Numbers (Part 10)
Bible Study Time 3-16-08
(From James Roberts 4-4-99)
Bible Study Time 3-16-08
(From James Roberts 4-4-99)
This is the time of the year that man has set aside to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. John, Chapter 5, says that Jesus told the Jewish religious leaders:
John 5:39 NKJV
39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
As we study the scriptures from cover to cover, we find ample testimony regarding the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Last week in our journey through the scripture, we saw a type of Christ’s resurrection in Chapter 17 of the book of Numbers. The Lord told each leader of the twelve tribes of Israel to inscribe his name on a stick, or a rod, and bring it to the tabernacle of the Lord. Aaron was told to write his name on the rod that represented the tribe of Levi.
All the leaders of Israel brought their sticks and left them at the tabernacle, and the next morning they found that Aaron’s stick had actually come to life. His stick was covered with leaves and blossoms, and it was bearing ripe almonds.
This is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ who came as the great High Priest of Israel. He was put to death by His own people, but as Aaron’s rod came to life after being dead, the Lord Jesus also came back from the dead. When He came back from the dead, He brought forth much fruit. Hebrews 2 says that Jesus died to bring many sons to glory.
Aaron was confirmed as the High Priest of Israel when God brought His dead stick back from the dead. In like manner, the Lord Jesus was confirmed as the great High Priest of Israel when God raised Him from the dead.
In Numbers, Chapter 18, God gave Moses certain responsibilities in regard to the nation of Israel and the duties of the Levites in the tabernacle, then in Numbers 19, God gave Israel a very unique ordinance. It was the ordinance of the red heifer. In Numbers 19:1, we read:
Numbers 19:1-22 NKJV
1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
2 "This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying: 'Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come.
3 You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him;
4 and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting.
5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned.
6 And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer.
7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening.
8 And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening.
9 Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification; it is for purifying from sin.
10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.
11'He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days.
12 He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean.
13 Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him.
14'This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days;
15 and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean.
16 Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
17'And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel.
18 A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave.
19 The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean.
20'But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
21 It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening.
22 Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.'"
According to the Law, a person was to be considered unclean if he came into contact with a dead body. This did not signify moral defilement. It simply meant that they were ceremonially unclean and could not participate in the ceremonies of the tabernacle.
This was particularly significant for the priests. If a priest came into contact with a dead body, he was not allowed to officiate over the ceremonies of the tabernacle until he was purified by the water of purification. Strict obedience to this law would prevent any defilement of the tabernacle.
The book of Hebrews shows that this ceremony regarding the red heifer was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. The red heifer was taken outside the camp and killed even as the Lord Jesus suffered outside the city of Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus was taken out to Mt. Calvary where He died, the just one for the unjust. He was put to death, suffering in the fires of death for your sins and for mine.
After the red heifer was burned in the fire, its ashes were gathered and mixed with pure water. This water was then sprinkled upon the unclean person to accomplish his purification. This points to the cleansing of the human conscience which was made possible by the death of Christ. Hebrews, Chapter 9 and verse 11 tells us that:
Hebrews 9:11-14 NKJV
11 . . . Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,
14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Jesus Christ came as Israel’s great High Priest so that He could offer His own blood for Israel’s eternal redemption. He came to purge Israel from her sin, not just ceremonially with an outward cleansing, but He came to purge her conscience so that she could serve the true and the living God.
That very same offering of blood that was offered for Israel was also offered for us. When Christ died on the cross, He died for you and for me. His blood cleanses us from all sin and brings redemption. In the first chapter of I John, we are told that if we walk in the light as Christ is in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Then, we are told that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Next week, we’re going to spend some more time on this subject to show that this particular ordinance of the red heifer was especially relevant to Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ came to be Israel’s High Priest, but when He came, the Jews said, away with Him, crucify Him, we have no king but Caesar. Later they said, let His blood be upon us and upon our children. By killing the Lord Jesus, the nation of Israel came into contact with a dead body, and they would have to be cleansed by the water of purification before they could do that work which God was calling them to do.
Next week we are going to see how the ceremony of the red heifer relates to the ministry of John the Baptist. The, we will see how it relates to the ministry of the twelve apostles before the cross and how it relates to their ministry after the cross.
But for the few moments that we have left today, I’d like for you to consider the fact that God loved you enough to come from heaven’s glory to live among men so that He could offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin. He lived perfectly before God not only according to the letter of the Law but also according to the spirit and intent of the Law. He lived a perfect life so that He could die for your sins.
Jesus Christ came to be the sin bearer. We could never pay the price for our own sins so Christ came to bear our sins on the cross. The Apostle John said that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. We are cleansed from all sin the moment we believe, but the blood of Christ keeps on cleansing us so that if we become defiled by sin after we believe, we can confess our sins and God will be faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Oh, what a wonderful gift God has given to us in the gift of His Son, in His death, His burial, His resurrection and His ascension back into the heaven.
