Adult STS Lesson 106: Purification of The Unclean
MEMORY VERSE:
“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” (Numbers 19:20).
TEXT: Numbers 19:1-22
God had chosen Aaron and his sons as priests to bear the iniquities of the children of Israel and conduct different sacrifices to make atonement for their sins. The Levites were chosen to assist them in their priestly office and in the work of the tabernacle. The book of Numbers, chapter eighteen, deals with the legal regulations concerning the duties of the priests and the Levites, as well as the portion for their service to God and His people. To prevent them from taking after the heathen and their satanic rituals, God enacted different laws for the children of Israel. The laws which covered sundry matters such as the mode of worship, sanctity of the sanctuary, civil relationship, cleanliness, etc., were aimed at making them retain their peculiarity and distinctiveness as God’s chosen people among the heathen. They were to remain holy as a prerequisite for the abiding presence of God (Deuteronomy 14:2; 23:14; 1 Peter 2:9). This study is unique to the book of Numbers and it deals with the provision for cleansing the Israelites who have become unclean as a result of their contact with dead bodies. People who touch the dead would be cut off from Israel if they were not cleansed with the water of purification before coming into the tabernacle. Known for His orderliness and precision, God spelt out the procedure for the purification of the unclean as well as the punishment for defaulters.
1.PROVISION FOR PURIFICATION OF THE UNCLEAN.
Numbers 19:1-10; Exodus 29:14; Leviticus 4:11,12; Isaiah 1:18; Hebrews 9:13,14; 10:1; 5:9; John 1:29; Matthew 1:21; 1 Corinthians 12:13
“And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 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” (Numbers 19:1,2). The Lord foresaw the challenge of uncleanness among the children of Israel and made provision for it; the same way He provided for our salvation by sending His only begotten Son, “…the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). The children of Israel were commanded to bring an unblemished and spotless red heifer upon which no yoke had been placed for the purification of the unclean.
From this declaration, we learn a number of lessons:
one, the people were to provide the sacrifice. The message here is that everybody has a part to play to enjoy God’s boundless blessings.
Two, the redness of the heifer symbolises all forms of sin for which Christ sacrificed His life on the cross for mankind. Prophet Isaiah illustrated this as he pleaded with sinners: “…though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). The blood of the Lamb of God was shed to cleanse depraved humanity from sin and its defilements.
Three, the spotlessness of the heifer represents the infinite holiness of Christ, the sinless Lamb of God.
Four, the heifer upon which no yoke has been placed is comparable to Christ who is never under the yoke of sin. It also stands for His wilful submission to the work of human redemption.
Five, this symbolic red heifer that was to be slaughtered without the camp of Israel equally points to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus outside the city wall at Golgotha (Numbers 19:9; Hebrews 13:11-13).
“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” (Numbers 19:4). The sprinkling of the blood on the defiled by the priest bears semblance with the blood of the Lamb of God. It portrays how, in the present dispensation, “…the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge [our] conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14). Also, the priest had to sprinkle the blood seven times. In theology, seven means completeness or perfection. Therefore, the sprinkling of the blood seven times represents total cleansing and pardon of sins and justification for every sinner who confesses sin and receives Jesus as Lord and personal Saviour. The blood of Jesus has been shed for atonement and remission of the sins of those who believe in Him. The suffering of Christ was also typified in the ordinance. The total burning of the heifer by fire alludes to the excruciating suffering of Christ as He bore the sins of humanity on the cross; it also refers to the complete offering of His whole body and soul as a sacrifice for sin once and for all. The priest shall afterwards wash his clothes and flesh in water before coming into the camp and remain unclean till evening after the purification ceremony.
This act reveals the imperfection of the priesthood in the Old Testament. Jesus our High Priest is sinless, perfect and holy and His sacrifice for sins is flawless and complete (Hebrews 10:1; 9:11; 5:9). “…And it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a Statute forever” (Numbers 19:10). The impartiality of God is clearly presented here, showing that the purification exercise was provided for all Jews and Gentiles alike. Likewise, God’s salvation is for all in the New Testament: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 with Matthew 1:21 and 1 Corinthians 12:13). Everyone can benefit from the cleansing power in the blood of the Lamb. Sinners must confess and forsake their sins to obtain pardon and cleansing by Jesus’ blood (1 John 1:9). Believers can have the sanctification experience through earnest prayer of faith in His blood. “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate” (Hebrews 13:12). The blood of Jesus also guarantees believers’ healing from sicknesses and victory over Satan (Isaiah 53:5; Revelation 12:11).
- PARTICULARS OF AND PROCEDURE FOR PURIFICATION.
Numbers 19:11-19; Leviticus 21:1,11; Numbers 5:2; 9:6,10; 31:19; Haggai 2:13; Romans 5:21; Ephesians 2:5; 1 John 2:2.
