25 October Numbers 19

The Red Heifer sacrifice foreshadowed Jesus.

Numbers 19:1-10 (NIV) “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke. Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines. The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer. After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening. “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin. The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening. This will be a lasting ordinance both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them”.

God gave the Jews special instructions to sacrifice a "red heifer" at certain times. Jesus later fulfilled the need for all sacrifices. While regular sacrifices could only cover accidental sins, this sacrifice was for intentional sins. Jesus’ blood is so powerful that it can forgive both accidental and intentional sins.

For most Christians, the red heifer sacrifice is either something they don’t know about or don’t think matters anymore. Whatever its purpose was, most people are happy knowing that Jesus fulfilled it, so they don’t need to follow it. If neither Jews nor Christians sacrifice red heifers today, why should anyone study it?

Thus, the red heifer foreshadows Christ. It should also tell us something unique that Christ did for us. The sacrifice was led outside the camp to be killed on the hill. By Jewish tradition, the red heifer was sacrificed on a hill just outside the gate of Jerusalem so that its blood could be accurately sprinkled toward the tent of the meeting. Jesus was sacrificed on the hill of Calvary. Like all sacrifices, the red heifer had to be “without blemish” to atone for sins. Jesus was the sacrifice “without defect” offered for our sins.

1 Peter 1:18-19 (AMP) “For you know that you were not redeemed from your useless [spiritually unproductive] way of life inherited [by tradition] from your forefathers with perishable things like silver and gold, 19 but [you were actually purchased] with precious blood, like that of a [sacrificial] lamb unblemished and spotless, the priceless blood of Christ”.

Only a few drops of blood needed to be cast toward the veil or the doorway to the Holy of Holies. Christ’s death and His blood brought such complete atonement. Hebrews 9:22 (AMP) “In fact under the Law almost everything is cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [neither release from sin and its guilt, nor cancellation of the merited punishment]”.

In conclusion, the sacrifice of the red heifer in Numbers 19 foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Just as the red heifer was without blemish and offered outside the camp, Jesus, perfect and sinless, was sacrificed on Calvary for the atonement of all sins—intentional and unintentional. The symbolic actions in the red heifer ritual pointed to the more significant and final sacrifice of Christ, whose blood offers complete and eternal forgiveness. The need for animal sacrifices was fulfilled through His sacrifice, making Jesus the perfect and final offering for humanity’s redemption. Understanding the red heifer deepens our appreciation for what Christ accomplished on the cross, reminding us of His atoning blood's purity, power, and sufficiency.