NUMBERS 19
The type of Christ which comes before us in this chapter was not mentioned amongst the offerings of which Jehovah spoke to Moses out of the tent of [p. 247] meeting when the service was first instituted. It comes in towards the end of the forty years in the wilderness, after all the terrible break down recorded in chapters 11 - 16, and is thus typical and prophetic of a provision of grace which is available for us now after all the church failure has manifested itself. The “water of purification from sin” was there from the beginning (see chapter 8:7), but in the wisdom of God the red heifer only appears in this part of the book of Numbers, intimating that it is a provision which has specially in view God’s ways with His people as the time of testimony in the wilderness is nearing its end.
If we consider how the flesh has manifested itself, as recorded in chapters 11 - 16, we shall understand that it is a moral necessity that the true Israel of God should be purified from its uncleanness. It was flesh that desired human or natural guidance when divine guidance was being clearly given. It was flesh that murmured and lusted, and that preferred Egypt’s food to the manna from heaven, and wanted its own tastes gratified. It was flesh that spoke against Moses, and assumed to have God’s mind as much as he had. It was flesh that was unbelieving as to the land of promise, and would have made a captain to go back to Egypt. It was flesh that was minded to rebel against both divine authority and grace, while professing to be zealous for the holiness of the assembly, and that sought priesthood for its own exaltation. And all this is, typically, flesh as manifesting itself amongst those who profess to know God. It was the dead bodies and bones of such persons which, if touched, rendered unclean. What a multitude of such bodies and bones there must have been. Scripture tells us of those with whom God was not pleased, that “they were strewed in the desert” (1 Corinthians 10:5). Probably they often died at the rate of a thousand per week. “Now all these [p. 248] things happened to them as types, and have been written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). Whose flesh is it of which God says, “the mind of the flesh is death”? It is my flesh; it is I as a member of Adam’s race. None of us can say that we have never come into moral contact with what Paul speaks of as “this body of death” (Romans 7:24). The things which came out in Israel have come out in a more extended scale in the Christian profession, and they are all to be found in our own flesh, and they render purification absolutely necessary. God must have His people purified from the uncleanness of sinful flesh, and His grace provides a means of purification.
We must remember that we stand in relation to the tabernacle and the sanctuary of Jehovah, so that uncleanness is a very serious matter. It is not only that it defiles us personally, but if we neglect to purify ourselves we defile the tabernacle and the sanctuary (verses 13,20). God has been pleased to revive amongst His people the truth of His house, and the priestly service that pertains to it, and this renders uncleanness a more serious matter, in one sense, than it was before. The nearer we come to God the more imperative is it that we should partake of His holiness. There can be no doubt that God has raised the question of purification very definitely amongst His people in these last days. It is most practically important that the means of purifying should be at hand, that we should know what they are, and how to use them. In wondrous grace God has provided efficient means of purifying.
“And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, This is the statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without blemish, wherein is no defect, and upon which never came yoke” (verses 1,2). It has often been remarked that the female in types has reference to state, and it is appropriate that such a type should have place here, for the uncleanness which necessitates purification is that contracted by touching “a dead person, or the bone of a man, or a grave”. These things typify the state of man in the flesh as under sin and death. If I allow a fleshly motive or feeling to work in my heart I have touched a dead body or a bone; I have come into contact with a state which is morally one of death. For we read that “the mind of the flesh is death ... the mind of the flesh is enmity against God ... they that are in flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:6 - 8).
But, with a view to purifying, God calls our attention to the perfection of Christ. There is a particularity in the description of the red heifer which is not, as far as I remember, found in connection with any other offering. It was generally requisite in the offerings that they should be “without blemish”, but in the case of the red heifer it is added, “wherein is no defect, and upon which never came yoke”. God’s blessed anointed Man was, indeed, “without blemish”. Pilate said, “I find no guilt in this man”; the thief said, “this man has done nothing amiss”; He said Himself, “Which of you convinces me of sin?” And the Holy Spirit has testified through Peter that He “did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth”; He has borne witness through John that in Him “sin is not”, and through Paul that He “knew no sin”.
