And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
The Lord's speaking to Moses and Aaron introduces instructions for the red heifer ceremony, an occasional sacrifice for purification from ceremonial uncleanness caused by contact with the dead. It begins the instruction on the purification of those who are unclean. Together with chapter 18 it belongs to the ceremonial instructions for Israel's worship, standing apart from the narratives of marching, murmuring, rebellion, and journeying.
The red-heifer ordinance differs from other sacrifices, being an exception among the Levitical sacrifices not mentioned in the opening chapters of Leviticus. Its use continued even though it is not mentioned again between the Pentateuch and the close of the Old Testament. The law gives a ceremony performed once for all for the whole people that did not bring indiscriminate purification to all, but made a provision which each defiled person must individually use to be freed from personal impurity. This shows why, though Christ tasted death for all men, each person must singly benefit from what He did for all.
The heifer's name means fruitful and ruddy, and its ruddy color is linked to Adam, formed from the dust, and to Christ as the second Adam, identified as the Son of Man. The statute commands Israel to bring a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke. The heifer is Christ, and its red color points to His blood and suffering. The yoke means service and bondage to sin, under which Christ never came, for He did no sin and no guile was found in His mouth.
The command for Israel to bring the heifer to Eleazar the priest and for it to be slain without the camp was fulfilled when Judas with the multitude from the chief priests and elders brought Jesus to the high priest and He suffered outside the camp. Two lives were represented in the offering, the innocent life of the victim and the imputed sinful life of the offerer, so the same blood could convey defilement to the sanctuary and at the same time cleanse the sinner. Even the priest who sprinkled the blood was made unclean, and the clean person who gathered the ashes and the one who sprinkled the ashes mingled with water had to wash his clothes and be unclean until evening, while the unclean person was cleansed by those same ashes. This means Christ on the cross was made sin and suffered as the vilest of sinners, yet at the same time by virtue of His own pure life He cleansed the thief.
Some purifications under this chapter were without blood, in cases involving sickness, accidents, or other fleshly defilements rather than sin, as exceptions to the typical rule that purification was by blood. Such purification does not conflict with the rule that forgiveness of sin requires the shedding of blood, because sin's penalty is death and atonement requires life for life. The sprinkling with the ashes of the heifer used to cleanse those defiled did not take place in the sanctuary's second apartment. The rite therefore supports the connection between Christ's ministry and the heavenly sanctuary's services as a whole, rather than only the work in the most holy place.
The Lord's speaking to Moses and Aaron introduces instructions for the red heifer ceremony, an occasional sacrifice for purification from ceremonial uncleanness caused by contact with the dead. It begins the instruction on the purification of those who are unclean. Together with chapter 18 it belongs to the ceremonial instructions for Israel's worship, standing apart from the narratives of marching, murmuring, rebellion, and journeying.
The red-heifer ordinance differs from other sacrifices, being an exception among the Levitical sacrifices not mentioned in the opening chapters of Leviticus. Its use continued even though it is not mentioned again between the Pentateuch and the close of the Old Testament. The law gives a ceremony performed once for all for the whole people that did not bring indiscriminate purification to all, but made a provision which each defiled person must individually use to be freed from personal impurity. This shows why, though Christ tasted death for all men, each person must singly benefit from what He did for all.
The heifer's name means fruitful and ruddy, and its ruddy color is linked to Adam, formed from the dust, and to Christ as the second Adam, identified as the Son of Man. The statute commands Israel to bring a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke. The heifer is Christ, and its red color points to His blood and suffering. The yoke means service and bondage to sin, under which Christ never came, for He did no sin and no guile was found in His mouth.
The command for Israel to bring the heifer to Eleazar the priest and for it to be slain without the camp was fulfilled when Judas with the multitude from the chief priests and elders brought Jesus to the high priest and He suffered outside the camp. Two lives were represented in the offering, the innocent life of the victim and the imputed sinful life of the offerer, so the same blood could convey defilement to the sanctuary and at the same time cleanse the sinner. Even the priest who sprinkled the blood was made unclean, and the clean person who gathered the ashes and the one who sprinkled the ashes mingled with water had to wash his clothes and be unclean until evening, while the unclean person was cleansed by those same ashes. This means Christ on the cross was made sin and suffered as the vilest of sinners, yet at the same time by virtue of His own pure life He cleansed the thief.
Some purifications under this chapter were without blood, in cases involving sickness, accidents, or other fleshly defilements rather than sin, as exceptions to the typical rule that purification was by blood. Such purification does not conflict with the rule that forgiveness of sin requires the shedding of blood, because sin's penalty is death and atonement requires life for life. The sprinkling with the ashes of the heifer used to cleanse those defiled did not take place in the sanctuary's second apartment. The rite therefore supports the connection between Christ's ministry and the heavenly sanctuary's services as a whole, rather than only the work in the most holy place.