CONTEXT:
PART
4: Rebellion & Corrections
In
the fourth part it is difficult to know quite where the
jump of forty years takes place but in it we find a rebellion
and judgment but then a re-establishing of Aaron and the
Priesthood, a clarification of the role of the Levites,
and an additional set of rules that can be applied outside
the priesthood.
Ch.16:
[Action] Rebellion
-
the rebellion and judgment of Korah etc.
Ch.17:
[Action] The Lord Elevates Aaron
-
the budding of Aaron's staff
Ch.18:
[Law] Priests versus Levites
-
roles of both
Ch.19:
[Law]
Water
for Cleansing ‘Uncleanness'
-
cleansing with ashes of a red heifer
|
FRAMEWORKS:
Numbers 19: Water for Cleansing ‘Uncleanness'
v.1-10
The Red Heifer Ashes prepared
v.11-13
Unclean by touching a corpse
v.14-15
Unclean by a Tent Death
v.16
Unclean by touching any dead body
v.17-22
Cleansing such an Unclean Person
v.1-10
The Red Heifer Ashes prepared
v.1
The
Lord said to Moses and Aaron:
v.2
A Red heifer chosen
v.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.
v.3
Killed outside the camp
v.3
Give
it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and
slaughtered in his presence.
v.4
Blood taken and sprinkled before the tent
v.4
Then
Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger
and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting.
v.5,6
Heifer then burned
v.5
While
he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood
and intestines.
v.6
The
priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and
throw them onto the burning heifer.
v.7
Priest to be washed
v.7
After
that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with
water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially
unclean till evening.
v.8
The helper to be washed
v.8
The
man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water,
and he too will be unclean till evening.
v.9
The ashes to be kept safe outside the camp
v.9
“A
man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put
them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They are
to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water
of cleansing; it is for purification from sin.
v.10
The helper to be washed
v.10
The
man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his
clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening. This will be
a lasting ordinance both for the Israelites and for the foreigners
residing among them.
[Notes:
In the previous two chapters after the rebellion in
chapter 16, Aaron had been exalted [ch.17] and then the Levites
differentiated from the Priesthood [ch.18]. Now in this chapter
there is this alternative method of ‘cleansing people' that did
not require the priesthood and the first stage is simply creating
ashes from burning a red heifer (cow).]
v.11-13
Unclean by touching a corpse
v.11
“Whoever
touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days.
v.12
They
must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on
the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not purify
themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean.
v.13
If
they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse,
they defile the Lord 's tabernacle. They must be cut off from
Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled
on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.
[Notes:
The first general cause of uncleanness is touching a
corpse. This person will need cleansing. This is the basic requirement
that will be clarified in the following verses.]
v.14-15
Unclean by a Tent Death
v.14
“This
is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who
enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven
days,
v.15
and
every open container without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.
[Notes:
The first cause of uncleanness is now narrowed down
to needing cleansing by touching a body that specifically has
died in a tent and making the tent unclean.]
v.16
Unclean by touching any dead body
v.16
“Anyone
out in the open who touches someone
who has been killed with a sword or someone
who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches
a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for
seven days.
[Notes:
The next clarification is a touching a dead body out
in the open.]
v.17-22
Cleansing such an Unclean Person
v.17
“For
the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification
offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them.
v.18
Then
a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it
in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and
the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has
touched a human bone or a grave or anyone who has been killed
or anyone who has died a natural death.
v.19
The
man who is clean is to sprinkle those who are unclean on the third
and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them.
Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes and bathe
with water, and that evening they will be clean.
v.20
But
if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be
cut off from the community, because they have defiled the sanctuary
of the Lord. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on
them, and they are unclean.
v.21
This
is a lasting ordinance for them. “The man who sprinkles the water
of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches
the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening.
v.22
Anything
that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who
touches it becomes unclean till evening.”
[Notes:
The way the unclean person is cleansed is with the help
of another person who is not unclean who will pour water over
the ashes provided before and then sprinkle the unclean person
with that water. While this action may not have any power to cleanse
in any forensic manner, the exercise does create a ritual that
emphasises the necessity to take health precautions after having
had to touch a dead body that may possibly be infected in some
manner. It is a simple ritual not requiring the priesthood to
carry it out.]