The Book Of NUMBERS
Numbers 21:8 "And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole:
and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live."
In this chapter, God revisits the topic of uncleanness due to contact with corpses. Because of the punishment for their disobedience in chapter 14, the Israelites would be burying many dead over the next four decades as they waited for all of the first generation to pass away before entering the promised land. Because of this, God graciously allows another way for someone to purify him/herself after coming into contact with a corpse. Leviticus 11 and 15 spell out the required rituals and sacrifices that must be done to cleanse one of uncleanness, but at the rate that the Israelites would be preparing and burying their loved ones over the next forty years those standard cleansing rituals and animals sacrifices would be very time consuming and costly for the people. Therefore, God creates a new addition to the laws of purity here in chapter 19.
Verses 1-10: Once again, the Lord speaks to Moses and Aaron, telling them to speak to the people. (v.1-2) This new commandment, like all the others before it, is directly from the mouth of God. We can also infer from verse 1 that this conversation takes place immediately following the one in the previous chapter since both Moses and Aaron are being addressed. For this new cleansing ritual, the Israelite is to bring a red heifer, perfect in appearance and health (Leviticus 22:20), and which has never been yoked, to Aaron’s son, Eleazar. (v.2) (Deuteronomy 21:3, 1 Samuel 6:7) He is to take the heifer outside the camp to a predesignated spot where the animal is then slain in his witness by the one bringing it. (v.3) (Leviticus 4:12, 21, Hebrews 13:11-12) Note that comparison in Hebrews 13 between this act and the suffering of Christ on the cross outside Jerusalem as the ultimate and final sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. Also take note of the many similarities between this sacrifice and cleansing ritual and that of the sin offering described in Leviticus 4. Eleazar will then take some of the blood, return to the tabernacle, and sprinkle the blood seven times before the door. (v.4) (Leviticus 4:6, Hebrews 9:13) Afterwards, he returns to the site of the sacrifice where the animal in her entirety – skin, flesh, blood, and bone – is burned. (v.5) (Exodus 29:14, Leviticus 4:11-12, 9:11) Because there’s no mention of any altar here, we can safely presume that this slaying and burning is done either on a temporary altar constructed for this purpose or on the ground in some form of a fire pit. As the animal is being consumed by the fire, Eleazar will add to the blaze cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet. (v.6) (Exodus 12:22, Leviticus 14:4, 6, 49, 1 Kings 4:33, Psalm 51:7) Afterwards, both he and the one that brought the animal will bathe themselves and wash their clothes, still outside the camp. (v.7-8) (Leviticus 11:25, 15:5, 16:26, 28) Both may return to camp but they will be unclean until sundown. Meanwhile, another “…man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer…”, storing them in a designated place outside the camp. (v.9) “The ashes were mixed with water to be used as water to remove impurity, that is, to symbolically purify from sin. The purification properties of this red bloodlike solution was reconstituted whenever water was added to these ashes and other agents, thus making a ‘ready-made’ mixture suitable for sprinkling purposes in this purification ritual.” (The Moody Bible Commentary) The one who gathers and stores the ashes must then also bathe himself and wash his clothes before returning to camp. (v.10) He, too, is unclean until sundown. The Believer’s Bible Commentary has this to say regarding the red heifer: “The one historical record of the use of the ashes of a heifer is in Numbers 31. Mantle says that: ‘… the ashes were regarded as a concentration of the essential properties of the sin offering, and could be resorted to at all times with comparatively little trouble and no loss of time. One red heifer availed for centuries. Only six are said to have been required during the whole of Jewish history; for the smallest quantity of the ashes availed to impart the cleansing virtue of the pure spring water.’ ” This new addendum to the purity law will remain in effect for all generations, for both the Israelite and the gentile that chooses to abide with them. (v.10) Curiously, there is no reason given in this chapter for why Eleazar is named specifically as the priest performing the sacrifice of the red heifer instead of Aaron. We know from the previous instructions in the law that any priest can perform any of the sacrifices and offerings. The only specific stipulation regarding the high priest is that he is the only one allowed in the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement. None of the other priests may perform that specific cleansing. So it seems especially odd here that God calls out Eleazar by name as the one who is to perform this specific sacrifice and ritual. The most logical explanation is that Eleazar is the oldest son of Aaron because of the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, and therefore he is next in line for the role of high priest after Aaron’s death. We also know from Numbers 33:38-39 that Aaron dies in the fortieth year of Israel’s wandering in the desert. He’s one hundred and twenty three years old, which means at the time of this instruction from the Lord in chapter 20 Aaron is approximately eighty-three. So perhaps Aaron has already begun to train his son for the role of high priest, and God takes this into account when giving this instruction regarding the sacrifice of the red heifer. Or perhaps Eleazar will be the one who is assisting Aaron the most with all these purification rituals due to the many deaths that will be occurring in the next forty years. Whatever the case, the text doesn’t give a reason for naming Eleazar and, ultimately, it doesn’t matter. What matters is the sacrifice and the ritual itself. Verses 11-16: This section of the passage is a reminder and review of the previous laws regarding uncleanness. Anyone that touches a dead body is unclean for seven days. (v.11) (Leviticus 21:1, 11, Numbers 5:2, 6:6, 9:6, 10, 31:19, Lamentations 4:14, Haggai 2:13) He must purify himself on the third day, for if he doesn’t then he’s not considered clean on the seventh day, even if he isolated himself away from the camp. (v.12) The one who doesn’t follow this command will be guilty of defiling the tabernacle and, by extension, the holiness of God. That person shall be cut off from the community. (v.13) (Leviticus 22:3) Anyone that enters a tent where someone has died will be considered unclean and must undergo the prescribed cleansing ritual. (v.14) Any open vessels within the tent are also labeled as unclean. (v.15) (Leviticus 11:32, Numbers 31:20) Anyone that touches a corpse on the battlefield or assists in the burial of a body will be considered unclean. (v.16) (Numbers 31:19) Verses 17-22: The mixture of water and the ashes of the heifer are to be used to purify the tent where the death occurred. (v.17) Anyone who is clean may perform this ritual of sprinkling the water, not just a priest. (v.18) The tent, any contaminated vessels within it, as well as anyone else that was in the tent at the time of death are all to be sprinkled with the water of purification. The water is also to be used to purify the ones who assist in the burial of the corpse. The clean person will then sprinkle the water on the those that are unclean on the third day of their isolation away from camp. (v.19) On the seventh day the unclean will bathe themselves and wash their clothes. (Leviticus 14:9) After sundown they are considered clean and may return to camp. The one who sprinkles the water is to use hyssop to do the actual dipping and sprinkling, for to touch the water itself will cause that person to become unclean until sundown. (v.21) He, too, must wash his clothes. Anything and anyone that is touched by an unclean person immediately becomes defiled and is considered unclean until sundown. (v.22) (Leviticus 15:5) Anyone that refuses to undergo the proper ritual for cleansing “…shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord…”. (v.20)
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