I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! (Romans 11:1). God is not through with Israel. And He never will be. Jeremiah 31:37—Thus says the LORD: “If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, says the LORD.” Has all of space been explored? Has anyone been to the center of the Earth? No, they haven’t. And so, God has not cast away Israel from His sight. And again, in echoing this sentiment, Paul calls on the words of the prophets in Romans 11:2-4—2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, 3 "LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life"? (1st Kings 19:14) 4 But what does the divine response say to him? "I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Ba'al." (1st Kings 19:18) 5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. God made a covenant with the people of Israel; He separated them from the Nations, and set them apart as His. Are we to now believe that God has simply washed His hands of this nation that He called His? What kind of unfaithful God would He be if He could just simply ignore this people He called to Himself? No, He could not.
So then, what are we to make of the Apostle’s words? Simply this: while God has not done away with Israel, He has nonetheless called on Gentiles to also be His people. Romans 11:17-20—17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Yes, salvation has come to the Gentiles (Acts 28:28). And why? But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. (Romans 11:11) Does this mean that the entire tree was cut down? God forbid! Do not say that God has cast the entire tree into the fire, for saying this could not be farther from the truth. For if He did, He would have to assign the entire human race to the fires of Hell. Which He would be right in doing, had He not first marked out a particular people as His own, with whom we are now grafted into that olive tree, that all, both Jew and Gentile, may become partakers of Christ, there being no division between the two, but all being one in the same olive tree. So then, what does this have to do with statutes in the Law that are called “statutes forever”? This: these statutes were fulfilled in Christ. “I came…to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). Since these statutes have been fulfilled in Christ, and He is such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens (Hebrews 8:1). And because He is a High Priest forever, both for Jew and Gentile, He is to this day and for always fulfilling the commands of the Father. Thus we can say that these “statutes forever” are being fulfilled, and will be fulfilled, until the end of the ages in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Numbers 19:11-22—11 “'He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. 12 He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. 13 Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him. 14 This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days; 15 and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. 16 Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days. 17 And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel. 18 A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave. 19 The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean. 20 'But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. 21 It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening. 22 Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.'”
In this passage we see the uncleanness of death and how it could make anyone even in the general area of it unclean. And why? Because death comes about because of sin. Romans 5:12—Death spread to all men, because all sinned. So the person who was even in the vicinity of death had to be purified before he brought his sacrifice, lest he defile the Tabernacle. By “Tabernacle” is not to imply simply the tent itself, as no one but a priest could enter it, but rather the entirety of what is called the Tabernacle—including the outer court where the people brought their sacrifices. If anyone unclean were to enter in, they would defile the Tabernacle of God. The penalty for that would be that the person would be cut off from the people. In other words, they were to be put to death.
In order to be made clean, the person had to have the ashes applied to him on the third day and the seventh day after he became defiled. And how would they purify themselves? They would take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel. Another picture of Christ. “How so?” In John 4:10, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The phrase “living water” is υδωρ ζων (hudor zoe) in the Greek. These same Greek words are used in the Septuagint in Numbers 19:17 to translate the Hebrew Phrase מַיִם חַיִּים (chiim mayim, “running water”). And the word חַיִּים (chiim) is from the root word חָיָה (haya, “to live”). From this word we get the Hebrew word יהוה, which comes into English as “YHVH”. The water they were to add to the ashes of the red heifer was living water, running water. Just as the water that Jesus gives us, the living water, is water from God, cleansing us and purifying us.
We have been reconciled to God, cleansed by God, purified by God, atoned for by God, justified by God—so that He may have for Himself a special people, made up of Jew and Gentile, from all parts of the world, from all different backgrounds, from the gentlest and humblest beginnings and from those who spent years blaspheming His name. Who else but God could make such a thing happen!
