Numbers 19

Laws of purification
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 1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
.2  This is the ordinance 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:
 3  And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:
  2 - Red heifer without spot ... To represent the One who purifies us from every contamination. Red represents blood.
  # Without spot Literally "faultless" which could mean healthy or sound, perhaps normal color and marking. Christ had no defect of character.
  # No ... blemish See le2220ff. Christ had not been injured by sinning.
  # Never came yoke He was never under orders from a created being. Compare lu0405ff, mt1129.
  A heifer is a full grown cow that has not borne a calf.
 4  And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:
 5  And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:
 6  And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.
 7  Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.
  4 - Eleazar ... sprinkle He took blood from the heifer in an expiatory sacrifice le0406 and sprinkled it in the direction of the tabernacle where was the presence of God. Aaron did not do this because he as high priest should not become defiled. Thus he could represent the God who constantly watches His people ps12104. Elezar, next to Aaron, would sprinkle the blood. He later became high priest.
  5 - Burn ... in his sight After the sprinkling, the sacrifice was reduced to ashes ex2914. Only in this case was the blood consumed with the sacrifice and not poured out at the altar.
  6 - Cedar wood and ... These items were used in the cleansing of a leper le1404-51.
  To expiate is to give satisfaction for or to atone for.
 8  And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.
.9  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 purification for sin.
 10  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 for ever.
  8 - He that burneth her In a similar way we express the washing away of our sins in baptism.
  9 - Water of separation The washing for being separated while removing the perfect red heifer from the camp. Christ died alone for our sins.
.11 ¶ He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.
 12  He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
 13  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.
  11 - Toucheth the dead body Practical concepts were taught.
 14  This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
 15  And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.
 16  And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
.17  And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:
.18  And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:
 19  And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
  14 - Dieth in a tent Particularly important in the wilderness.
  16 - Toucheth ... a grave Whitewashing (painting with liquefied lime). Whitewash on a grave or sepulcher was a warning for those who might touch it and become defiled. See pr2109, ez1310-16, ac2303, mt2327, lu1144.
  17 - Ashes of the burnt heifer Should read "the ashes of the burning of the sin." A heifer (young cow, esp. before offspring) was slain for sin offerings ex2936, le0403. The coming Messiah would die as an atonement for sin. This was represented by the sin offering.
  17 - Purification for sin The physical impurity from touching a dead person is used to represent purification from sin by forgiveness. The word here for "sin" is chattath and means "a misstep." See pr1306.
  18 - Hyssop ... sprinkle We are reminded of the protection from the angel that slew the firstborn males on the night of the Passover ex1222.
.20  But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.
 21  And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.
 22  And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.
  20 - Cut off Corresponding to disfellowshipping a person from the church mt1817.
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