Red Heifer                              Numbers 19:1-6

Over the past several years I’ve known people who what to understand more so they make a New Years resolution to read the Bible from cover to cover. Most give up around Leviticus or Numbers. It’s here that we read about ancient religious practices, and we wonder what relevance they have for us today.

When we prepare for our Affirmation of Faith, I say that God shows us his plan in the Old Testament. Today’s reading is one of those times, for we can see a shadow of the work and sacrifice of Jesus in the story of the Red Heifer.

So how does this sacrifice of a red heifer relate to Christ? Some scholars see the Hebrew word for red “Awdome,” similar to the word Adam-a, which is mankind and used to describe both Adam and Eve before the fall. Many believe that the root word for both Adam-a and awdome stem from a word meaning “red earth.” I’m not going into great detail, that’s a whole seminary lecture, but often God uses similar sounding words with different meanings to cement a spiritual point. A lot of these are found in the original languages and can be lost in our English translation.

Back to the heifer. Some commentators believe it is God pointing us back to Adam, Eve, and the fall, thereby showing us the reason for a savior. Also, this red heifer pointing us to the first Adam reminds us Jesus entered the world as the new Adam; 1 Corinthians 15:45, “The first man, Adam, became a living being; the last Adam, that is Christ, a life-giving spirit.”

As we look deeper, we can see that a perfectly red heifer would be a rarity, so its sacrifice would be an extremely rare occurrence. The rarity of this earthly sacrifice points us to Christ, whose sacrifice needed to be done only once. The cleansing by his sacrifice cleanses us for all eternity.

Verse 2, “Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke.” The heifer was perfect, without blemish; this of course points to Jesus, the one who is perfect and without sin.

A heifer is a young female cow that has not produced offspring. I find it interesting that of all the sacrifices handed down to man, this one is unique in that it is the only one involving a female animal. Theologians believe that since the female animal is much more submissive than a bull would have been it again points to Jesus, to Christ’s submissiveness to the Father.

This heifer would also be a beast of burden, known for giving humble service; another shadow of Christ. Matthew 20:28, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Verse 3, “Give it to Eleazer the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence.” The slaughter of the heifer outside the camp is a shadow of the death of Jesus which occurs outside the city of Jerusalem. This is spoken of in Hebrews 13, verses 11-13, “The high priest carries the blood of animals to the Most High Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus, also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.”

Jesus was led outside the gate to bring salvation to mankind. This in itself is a shadow of the truth. In this we see our savior so loved the world and mankind that he left the comfort and glory of heaven and suffered outside heaven’s gate so the lost could be saved.

I also believe that if we reflect and examine Jesus’ ministry through this story of the red heifer, we see how Christ spent much of his ministry outside the towns ministering to outcasts, tax collectors, prostitutes, and other sinners.

Verse 4, “The Eleazer priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting.” The blood of the heifer had to be sprinkled seven times and we’ve seen before that seven represents completion. Jesus’ sacrifice completes God’s plan for mankind’s sin, completes God’s plan for our salvation. And because the blood was sprinkled in front of the tent, the people had to walk through it to enter. By this we are shown that one has to go through the blood of Christ to enter his church. In other words, we need to accept Jesus’ sacrifice for us in order for his blood to complete us. We need to accept Jesus’ sacrifice in order for his blood to cleanse and consecrate us so we can enter heaven. Ephesians 2:13, “But now you belong to Christ Jesus. Though you were once far away from God, now you have been brought near him because of the blood of Christ.” Hebrews 10:19, “And so dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most High Place because of the blood of Christ.”

Our readings verse 6, “The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool, and throw them onto the burning heifer.” Why these three things? Many Bible scholars say that in scripture, cedar represents imperishable existence. This is a direct reference to Jesus; Jesus, who death could not hold; Jesus, life eternal.

Another thing to think of; when cedar burns it gives off a sweet aroma. Last week we saw how the sweet aroma of the burnt sacrifices pleased God. The cedar points to the sacrifice of Jesus, the sacrifice whose aroma pleases God the most.

The prophet Ezekeal uses cedar in his description of the coming savior. Ezekiel 17:22-23, “And the sovereign Lord says, ‘I will take a tender shoot from thee top of a tall cedar, and I will plant it on top of Israel’s highest mountain. It will become a noble cedar, sending forth its branches and producing seed. Birds of every sort will nest in it, finding shelter beneath its branches.’” Christ, noble and mighty, reaching out to all mankind, giving salvation to men of all nations, spreading the seed of the kingdom of heaven among the whole world.

Hyssop: Hyssop is a small bush. Its oil is quite an effective anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent. Hyssop represents cleansing, the cleansing of our soul by the sacrifice of Jesus.

Scarlet wool: scarlet, the color of blood, the source of life. Scarlet wool, a shadow of the shed blood of Christ that brings eternal life.

There are those people who feel that since Jesus died and rose, we have no further need to examine the Old Testament. I see the Old Testament as a wealth of information to help us understand and believe what the events in the gospels accomplishes for us. It’s true we have an advantage over ancient Israel, we have the advantage of hindsight. I ask you to spend some time in the Old Testament. Look at its accounts with the knowledge of Christ and see him looking back at you from the pages. See God’s plan for us as described and explained in these stories. Read accounts like this one this morning with a heart open to see Christ in its lines.

This story of the red heifer shows us God’s plan, the plan of our savior leaving the glory of heaven to suffer in the world.

The red heifer shows us God’s plan, the plan of a sinless Jesus being sacrificed for our salvation.

The red heifer gives us details of how Jesus will be taken outside the city of Jerusalem to be sacrificed. It tells us how Jesus’ sacrifice will be the one perfect sacrifice for all time. And how we must accept that sacrifice to be sanctified and to enter heaven with eternal life.

Our reading shows us Jesus ministered outside the camp. Matthew 16:24, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

As believers we are called by God to go outside the walls of our own comfort, outside the gates of Christ’s church, and minister to the lost.

May the Spirit lead you.

May Christ’s peace be with you.

May God’s salvation be within you.

Amen