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
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