Address—C. Hendricks
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Saith the Lord Almighty in a very practical, near moral way. We all know God is our Father, those of us who are His. We all know the Lord Jesus as our Savior. But he's talking here, the Father, saying, I will be a father unto you, I will play the Father's part to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the law to Almighty. 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.
Holiness is abhorrence of evil according to God, as revealed in Christ, and delight in what is good, abhorrence of evil, delight in what is good. That is holiness, and we perfect it by separating from that which is inconsistent with himself, which is the opposite to himself, as he says what?
Fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, And what concord have what communion that light with darkness? What concord hath Christ with Bilio? What part had he that believeth with an infidel? What agreement is the temple of God with idols? So we have these opposites, and he wants to be a very real father to us, not just that we know him in a doctrinal way.
That he is God our Father, but in a very practical way.
Now turn back with me to Numbers, Chapter 19.
Numbers, Chapter 19.
I'd like to look at this Old Testament scripture that has to do with the red heifer.
In Romans 4 says the that which was written the four time.
Was written for our learning that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope.
And so we're encouraged to look back to the Old Testament for principles and and wonderful truth. And I think we have it in this chapter. You might say stamped over this whole chapter is the principle that association with evil defiles. And we'll see that as we go through the chapter. The red heifer was a sin offering. It's not found in Leviticus where the other sin offerings are mentioned, but it's a sin offering for the wilderness.
It's given for a particular kind of failure.
A contracting of defilement as one goes through the wilderness, and this world is a wilderness wide for us. And as we go through it, we are rubbing shoulders with all kinds of things which are defiling every day we hear defiling language we witness, defiling business transactions, unethical and unrighteous, and all kinds of evils. We.
Are in the midst of a defiled Christendom where there is false religion.
And we were talking about some of those things in our readings.
What agreement has the temple of God with idols that he's talking about the religious sphere?
Now we'll start with numbers 19.
I might just comment before starting. The central theme in Genesis is.
Genesis 22 Abraham and Isaac speaks of the death of Christ. Central theme in Exodus is the Passover, the Red Sea, again the death of Christ, the Passover. Leviticus. Central theme is the Day of Atonement, Leviticus 16 and here in Numbers the the central theme is Numbers 19, the provision that God has given us for defilement contracted along the way.
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 the a red heifer without spot.
Wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke, Of course, that speaks of the Lord Jesus. He was that one who was without spot, without blemish, He never bore the yoke of sin. He was the holy, sinless, spotless, unblemished. 1 And so he's presented to us in this red heifer, and he shall give her unto Eliezer the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp.
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And one shall slay her before his face. And Ilyasia the priest shall take of her blood with his finger and sprinkle of her blood directly before the Tabernacle of the congregation 7 times. I think that's very significant. It appears in this wilderness book. And the blood of the red heifer was sprinkled 7 times before the Tabernacle of the congregation. That's where God had said Jehovah had said he would meet with.
His people at the place of communion. And what we have in the ordinance of the red heifer is the provision that God has given us that when we get out of the out of communion by contact with death in one of its various forms. And the wages of sin is death. So it's the it's the outworking of sin and the ultimate end of it, which is death. So where there was contact with death in the wilderness, there was defilement.
And there was provision made for the Israelites that got defiled in this way and had to be put outside the camp. I'll just pause a moment, turn back to Numbers Chapter 5, and I'll just read the verse Numbers Chapter 5. It says in verse two command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp.
Every leper that's Leviticus 13 and 14, and everyone that had an issue that's Leviticus 15 and whosoever is defiled by the dead, and that's Numbers 19. That's what we're looking at. So every one of those three classes had to be put outside the camp. And what we have in Numbers 19 is a beautiful type of how God is provided for the recovery.
To fellowship of one who had contacted death and was defiled by it. Well, the blood of the of the red heifer was sprinkled 7 times before the Tabernacle of the congregation speaks of the place of communion. 7 is the number of perfection. So we have a perfect, a perfect sacrifice. The work has been done, the work of Christ on the cross which is depicted by the red heifer and the shedding of the blood.
The work has been done, giving us access to God and to his very presence, the place of communion that's been opened up to us. And one shall burn the heifer in his sight, her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, and her dung shall he burn. And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. Now what do they speak of the heifer speaks of?
