Based on Numbers 19 (New King James Version)
“Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come. You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening. And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification; it is for purifying from sin. And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them. ‘He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. 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. 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. ‘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; and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. 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. ‘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. 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. 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. ‘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. 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. Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ’ ”
Cleanliness was (and is) something very important to God, and for reasons that should be obvious to us. But, as the saying goes: Common sense is not so common. What we read today explains to us the different care that the people of God had to take within certain circumstances, and the different measures that were necessary to take, not only in obedience to God, but also for the personal and public well-being of the people. Ultimately everything that God teaches is for the good of man, and unfortunately, the vast majority of people do not see it that way. They see what God teaches as an impediment, an obstacle, or as exaggerations in many cases, as things that no longer make any sense because human beings have “evolved” in some way. It should be clear to us that the more human beings believe that they have evolved, the more primitive and uncivilized they have become, and in the most important aspects. Cleanliness in all aspects, both physically and spiritually, is crucial, both to live better in the temporal world and to be ready for the coming judgment where we will all give an account.
Let's think for a moment, do we have to continue killing perfect cows to deal with the purification of our bodies and our homes? Not necessarily. But, there are things that must happen or should be adopted that are part of purity to avoid even physical complications. For example, eating clean foods, whether cleanly grown, cleanly raised, or even cleanly maintained, are good practices to avoid contamination or disease. There are many things that are done to food today that are filthy, or contaminated with things that are unhealthy. Just when you think you are eating something healthy, it may be the total opposite, because unthinkable things have been done to the most incredible things. We must be careful, at least with what is within our control.
But going further, there are things that are still very valid before God, and for our good. For example, this is what the Word says: “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” Acts 15:28-29. We could talk a lot about what is sacrificed to idols, and about blood and about what is strangled, but let's focus on something that even the world itself is very concerned about, something that is very common today: fornication or sexual immorality. Forbes magazine published this article on January 25, 2024, where they said the following: “Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a major public health issue, and the complacency surrounding their prevalence and impact is as infectious as the diseases themselves... The prevalence of STIs has significantly risen in recent years… Currently, one in five adults in the U.S. have an STI. That’s nearly 68 million people, with new infections totaling about $16 billion in direct medical costs. From the rampant spread of chlamydia to the dangerous nature of HIV, these infections know no bounds when it comes to wreaking havoc on our bodies, sometimes leading to expensive long-term health issues. With rising STI rates globally, understanding the reasons behind the increase, the importance of prevention and the cost – both monetary and personal – associated with these infections is more crucial than ever.” Forbes is not a Christian publication, but rather a very secular one. So, is God wrong to teach that fornication and adultery should not be practiced? And looking at it from the spiritual side, the most important one, the practice of sexual immorality affects eternity. Each person, and even Christians, will be held accountable for their actions in God's great judgment, and God will eternally punish everyone who practices such things. Sin will not remain unpunished on earth, but much less in heaven. So, purity is worth a lot, especially spiritual purity. The Lord died on the cross to cleanse us from all our sins. So, how can we continue doing the same things that the Lord cleansed us from, if we are Christians? So, think carefully, am I living a clean life before God, for my own good? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel.