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This week’s parasha is entitled, Chukat, which means “decree of” and covers Numbers 19:1-22:1.  This portion has one of the most interesting and intriguing passages in the Torah, the sacrifice of the red heifer in Numbers, Chapter 19.  In past parashas, our speakers have focused on the deaths of Miriam and Aaron in Chapter 20 and Moses striking the rock at Meribah, in the same chapter as well as the plague of fiery serpents, due to the complaining of the people, and the lifting of the bronze serpent in Chapter 21, so today, I would like to focus on Chapter 19 during my commentary.

My first thought about the red heifer sacrifice is why this sacrifice and why at this time?  God had already established the sacrificial system earlier in the Torah.  Moses had received the commandments regarding various sacrificial offerings, starting at the beginning of the book of Leviticus, and the importance of animal sacrifices had been outlined in this book of the Bible.  The shedding of animal blood as an atonement for sin was made clear by God in Leviticus, Chapter 17, verse 11:  For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar, it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.  Animals were to be sacrificed at various times as an atonement for sins and special offerings and also during the 7 major Jewish Holidays mentioned mainly in Leviticus 23 and Numbers 29.

The red heifer was also designated as a type of sin offering, but it was for a very special type of sin.  Let’s look at the instructions for this sacrifice in more detail.  First off, the animal was to be a heifer.  This would mean that it was a cow under three years old, which had never given birth.  In addition, the color was to be red.  This would immediately make the color of the animal unusual and set it apart from more common animals.  In fact, this is the only sacrifice in the Old Testament that specifies the color of the animal.  The animal was to be without defect or blemish, no spots or other imperfections.  Indeed, later Jewish tradition specified that if even two hairs of another color, black, brown or white were found, the animal was to be disqualified.   It was also never to have been put under a yoke, meaning it could not have done any work.  All these requirements combine to mark the animal as special, and also in a way as pure, since the animal would not have been defiled by having been impregnated or by having done labor usually done by beasts of burden.  The color, red, would also have denoted the image of blood.

Continuing on with the instructions regarding the heifer, we find that the animal was to be killed outside the camp.  All other sacrifices designated as sin-offerings were made inside the camp, and later at the Temple, once it was built during the time of King Solomon.

Three individuals were involved with the sacrifice:  The first red heifer sacrifice was offered by Eleazar, the priest, who was Aaron’s son.  Once the heifer was slaughtered, Eleazar was to take some of the blood on his finger and sprinkle it towards the Tent of Meeting.  Then the whole heifer was to be completely burned: hide, flesh, blood, everything.  The priest who burned the heifer was to be ritualistically clean.  Then another priest, who was also ritualistically clean, was to gather the ashes that resulted from the complete burning of this sacrifice.  These ashes were then mixed with a “water of cleansing,” which was then used to cleanse people who had come in contact with a dead body.  This was very important because we read later in Numbers 19 that if people remained in a defiled state without being purified by these ashes mixed with the “water of cleansing,” they would not be allowed to worship at the mishkan, the Lord’s Tabernacle.  The Lord’s House of Worship could not be defiled by one who was impure in such a manner.  If a person did not become cleansed, and their uncleanliness stayed upon them, it was a requirement that the person be cut off from the community of Israel.

3 different people, each ritualistically clean, were involved with the red heifer sacrifice.  However, once these priests participated in the sacrifice, for which they had to be ritualistically clean, they became unclean until evening.  Those who were clean became unclean through offering this sacrifice, which would be used to purify others.  They purposely had to defile themselves so that those who had been defiled could be made clean by the result of the red heifer sacrifice.

This was so difficult for the Jewish people to understand, that the Talmud, the oral commentary on the Torah, states that of all the 613 commandments in the Torah, this was the only commandment that wise King Solomon said that he could not comprehend specifically for the purpose that those who are clean become defiled by offering a sacrifice that in turn makes those who are impure clean again.  In fact, the red heifer sacrifice is known to this day as a Chok, which roughly translates as a heavenly decree for which there is no logical explanation.

I would like to make a couple of comments at this point regarding those in Israel who are currently working to restore the Temple in Jerusalem.  There is an organization in Israel called the Temple Institute and they are dedicated to not only educating Jewish people about the importance of the Temple in Jewish history and in Judaism, but also in restoring the Temple on the site where it originally stood.  If you go to their website, www.templeinstitute.org, and look across their web site headings, you will see that they have a section on the red heifer.  You see, the site where the Temple stood was so holy, yet it has become defiled due to the blood that was shed during its destruction and the structures that have been built on top of that most holy place since that time.  Therefore, those who are looking to restore the Temple have been searching for a red heifer in order to create the waters of cleaning in order to cleanse that area when they are able to rebuild the Temple.  And, when a potential red heifer is discovered, there is a team specialists that go to investigate.  There was some interest in January of 2014 when these specialists thought they had discovered a distinctive match with a red heifer here in the United States.

The other interesting thing to note is that according to the great Jewish scholar, Maimonides, known as RaMBam, 9 red heifers had been prepared in history, and the 10th red heifer would appear during the Messianic age.  This statement by Maimonides is consistent with an ancient Jewish tradition, once again emphasizing the importance that this sacrifice has even today among Jewish people today who are seeking the Temple restoration.

However, as believers in Messiah Yeshua, things become clear when we look at this sacrifice from the perspective of the Brit Chadasha, the New Covenant.  Hebrews, Chapter 9, verses 13 and 14 sums this up:  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 Messiah, 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.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, animal sacrifices had to be offered day in and day out to atone for the sins of the people of Israel.  The ashes of a red heifer mixed with a cleansing water needed to be used to purify those who had come in contact with death so that they could again worship at God’s sanctuary.

What a picture this gives of the atoning power of Yeshua for those who believe in Him.  He cleanses us from our sin and allows us to draw near to God because He paid the ultimate price by dying on the cross.  He who was sinless and blameless gave up His life as a perfect sin offering to atone for all sins, past, present and future.  He who was pure, allowed Himself to experience the defilement of the sins of the entire human race so that He could once and for all be the perfect atonement for all people.

For many Jewish people today, the red heifer sacrifice remains a Chok, a heavenly decree without a logical explanation, just as it was centuries ago during the time of King Solomon.  However, if we look upon this sacrifice from the vantage point of knowing our Messiah, we see how He brings about perfect atonement from sin and allows us to draw closer to God.