Parasha Chukat (Regulation,Commands) Num.19-22:1 Judg.11:1-33
By Raphael ben Levi
This week’s Torah portion is taken from Num.19-22 read in all synagogues throughout the world that contains several interesting and unique stories: Moses strikes the rock defying God’s instructions and forfeits his right to enter the land of Canaan and included is the event concerning the bronze snake. And the portion introduces the pagan hireling prophet Balaam which we will be a focus next week.
In the Torah are different types of commands which fall into three categories:
1. Edut—commemorative commands (e.g.,eating matzah on Pesach);
2.Mishpatim—rational commandments, such as offering charity
3.Chukat —a command that transcends reason and makes no sense.
The opening chapter of Num.19 is devoted entirely to this third category – “Chukat,” referring to the red heifer, (“Parah Adumah”) concerning a command related to the law of purification. The red heifer was a young female cow who had not yet borne a calf or worn a yoke and was selected only if it was without blemish or spot that might only be discovered once in several generations. The sacrifice of the red heifer was unique because it used a female animal and was the only sacrifice in which the colour of the animal was specified.
Unlike other sacrifices, it was slaughtered and burned outside the Israelite camp, and later in history specifically outside the city gates on the Mount of Olives, (opposite the eastern gate of the Temple Mount) facing the Temple. The sacrifice of the red heifer was overseen by Eliezar the priest and after it was slaughtered, Eleazar sprinkled some of its blood toward the front of the tabernacle seven times (v.4). Then he left the camp again and oversaw the burning of the carcass (v.5). As the red heifer burned, the priest added “some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool” to the fire (v.6).
Afterwards, its ashes were mixed with natural spring water, “the waters of purification” with the purpose to ritually cleanse those who had been contaminated through contact with death. Even close proximity to a grave (defined as within the distance of one’s shadow) made a person unclean (tamei). Consequently, tombs were whitewashed and clearly marked to warn those passing by to give plenty of space lest they became defiled. When Yeshua described the Pharisees as ‘whitewashed tombs,’ it was a severe reprimand immediately understood and of great offence to them.
From a spiritual perspective, every form of defilement separates us from God and is connected to death because, “the wages of sin is death” as we see graphically illustrated in Ps.51 when King David cried out to God following his sin with Bathsheba: “Lev tahor bra-li Elohim, Veruakh nakhon Chadesh be-kirbi Al tash-lokheyni mil’fanekha, Veruakh kodshekha, al tikakh mimeni” Create in me a pure heart, O God, And renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, And take not Thy holy Spirit from me.”
According to the Mishna, (Parah 3.5) from the time of Moses until the destruction of the 2nd Temple, only nine red heifers had been discovered and used who qualified and were sacrificed to prepare the waters of purification. Again, it’s important to note that the red heifer had to be entirely red, without blemish or defect, and was sacrificed outside the camp. The first red heifer was prepared by Moses, the second by Ezra and seven more from Ezra onwards making nine in total. The Jewish sages taught that the tenth heifer would be prepared by the coming Messiah as prophesied in Dan.9:26 before the 2nd Temple’s destruction in 70AD: “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple.” This prophecy was later reinterpreted in traditional Judaism for obvious reasons and Jewish people today are still awaiting their Messiah 2000 years after the event and this is specifically linked to the rebuilding of the 3rd Temple. This explains why there is so much interest and excitement among mainly orthodox Jewish circles today because it is intrinsically linked to the coming of the Messiah who they will discover will turn out to be the Anti-Christ but only after they make peace with him together with the nations that will usher in the tribulation.
As believers we do not rely on the oral law to confirm the establishment of a 3rd temple for its authority and veracity is clearly found in Scripture. Yeshua prophesied the desecration of the temple would occur during the Great Tribulation (Matt.24:15; 2Thess.2:4) so obviously there will need to be a temple for that event to occur. Therefore, in order to dedicate the 3rd Temple, and in order to follow Jewish law, the ashes of a red heifer, mixed with water, will be needed for the ceremonial cleansing. Since we know that an eligible red heifer has been found, this is one more piece of the jigsaw puzzle in place that fulfils biblical prophecy.
Understandably, there was a great messianic fervour throughout Israel around the time of Yeshua in the firm conviction that Messiah’s coming was imminent, and this links in to our parasha as we consider with the prophetic significance of the red heifer that was a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Yeshua for sin.
Since the rebuilding of the 2nd Temple under Ezra and Nehemiah no eligible red heifer was found. But now Yeshua prophesied something totally radical towards the end of His earthly ministry. In Jn.2:19 Yeshua declared publicly, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” and His statement confused everyone, but Scripture clarifies that Yeshua was “referring to the temple of his body” (v. 21) rather than the physical temple where they were standing.
The irony here was that their misunderstanding added to the religious hierarchy playing a role in the destruction of Yeshua’s body. During His trial, one of the charges levied against Him was specifically that He promised to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days (Matt.26:60–61; Mk. 14:57–59). As He was being crucified they mocked Him for being unable to fulfil His promise (or so they believed): “Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!’” (Mk.15:29–30). They were unaware that they were in fact helping to fulfil Yeshua’s promise as they were mocking Him.