Of Christ crucified on the cross, laden with all our sins as our sin, offering all our sins having been placed upon him. Now turn to 1St Kings Chapter 5. I believe it is First Kings chapter 5.
Chapter 41 Kings Chapter 4 verse 29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore and Solomons wisdom exceeded excelled the wisdom of all the children of the E country and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men than Ethan the Ezra, height and human, and Carcal and Darda the sons of Nehal.
And his fame was in all nations round about and he spake 3000 proverbs and his songs were 1005. Now notice and he spake of trees from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, the majestic cedar, the greatest thing in nature.
In the the tree Kingdom even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall, the very smallest, the very.
Most insignificant. The cedar, the hyssop, he spake, also beasts, and so on. All the people came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. So I would say that what we have here in type in Numbers 19 is the cedar wood, and the hyssop would represent all the glory, all the wisdom of this world, from the greatest to the highest institutions of learning and to the least.
Least that man knows the cedar wood and the hyssop.
Verse 6 The priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet. Scarlet speaks of the glory of this world.
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All that would appeal to the natural eye of man.
Is taken and thrown into the burning of the heifer. So you see, when we look at the at the burning of the heifer, and that was all consumed, it consisted of the heifer itself consumed. And then the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, all the wisdom of this world. First Corinthians, one God hath made the wisdom of this world to be foolishness, foolishness. The foolishness of man is the wisdom of man is foolishness with God.
And the glory of this world, the splendor of this world.
Remember how that Satan showed the Lord Jesus when he was tempting him all the glory of the kingdoms of this world in a moment of time, and it's all going to pass away. All this was thrown into the fire. So as we see the residue of that, the ashes that that were the result of the burning of the heifer, the cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet, we see our sins consumed.
In the death of Christ we see the judgment of God executed against all of man's wisdom.
The cedar wood to the hyssop. All of his wisdom from the greatest to the least, and all the glory of this scene has been judged. The world is crucified with Him, and with us, and with Christ and and heat of the world.
Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, bade his flesh in water, shall be unclean until the even.
And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and lay them up without the camp in a clean place. So the residue of the consuming of the heifer, That is all our sins consumed in the death of Christ, all man's wisdom and grandeur and glory and splendor, all that consumed in the death of Christ. That's all represented in the ashes which were laid up in a clean place outside the camp. Now that's what's going to be used.
In the restoration of one that contracts the filement as he goes through the wilderness.
I read verse 9 again. A man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel, for a water of separation. It is a purification for sin. You might wonder about the water of separation. There's been nothing said about the water, but.
That comes later in the chapter and we'll come to that shortly.
The ashes were mixed with running water and applied to the defiled 1.
But it was a purification for sin. But sometimes the mistake is made that when one fails, when one sins and needs to be restored, that he needs a fresh application of the blood of Christ. And that's a mistake. The blood is applied. Once that blood was shed, it was sprinkled 7 times before the Tabernacle of the congregation. A perfect testimony that the believer has access to God and has fellowship with God.
And if that's marred by some failure by some.
Contact with death. And we're going through a scene of death. This world is under the judgment of God, a judge seen. And when we see that all that that this world has to offer us was judged at the cross, now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the Prince of this world be cast out. John, Chapter 12.
That's what you see in the burning of the heifer, with the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet being cast into it. You see the judgment of all that man boasts of, all that man glories in. It is all judged at the cross.
That ought to make us very slow to to be enamored with and engaged with and taken up with anything that the world serves to us is is already judged it. It's a judge thing. It's come under the judgment of God, and we're not to touch it. We read that in 2nd Corinthians 6. Touch not the unclean thing. We're going through a defiling scene and how important it is to impress this upon us.
Especially those that are young in the faith.
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Verse 10 He that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the even notice. Everyone that had to that had a part in handling any of these things was unclean until the even association with evil does defile, even when brethren have to take up a a case of discipline.
The, the very, the very taking it up is defiling because we have that in US which responds to the the very sin that may have to be judged.
In our brother or sister, very, very solemn thing to have to be in the position of a judge when we are what we are.
It says in verse 10, the middle of the verse, that shall be under the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute forever.
Now verse 11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean 7 days.
He shall purify himself with it, that is this water of separation, which is the the.
