In the Book of Numbers, as in the Book of Leviticus, there is a view of uncleanness that resembles a view of contagious disease: uncleanness spreads from one person to another by itself. Like an infection. More than that: uncleanness, again like an infection, can be transmitted...
In the Book of Numbers, as in the Book of Leviticus, there is a view of uncleanness that resembles a view of contagious disease: uncleanness spreads from one person to another by itself. Like an infection. More than that: uncleanness, again like an infection, can be transmitted from one person to another even through defiled objects. What is this: the naivete of ancient humanity that entered the Bible? At first glance it can look that way, especially against the background of those pre-Yahwist and pre-biblical ideas that we find in the ancient world and whose roots go back into the era before history. In those days uncleanness was viewed precisely as a kind of illness, not physical but rather metaphysical, as we would call it today: uncleanness struck a person's soul just as infection strikes the body, and a person let into himself something that was not a physical disease but at times killed no less effectively than plague or cholera did in those same ages.
Naivete? It can look that way too. Yet in reality everything is not so simple, if we remember that we are speaking about fallen humanity and pre-Christian times. Fallen humanity is infected with death. Originally, before the fall, the human being did not have to die at all. Death was known to him, but it had nothing to do with his own life. After the fall, the human being came to know death as part of his own life, as a hereditary disease with which we are all born into this fallen world. The fallen human being is inclined toward death, and the fallen world is immersed in it. After the coming of Christ, everything changed; now death is no longer all-powerful as it was before. Before, death was the fallen world's final word. Everything ended with it, and it made everyone equal.
Before Christ's coming, life in our world was not the rule but the exception, that happy exception for the human being which did not correspond to his own nature and therefore could not last long. Uncleanness was this everyday and universal manifestation of death: it gave birth to sin and was itself born of sin, but it also gave birth to sickness, every kind of decay, in general to what we today would call entropy in all its possible manifestations. Human nature after the fall corresponded more to death than to life, and it picked up death as soon as it came into contact with it. For a fallen human being, contact with death in any form was the same as entering a tuberculosis ward for a person with a weakened immune system: he had no chance of survival. This is the source of that fear of every uncleanness which can appear exaggerated to us. For a Yahwist, contact with it was equivalent to contact with death and with the impossibility of communion with God.
19 The manner of preparing the water of purification, Num 19:1-10.
Of using it, Num 19:11-22.
19:2 Red - A fit colour to shadow forth the bloody nature of sin, and the blood of Christ, from which this water and all other rites had their purifying virtue. No blemish - A fit type of Christ. Upon which never came yoke - Whereby may be signified, either that Christ in himself was free from all the yoke or obligation of God's command, till for our sakes he put himself under the law; or that Christ was not forced to undertake our burden and cross, but did voluntarily chuse it. He was bound and held with no other cords but those of his own love.
19:3 Eleazar - Who was the second priest, and in some cases, the deputy of the high - priest. To him, not to Aaron, because this service made him unclean for a season, and consequently unfit for holy ministrations, whereas the high - priest was, as far as possibly he could, to be preserved from all sorts of defilement, fit for his high and holy work. Without the camp - Partly because it was reputed an unclean and accursed thing, being ladenwith the sins of all the people; and partly to signify that Christ should suffer without the camp, in the place where malefactors suffered.
19:4 Before the tabernacle - Or, towards the tabernacle, standing at a good distance from it, even without the camp, yet turning and looking towards it. For here is no intimation that he went into the camp before this work was done, but rather the contrary is implied, Num 19:7. And because being defiled by this work he could not come near the tabernacle, it was sufficient for him to turn and look towards it. This signified his presenting this blood before the Lord by way of atonement for his and the people's sins, and his expectation of acceptance and pardon only from God, and from his mercy - seat in the tabernacle. And this typified the satisfaction that was made to God, by the death of Christ, who by the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, and did as it were sprinkle his own blood before the sanctuary, when he said, Into thy hands I commend my spirit!
19:5 Burn the heifer - To signify the sharp and grievous sufferings of Christ for our sins. Her blood - All of it, but what was spent in sprinkling.
19:6 Cedar - wood, hyssop, scarlet - All which are here burnt, and as it were offered to God, that they might be sanctified to this holy use for the future; for of these kinds of things was the sprinkle made wherewith the unclean were sprinkled, Lev 14:4.
19:7 Shall be unclean - Partly to teach us the imperfection of the Levitical priesthood, in which the priest himself was defiled by some parts of his work, and partly to shew that Christ himself, though he had no sin of his own, yet was reputed by men, and judged by God, as a sinful person, by reason of our sins which were laid upon him.
19:9 For a water - Or, to the water, that is, to be put to the water, or mixed with it. Of separation - Appointed for the cleansing of them that are in a state of separation, who for their uncleanness are separated from the congregation. It is a purification for sin - Heb.a sin, that is, an offering for sin, or rather a mean for expiation or cleansing of sin. And this was a type of that purification for sin, which our Lord Jesus made by his death.
19:10 The stranger - A proselyte.
19:12 With it - With the water of separation. On the third day - To typify Christ's resurrection on that day by which we are cleansed or sanctified.
19:13 Whosoever toucheth - If this transgression be done presumptuously; for if it was done ignorantly, he was only to offer sacrifice. Defiled - By approaching to it in his uncleanness: for holy things or places wereceremonially defiled with the touch of any unclean person or thing. Is upon him - He continues in his guilt, not now to be washed away by this water, but to be punished by cutting off.
19:16 With a sword - Or by any other violent way.
19:17 Running water - Waters flowing from a spring or river, which are the purest. These manifestly signify God's spirit, which is oft compared to water, and by which alone true purification is obtained. Those who promise themselves benefit by the righteousness of Christ, while they submit not to the influence of his spirit, do but deceive themselves; for they cannot be purified by the ashes, otherwise than in the running water.
19:20 That shall not purify himself - Shall contemptuously refuse to submit to this way of purification.
19:21 Shall wash his clothes - Because he is unclean. It is strange, that the same water should cleanse one person, and defile another. But God would have it so, to teach us that it did not cleanse by any virtue in itself, or in the work done, but only by virtue of God's appointment: to mind the laws of the imperfection of their priesthood, and their ritual purifications and expiations, and consequently of the necessity of a better priest and sacrifice and way of purifying; and to shew that the efficacy of God's ordinances doth not depend upon the person or quality of his ministers, because the same person who, was polluted himself could and did cleanse others. He that toucheth the water - Either by sprinkling of it, or by being sprinkled with it; for even he that was cleansed by it, was not fully cleansed as soon as he was sprinkled, but only at the even of that day.
19:22 The unclean person - Not he who is so only by touching the water of separation, Num 19:21, but he who is so by the greater sort of uncleanness, which lasted seven days, and which was not removed without the use of this water of purification.