Three days later at His resurrection, Yeshua’s earthly ministry was completed, death and hell were destroyed, and the Temple representing His body would be replaced by His Holy Spirit indwelling within every believer. Let’s take a closer look at this.
In the year of Yeshua’s death and resurrection Caiaphas (Jn.18:24) was the High Priest (8-36AD) and prophesied that Yeshua was going to die for the nation (Jn.11:51). On that Passover they took Yeshua’s corpse from the cross before sunset so that they did not profane the commencement of Erev Pesach that would have fallen on a Wednesday evening that year.
Those who buried Yeshua became unclean for seven days, equivalent to the last Day of Unleavened Bread (7 days). The ashes of the Red Heifer would have been used to sanctify the people in these circumstances. But Yeshua had to be placed in a clean tomb that had borne no other corpse, symbolic of the remains of the heifer because He had to remain uncontaminated until his ascension whereupon His death satisfied the entire sacrificial requirements of the Temple once and for all.
So, the 10th heifer that was sacrificed in 30 CE under the high priesthood of Caiaphas symbolised the sacrifice of Yeshua and the dedication of the new Temple built not with human hands but with the Holy Spirit that the apostle Paul writes is composed of living stones. Through our redemption won for us by Yeshua, every believer now becomes a habitation or “temple” of the Holy Spirit which is the seal or mark of salvation, likened to the blood on the lintels and doorposts of every Israelite home in their exodus from Egypt to freedom.
So, the tenth red heifer was already long gone 40 years before the destruction of the 2nd temple and is perhaps one reason why Rabbi Akiva scrambled to make sense of it by declaring Bar Kochba to be the long awaited Mashiach, but he got it badly wrong resulting in almost 2000 years of Jewish exile.
The ashes of a red heifer which cleanse a person from defilement has been a mystery for Jewish people, it was a “chok,” as they questioned how it could be possible for the ashes of the red heifer to purify the defiled yet defile the pure? But things now become clear for every believer as we understand how every requirement surrounding the sacrificial process of the red heifer (Parah Adumuh) was fulfilled perfectly by Yeshua. He alone was without sin or blemish (2Cor.5:21;Jn.8:46), and yet became sin for us and was killed outside the camp (Heb.13:12–13). He has earned for us the right to be cleansed from all sin and defilement (1Pet.1:2; Heb.12:24; Rev.1:5; Eph.5:25–6), not with the ashes of the Red Heifer, nor the blood of bulls and goats, but through His perfect sacrifice for us.
“He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 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 the 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!” (Heb.9:13–14)
Yeshua offers us life out of death. He conquered death and now offers life for whosoever receives Him as their personal saviour and Lord. Through Him, we no longer remain outside the “camp” because He has provided for us cleansing from the defilement of sin, and eternal redemption, not with the ashes of the red heifer, nor the blood of bulls and goats, but through His life-blood shed for us.
In Num.9:6, we read about another curious instruction for the priest regarding the sacrifice of the red heifer: “The priest is to take cedar-wood, hyssop and scarlet yarn and throw them onto the heifer as it is burning up.”
Cedar wood (‘erez’) is aromatic and its scent was a soothing aroma covering the stench of death that was used in ritual cleansing (such as for a leper) [Lev.14:4].
Hyssop was a symbol of purification and also used for the cleansing of someone healed from leprosy.
When the Israelites marked their doorposts with lamb’s blood so that the angel of death would pass over them, they were instructed to use a bunch of hyssop as a paintbrush signifying that God was marking His people as “pure.” (Ex.12:22).
David also mentions hyssop in Ps.51:7: “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow”.
The Roman soldiers offered Yeshua a drink of wine vinegar on a sponge at the end of a stalk of hyssop at His crucifixion (Jn.19:28–30). This is a beautiful picture of purification, as Yeshua bought our forgiveness with His sacrifice. Even as blood and hyssop purified a defiled person, so Yeshua’s shed blood purifies us from all sin.
Now we come to the mystery of the scarlet thread as referred to in Scripture. For example, Solomon describes the Shulamitte woman he loved with lips that he likened with the scarlet thread “Your lips are like a thread of scarlet, and your mouth is lovely.” This was more than just poetic imagery for in it is concealed the seal of God’s promise for those who know and love Him that is fulfilled through Yeshua with the mark of protection against Divine judgment towards sin. It portrays a love story which exceeds even the Song of Solomon. How so?
Hidden within King Solomon’s words describing the Shulamite woman’s lips is represented an event yet to take place of a redeemer who stripped Himself of His Divine glory, was treated as a common criminal, scorned and rejected of men and afforded a pauper’s grave.
Solomon, who was a direct descendent of Rahab, provides us with a glimpse of the relationship between Messiah and His chosen people. No wonder Rahab is included in the hall of fame as a heroine of faith alongside Abraham and others! The biblical definition of faith is a reminder of Rahab as represented by scarlet thread, whose bloodline would emerge the promised Messiah. In the genealogical line, Rahab married Salmon from the tribe of Judah through whom Yeshua was directly descended.