The ashes of the heifer, cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet mixed with running water. We see that in a moment he shall purify himself with it. On the third day. Now here, he's been put outside the camp. He's not fit for fellowship with the assembly of Israel put outside the camp. He's come in contact with death. He's touched the dead body of a man in one way or another, and so he's put out.
For seven days, and then he's purified by the water of separation.
Is sprinkled upon him on the third day, and it's also on the 7th day. Notice what it says.
He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the 7th day he shall be clean. But if you purify not himself the third day, then the 7th day he shall not be clean. Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, the file is the Tabernacle of the Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from Israel, because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him.
He shall be unclean. His uncleanness is yet upon him. That shows the solemnity of 1 Contracting defilement, and ignoring the provision that God Jehovah had made for his cleansing. And he He acts as though he had not done it, and he's defiling by doing, by not going through the water of separation, not not allowing it to be sprinkled upon him, not going through this religious ceremony. That's what it was in the Old Testament.
And what it speaks of, what we have answering to that is the advocacy of Christ.
If any man's sin I John two, I'll quote it. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins, not for ours only but also for the whole world. So the advocacy of Christ comes in to restore us to communion. And that answers to what we have here in Numbers 19. Here it was a religious ritualistic ceremony that they had to go through but.
It's a type of the way God restores souls if they've fallen into sin.
It's a solemn thing not to resort to the advocacy of Christ for the Israelite, not to resort to the water of purification for us, not to resort to the Lord's advocacy If we confess our sins. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now that cleansing is not a fresh application of the blood, but it's what we have here. The water of separation, the water of purification.
Is sprinkled upon him, That is the spirit of God. Applies to the soul the memory of what the Lord Jesus went through in his death on the cross to put the sin away that we have committed, that one has committed.
And not to avail oneself of His restoring grace by confessing one sin, puts one in a situation where he defiles the whole assembly and those round about him.
Verse 14. This is the law. When a man dies in a tent, the tent is the home. That's where they lived, that's where they lived. All that come into the tent and all that is in the tent shall be unclean 7 days. So in this case, if there's death in the tent, you may just enter a tent where someone has just died and you are now unclean. You've entered into the scene of death.
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And then it says in every open vessel.
Which hath no covering bound upon it is unclean. It's striking that it emphasizes the open vessel, because it is already said in the previous verse that everything in the tent is unclean, and all that come into the tent are unclean.
But then it singles out every open vessel, which hath no covering upon it, bound upon it. That is, it doesn't have the ability to resist. The contamination that is there in the tent is unclean. Who is the open vessel? It's our children, I believe. Our children, they are open vessels. They take in everything that's in the tent, everything that's in the tent, and if there's.
Death in the tent, if there's that which Christ died to deliver us from.
Our sins.
All the wisdom of this world and all the glory.
Of this world, everything that this world makes much of and.
Revels in if that's in the tent, if that's been brought into the tent, there's death in the tent and all that are in the tent.
And everyone that enters the tent is unclean 7 days and every open vessel, especially the children, are vulnerable to what takes place in the tent. Very solemn when we consider what a Christian home is and what it should keep out, could keep out death. It should keep out everything that speaks of this world and to bring it into the tent.
Is to subject those who were in the tent to the defilement and especially the open vessel.
So there we have the Christian home typified, and now we get out into the world.
In the next verse. And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword that speaks of violence, one that's slain with the sword, this world is filled with violence. You see it, you hear it. It's everywhere. Can't pick up a newspaper without hearing of some violence that is being committed in this world. Whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword, Violence. We're told that corruption and violence fill the earth in the days of Noah.
And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. And so we're living in those days today.
One that is slain with the sword in the open field that's out there in the world. We're not in the tent now. We're out in the open field. We're out in the world and we get subjected to this. Children get subjected to this at school and fathers in the workplace and sometimes mothers and in the neighborhoods where we live, the open fields or a dead body. Dead body is one that has died by natural means and it speaks of corruption.
Corruption and violence. The sword is 1 who's been put to death by violence, and the dead body is one who has died, but it's the wages of sin speaks of death. To touch either one of those things is to be defiled.
Or a bone of a man.
The bone of a man is, after all, the meat has been decayed away or taken away. You might you might not think that a bone has any defilement connected with it, because all of that which is corruptible and that has gone. Maybe it's been eaten off by dogs or whatever, and all that's left is the bone of a man. You're just walking through the open field, and you just happen to touch the bone of a man in Israelite.
