The Red Heifer
Today’s Passage – Numbers 19 – 21 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click hereto view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Acts 25 – 28; Proverbs 22; Psalms 106 – 110)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song –Proverbs 27:15
Read previous posts from this passage – “Look to Jesus,” and “Keep Going Even When It Hurts”
“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: 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. … 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.” (Numbers 19:2-6, 17-19)
For many years, I have heard Christians talking about the Red Heifer when discussing prophecies regarding the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. Some claim that when the Temple is rebuilt and dedicated to the Lord that there will be a red heifer sacrificed as part of the ceremony. I do not really know about all that, but I was very surprised to find there was only one verse in the Bible that specifically mentions the red heifer, though it is discussed throughout Numbers 19. There is also a New Testament passage that refers to it:
“11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to 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, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” (Hebrews 9:11-15)
Here is what we know about the Red Heifer from these two passages:
The Red Heifer was a symbol of Christ in that she was without blemish (see Hebrew 9:14 above and 1 Peter 1:19), and that she was to be slain outside the camp. Hebrews picks up on this idea as well:
“11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.” (Hebrews 13:11-14)
The red heifer was to be slain and burnt outside of the camp along with cedar, hyssop, and scarlet (v. 6), and then the ashes were to be stored in a clean place where they could be retrieved when needed and mixed with water to make a “water of purification.” According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary: “Cedar was chosen because it is evergreen and aromatic, the hyssop because of its application of the blood at the Exodus (cf. Ps. 51:7; Ex. 12:22), and the scarlet wool because it symbolizes the blood itself”[1] These three items that were burnt along with the heifer were the same that were used in the purification of a person who had leprosy (Leviticus 14:4 – 6; 49 – 52; see also Psalm 51:7).
The color of the red heifer may also have been symbolic of blood. Wiersbe believes it could have been symbolic of the earth that man came from. He stated: “The red color may point to the blood being shed, but perhaps the color speaks of the red earth out of which the first man was made (Gen. 2:7). The name “Adam” comes from the Hebrew word adamah which means “red earth.”[2]
The slaying of this heifer was not for the same as a sin offering, but rather was for the removal of the contamination of sin. McGee likened it to when the Lord Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. His washing of their feet cleansed away the part of the disciples that came into contact with the filth of the world.
When our Lord Jesus Christ went into the Upper Room with His disciples, the first thing he did was to get a basin of water and wash the disciples’ feet. Now why did He do that? He tells Simon Peter the reason. “… If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me” (John 13:8). If the Lord Jesus had not washed the feet of Peter, Peter could not have fellowship with Him.[3]
Specifically, this water of purification was used to ceremonially purify someone who came in contact with a dead body. As the Israelites wandered in that wilderness for forty years, a lot of people died. You will remember that anyone who was over the age of twenty when the spies went into Kadesh Barnea was not allowed to enter the Promised Land forty years later. The congregation of Israel was estimated to be over two million when they left Egypt, so it is entirely possible that over one million people died during their time in deserts of Sinai. That’s a lot of dead bodies.
Another interesting thing about this purification ritual is that it could be performed by any clean person, not specifically a priest (Numbers 19:18 – 19). The animal itself was slain by someone other than the priest, thought the priest was present and participated when it was done (Numbers 19:3 – 6). The person who mixed the ashes with the water was a layman as well (Numbers 19:9 – 10). The cleansing away of sin can only be done through the atoning work and power of our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ; but we who are saved (clean) can daily take part in cleansing and purging from the effects that sin has on us when we daily come in contact with it on this earth:
“9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
God wants us to be a holy, clean people. Christ provided the cleansing for sin when He shed his blood on the Cross of Calvary, but we need to stay clean from the effects that sin has on our lives:
“1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1 KJV)
Here is what has been speculated prophetically about the Red Heifer:
According to gotquestions.org:
To meet the requirements of the Old Testament law, a red heifer was needed to help accomplish the purification of the Israelites from uncleanness—specifically, the ashes of a red heifer were needed (see Numbers 19). Because red heifer ashes were necessary for the purification rites held at the temple, many have regarded the appearance of a red heifer today as heralding the construction of the third temple and the return of Christ.
According to rabbinical tradition, there have been nine red heifers sacrificed since Moses’ time. Since the destruction of the second temple, no red heifers have been slaughtered. The rabbi Maimonides (1135—1204) taught that the tenth red heifer would be sacrificed by the Messiah Himself (Parah Adumah, ch. 3, § 4). The Temple Institute, a group advocating the construction of a third temple, reports that five flawless red heifers from Texas arrived in Israel on September 15, 2022 (https://templeinstitute.org, accessed 9/22/22). Many people view this event as a fulfilment of prophecy, since the acquisition of a red heifer is a major step forward in plans for a new temple.
[1] Eugene H. Merrill, “Numbers,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 237.
[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Counted, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub., 1999), 81.
[3] J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, electronic ed., vol. 1 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 501.
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