“He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days” (Numbers 19:11). A dead person was regarded as unclean and anyone who touched the corpse under the Mosaic law automatically became unclean. While those who touched the dead body of a beast remained unclean till evening, those who touched human dead bodies remained unclean for seven days (Leviticus 11:24; Numbers 19:11). In the New Testament, sinners are described as dead in sins while the wages of sin is death (Ephesians 2:5; Romans 6:23). This implies that spiritual death is the fruit of sin and sin defiles the human body which is the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). The holy God will not dwell in a defiled body and the unrepentant sinner risks eternity in hell. “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Corinthians 3:17). It is important to note that God told the children of Israel that death was a source of ceremonial defilement. This was so because death is the consequence of sin and as such, it was considered a defiling thing. But in addition to this, the Egyptians among whom Israel dwelt for a long time held their dead ones in veneration. They embalmed their dead and kept their mummified corpses in vaults within their dwellings. However, God did not want His people to learn the way of the heathen (Jeremiah 10:2). He wanted His people to see death in its true perspective: an enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26), an aberration that was not part of God’s original plan for man. Though we do not become defiled by participating in funerals or touching the corpse of our loved ones today, we can learn some important lessons from this Old Testament principle.
One, we must not copy the worldly practices of our society in the way they bury their dead.
Two, we should have a sober attitude and reflect deeply on the spiritual implication of death whenever a person dies. Most often, people are overwhelmed with the emotional pain and the physical loss associated with bereavement. On other occasions, the anxiety generated by the cost of preparation for the funeral ceremony renders the bereaved insensitive and careless about the implication of death of especially, an unconverted parent or relative. However, we need to use such occasions to examine ourselves and prepare for eternity.
Three, we must avoid defiling practices such as printing tattoo on our bodies, sleeping around corpses, shaving off the hair, exchanging garments over the graveyard of the dead, consulting the spirit of the dead to obtain information (necromancy), inheriting the wife of the dead, to mention a few. All these practices defile a believer (Deuteronomy 18:9-14). The defilement of an Israelite through the touching of a dead body has spiritual implication for all heaven-bound believers. The defiled Israelite who refused to be cleansed would remain unclean (Numbers 19:12). Those who reject God-approved way of salvation will remain in their sins. Jesus says: “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). Also, the unclean person was not allowed to purify an unclean Israelite (Numbers 19:18). The age-long lesson from this resonates in the truism that the service of an unclean person is unacceptable to God. Those who wish to engage in winning souls for Christ and do service in His vineyard must not harbour sin in their lives. They must be cleansed from all defilements before their service can be acceptable to God (Isaiah 52:11; 2 Timothy 2:6). Religious rites like paying tithe, regular church attendance, water baptism and others, cannot remit sin or produce the new birth experience. A hymn writer puts it this way: “What can wash away my stain? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus”. To be cleansed from sins, sinners must confess their sins to God and believe in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.
- PENALTY FOR DISOBEDIENCE AND PERPETUITY OF THE ORDINANCE.
Numbers 19:20-22; Leviticus 7:21; Numbers 19:13; Hebrews 9:22; Luke 13:3; 1 Peter 1:15,16; Ephesians 5:27; Revelation 21:27.
The ordinance of purification of the unclean is of great significance to New Testament believers in some respects. First, the penalty for refusal to be cleansed from defilement is death or excommunication from the fellowship of the people of God among the children of Israel. “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” (Numbers 19:20). The ceremonial laws of washing and purification of the unclean have been abolished with the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus on the cross for the sins of humanity. However, sinners cannot be accepted into the kingdom of God nor have fellowship with Him and His people until they are washed in the blood of the Lamb. Just as in the law of purification, those who reject God’s offer of salvation and consequently die in their sins will lament forever in hell. “And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27). The urgent warning to all sinners within and outside the church is to penitently pray: “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:2). Otherwise, they will spend eternity in the lake of fire (Luke 13:3; Revelation 21:8).
The ordinance is also significant with respect to its perpetuity among the children of Israel. “And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them…” (Numbers 19:21). This signifies God’s all-time demand for righteousness and holiness and His hatred for sin. In all generations, He demands holiness and perfection from His people (Genesis 17:1; Leviticus 11:44; Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 1:15,16). His hatred for sin informed His institution of the purification rites which has become a perpetual statute in all generations. God is holy and all that desire to live with Him eternally in heaven must be holy as He is (Matthew 5:8). “And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even” (Numbers 19:22). Sin is contagious and must be dealt with in our lives and in the church as a whole (Leviticus 15:4). Ministers of God must preach, teach and pray tirelessly against sin in the congregation to prevent it from spreading and polluting the Church for which Christ died. He is coming again for a glorious church without spot, stain, wrinkle or any blemish (Ephesians 5:27).
Questions for review:
- What was the purpose of the purification rites for the children of Israel?
- How is the ordinance of the red heifer comparable to Christ’s redemptive work?
- How is the defilement of the body by touching the dead in the Old Testament related to defilement through sin in the New Testament?
- Identify and discuss the significance of the ordinanceOf purification of the unclean to the present-day believers.
- What is the portion of those who refuse to be cleansed?
- Explain what the blood of Jesus does in the lives of sinners and believers.
- Why is the law of ceremonial uncleanness and cleansing no more relevant in the New Testament dispensation?
