Ｅ
One aspect of the work of the Lord Jesus is like that of the ashes of the red heifer—vv. 2, 9:
１
The ashes of the red heifer signify the eternal and unchanging efficacy of the Lord's redemption—v. 9:
ａ
The ashes of the red heifer signify the Lord's redemption, which He has accomplished for us—Rom. 3:24; Eph. 1:7.
ｂ
His redemption is forever unchanging and incorruptible—Heb. 9:12.
２
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.
３
The Lord's redemption has accomplished everything; He made provision for all our future uncleanness and future sins:
ａ
The ashes are specifically for the future.
ｂ
The ashes of the red heifer tell us that the past work of the cross is applicable for our use today.
ｃ
The red heifer has been burned once for all, and its ashes are enough to cover our entire life.
ｄ
We thank the Lord that His redemption is sufficient for our whole life.
Ⅵ
Numbers 19:17 speaks of the burning of the red heifer and the running water that was added to the ashes in a vessel:
Ａ
The running (literally, living) water in Numbers 19:17 signifies the Holy Spirit in the resurrection of Christ—John 7:37-39.
Ｂ
In the water for impurity, there is the efficacy of Christ's redemption with the washing power of the Spirit of His resurrection.
Ⅶ
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:
Ａ
In Numbers 19 the water for impurity cleansed away and annulled the effect of death that came from the great rebellion in chapter 16.
Ｂ
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.
Ｃ
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
Rom. 3:24 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.Eph. 1:7 In [the Beloved] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of offenses, according to the riches of His grace.
Heb. 9:12 And not through the blood of goats and calves but through His own blood, entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, obtaining an eternal redemption.
Ashes are the final state of everything in the world. I am not referring to the facts of chemistry, but to our everyday experience…. When something has reached its very end, and cannot be changed to something else anymore, it is ashes.
Everything of the heifer is burned. Note particularly the blood. In these ashes are the skin, the flesh, and the blood. This means that in these ashes are the redemption of Christ and the eternal efficacy of His redemption. Christ is eternally efficacious before God. He has become the ashes. The shedding of His blood is eternally efficacious. Even the blood has become ashes. The work of redemption is finished. The red heifer portrays the Lord's redemptive work, and this work has now become ashes. (CWWN, vol. 29,”The Gospel of God (2),” p. 483)
Today's Reading
From Numbers 19:11 on we are told about the function of the ashes….Verse 9 tells us about this water for impurity.”And a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and place them outside the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the assembly of the children of Israel as water for impurity; it is a sin offering.” The impurity spoken of refers to the impurity of touching a dead body. Why is touching a dead body considered an impurity? It is because death is the evidence of sin. Without sin there would be no death. Therefore, where there is death, there is also sin. A dead body means that sin has done its work. The result of the work of sin is death. For this reason, the Old Testament uses leprosy as a symbol of curable sin and a dead body as a symbol of incurable sin. When a man is dead in sin and trespasses and therefore dead in his flesh, he is a dead body. The Lord Jesus talked about these dead ones. He said to let the dead bury the dead (Matt. 8:22). If you touch these dead ones, if you have intercourse with the world, if you build up a friendship with it, and if you have your living among it, you are touching dead bodies. If you touch dead bodies, you will surely be infected and defiled with impurities. When Christians sin and fail through touching the world, the ashes are needed.The ashes are the work of the cross. They are put into the living water (Num. 19:17) and become the water for impurity. The living water typifies the Holy Spirit. Once while the children of Israel journeyed, they struck the rock and out came living water (Exo. 17:6). First Corinthians 10:4 says that the rock was Christ. Hence, the living water refers to what flows forth from Christ, which is the Holy Spirit. Taking the living water and making it the water for impurity means that there is the need for the power of the Holy Spirit to be upon us. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, the work of the Lord will be in vain. If there are only the ashes of the red heifer without the living water, they will not be of much use. With the work of the Lord Jesus, there is still the need of the Holy Spirit. Only by the mixing together of the two will we be purified and cleansed. The Lord Jesus does not have to die again. We merely apply the efficacy of the one-time work of the Lord for our cleansing. The ashes of the red heifer represent the eternal and immutable efficacy of the Lord's work on the cross. It is this efficacy that is cleansing us. Because the Lord Jesus has died, the efficacy of His ashes becomes eternal, and by the Holy Spirit He is now applying this efficacy to us.
Every time we sin, we do not have to bring a bull to God again. The efficacy of the Lord's work two thousand years ago continues until today. By those ashes we are cleansed. (CWWN, vol. 29,”The Gospel of God (2),” pp. 484-485)
Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 29,”The Gospel of God (2),” ch. 25