THE ASHES of the red heifer mingled with running water were God’s gracious provision for pilgrims defiled on their journey. It is somewhat like the Lord’s washing the disciples feet in John 13. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:99If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).
After the burning of the heifer the priest was to wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. How often we stray away in our own souls. But then too a clean person who had to do with the restoration of another who had fallen into sin was himself unclean until the evening. This tells of the care and fear in which we should seek the restoration of another, lest the flesh should make us fail in the hatred of the evil or in grace to the one who has failed. It is easy to become self-righteous on the one hand, or ourselves come under the power of the sin on the other. Only the Lord could touch a leper and be untainted with the evil.
Washing the clothes speaks of the necessity of cleansing and separation from the contacts, companionships and associations which caused the defilement. Then we have to apply the Word to our own persons, cleansing our minds from evil thoughts which ever seek to lodge there. This we see in the priest washing himself all over.
“He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.” If an Israelite touched the dead body of a man, or a bone, or a grave he was declared unclean. If a man died in a tent, then every one in the tent, every open vessel, and all who came into the tent were unclean. Death is the result of sin; “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin” (Rom. 5:1212Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12)). One could not help it if a man died in a tent and it would be perfectly right for him to bury the dead, but that did not make any difference. Death brought defilement and the Lord sets forth here that which would remove it from His presence. God did not change His standard of holiness even though sin has come into the world, but in grace He does make provision for the removal of the defilement from His own.
There was, however, a provision that in a tent where death had entered any vessel which had a covering bound on it should remain clean in spite of death being there. Evil actions, bad words, bad stories, and defiling pictures are everywhere in this wicked world, but if our hearts are filled with Christ, “covered over” with a sense of His love and holiness, we are kept clean in the midst of these defiling things. May we seek to be like “covered” vessels, for it is in His presence and in the enjoyment of His holy love that we learn what sin really is and are kept from it. However, if our eyes are open to the evil sights of this world and our ears open to its evil stories, if our feet are not walking in the path of separation, we become defiled. Oh how watchful we should be! Let us ask the Lord continually to help us keep our eyes on Him, to walk with Him, and to keep the “covering” on.
ML-01/06/1974