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One aspect of the work of the Lord Jesus is like that of the ashes of the red heifer—vv. 2, 9:
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The ashes of the red heifer signify the eternal and unchanging efficacy of the Lord's redemption—v. 9:
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The ashes of the red heifer signify the Lord's redemption, which He has accomplished for us—Rom. 3:24; Eph. 1:7.
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His redemption is forever unchanging and incorruptible—Heb. 9:12.
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Whenever an Israelite touched something unclean, he needed only to have the ashes of the red heifer mixed with the water for impurity and to have it sprinkled on his body—Num. 19:11-12.
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The Lord's redemption has accomplished everything; He made provision for all our future uncleanness and future sins:
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The ashes are specifically for the future.
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The ashes of the red heifer tell us that the past work of the cross is applicable for our use today.
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The red heifer has been burned once for all, and its ashes are enough to cover our entire life.
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We thank the Lord that His redemption is sufficient for our whole life.
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Numbers 19:17 speaks of the burning of the red heifer and the running water that was added to the ashes in a vessel:
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The running (literally, living) water in Numbers 19:17 signifies the Holy Spirit in the resurrection of Christ—John 7:37-39.
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In the water for impurity, there is the efficacy of Christ's redemption with the washing power of the Spirit of His resurrection.
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Because death was prevailing among the children of Israel, there was the need for the water for impurity, and whenever we are defiled by death, we need Christ as the reality of the red heifer for the water for impurity—Num. 16:49; 19:2, 9:
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In Numbers 19 the water for impurity cleansed away and annulled the effect of death that came from the great rebellion in chapter 16.
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The water for impurity, to which the ashes were added, typifies the efficacy of Christ's redemption, which continually cleanses us by the living water of life in order to restore our fellowship with God—1 John 1:7.
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Only the working of Christ's redemption, through His dignified and humbled humanity, with His death and the Spirit of His resurrection, could heal and cleanse the situation from the uncleanness of death—Num. 19:6, 9, 17.
Morning Nourishment
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin.John 7:38-39 He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He said concerning the Spirit…
According to Numbers 19, whoever touched death or was defiled and thus became unclean needed to be sprinkled by the ashes mixed with running water in order to be clean (vv. 11-14, 16-20). The running water typifies the Holy Spirit. Whenever we, the people of God, are defiled, we need to allow the Holy Spirit, who is compounded with the eternal efficacy of the Lord's redemption, to be applied to us in order to remove our uncleanness. This corresponds to 1 John 1:7….This means that if we realize that we have sinned, we should take the blood of the Lord Jesus in order to wash away our sins for the purpose of restoring the fellowship between God and us. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 1,”Synopsis of Numbers,” p. 295)
Today's Reading
Numbers 19:12 says,”He shall purify himself with it on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he shall be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he shall not be clean.” Here the third day signifies resurrection, and the seventh day signifies completion. If we are defiled, we need to be in resurrection in order to allow the Holy Spirit to apply the efficacy of the Lord's redemption to us. Defilement is related to the old creation. Hence, in order for us to be purified, we must be in resurrection; if we remain in the old creation, we cannot be purified. On the third day the water for impurity was sprinkled, and on the seventh day the unclean person became clean. This signifies that after we apply the efficacy of the Lord's redemption in resurrection, we will become clean according to the time of completion.According to Numbers 19, both the Israelite who gathered the ashes and he who sprinkled the water for impurity became unclean (vv. 10, 21). This signifies that when we help a defiled brother to be purified, although we may be clean, we should realize that we are dealing with sin. Since it is possible for us to be defiled, we should be warned and deal with this matter before God.
Numbers 19:19 says that when the defiled person was purified, he needed to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Moreover, the person who sprinkled the water for impurity also had to wash his clothes (v. 21). Bathing in water signifies dealing with oneself, and washing one's clothes signifies dealing with the entirety of one's conduct. Whenever we are defiled and commit a sin, we should be in the Holy Spirit and allow the Spirit to apply the efficacy of the Lord's death to us in order to remove our defilement before God. We should also have a fresh dealing with ourselves and with the entirety of our conduct. This must be done not only by the person who needs to be purified but also by those who help him to be purified.
[In verses 14 through 16] a man dying in a tent signifies that in God's eyes all men are dead in the flesh (cf. Matt. 8:22; Luke 9:60). Our physical body is like a tabernacle (2 Cor. 5:1), and everything that belongs to us is unclean. Every natural man is a man who”dies in a tent” [Num. 19:14]; his physical body is a tent, and the one who is in the tent is dead. Thus, everything that is joined to a natural man and is in contact with him is unclean.
Chapter 19 reveals that we, the people of God, should continually allow the Holy Spirit to apply the efficacy of Christ's redemption to us so that we may be purified… Whatever is in us and whatever comes in contact with us is unclean. Every part of our inner being is also unclean. In order for us to serve God, we should continually learn to allow the Holy Spirit, who has been compounded with the efficacy of Christ's redemption, to be sprinkled on us so that we may be purified. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 1,”Synopsis of Numbers,” pp. 295-297)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1960, vol. 1,”Synopsis of Numbers,” ch. 24