But “wherein is no defect” is more than being without blemish. Every feature of positive good, every moral excellence, was there in the highest development. If any good had been lacking it would have been a “defect”, but there was everything in Christ in which God could find delight. The more we study Christ the more we wonder at the contrast between Him and [p. 250] the man after the flesh. He never came under any yoke. The principles or customs of the world never controlled, or influenced, Him in the slightest degree. He never moved a step to please men, or as influenced by the fear of men. He was not affected either by flatteries or threats. He would not accept a crown from men, nor all the kingdoms of the world from Satan. And in the circle which was nearest to Him, neither the hopes nor the fears of His disciples, nor the well-meant suggestions of His mother, had any effect in determining His course. How soon are we brought under influences which bring us into servitude! But never yoke came upon Him. The Spirit of God would detain our hearts in the consideration of His perfection, and it is seen here as essential to His fitness to bear in grace the judgment that was due to the man under death.
While the contents of this chapter are spoken by Jehovah “to Moses and to Aaron”, it is to be noted that Aaron does not appear as doing anything in connection with the red heifer. It is “Eleazar the priest” who has to do with it, and his becoming “unclean until the even” (verse 7) suggests that he is not to be viewed here as a type of Christ, but rather of a priestly condition in the saints as divinely helped (his name means, God is helper), by which they understand what is needful to meet defilements which are likely to occur in the wilderness. It is only by the Spirit of Christ being in the saints that they can enter with priestly intelligence into this holy matter. Eleazar does not slaughter the heifer, or burn it, but these actions take place “before him”, “before his eyes” (verses 3,5). Priestly exercises in the saints lead to definite understanding of the great necessity for the death and judgment- bearing of Christ, not regarded here as in view of justification or reconciliation, but for purification from uncleanness.
[p. 251] We may remark that three distinct kinds of exercise are brought before us in this chapter. Priestly exercises are set forth in Eleazar. Then the service and exercises of clean men in connection with gathering the ashes of the heifer, and sprinkling the water of separation. Then the unclean person has exercises of his own. If we consider these things carefully they will help us to understand a great and important subject. The priest is seen, typically, as occupied with Christ, His death and judgment-bearing, and is profoundly affected by what he learns in Christ, and by His cross and death. The clean men, it seems to me, have to do with the matter from the standpoint of persons who may need purifying themselves some day, and who can thus enter feelingly into the provision that is made, and can serve their unclean brother without being too far from him to help him. And, finally, the unclean person has his own exercises in the fear of God. But we will look at these things a little more in detail.
“And ye shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and he shall bring it outside the camp, and one shall slaughter it before him”. It will be remembered that the bullock of the sin-offering for the priest that is anointed, and for the whole assembly (Leviticus 4) were burned “outside the camp”, as were also the bullock and the goat on the day of atonement (Leviticus 16). But it is only, I believe, in the case of the red heifer that the bringing of the sin-offering outside the camp is said to be done by the priest. Leviticus 4:12,21 should probably read “shall one carry forth”. I understand this to convey that the priest, as seen here, moves in priestly intelligence with God, as apprehending the deep essentiality, according to divine holiness, of Christ being made sin for us, and that this involved His being vicariously the forsaken One upon the cross. He “suffered without the gate” is a touching reference to [p. 252] the outside place in which He suffered as the Sin-offering, but the very scripture which speaks of this intimates that His saints are to be so affected by the thought of this that they move into the outside place as bearing His reproach. God has made Him to be sin for us, and a priestly state in us, as helped of God, would lead to our seeing how it behoved Him, how necessary it was, that He should suffer for sin in the outside place. He had to go outside all that allows that man in the flesh has some place with God, for it was of necessity that He should come under consuming judgment as due to man after that order. Jehovah has made “his soul an offering for sin” (Isaiah 53:10), and His priests are in their minds in accord with what Jehovah has done. In this sense they bring the heifer outside the camp, as recognising that on no other ground could there be purification for sin.
Eleazar is a spectator in regard to the slaughter of the heifer and the burning of it. He typifies one who contemplates with priestly vision the death and judgment-bearing of Christ as the way of God’s dealing with sin in the flesh. He contemplates it with affectionate reverence, and his actions indicate that he has understood its import and value. “And Eleazar the priest shall take of its blood with his finger, and shall sprinkle of its blood directly before the tent of meeting seven times” (verse 4). It is figurative of faith’s apprehension that the only ground on which God’s people can go on with Him is the death and blood-shedding of Christ. All the saints, thank God! know something of the value and efficacy of the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son; they are assured that it “cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). But it is most important for us to understand that the shedding of blood means that the life of the flesh has been poured out (see Leviticus 17:11). In the case of Christ this was [p. 253] vicarious, and for us, and it signifies plainly that our life as in the flesh has come to an end in His death, and therefore can have no place at all in reference to our approach to God. If we approach, it must be on other ground altogether; it must be as in the value of Christ and of His death. The priest taking of the heifer’s blood with his finger, and sprinkling it seven times before the tent of meeting, indicates, typically, a personal apprehension of this in a very complete way.
