THE RED HEIFER
THE RED HEIFER
The red heifer is quite a new type. It brings out a new aspect of Christ in His death. We feel that the chapters in this section are very important in bringing out priestly grace in which God goes on with His people in the wilderness in view of bringing them into the land, and in a certain sense it is an abnormal aspect of priesthood in conditions of murmuring and rebellion and the iniquity of the sanctuary. It exists, but on what footing does God deal with these elements which are unsuitable to Him? How does He provide for their being adjusted? We may all be conscious that these elements are found among Christians, but how is God acting in reference to them? Seeing what we are, these elements are there. It must have been very difficult to avoid defilement and not to come in contact with something which is the element of death; that is, sin, which is the cause of it. (The mind of the flesh is death, Romans 8: 6). It is not at all difficult to come in contact with the mind of the flesh, seeing we are in mixed conditions. To be influenced by it is defilement. It is not only personal defilement but “Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of Jehovah” (verse 13). That is the serious part of it: the question of the tabernacle of Jehovah — God dwelling amongst His people. The nearer you get to God, the more you come under His scrutiny. (A man does not take account of boys in the street, but does of his own children.) It becomes the occasion of the opening up to us of the death of Christ. The point is, it will all be met in grace — grace provides the purifying. (It does not say that the man who defiles himself will be cut off.) The thought of advocacy comes in here. It is very important to see that there is the provision, and that the means of purifying should be really present with the saints, so that there has not to be a great fuss made when the need arises; it is at hand and we know how to use it. This chapter is a fine instruction. Defiling the tabernacle is giving place to the mind of the flesh; we bring in something defiling which affects every saint on earth — it is a moral stain on the tabernacle of the Lord. It affects all. None can say, ‘That is my look-out’, for it is the look-out of all the saints. It is defiled if a man gets defiled and does not get purified. It should never get to the point of being defiled. All this priestly activity is seen in the rebellion subdued, murmuring silenced and defilement purified — all in priestly grace. If we are not working on the line of priestly grace, we are not working with God. There is nothing so righteous and holy as the grace of God. There is no condoning the sin. Every one that touches the heifer or her ashes is unclean. God shows us what a serious thing it is to have to do with sin.
A heifer — the female, in type — refers to state. Christ is presented in connection with that wonderful sacrifice in which the state is taken into account: the man, not his actions; what the flesh is, not what it does. “The mind (not the acts or words) of the flesh is death”. Too much prudence or too much self-respect is the mind of the flesh. Acts reveal but the mind does not. Things are allowed inside that are defiling. It applies to the thoughts and motives (hidden like the bones); I may be careful not to show these. Pull yourself up and say, ‘This is a bit of what Christ died for’. We can run [p. 182] through the seven days (verses 12, 19) in seven seconds. It is an uncommon description of the offerings. As a rule they were to be without blemish, but here- without blemish,
- no defect,
- upon which never came yoke.
A wonderful unfolding of the perfections of Christ.
1. Without blemish. The perfect contrast with all that flesh is.
That helps us, but denouncing the flesh does not. Nothing displaces the power of the flesh but Christ. Study Him in every part of His moral glory and you find no blemish. Pilate found no fault with this Man. The dying thief said He had done nothing amiss. The Holy Spirit said He had no guile, and He Himself said, “Which of you convinces me of sin?” There was no flaw.
2. No defect. Have you ever considered that? Everything there was positively delightful to God. Not a single element of good was absent. If you think of everything that ought to be, you will find it all in Christ. The more you study Christ the more you wonder at Him. You can dispense with man after the flesh when you have a Man without defect.
3. Upon which never came yoke. He never came in servitude — to any of the principles of this world. The most spiritual men come sometimes under a yoke but the Lord never did. He was never moved by the desire to please men, nor influenced by the hopes and fears of His disciples. He would have been brought under wrong influence if He had yielded. We have no idea how soon we are influenced! Any human influence is a yoke. Natural relationships are one of the strongest yokes. The Lord would not allow His mother to put a yoke on His neck. As you get Him before you, it takes you quite away from the mind of the flesh. It is just the opposite of what you learn in Christ.
“Red” is the distinctiveness of Christ.
I hope we all aspire to be Eleazars! He is an important type of priesthood (not of Christ, as he gets defiled). It is a [p. 183] type of the priestly spirit of Christ in the saints. It is in accord with Christ, because it is His spirit. It does not die in the wilderness.
Eleazar is one of Aaron’s sons. ‘Eleazar’ means ‘God is helper’. He continues in the presence of the defilement of the wilderness, goes over Jordan, and does not cease his activity until the people possess the inheritance. It sets forth that priestly activity. “The blood of the Christ, who by the eternal Spirit offered himself” (Hebrews 9: 14). The very Spirit by which Christ offered Himself is in the saints!
Have you another Spirit? As a saint you have that same Spirit, and that Spirit living in the saints is the power of the priesthood.
The priestly spirit in the saints can take account of Christ. At the death and burning of the heifer, Eleazar is a spectator — he takes account of Christ. One covets to be an Eleazar.
There are not two spirits. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ” (Romans 8: 9) — he is no Eleazar!