Numbers 19:1-22 NKJV 19 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the [a]ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without [b]blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come. 3 You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; 4 and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. 5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. 7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening. 8 And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. 9 Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of [c]purification; it is for purifying from sin. 10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.
11 ‘He who touches the dead [d]body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. 12 He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. 13 Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him.
14 ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days; 15 and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. 16 Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
17 ‘And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and [e]running water shall be put on them in a vessel. 18 A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave. 19 The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean.
20 ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. 21 It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening. 22 Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ”
God instructs Moses to have a priest (Eleazar) kill a perfectly red — unblemished — heifer outside the camp. The priest is then to sprinkle the heifer’s blood seven times towards the Tabernacle, then burn the animal along with cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet yarn. A clean person is to gather the ashes of the heifer and store them in a clean place outside the camp.
These ashes were then used to create what was known as a “water of separation” or “water for impurity” to purify any who came into contact with a dead body or other sources of ritual uncleanness. The person who is unclean must be sprinkled with the water of separation on the third and seventh days and then wash their clothes and bathe in water to be cleansed.
This chapter, clearly, emphasizes the importance of maintaining ritual purity in the eyes of God and highlights the serious nature of ceremonial uncleanness. Some scholars interpret the red heifer and its ritual as a well-focused foreshadowing. An example of such an interpretation comes from Bede (an early Church Monk and Scholar from the 8th century), who states:
“Now [Moses] declares that the ashes of the victims (which ought to be taken as a great mystery) are “the sprinkled ashes of a red heifer,” which (as the apostle also bears witness) sanctified “those who have been defile, so that their flesh is made clean.” (Heb. 9) He also understands that the sacrament of the Lord’s passion, which saves us by purifying us forever, is prefigured in these ashes. Thus, the burning of a red heifer designates the actual time and event of Christ’s passion, and the burnt ashes which were kept for the cleansing of those who were unclean suggest the mystery of that same passion which has already been completed, by which we are daily purged from our sins.” (Ancient Christian Commentary, pg. 333, IV) Such a rite of purification can also foreshadow the cleansing power of Holy Baptism as well. Let us pray: O Lord, thank You for the sending of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in whom we have forgiveness of sins. Amen.