Christ in the Old Testament

Numbers 19:2

This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke. (NIV)

Today’s Reading: Numbers 19:1-10

As we move through the book of Numbers, we come across an interesting passage concerning a red heifer. To meet the requirements of the law, a red heifer was needed to purify the Israelites from uncleanness. The ashes would be mixed with water outside the camp which would then be used for cleansing the Israelites. It’s purpose was for the purification from sin. 

God’s law specified that the red heifer was to be “without defect or blemish” and to have never borne a yoke. The sacrifice of the red heifer was unique in the law in that it used a female animal. It was also unique in that it was sacrificed away from the entrance to the tabernacle and it was the only sacrifice in which the color of the animal was specified.

The commands concerning the red heifer were symbolic of the sacrifice of Christ for believers’ sin. Jesus was “without blemish,” just as the red heifer was to be. The heifer was sacrificed “outside the camp” just as Jesus was crucified outside of Jerusalem. And just as the ashes of the red heifer cleansed people from the contamination of death, so the sacrifice of Jesus saves us from the penalty of death.

The author of Hebrews again reminds us that the rituals of the Israelites in the wilderness are only a shadow of the real events that will take place in Christ:

“The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Heb 9:13-14).

The blood of Jesus does so much more than simply saving us from death. It is to cleanse our consciences from disobedient acts. His death for us is to unleash us to serve the living God without reservation.

Today’s Prayer: Thank you for your sacrifice that allows me to fully serve you with a clear conscience and without reservation.