Parasha 38: Chukat (Statute, Decree) Num.19:1-22:1 Haftorah Chukat: Judges 11:1-33
By Raphael ben Levi
“Adonai said to Moshe and Aaron, “This is the REGULATION from the Torah which Adonai has commanded. Tell the people of Israel to bring you a young red female cow (heifer) without fault or defect and which has never borne a yoke.” You are to bring it to El’azar the cohen; it is to be brought outside the camp and slaughtered in front of him. El’azar the cohen is to take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle this blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times.” The heifer is to be burned to ashes before his eyes – its skin, meat, blood and dung is to be burned to ashes. The cohen is to take cedar-wood hyssop and scarlet yearn and throw them onto the heifer as it is burning up.” (v’s 1-6)
Chukat (חֻקַּת ), Hebrew for regulation, statute or decree, represents one of a range of mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah, which fall into three main categories:
1.Edut (testimonials)—commemorative commandments such as for eating matzah on Pesach;
2.Mishpatim (judgments)—logical, rational commandments, such as the giving of charity or not committing murder and theft;
3.Chukim (regulation, statute, decree)—mitzvot that transcends reason; as with the laws of purification through the Parah Adumah (Red Heifer) included in this week’s parasha.
I would like to focus on this mysterious law of purification of the Red Heifer—a three-year-old red cow whose ashes cleansed those unclean through coming in contact with death. The Law of the Red Heifer is clearly described in Numbers 19.
The animal was slaughtered and burned outside the camp at the “Mount of Anointment,” situated on the Mount of Olives opposite the eastern gate of the Temple Mount, instead of at the Temple.
The purification laws surrounding the red heifer is shrouded in mystery. After it had been sacrificed the ashes, stored in a clean place outside the camp, were mixed by the priest with purified water and sprinkled upon the individual or object needing purification. Whilst anything ritually defiled was now considered pure, the priest who performed the ceremony himself became temporarily defiled. There is a Talmudic phrase that reflects this curious position:
“The ashes of the red heifer purify the defiled and defile the pure.”
Judaism acknowledges that this is beyond any kind of sense or meaningful interpretation and is known as a ‘chok,’ a law with no explanation. When an individual became defiled through contact with a corpse, God provided the means to become ritually pure again. The red heifer ritual was the concrete expression for maintaining purity when someone was contaminated specifically by death. It was a ‘chok’ that the ashes would purify the person or object when mixed with the water. It has been said that even King Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, could not provide any explanation for this ceremony.
The Lord instructed Moses and Aaron telling them: “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and upon which a yoke has never come. And you shall give her to Elea’zar the priest, and she shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered before him; and Elea’zar the priest shall take some of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of her blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. And the heifer shall be burned in his sight; her skin, her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall be burned; and the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet stuff, and cast them into the midst of the burning of the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterwards he shall come into the camp; and the priest shall be unclean until evening. He who burns the heifer shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean until evening. And a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the people of Israel for the water for impurity, for the removal of sin. And he who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. And this shall be to the people of Israel, and to the stranger who sojourns among them, a perpetual statute. He who touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days; he shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean; but if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean. Whoever touches a dead person, the body of any man who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still on him.” Num. 19
Following the sacrifice of the red heifer, the ashes were mixed with natural spring water known as “the waters of purification” and was used to clean that which was ceremonially unclean. This ritual was very important because no-one was allowed to participate in the Temple worship unless they were ritually pure, and would be cut off from the Israelite community.
The priest used cedar wood, hyssop, and a scarlet thread that were thrown into the fire of the sacrifice. Cedar wood is aromatic and its scent was a soothing aroma covering the stench of death. Hyssop was a symbol of purification. The scarlet thread is symbolic of the two goats of Yom Kippur; one was sacrificed, and the scapegoat (Azazel) was led into the wilderness and thrown over a cliff (known as ‘The Azazel’) to its death. These symbols were added to the fire to show that the death of the red heifer purified those defiled by death. The God of the living, would render life to those exposed to death in exchange for the sacrificial offering.
In Jewish tradition, it was judged that even proximity to a corpse (defined as within the distance of one’s shadow) made a person unclean. Consequently, tombs were whitewashed so they were clearly marked to warn those passing by to give plenty of space lest they be defiled. When Yeshua described the Pharisees of His day as ‘whitewashed tombs,’ He served them with a severe reprimand that was immediately understood and of great offence to them.
