The Strand Study Bible

NUMBERS 18:20 NUMBERS 19:10 tithe for the sole purpose of meeting the physical needs of those who ministered for Him ( Mal 3:8 and I Cor 9:6,14 ). Offerings, not tithes , were used to build buildings ( Exo 35:5 ), and a “ ransom ” of a half of shekel (Exo 30:12-15), not tithes , was used to maintain those buildings. The tithe was to be used for the sole purpose of taking care of God’s ministers (Num 18:21-24), not buildings and/or the Tabernacle. 19:2 a This one-time offering of the “ RED HEIFER ” was set up by God to provide a one-time “sweeping cleansing” for the tens of thousands of people who had been defiled due to the recent plague of deaths in Numbers 16:49. The Liberty Bible Commentary notes: 318

Laws had already been given whereby a living person coming in contact with a corpse would be considered unclean (disqualified from religious life and service) for a period of seven days. But a crisis had probably now arisen. Due to the recent plague (16:49), no less than 14,700 corpses had come upon the scene. This event alone had, doubtless, contributed to the defilement of tens of thousands of people. What could be done about this? The rite of the red heifer was God’s answer to this problem. 1

Whereas biblical law is concerned with several types of impurity, which have a direct effect on everyday life, the most severe type of impurity was that which was caused by exposure to death. Although there were several methods for restoring purity, most notably immersion in water, God’s exclusive antidote to the impurity of death, especially when it concerned the nation as a whole, was purification by sprinkling of the RED HEIFER’S ashes. According to Rabbi Chaim Richman, in his book called The Mystery of the Red Heifer , as Israel moves closer toward the building of the Third Temple, only one thing is missing…the ashes of the RED HEIFER , required by the Bible for purification. To the Jewish people, the sacrifice of the RED HEIFER is the only solution to the restoring of Temple worship, for God has ordained that its ashes alone are the single missing ingredient for the reinstatement of Biblical purity and thereafter the restoring of the Holy Temple. Therefore, the Temple and/or Tabernacle cannot be rebuilt and sacrifices offered until a spotless RED HEIFER is found and offered ( II Thess 2:4 and Dan 9:27). Richman believes that we live in a generation of spiritual awakening and that a book like his could not have been written in any other generation. NOTE - The RED HEIFER had to be red , for sin in the Bible is alluded to as red (Isa 1:18). This ritual pictured the future cleansing power of the blood of CHRIST for all mankind (Heb 9:13-14, I Jn 1:7-9 & 2:1, Isa 63:1 and Rev 19:13). According to Richman, the ordinance of the RED HEIFER has detailed requirements, which must be met. Some of these are directly relayed in Numbers 19 while many others were transmitted orally to Moses and then passed down by the rabbis throughout the generations, until the present day. He notes: The heifer must be three years old and perfect in its redness…It must also be totally free from any physical blemish or defect, whether eternal or external…The red heifer also has an additional, unique requirement: it must have never been used to perform any physical labor. This would include riding, or even leaning on her …Thus Scripture states, “that a yoke never went on.” 2 19:2 b The RED HEIFER was a type of CHRIST in that no other cords (or, yokes) other than His own love for mankind bound Him (Jn 10:17-18). 19:7 Called the “water of separation” (vs 21), this “ water ” was a picture of the cleansing power of the Word of God (Eph 5:26).

1 Falwell, Jerry. Liberty Bible Commentary , Nashville, TN, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983. Print. 2 Richman, Rabbi Chaim. The Mystery of the Red Heifer, Jerusalem, ISRAEL, 1997. Print.