, having found an eternal redemption.13
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and a heifer’s ashes sprinkling the defiled, sanctifies for the purity of the flesh,14
how much rather shall the blood of the Christ, who by the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God, purify your conscience from dead works to worship [the] living God?
The red heifer served as a harbinger of the "new and better thing" that God did through Christ Jesus and his sacrificial death as the propitiation for our sins.
The heifer could purify the flesh (which is temporal), but Jesus can purify our eternal souls.
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