You stumble across a body. He was slain. You can tell he was killed with a sword because there's blood coming out of his side or wherever. And there's another, just a dead body, someone that died out there. And you touch that body. And Israelite did in the wilderness, it came across such they were defiled or the bone of a man. Maybe that person was killed long time ago and the birds have plucked all the meat away and so on. And all that's left, the bone, just the bone it still comes from.
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A man that was defiled.
And it was the wages of sin. So there are things that we don't look upon as very defiling. We kind of accept them. There are things that are obviously defiling in this world, and we recognize them for what they are, very evil things. But there are other things that have a semblance of acceptability, and they're still a part of this defiled scene where Christ has been cast out the bone of a man.
Or a grave. Now what does that speak of a grave? You might be walking in the open field and walk over a grave and not even know it. You don't even know it. You haven't actually touched it. But turn to a Luke 11, Luke Chapter 11.
Verse 42.
But woe unto you Pharisees, for ye tithe mint in Rule, in all manner of herbs, and Passover judgment, and the love of God.
These Archie to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Well unto you Pharisees.
For ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogue's.
And greetings in the markets. Now we're into the religious element here, the Pharisees.
Unto you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites, for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
This is the most subtle kind of defilement that there is in the world. Because.
It takes on the garments, the cloak, the form of religiousness.
The form of recognizing God.
And yet there is much that is in the religious world that is defiling.
A grave.
The Lord said that ye are as whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear fair to men, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
And he was talking to the upper crust of society. He was talking to those religious Pharisees, the men of the cloth.
The men that were the responsible ones in the nation of Israel to guide and lead.
Them to the true knowledge of God.
And it's a solemn thing to be in that position indeed.
Well, there are so much. There's so much that has a religious tone to it in Christendom today. And when you first look at it, we had.
We had mentioned a brother, young brother came to me and he said, why do you? Why do you discuss something before you've defined the problem or defined what you're talking about? Someone had mentioned, for instance, promise keepers.
And outwardly it appears very nice, and I'm sure that those that are involved in it are doing it with good intention many true Christians. But it's a it's a very.
It's a very sad development.
I just want to read you a little extract on the subject because some of you don't know anything about it.
It's the greatest.
Ecumenical movement in the United States of America today is sweeping the country.
So far it's only embraced men and.
It was started by a man with good intentions, football coach I think of.
Colorado football team and he wanted Christian men to assume their role of responsibility in the family, to be good husbands and good fathers. And these are all very commendable things. No one can find any fault with that. But this, this movement is so wide open.
And it's not doctrinally oriented. And that's the serious, the very, very, very serious error of it, that all of these different groups in Christendom that have all different views, doctrinally, some of them very serious errors are included and embraced in this movement, all with the all under the umbrella of getting a better family relationship.
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I remember hearing occasionally a very short little excerpt over the radio that is promoting family values. And I said, well that sounds good. And then it ends by saying Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints.
They're the ones that put it out.
They're the ones that promote it. A Promise Keepers is open to that group, by the way.
And I just wanted to read you this little extract this.
Roman Catholic Cardinal.
He has studied the feasibility and appropriateness of using utilizing Promise Keepers at the Catholic parish level.
He states Promise Keepers places a very strong no, excuse me, promise Cleek. There is no doctrinal issue which should cause concern to the Catholic Church, and it places very strong emphasis on returning to your own church, congregation or parish and becoming an active layman.
One of the promises is that I promise to support my local church.
In all of its activities and so on. And one of the speakers of the Promise Keepers has said we we should promote.
A local church worship whether it's the Lord's Supper. Some take the Lord's Supper, others have the Eucharist, others have the Mass, others have this and that, and he put that all together as being part of what they were supporting.
So to take that promise is to promise to support a mixture of good and evil.
A mixture of right and wrong, and that's why I read those verses in 2nd Corinthians 6.
What fellowship has light with darkness? What part had he that believeth with an unbeliever? What agreement with it of the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God, as God has said, I will walk in them and dwell in them, and they shall be my people. I will be their God.
God requires the very first thing you read in Genesis chapter one, verse 3 is God said let there be light. There was darkness enveloping this globe, and God said let there be light and there was light. And God divided the light from the darkness. It was evening and that was morning. The first day. First thing that God did was to divide the light from the darkness. And the portion that we had today in Romans 12 is we are to abhor that which is evil and to cleave to that which is good cease to do evil.