The heifer was to be three years of age, totally red in colour, without blemish, or ever having borne a burden and, according to Jewish tradition, without a single black or white hair on its body. The animal was slaughtered with the priest sprinkling its blood seven times toward the tabernacle’s entrance. The entire carcass (hide, entrails and meat) was then cremated on a wood pyre.
Heb. 9:11-15 is highlights the significance of the red heifer: “Mashiach has appeared as the high priest of the good things that have happened. He passed through the greater and more perfect meeting tent, which isn’t made by human hands (that is, it’s not a part of this world).
He entered the Holy of Holies once for all by his own blood, not by the blood of goats or calves, securing our deliverance for all time. If the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkled ashes of cows made spiritually contaminated people holy and clean, how much more will the blood of Yeshua wash our consciences clean from dead works in order to serve the living God?
He offered himself to God through the eternal Spirit as a sacrifice without any flaw. This is why he’s the mediator of a new covenant (which is a will): so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance on the basis of his death. His death occurred to set them free from the offences committed under the first covenant.”
The red heifer is connected to Yom Kippur yet also stands alone from it. It provided for the purification of an individual defiled by coming in direct contact with ‘death,’ on an as-need basis, opposed to annually for the corporate covering of a nation’s sins.
The Jewish sages were puzzled how the ashes of a red heifer could cleanse a person from defilement as directed by the command in this torah portion. How could a solution of water mixed with the ashes of a burned animal purify the impure?
The answer to this mystery is simple but it is only when we look to Yeshua’s atoning sacrifice that we can better understand this portion of Scripture and the mystery of the Red Heifer is revealed! The requirements surrounding the sacrificial process of the Red Heifer (Parah Adumuh) were fulfilled by Yeshua in full:
The red heifer was without blemish. Yeshua was without sin or blemish (2 Cor. 5:21; John 8:46),
The red heifer was killed outside the camp. Yeshua also was crucified outside the camp (Heb 13:12–13).
The red heifer was offered as a burnt offering and was entirely consumed even as Yeshua yielded His life completely for us.
The ashes of the red heifer were collected and stored in a clean place and the body of Yeshua was placed in a brand new tomb.
So, what is the answer to the riddle that perplexed even King Solomon? It is life out of death, a perfect picture of Yeshua who conquered the sting of death for anyone who would embrace Him and walk in His ways.
In verse 6 of this week’s parasha, we read another curious instruction for the priest with regard to 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 (‘erez’) wood is aromatic and its scent was a soothing aroma covering the stench of death and was used in ritual cleansing (such as with a leper) [Lev14:4]. Cedar wood was used in the construction of Solomon’s Temple and palace, “Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of fir according to all his desire” (1 Kings 5:6-10)
Hyssop was a symbol of purification and was also used for the cleansing of someone healed from leprosy alongside cedar.
When the Israelites marked their doorposts with lamb’s blood in order for the angel of death to pass over them, God instructed them to use a bunch of hyssop as a “paintbrush” (Ex.12:22). This signified that God was marking His people as “pure” and free from the judgment God which He was about to deal out to the Egyptians.
David also mentions hyssop in Psalm 51:7: “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” which refers to being cleansed from sin as one confesses their sin.
Hyssop appears at Yeshua’s crucifixion, when the Roman soldiers offered Him a drink of wine vinegar on a sponge at the end of a stalk of hyssop (John 19:28–30). This is a beautiful picture of purification, as Jesus bought our forgiveness with His sacrifice even as we read here in this Torah portion, blood and hyssop purified a defiled person. So, Yeshua’s shed blood purifies us from the defilement of sin.
Here we have another reference to the curious ‘scarlet thread’ that weaves its way in and out enigmatically in the Bible.
Scripture also refers to this colour with lips that are likened to a scarlet thread “Your lips are like a thread of scarlet, and your mouth is lovely.”
This can be understood to mean that even her smallest feature was noteworthy and of utmost value as to attract King Solomon’s attention.