Rahab was a transformed harlot who saved the lives of 2 Israelite spies sent out to check out Jericho. As a result Joshua destroyed Jericho and Rahab and her entire family were spared and became a part of the Jewish people. What was the sign of protection for Rahab and her household? It was the scarlet thread: “Behold, when we (Israelites) come into the land, you (Rahab) shall bind this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down.”
Yom Kippur is the holiest day within Judaism, and was central to the kaparah (covering) of the sins of Israel. The priests placed a scarlet thread on the door of the temple which miraculously turned white if God accepted the sacrifice, demonstrating that He had forgiven the sins of the people.
The rabbis taught that 40 years prior to the destruction of the 2nd Temple) the scarlet thread ceased to become white in accordance with a declaration made in the Talmud, Tractate Yoma 39 “and it has further been taught: ‘For forty years before the destruction of the Temple the thread of scarlet never turned white but it remained red’” ) coinciding exactly with the time Yeshua was crucified. It provides us with a profound truth pointing directly to Yeshua’s sacrifice that became an eternal offering once and for all for sin obsoleting any further need for animal sacrifices.
In ending, let me share something of importance in view of the things that many believers are experiencing in these times we are living in. Ps.27:5 states, “For he will conceal me in his shelter on the day of trouble; he will hide me in the folds of his tent(tabernacle) he will set me on a rock.”
Trouble is no stranger to the vast majority of people, particularly in the current season we live in. The sheer scale and intensity of events obtrusively redefines life for huge numbers of its victims. Sudden trouble is a reality of life which we all hope never knocks on our door, but when it does, many of our support systems can be stripped away in an instant.
What does the Bible teach us about such things? In Ps.27, God promises to conceal us in His shelter on the day of trouble and place us upon a solid ‘rock’ (i.e., in a secure place). It is His response to the cry of the heart: “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.” (Ps.61:2)
The day of trouble is an unwelcome stranger lacking etiquette yet affording us opportunity in God’s economy to reach out and grasp the deep unfathomable riches of His love. In the day of trouble we can experience the victory which surpasses all victories; the fiercest statement and ultimate response in even the darkest of times that carries us from moment to moment, from strength to strength and from glory to glory by His all-surpassing greatness! We stand upon the solid rock against which no storm can shake nor darkness prevail for “…we know whom we have believed and are persuaded that He is able to keep that which we have committed to Him against that day!” (2Tim.1:12)
When we place our trust in God we discover His unswerving promises; in the good, the bad and the ugly; in a crisis and in a God-moment; in restoration and transformation; in the darkness of the soul and a moment of discovery; amid the shadows and in the fullness of glory. Within Ps.27 is contained something which transcends the beauty of words and is transformed into an exquisite treasure manifested within the furnace of affliction.
I love to hear when God intervenes and restores broken lives among those who dare to trust in Him against all odds. We must never forget to celebrate the story, but more importantly, be the story. There is a difference between a participator and a spectator. A participator is resolute but the latter grieves over missed opportunities and the consequences of all that could have been. One of the most poignant examples in Jewish history was the following event that took place just prior to the Spanish Inquisition, one of the darkest times in Jewish history. It is a story I have shared before but bears repeating.
In the year 1490, there was a big gathering of the congregations of all the Jewish community in Spain, near Barcelona. This Jewish community flourished in positions in government, and prospered to the point where they were talking to each other, asking, ‘What can we do to make our identity as Jews stronger? One of them suggested, ‘You know how rich we have become! Let’s send a message to Istanbul that we want to buy the land of Israel back from the Turks. We will pay whatever price they want. We’ll return to the Holy Land and rebuild the temple!’
There was complete unity and great excitement at this suggestion so they appointed three representatives from the community to go from Spain to Istanbul to negotiate terms with the Pasha in Turkey and return. Travel in those days was long and arduous and they set aside twelve months for this venture.
In the meantime, they decided they would open new yeshivas for Kohanim (Priests) to learn Kedoshim (holiness) for Levi’im (Levi’s) to study music, and their joy was unbounded! They decided they would meet the following year on Rosh Chodesh Elul in the year 1491.
The year passed quickly and they all assembled again to receive feedback from the emissaries. ‘We got a great price! We are buying the Holy Land!’ Everyone was ecstatic until suddenly one in their midst stood up and said, ‘Who gave us the right to buy the Holy Land? The Lord drove us out from the Holy Land, so we don’t have the right to go back unless we have a sign from heaven!’
The people immediately responded with indignation. ‘Are you crazy? Do you need a bigger sign? We have the money! The Pasha wants to sell it to us, and we want to go!’ However, a wedge had been driven and the poison had found an entrance. There were already two parties, one said, ‘White,’ and one said, ‘No! That’s red!’
They decided to wait another year, until Rosh Chodesh Elul, 1492, and everybody knows that on Tisha b’Av (9th Av) that year they were driven out of Spain. Do you know what the problem is? When the right moment arrives, Don’t wait, don’t wait . . .
The Lord’s return is very close. Let’s not wait with our hands hanging limp but redeem our time whilst there is still time!
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