Page 93 - Pentateuch

10. How was a person cleansed from coming into contact with a dead body?

Let’s get Personal…

Can you see a mom tucking her kids in bed for the night? She pauses to tell them again how Abraham was
asked by God to sacrifice his son and then given a substitute. Like all children, they have favorites and might
clamor for the story of Noah and the ark with the animals two by two. They learn ethical lessons about lying
and scheming through the stories about Jacob and Esau. Certainly, Mom and Dad, who have not yet joined
Egypt worship, would tell of a coming Savior. They would tell of the “Seed” promised to Adam and Eve, who
would crush Satan. They would tell of that same “Seed” promised to Abraham as a blessing to all the earth.

These names speak, at least faintly, of faith in the gospel. At the same time, Israel was being warned of the
dangers of coming too close to Yahweh if unauthorized; they had a memory of the grace of God promised
to past generations. They have the option of embracing this grace for themselves, living up to the names
their parents gave them. The law warns not to come to God in just any way. Grace speaks of a welcome in
his presence despite sin. Many lessons are learned in the wilderness for the Israelites, but they have a good
beginning. Even before Moses was born, God had plans for them, good plans.

As always, we wonder about the Israelites who understood the coming Messiah. Is such a believer’s faith
deepened? A future sacrifice can pay for my sins. A sacrifice made outside the camp can make me clean
and approachable to God. The lesson becomes clearer after Christ, of course, but the lesson speaks just the
same. “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. 9:1-14).”

The power of the death of Christ is incredible. Yes, the ashes of a heifer made OT believers clean in a
ceremonial sense. The death of God’s Son can do so very much more. The cleansing is not external but
internal. A person’s conscience knows that a few ashes cannot take away sin. A greater sacrifice is needed.
A person’s conscience, once convinced of the deity of Jesus, accepts his death for personal cleansing. His
death works across time and space. His death changes a person’s thought patterns, giving the forgiven one
a desire to serve God. His provision is that great, that effective.

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