Numbers 19:1-61And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 2This 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: 3And 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: 4And 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: 5And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn: 6And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. (Numbers 19:1‑6)
WE READ in chapter 18 that the Levites were joined to Aaron and his sons, the priests — type of Christ and His own—and were servants to them. Now all believers are priests; and all are Levites too for they are typical of Christians who are redeemed, cleansed and consecrated to the service of the Lord. Furthermore, they have no inheritance on the earth.
In Israel a Levite was not a priest, but now one must be a priest — a worshiper — in order to be a true Levite, for the Levite speaks of service to Christ and the Church. Teaching and expounding the Word, watching over and caring for the flock of God, visiting among the poor and ministering to their needs, this loving service to Christ and His own would answer to the service of the Levite of old. But those who engage in such labors must first be called by the Master and their service must not be separated from Him. How sad to see many who have taken this place in the professing church who are not Christians at all, but who are strangers to His grace, who have made a profession out of these sacred privileges in order to gain a place for themselves in the world. Surely this is a great evil, and the all-seeing eye of God will find out the guilty in the day of the world’s judgment. In any little service we may feel called of the Lord to do may we seek grace to do it happily and humbly as unto Him, remembering His word, “without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:55I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:5)).
We now come to a remarkable provision of God for His people, made not when they were just entering the wilderness but after they had been long on their journey.
“And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, 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. 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...
“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. And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with 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...”
We do not have atonement in view here, nor the sprinkling of the blood as on the Passover night as that which secures from judgment, for both these tell of that wonderful work of redemption of the Lord Jesus on the cross which met all our need as guilty sinners once and forever. But the offering of the red heifer is God’s provision for us as believers who become defiled while traveling through this wilderness world and need cleansing by the way.
We all know what a defiling place this world is. We are surrounded with evils of every kind, and we continually need cleansing—not by blood, for that once applied is never needed again; “for by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” Heb. 10:1414For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14). How wonderful the grace that has prided for us not only as guilty sinners but also as needy saints.
ML-12/23/1973