Long my imprisoned spirit lay/Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray/I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free/I rose, went forth and followed Thee. [Refrain]
No condemnation now I dread/ Jesus, and all in Him is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head/And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th'eternal throne
And claim the crown, through Christ my own
(“And Can It Be That I Should Gain” by Charles Wesley)
Finally, we must ask a question: “Why a heifer? A heifer is female, and all the other offerings are male. Why would God choose a female animal to purify those defiled by death?” This is a question that we could ponder for ages. One thought I had was that it pointed to Mary, being a young woman no man had known intimately. It could point to her, but not all aspects of the red heifer point to her, as she does not purify (although she brought forth the One who does purify). It could also represent the church, the Bride of Christ. The ashes of the heifer were burned with the cedar, scarlet and hyssop, possibly signifying the Bride being identified with the destruction of the Son of God. Many times in the New Testament we see language of us dying to our old self with Christ. Romans 6:3—Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 1st Corinthians 15:35-36—35 But someone will say, "How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?" 36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. So why would God call for this female animal to bring forth purification? We may never know.
Let me finish up by talking a little more about the red heifer and the Third Temple. Jerusalem is a city hotly contested by Jews and Muslims. Each side thinks that their side is the rightful recipient of it. This is not an issue that can be resolved quickly, or politically, as this is not a political issue, but a theological one. And until the world leaders realize this, no amount of negotiating and hand-shaking will change anything. This goes back even farther than the time of the Crusades, when the forces of Christendom wrested control of the city from the Muslim Seljuk Turks. This is an issue that goes back thousands of years to the days of Abraham. See, it is believed that Arabs are descended from Ishmael. And we know that Jews are descended from Isaac. Ishmael is considered by Muslims to be an ancestor of their prophet Mohammed. When we consider that the Qur’an states that it was Ishmael that Abraham was told by God (Qur’an, “Allah”) to sacrifice on Mount Moriah—what many refer to as the Temple Mount (הר המקדש, har hamakdash), and we add to that the fact that the Al-Aqsa mosque (The “Dome of the Rock”) sits atop this hill, and it would be atop this hill that the Third Temple would be built, we can see why tensions would be high concerning any attempt to displace this mosque with a Jewish temple.
So, should we be eagerly anticipating for them to find the tenth red heifer? Is that something we should be hoping will happen? Well, no and yes. While on the one hand it will begin what will turn into a worldwide war, and cause death and suffering for millions—perhaps even billions—of people, it will also mark the beginning of the end, and the return of Christ will be close at hand. And with His return will come our final redemption, when we will all be taken up to the New Jerusalem, which will never see either war or poverty, neither disease nor suffering. Revelation 21:3-4—3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
Lo! What a glorious sight appeared/before admiring eyes:
The former things all passed away/the former earth and skies.
From heav’n the new Jerus'lem came/for Christ, as bride prepared.
A voice resounding from the throne/these wondrous things declared:
"Now God has come to dwell with men/and moved his blest abode.
His people they shall be at last/and he shall be their God.
His gracious hand shall wipe the tears/from ev'ry weeping eye,
For pain and grief shall be no more/and death itself shall die."
The One who sat upon the throne/said, “I make all things new!
Write down the words that you have heard/for they are firm and true.
It is all done, and by my pow'r/is paradise restored.
I am the First, and I the Last/the one eternal Lord.”
Those are the words of another great hymnist, Isaac Watts, from his hymn “The Glorious Reign of Christ on Earth”. Yes, in those last days the Earth will groan as a woman in labor. But when those days have been completed, the Earth will rejoice, knowing its redemption is drawing near, and both we and it will no longer be under the curse, for we will all be with God and His Christ, to live in the presence of the glory of the Lamb for all eternity!
Lord, we thank You that You have not left us in our former state, that we should live in the sin and death we were formerly in, but You have made us partakers with Christ of Your glory! Help us to always pray for the peace of Jerusalem, but let us also remember that Creation must experience the birth pangs of the return of our Lord, to redeem all Creation unto You, that we may no longer suffer poverty or disease, and especially not death! For Christ has defeated death, and given us the victory through Him!
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.