“And one shall burn the heifer before his eyes; its skin and its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall he burn” (verse 5). No part of this offering is burned on the altar; it is unique in this respect, and also in the fact that even its blood was burned. It is an offering which, more than any other, emphasises the thought of the unmitigated judgment under which Christ came when He was made sin for us. He identified Himself upon the cross, and was identified by God, with that state of sinful flesh in which we were by nature, and He came under its condemnation in the fullest way. Wrath without relief was His portion. How solemn is the contemplation of this! What can I think of the flesh if I see it condemned thus in the Person and sacrifice of my Saviour and Redeemer? The moral effect of such a contemplation is seen in the action of the priest which immediately follows the burning of the heifer “before his eyes”.
“And the priest shall take cedar-wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the burning of the heifer” (verse 6). He takes these things, which are figurative of all that in which a man would naturally pride himself, and casts them into the burning. The cedars are “high and lifted up”; see Isaiah 2:12 - 17. The hyssop reminds us that there is such a thing as man “doing his own will in humility”.
[p. 254] That is, there may be an outward appearance of humility, and the language of self-depreciation may be used when, after all, one may be “vainly puffed up by the mind of his flesh” (see Colossians 2:18). Then the scarlet represents anything in man which is distinctive so as to be a glory to him. I have no doubt every human being has something which is a bit of “scarlet” to him. But contemplation of the burning of the heifer leads to the priest casting these things into the midst of the burning. It is not here that God puts them there; He did that at the cross; but here the priest puts them there. The spiritually-minded believer, as contemplating the judgment-bearing of Christ, casts everything of the flesh into the burning. Whether it be high flesh or low flesh, or whatever it may have which gives it distinction, in the light of the cross of Christ it must go into the burning. God helps the priest to put it all there, not only without regret, but with great relief (read Philippians 3:3 - 11).
“And the priest shall wash his garments, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterwards he shall come into the camp; and the priest shall be unclean until the even” (verse 7). A good deal of exercise follows the contemplation, in a priestly way, of Christ as bearing the condemnation of sinful flesh, even though there may not have been any act of sin on the part of the believer who thus contemplates Him. So that a certain purifying goes on even in one who has not touched a dead body. The washing and bathing of the priest indicate that God would give even spiritual persons the consciousness of what is in their own flesh, necessitating a cleansing process, even though there has been no outward defilement. We cannot contemplate the sufferings of Christ for sin without having the sense in our souls that He suffered as bearing the condemnation of the sin that we have [p. 255] in our own flesh. We feel the need of maintaining moral separation from what is in us by nature, and the washing and bathing set this forth in type.
The priest being “unclean until the even” has reference, I believe, to a certain period of exercise during which one learns the uncleanness of one’s own flesh, not by actual failure, but in the light of what Christ suffered in bearing its condemnation. The same kind of exercise is gone through by the “clean man” who gathers the ashes of the heifer, and deposits them outside the camp in a clean place (verse 8). The provision is “for the assembly of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin” (verse 9), but the man who gathers the ashes that they may be available for the purifying of others has to realise that there is that in himself which renders cleansing necessary. The most eminent saint, the greatest and most devoted servant, has to go through this exercise. It belongs to any day in the soul’s history in which the judgment-bearing of Christ is apprehended. It is perhaps a deeper exercise, as being in a more spiritual person, than that of the one who is unclean by some allowance of the flesh. The “priest” and the “clean man” represent persons who have not allowed the flesh to act, but who have, nevertheless, to learn through what Christ suffered the uncleanness of their own flesh. They have to go through the deepest part of the exercises connected with purification, though not themselves unclean by touching a dead body or a bone. They touch what Christ suffered in bearing the judgment of sin, and in so doing they learn with God the very root of uncleanness in their own flesh. Such an exercise as this fits one to take up the service of which the Apostle speaks in Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, if even a man be taken in some fault, ye who are spiritual restore such a one [p. 256] in a spirit of meekness, considering thyself lest thou also be tempted”.
