Numbers 19:1

Numbers 19:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,  Verse two adds, This 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:  God spoke to Moses and Aaron, with a message for the people of Israel concerning a sacrifice they were to bring.  They were to bring a red heifer with no spot or blemish that had never had a yoke on it.  Jesus Christ is our everlasting sacrifice, and He was without any spiritual spot or blemish and never had the yoke of sin on Him.  Verse three continues, 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:  Moses and Aaron were to then give the red heifer to Eleazar the priest.  He was to take her out of the camp, not to the altar, and slay her.  Matthew Henry says this speaks of the inefficiency of the Law of God to take away sin.  We know that Jesus was sacriced away from the temple, the center of carrying out God's law, when He died on the cross at calvary.  Verse four states, 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:   Eleazar was then to take the blood of the heifer on his finger and sprinkle it before the tabernacle seven times.  This was done to sanctify the tabernacle, as Jesus shedding His blood on the cross would later sanctify all who put their faith in Him.  Verse five adds, And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:  The heifer was then to be completely burned, just as Jesus offered Him completely on the cross to pay for our sins.  Verse six continues, And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.  Eleazar was then to throw cedar, hyssop and scarlet to the fire.  These were used in the cleaning of lepers, who were ceremonial unclean and barred from worshipping with the other people.  Jesus cleanses us from our spiritual uncleanliness by His sacrifice on the cross.  Verse seven says, 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.  The priest was to then wash his clothes and bathe himself in the water made from the ashes of the sacrifice of the heifer, come into the camp, where he would be unclean until the evening.  He was made unclean by participating in the offering of this sacrifice, just as we are made unclean by participating spiritually in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  Verse eight adds,  And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.  The one who burned the heifer was also to be unclean until the evening.  All who made the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross necessary are spiritually unclean until they accept Him as their Savior and Lord.  Verse nine states,  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, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.  The ashes were then to be laid outside the camp in a clean place by a priest that was clean.  The sacrifice of this one heifer was enough to purify all the people of Israel, just as Jesus sacrifice is enough to purify all people for all time.  Verse ten adds, And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.  After gathering the ashes, the one who gathered them would be considered unclean until the evening, to both the people of Israel and the strangers there with them.  Jesus death on the cross purifies all who put their faith in Him.  We must be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ to be saved.