Scriptures

Numbers 19:1 to 22:1
Judges 11:1-33
John 3:1-21; 4:3-30; 12:27-50

The red heifer sacrifice has always been a great mystery in Scripture. To comprehend the importance of this study we go back to Exodus 24:3-11 and the receiving of the Covenant by the people of Israel. Scripture says, “They all responded with one voice, ‘Everything YHVH has said we will do.’ Moses then wrote down everything YHVH had said.” The season was the culmination of the Counting of the Omer, the feast of Shavuot/Pentecost. The occasion was the betrothal of YHVH to the people of Israel and the giving of the marriage covenant, the Ketubah (Torah: YHVH’s teaching and instruction), to the bride.

The Hebrew phrase the people called out in unison, "Na'aseh v'nishma!” – “We will do and we will listen," teaches us how to free ourselves from the shackles of our own stubbornness. The secret to success is to accept whole-heartedly the challenges and, yes, the so-called "burdens" of the truth, even without yet knowing fully what the truth is - always placing service and holiness of YHVH above all other considerations.

He [Moses] got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. They offered a young bull and one half of the blood was put in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it (again) to the people. They responded, "We will do everything YHVH has said; we will obey." Moses took the remaining bowls of blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that YHVH has made with you in accordance with all these words" (Exodus 3:5-11).

The Brit Chadasha/New Testament provides more detail of what occurred at this event in Hebrews 9:19, "When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the Torah to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people." This is the red heifer ceremony and this is the background to our study this week.

Numbers 19:1-9 The Red Heifer

The killing of the red heifer and keeping of the heifer’s ashes were commandments for purification. This was to be a lasting ordinance for the Children of Israel and those sojourning with them throughout their generations (Numbers 19:2, 9, 10, 21). The law required that the High Priest, Eleazar, take a red heifer without defect or blemish that had never been under a yoke outside the camp and slaughter it. Some of its blood was then to be sprinkled seven times toward the front of the Tabernacle.

Under Eleazar the High Priest’s supervision the heifer was burned outside the camp entirely – its hide, flesh, blood and offal, along with some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool. Later the priest cleansed himself (had a mikvah, immersion in water for status change) and changed his clothes, then returned to camp. The man who burned the red heifer also had a mikvah and changed before reentering the camp.

A man who was ceremonially clean gathered up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a clean place outside the camp. Then he returned after he had changed his clothes and performed a mikvah. The ashes were kept for the Israelite community as a whole, to be used in the water cleansing ceremony for purification from sin (sometimes called holy water). This was to be a lasting ordinance for both the Israelites and those sojourning among them.

To date, there have been nine red heifer sacrifices in Israel’s history. Popular thought holds the Messiah as the one who will fulfill the requirement of the tenth red heifer. Let’s look into Scripture.

The red heifer was a female cow not older than three years that had not yet had a calf. The heifer was a type and shadow of the Messiah. Yeshua is the Word made flesh, born of a virgin, conceived by the Spirit of YHVH, who was without sin, meaning He had never been under the yoke of sin and death. Yeshua’s earthly ministry was three years (John 1:1, 14; Luke 1:26-27; Isaiah 7:14).

Different places have been labeled as the traditional site for the crucifixion of Yeshua. One was the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, which would have been “inside the camp”. Some say Gordon’s Golgotha (meaning skull, head or poll), a relatively new site in history. The generally overlooked deeper Hebrew understanding of the word skull is that it is a reference to the top of a man’s head. The term Calvary was an adaptation of the Latin calvaria, meaning bare or bald head. The term skull was also used to describe the top or summit of a mountain, especially a bare one.

According to Scripture, the red heifer was to be killed outside the camp in a clean or set-apart place. That clean place was historically and biblically understood to be on a separate mountain entirely than the one the temple was on, which was Mount Moriah. The most authentic clean place “outside the camp” was on the Mount of Olives. This mountain, opposite Jerusalem, has historically been accepted as the scripturally sound set-apart place for the red heifer sacrifice. Also known as the Skull Mountain in Yeshua’s day, the Mount of Olives has long been recognized by the Israelites down through the generations as the place where Yeshua died.

Access to this site was through the eastern gate, also called the Golden Gate. The valley between Mount of Olives (which was accepted Hebraically as the appropriate crucifixion sight) and Mount Moriah (where Jerusalem was situated) was called the Kidron Valley or Brook. The blood and water from the temple sacrifices would flow down between these two mountains through this Kidron valley also called the Valley of Death. Joining the two mountains was a bridge built for the priests to travel over the Kidron Valley. It was called the Priestly Bridge, the Red Heifer’s Gangway and the Narrow Way, and allowed the priests to travel from one mountain to the other in order for them to perform their sacrificial duties without coming in contact with death from the unclean flow of the Temple.

In Genesis, when Abraham received the Covenant from YHVH, he was told to sacrifice animals and cut them in half, placing the halves opposite each other so the blood would flow down each side and into the trough between them. The halved animals represented two people groups, the House of Israel and the House of Judah (Genesis 15: 1-21).