Learn to do good.
Bible does not brook any complicity with evil on the part of those who are his the ashes of the red heifer.
Tell a tremendous story to us. They contain the memorial of the death of Christ, which has separated us forever from this world and from all its glory, and from all its grandeur and from all its wisdom.
And from all that man takes such pride in, we are separated from that. And when a when a soul is defiled by contact with any of these things, the provision that is made is the application of the water of separation.
Verse 17 going back to numbers 19 and for an unclean person.
One that has gotten unclean out in the open field by touching. One that was slain with a sword, or a dead body, or the bone of a man. One that has entered a tent where there was death in the tent, whatever it was. 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. The running water speaks of the Holy Spirit.
Remember in John 7 the Lord Jesus said in the last, the great day of the feast. Jesus cried and said, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink he that believeth on me out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This spake he of the Spirit which they that believed on him should receive. For the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. We all have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us that living water, and this running water, this living water is mixed now.
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With the ashes of the heifer. And then it says in verse 18, The clean person shall take hyssop, that's the smallest part of nature, and dip it in the water. I think it speaks of faith. Here Faith, if thou shalt have faith as a grain of mustard seed, thou shalt say to this mountain be removed in a shallow day. 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, and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day. What does that speak of? The third day speaks of sin in the presence of grace. I have sinned against the grace which has saved me.
I have done that for which Christ died to put away He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, and I have indulged in that. I have indulged my flesh.
In some way.
There's thousands of ways that can be done. We have a little picture of some of the ways that we can get defiled.
By viewing violence and corruption.
And the.
The little things like the bone of a man, that don't seem so bad, but they still come from the results of sin, death.
And so the unclean person is sprinkled on the third day. That speaks of the conscious conscience coming into exercise and the realization I have sinned.
And Christ died to put my sins away. That very sin that I have indulged in, He died to put it away.
And so the spirit of God, the running water, takes the ashes of the heifer, the memorial of the death of Christ, and applies them to my conscience, brings me to confess and judge my sin. I have allowed I've indulged the flesh. I've done that which Christ died to deliver me from. That's the third day. And then he sprinkled again on the 7th day. And on the 7th day he shall purify himself. Have you ever met any Christians? You ask them, well, why aren't you at the Lord's table? And they say, well, I'm so bad, I'm so bad, I'm so bad, I'm not fit to be there.
None of us in ourselves is fit to be there, but he has made us fit through his work, and he's looking too much at how bad he is. And it's a good thing that we see how evil we are and judge that. That's the third day sprinkling. But don't stay there. You're not really restored to be useful in the assembly until you're sprinkled on the 7th day. The third day is sin in the presence of grace. I've sinned against the grace that has saved me, but on the 7th day, it's grace in the presence of sin, he says now.
I want you to be occupied not so much with your sin, but with the grace that has saved you and made you mine.
Be occupied with the matchless grace of God, which has made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in life. Well, that's a beautiful type, wonderful type in the word of God. Spirit of God applies to our conscience the death of Christ and all that he has done in judging sin and all the world system. That's about it. And so when we when we love the world.
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life we're partaking of those things.
Love not the world.
And it's all out there.
I was talking to a group in Bolivia.
Would be very different because they don't have the world in all its grandeur like we have in the United States.
We're living in a day when it's very difficult to remain pure.
Because there's so much impurity right out there in front of your eyes every day. You can't go buy billboards on the road. You can't. You can't go anywhere without feasting, without not feasting but looking at some things that are defiling.
And so we need the water separation. Not a fresh application of the blood of Christ, but the water of separation, the application by the Spirit of God through our souls, our consciences. I died for that sin. I died to deliver you from that sin.
And I want you to have fellowship with me, so you have to judge it. That's the third day. Now I want you to be occupied on the 7th day. I want you to be occupied with my love and grace, which has put it all away. And now I can have fellowship with you again. And so he's brought back into the camp, made useful again as he's gone through that spiritual exercise.
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Well.
Time is up.
Trust the Lord will encourage us all to look more deeply into that chapter, so rich and full of spiritual meaning. Let's close by singing #196.
Come let us sing the matchless worth.
Sweetly sound the glories forth which in the Savior shine.
196.
Oh my God, very rarely.
And I don't want to fly.
And come first week.