The one who touches “any dead body of a man shall be unclean seven days” (verse 11). This typifies a believer who has sinned by allowing some working of the flesh, and the period of seven days indicates that, in such a case, purification can only be brought about by a moral process which takes time. I do not mean that we are to take the “seven days” literally, but they evidently represent a completed exercise, whether the actual time be long or short. And it is to be noted that responsibility to use the means of purifying rests, in the first place, on the unclean person. “He shall purify himself ... whoever ... purifieth not himself” (verses 12,13). This agrees with New Testament scriptures well known to us. “Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us purify ourselves from every pollution of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in God’s fear” (2 Corinthians 7:1). “And every one who has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). Sometimes those who have sinned seem to think that it is for others to move in the matter of their restoration, but it is clearly their responsibility to make known that they are conscious of being unclean, and that they need purifying. There is a great lack of moral sensibility in any person who does not feel that he should make this known. The offender at Corinth had evidently manifested repentance before the Apostle exhorted the saints to show grace to him, and assure him of their love. It is not until “the third day” in this type that anything is suggested as being done by another, but others are observant of the unclean man’s exercises, and are ready to serve him when “the third day” comes. What is suggested here is that when one becomes conscious of having allowed the flesh, exercise [p. 257] as to it begins at once. The days begin to be counted, but, according to the type, there are two days during which nothing can be done in the way of purifying. There is just the sad experience of being unclean, and unsuitable to enjoy the privileges of the congregation of God. But on the third day a clean man can help him by sprinkling “the water of separation” upon him. He has to be dependent on the service of “a clean man” for his purifying, but he himself is held responsible to have it done. He must “purify himself”, however true it may be that it cannot be done without the brethren.
“The third day” there is relief for the conscience, for the unclean person has applied to him the solemn and yet blessed witness that Christ bore the judgment of that very flesh which he has allowed. But this in no wise leads him to think lightly of what has happened. On the contrary, it intensifies the self-abhorrence which he feels when he realises what it cost Christ to bear the judgment due to him. And the apprehension of this gives a new character to his exercises during the period from the third to the seventh day. He judges himself now according to grace, and not merely by the working of conscience, and he gets a deeper sense of the holiness of God which necessitated Christ being made sin for him. The perfecting of this exercise has the result that “on the seventh day he shall be clean”. He can now take up again in spiritual liberty, and with a good conscience, his relations with the tabernacle and the sanctuary.
“This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: every one that cometh into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days” (verse 14). This scripture shows that sin working in the flesh may extend defiling influence even through the place which one has as dwelling amongst the people of God. It is as having regard to this that Paul says, “Be not [p. 258] deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake up righteously, and sin not; for some are ignorant of God: I speak to you as a matter of shame” (1 Corinthians 15:33,34). He would have the saints to be careful as to their communications with those, even amongst themselves, who were marked by the mind of the flesh. And in this case it is to be noticed that one may become unclean without personal contact with the dead body. The “tent” where such a body is, or has been, teaches us that defilement, as estimated according to the holiness of God, often extends its influence to what is in proximity to it. It shows how subtly and insidiously evil influences operate, and this is in keeping with the repeated word, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Galatians 5:9; 1 Corinthians 5:6).
Normally the voice of triumph and salvation would be in the tents of the righteous (Psalm 118:15), and such tents are “goodly” (Numbers 24:5). But if the mind of the flesh is in evidence there, it is death, and the tent, instead of being “goodly”, is, for the time, a sphere of defilement. One’s house, or one’s place amongst the brethren, if not held in the Spirit, may become injurious to the people of God. But God assumes that such conditions will not continue beyond “seven days”, He assumes that in His congregation the provision for purifying will be known and used without delay. If it is not used most serious consequences ensue. “And the man that is unclean, and doth not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the congregation, for he hath defiled the sanctuary of Jehovah: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled on him: he is unclean” (verse 20).
The principle of verse 15 is of very wide application: “And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, shall be unclean”. We are constantly in proximity to sources of uncleanness, so that it is of [p. 259] vital importance that we should not be open to receive contamination. A man with a wireless set could hardly be considered a covered vessel, nor one who addicted himself to reading the literature of the world. We cannot be open vessels when defilement is about without suffering loss in our souls, and becoming unfit for the Master’s use. But the whole drift of this chapter is to impress us with the fact that divine provision is made for purifying, and that God counts upon His people being ready to use that provision. But unclean-ness is a very serious matter, for if one is not purified “that soul shall be cut off from Israel”. So that purifying is not optional; it is a divine necessity for all who stand in relation to the tabernacle and sanctuary of God. I trust we may have a deepened sense of this on our spirits.
