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THE SABBATH SCHOOL

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 12, 1901

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 24.

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THE SABBATH SCHOOL

LESSON XII.—JUNE 22.—THE OFFERINGS.

(Concluded)

The Purification-Offering.

[Note to the Student.—These lessons are not designed to be exhaustive, but suggestive. In references to the “Desire of Ages,” in the lessons, the subscription edition is referred to. Those who have only the trade edition will find the matter in chapters 1, 4, 11, 27, 71, 77, 78; also read “Patriarchs and Prophets,” chapters 5 and 30, “Christ Our Advocate,” Bible Students’ Library No. 129 (price, 10 cents), and “Looking unto Jesus” (price, $1.00) will be found a great help. The SIGNS OF THE TIMES will have an article on the subject of each lesson this quarter by J. O. Corliss. Read these articles in connection with the study of the lesson. We have not space to print all the scriptures. Let the student study them carefully from the Bible. Those printed are from the Revised Version.]

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

1. What command did the Lord give to Moses and Aaron? “And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, ‘This is the statute of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke.’” Num. 19:1, 2.
2. Who is represented by this red heifer? Ans.—Christ. Why must the heifer be red? (Isa. 63:1-3; Rev. 19:13.)
3. What is represented by a yoke? (Service. Lam. 1:14; Nahum 1:13; Gal. 5:1. Note 1.)
4. Did Christ ever come under this yoke? “For hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow His steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.” I Peter 2:21, 22. (2 Cor. 5:21.)
5. Who were to bring the red heifer to the priest? Who was to slay it? Where was it to suffer? “This is the statute of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke; and ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, and he shall bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face.” Num. 19:2, 3.
6. Who brought Christ to the priest? Who slew Him? Where did He suffer? “And while He yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.” “And they that had taken Jesus led Him away to the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were gathered together.” Matt. 26:47, 57. (Matt. 27:2, 26; Heb. 13:12.)
7. What was then done with the offering? What was burnt with it? “And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times; and one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn; and the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.” Num. 19:4-6.
8. What was done with the ashes? For what purpose were they kept? “And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a sin-offering.” Verse 9.
9. For whose benefit were they used? “And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even; and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute forever.” Verse 10.
10. Who were to be benefited by the death of Christ? “But we behold Him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He should taste death for every man.” Heb. 2:9. (Acts 2:30.)
11. For what was this offering made? What was the effect upon the tabernacle if the person was not clean? “He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.” “Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel; because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean: his uncleanness is yet upon him.” “And whosoever toucheth in the open field one that is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.” Num. 19:11, 13, 16.
12. What was the effect upon everything the unclean person touched? “And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.” Verse 22. (Hag. 2:13, 14.)
13. What would befall the one who refused to purify himself? “But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord; the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.” Verse 20.
14. Who only will be cut off? “For evil-doers shall be cut off; But those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the land.” Ps. 37:9.
15. What, then, is represented by touching a dead body?
16. How did Paul feel when he came in contact with sin? “But I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of this body of death?” Rom. 7:23, 24, margin.
17. Describe the manner of purification. (Num. 19:17-19.)
18. What does the water represent? “That He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the Word.” Eph. 5:26. (Note 2.)
19. How did David refer to this mode of cleansing? “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Ps. 51:7.
20. If the touching of the dead body represented sin and death, what did the cleansing represent? “And you did He quicken, when ye were dead thru your trespasses and sins.” “But God, being rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead thru our trespasses, quickened us together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved.)” Eph. 2:1, 4, 5. (Repeat Heb. 9:13, 14.)

NOTES.

1. The yoke represents the yoke of bondage and sin. Christ never came under this yoke. 1 Peter 2:22. He who was above the law, being the Author of the law, voluntarily became sin for us, suffering the penalty of the broken law in our stead. Yet, never having committed sin, He never came under the yoke of bondage. His submission was wholly voluntary.
2. This was called the water of separation, because when sprinkled upon a defiled person it separated him from his uncleanness, and admitted him to all the privileges which he for a time had lost. Num. 5:2. The ashes point to the suffering and death of Christ; the Holy Spirit uses the word (symbolized by the running water) to remind us of that suffering. Ps. 19:7, margin.