Well, I see that our time is gone for this morning. Thank you for studying with me in this, another broadcast, of Bible Study Time.
Church links:
John 5:39 NKJV
39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
As we study the scriptures from cover to cover, we find ample testimony regarding the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Last week in our journey through the scripture, we saw a type of Christ’s resurrection in Chapter 17 of the book of Numbers. The Lord told each leader of the twelve tribes of Israel to inscribe his name on a stick, or a rod, and bring it to the tabernacle of the Lord. Aaron was told to write his name on the rod that represented the tribe of Levi.
All the leaders of Israel brought their sticks and left them at the tabernacle, and the next morning they found that Aaron’s stick had actually come to life. His stick was covered with leaves and blossoms, and it was bearing ripe almonds.
This is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ who came as the great High Priest of Israel. He was put to death by His own people, but as Aaron’s rod came to life after being dead, the Lord Jesus also came back from the dead. When He came back from the dead, He brought forth much fruit. Hebrews 2 says that Jesus died to bring many sons to glory.
Aaron was confirmed as the High Priest of Israel when God brought His dead stick back from the dead. In like manner, the Lord Jesus was confirmed as the great High Priest of Israel when God raised Him from the dead.
In Numbers, Chapter 18, God gave Moses certain responsibilities in regard to the nation of Israel and the duties of the Levites in the tabernacle, then in Numbers 19, God gave Israel a very unique ordinance. It was the ordinance of the red heifer. In Numbers 19:1, we read:
Numbers 19:1-22 NKJV
1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
2 "This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying: 'Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come.
3 You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him;
4 and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting.
5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned.
6 And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer.
7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening.
8 And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening.
9 Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification; it is for purifying from sin.
10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.
11'He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days.
12 He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean.
13 Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him.
14'This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days;
15 and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean.
16 Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
17'And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel.
18 A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave.
19 The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean.
20'But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.
21 It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening.
22 Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.'"
According to the Law, a person was to be considered unclean if he came into contact with a dead body. This did not signify moral defilement. It simply meant that they were ceremonially unclean and could not participate in the ceremonies of the tabernacle.
This was particularly significant for the priests. If a priest came into contact with a dead body, he was not allowed to officiate over the ceremonies of the tabernacle until he was purified by the water of purification. Strict obedience to this law would prevent any defilement of the tabernacle.
The book of Hebrews shows that this ceremony regarding the red heifer was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. The red heifer was taken outside the camp and killed even as the Lord Jesus suffered outside the city of Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus was taken out to Mt. Calvary where He died, the just one for the unjust. He was put to death, suffering in the fires of death for your sins and for mine.
After the red heifer was burned in the fire, its ashes were gathered and mixed with pure water. This water was then sprinkled upon the unclean person to accomplish his purification. This points to the cleansing of the human conscience which was made possible by the death of Christ. Hebrews, Chapter 9 and verse 11 tells us that:
Hebrews 9:11-14 NKJV
11 . . . Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,
14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Jesus Christ came as Israel’s great High Priest so that He could offer His own blood for Israel’s eternal redemption. He came to purge Israel from her sin, not just ceremonially with an outward cleansing, but He came to purge her conscience so that she could serve the true and the living God.
That very same offering of blood that was offered for Israel was also offered for us. When Christ died on the cross, He died for you and for me. His blood cleanses us from all sin and brings redemption. In the first chapter of I John, we are told that if we walk in the light as Christ is in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Then, we are told that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Next week, we’re going to spend some more time on this subject to show that this particular ordinance of the red heifer was especially relevant to Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ came to be Israel’s High Priest, but when He came, the Jews said, away with Him, crucify Him, we have no king but Caesar. Later they said, let His blood be upon us and upon our children. By killing the Lord Jesus, the nation of Israel came into contact with a dead body, and they would have to be cleansed by the water of purification before they could do that work which God was calling them to do.
Next week we are going to see how the ceremony of the red heifer relates to the ministry of John the Baptist. The, we will see how it relates to the ministry of the twelve apostles before the cross and how it relates to their ministry after the cross.
But for the few moments that we have left today, I’d like for you to consider the fact that God loved you enough to come from heaven’s glory to live among men so that He could offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin. He lived perfectly before God not only according to the letter of the Law but also according to the spirit and intent of the Law. He lived a perfect life so that He could die for your sins.
Jesus Christ came to be the sin bearer. We could never pay the price for our own sins so Christ came to bear our sins on the cross. The Apostle John said that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. We are cleansed from all sin the moment we believe, but the blood of Christ keeps on cleansing us so that if we become defiled by sin after we believe, we can confess our sins and God will be faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Oh, what a wonderful gift God has given to us in the gift of His Son, in His death, His burial, His resurrection and His ascension back into the heaven.
Well, I see that our time is gone for this morning. Thank you for studying with me in this, another broadcast, of Bible Study Time.
Church links:
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