“And they shall take for the unclean of the ashes of the purification-offering that hath been burned, and shall put running water thereon in a vessel” (verse 17). The remembrance of what Christ suffered for sin can only be brought home effectively to the soul of one who is unclean, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a comfort to know that the Spirit is available for this service of grace. He is grieved by any allowance of the flesh, but He is at the disposal of the saints for the service of purifying. It would appear from Scripture that the first movement when a believer has sinned is on the part of Christ. For it is written that “if any one sin, we have a patron (or advocate) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). He takes up the cause even of one who has become unclean, and His advocacy has the result of leading to exercise on the part of the one who has sinned. It is probable that the discipline of God often comes in, consequent on the advocacy of Christ, as a help to self-judgment. Then the brethren, as observant of [p. 260] divine movements, are ready to take up their part in the service of restoration, but not in any natural or human power. They find that the Holy Spirit is at hand to be used in the way set forth in this type. We learn from, this scripture that it is a definite part of the service of the Spirit to be available to the saints for the effective purifying of one who is unclean. So that the teaching of this type has a very important place in relation to any movements of the brethren which have restoration in view. They need to have very definitely before them what Christ has suffered for sin, which would give their spirits a solemn and yet gracious outlook. And then they need to realise that all that is done to apply this for purifying must be done in the power of the Holy Spirit. We have to read this into such Scriptures as 2 Corinthians 2:6 - 8: Galatians 6:1; James 5:19,20; 1 John 5:16.
“And a clean man shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, and upon all the utensils, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that hath touched the bone, or the one slain, or the dead person, or the grave; and the clean shall sprinkle it on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day; and he shall purify him on the seventh day” (verses 18,19). This teaches us that the service of the brethren has an important and essential place in relation to purifying. The service of “a clean man” is necessary to sprinkle the water on the one who is unclean, God loves to do as much as possible of His work of grace mediately through His people. It suggests plainly that the “clean man” has been observant of the state and exercises of his unclean brother. He knows the uncleanness, and how the exercise is progressing as to it; he knows when the third day has come, or the seventh day, and in a spirit of lowliness (typified by the hyssop) [p. 261] he can sprinkle the water. He can bring to bear in a timely way the witness of Christ’s sufferings in the power of the Spirit, so that suitable exercises are brought to completion, and the unclean man is purified on the seventh day. All this sets forth a holy service of grace among the people of God which is brought into activity by that amongst them which has the character of sin. It is a wonderful lesson in grace, moving in perfect accord with divine holiness, to secure that which is in keeping with “the purification of the sanctuary”. It is a service which is continually called for in the actual circumstances of the people of God, and it probably tests our spirituality as much as anything which we have to undertake. But it is a great loss if we shrink from taking it up when it is called for. Painful and sorrowful exercises and service cannot be avoided if the people of God are to be preserved in a state which will not defile the tabernacle or the sanctuary.
“And he shall wash his garments, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even” (verse 10). The purified person becomes active in his own moral exercises. His habits and ways and associations — typified by his garments — all come under a cleansing process, and he himself takes up the death of Christ for moral cleansing in a new way.
“And he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his garments, and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even” (verse 21). God gives us line upon line to show us that evil is a very serious thing, Purification from it is only possible through the unfathomable sufferings of Christ. And even the spiritual believer-whether as typified by the priest or the clean man-is made conscious in having to do with the sins of others that his own flesh is the same as theirs. He cannot serve one who has become unclean in the way of grace without going through a [p. 262] serious exercise as to this; he cannot say that he has no sin (1 John 1:8). I must not think that I can take any part in the restoration of another without going through humbling exercise as to myself. And the washing shows that something of a sanctifying and cleansing character goes on even in one who serves in love his brother who has sinned. Self-judgment, is deepened both in the priest and in the clean man, so that they partake more fully of “the purification of the sanctuary”, as a result of being engaged in the purification of another. The exercises suggested typically as having place in the priest and the clean man are as important and instructive as the exercises of the one who has become unclean by touching a dead body or a bone.