In addition, the thread is important because it links us with a heroine of faith: Rahab. The Israelites encamped at a place called Shittim close to Jericho. As they prepared to cross the river, Joshua sent out two spies ahead. Five days later they returned and reported how a harlot named Rahab had saved their lives in the great city of Jericho, by hiding them in her house. After Joshua destroyed Jericho, Rahab and her whole family were spared according to the promise of the spies, and became a part of the Jewish people. What was the sign of protection for Rahab and her household? It was the sign of 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.”
If we were to translate the context of the proverbial meaning, we can see hidden a reinforcement of their promise to her. The Hebrew word is used in relation to hope. The scarlet thread figuratively represents the divine promise of redemption, a way of escape and a mark of protection against the judgment of God. The lips seal His promises that are all fulfilled through Yeshua.
King Solomon described the Shulammite woman of nobility with prolific romanticism and imagery. It is puzzling that he connected her with the harlot Rahab. It would seem that her lips, described as a thread of scarlet, 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.
Here, we see a love story which exceeds even the Song of Solomon (known also as the ‘Song of Songs’) yet is inextricably connected. 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 reminds us of Rahab, (the substance of things hoped for and the reality of things not seen) which represents the scarlet thread, the bloodline through whom would emerge the promised Messiah. Rahab later married Salmon, from the tribe of Judah through whom Yeshua was directly descended.
The scarlet thread reveals to us that God has planned a way of escape and a mark of protection against His judgment.
Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day in all of Judaism, and was central to the kapparah (covering) of the sins of Israel. They placed a scarlet thread on the door of the temple. The scarlet thread miraculously turned white if Adonai (Hebrew for God of gods) accepted the sacrifice, thus indicating that He forgave the sins of the people. If the thread did not turn white, then they mourned, as their sins were not forgiven.
The rabbis taught that forty years prior to the destruction of the Temple (i.e. 30AD) the scarlet thread ceased to become white (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’. – Rosh HaShanah 31b, Babylonian Talmud,) coinciding with the time that Jesus was crucified.
This act was prophetic of the fact that Jesus’ sacrifice was an eternal offering for sin making the need for accepting animal sacrifices for sin obsolete.
“Come now, and let us reason together, says the YHVH: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
But why is there a provision for sacrifices in the 3rd Temple? (cf. Ezekiel chapter 40). Very possibly it will be there as a prophetic reminder to all of the eternal sacrifice made by Jesus, which as described in the Book of Hebrews, is a better sacrifice than the old system. (Heb.10: 1-18)
But there is another aspect to the Temple sacrificial system which many people overlook. Even during the period of the 1st and 2nd Temples where there existed the sacrificial system there also existed the practice of teshuva (repentance).
The essential elements of teshuva were and still remain:
- abandoning the sin,
- regret for the sin,
- confession,
- restitution and compensation for damage (if applicable).
All of these elements of teshuva existed when a person could also bring a sacrifice but bringing an animal sacrifice to the Temple was not some sort of “get out of jail free” card. Without proper teshuva, the offering was of little or no value.
We can as believers fall into the same trap by offering up to the Lord all our sacrifices and good works as a substitute for trying to earn His forgiveness and favour whilst still going home each night and abusing the family behind closed doors, or knowingly and willingly living a sinful lifestyle.
“For You do not delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.
My [only] sacrifice [acceptable] to God is a broken spirit;
A broken and contrite heart [broken with sorrow for sin, thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.” (Psalm 51:16-17)
Let’s not be deceived. Our ministries and good deeds are no more than excess baggage unless they are accompanied by a living relationship with Jesus grounded in His love and holiness. He alone is the way and the truth and the life. He alone is the One who can take the lives of the Rahabs of this world and transform them into heroes of faith!
He alone can take hold of the adulterers of this world and speak into their lives and say, “Where are your accusers? Neither do I accuse you. Go and sin no more.”
He takes hold of the sinners, the tax collectors, the mis-fits and rejected of this world who lie in the rubbish dump of hopelessness and despair and lifts them up and place them upon a solid rock and make all things new. This is our God! This is our miracle working God who makes all things new, our feet like hinds’ feet, and sets them upon the mountain heights! (Psalm 18:33)
We need not be bowed down and remain under the weight and oppression of sin for God sent His Son, Yeshua to set us free from all bondage and create within us a new heart filled with abundance and life everlasting!
Grab hold of the One who is our Redeemed and hope and anchor for our soul. Today can be your new beginning!
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