Similarly, the two mountains situated at Jerusalem represent the two people groups: the House of Israel and the House of Judah. Mount Moriah represents those who are in Torah and the Mount of Olives represents those people outside Torah. Together they represent the Whole House of Israel.

Yeshua was and is the only mediator between the two people groups. It is only His sinless atoning blood, through the red heifer sacrifice, that can break down the barriers between the two and bring healing; thus uniting them as one people under the Kingship of Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Hebrews 9:15; Ephesians 2:11-22).

A phenomenon likened to the halved sacrifices of the Abrahamic Covenant occurred at the time of Yeshua’s death. A flow of blood similar to the cutting of first covenant was seen, with one stream coming from the temple sacrifices running down one mount, Mount Moriah, and the blood of Yeshua’s sacrifice flowing down the other mount, Mount of Olives. Yeshua’s one act of faithfulness fulfilled the red heifer sacrifice and literally renewed the Covenant of Abraham, sealing it forever. (And in this way, the Mosaic and Davidic covenants were also renewed, as they are dependent on the Abrahamic covenant.) Yeshua restored His people and made the Covenant as new again for us to walk in (Jeremiah 31:33-34; Hebrew 8:8-10; Matthew 10:8; 15:24; Romans 11:25-26; Ezekiel 37:15-28).

It was this priestly bridge, called the Narrow Way or Gangway, that Yeshua crossed as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, five days before the Passover to be our Passover Lamb. We are told that all the people held palm branches and waved them, shouting “Hosanna! (Hebrew for “Save us!”) Blessed is He who comes in the Name of YHVH! Blessed is the King of Israel,” thus fulfilling Psalm 118:25-26 and Zechariah 9:9 (John 12:12-15). It was along this bridge that the people proclaimed Messiah Yeshua, King of Israel. And it was this same bridge that carried Yeshua to His death on our behalf a few days later as the final fulfillment of the red heifer requirement.

Enter in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leads to life and there are few who find it (Matthew 7:13-14).

On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south (Zechariah 4:4).

At the exact moment of Yeshua’s death, when His blood was shed, there was an earthquake and the inner Temple veil that divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place tore in two from topto bottom. This was the hand of YHVH as no man could tear this curtain. It was reported that this curtain measured eighty-two and a half feet high, twenty-four feet wide. The thickness of the curtain was one handbreadth, or three inches, requiring over three hundred men to hang it. (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45)

Numbers 19:5-6 The Red Heifer

The red heifer was to be burned outside the camp, with its hide, flesh, blood and offal along with some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool.

Cedar can represent strength; it can also represent pride. Our pride makes us think we are long lasting and indestructible. The Talmud says that the inhabitants of Israel called ten different trees cedar. It is, however, the cedar of Lebanon that was most widely referred to when the word erez (cedar) is used in Scripture. The average height of such cedars is about eighty-five feet, though some have measured over a hundred feet, and the circumference may reach forty feet. It is also common for this tree to spread its roots among the rocks, thus securing a stronghold. There is a particular oil in the cedar that prevents destruction by dry rot and insects. Scriptural references for cedar use in connection with the Temple is in 1 Kings 6:15 and 18, where cedar was used inside the Temple and 1 Kings 7:12, where it was used outside the Temple. Out of all the furniture in the Temple only the Altar of Incense was made of cedar (1 Kings 6:20).

Hyssop represents humility. The word occurs ten times, primarily in the Five Books of Moses. Hyssop is a small plant that can grow on walls. Hyssop was used in purification ceremonies. In Exodus, hyssop functioned as a brush for the Israelites to apply blood to the doorposts and lintels of their homes. In Leviticus 14:4-6, hyssop, along with cedar wood and scarlet thread, was used in a purification ceremony for a man cured of leprosy and from an outbreak of mildew. King David said, "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean" (Psalms 51:7). Cedar and hyssop, respectively, seem to represent the most magnificent tree and the most insignificant bush.

Scarlet thread, in Scripture, represents Yeshua’s blood. It refers to the dye obtained from the eggs of the female cochineal scale that attached itself to the kermes oak tree. The word towla (Strong’s # 8438) is Hebrew for scarlet, worm or crimson. When the female “scarlet worm” was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained the wood surrounding her body, acting as a covering. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted. Scarlet thread was used in such purification ceremonies as the cleansing of the leper (Leviticus 14:4,6), the leprous house (Leviticus 14:49,52) and for general ceremonial uncleanness (Number 19:6). The towla dye was the color of blood and would be a natural symbol in such a ceremony.

Cedar, hyssop and scarlet thread are all symbols of the Messiah dying on the tree for our sins.

Numbers 19:17-21 Red Heifer

For an unclean (tzarat) person, ashes from the red heifer, the burnt offering of purification, were put into a jar, and fresh living water was poured over them. Then a man who was ceremonially clean would to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings, as well as the people who were there. But if a person who was unclean did not purify himself on the third and seventh day, he was cut off from the community, because he had defiled the sanctuary of YHVH; the water of cleansing had not been sprinkled on him, and he was unclean. This was a lasting ordinance for the people of Israel.

John 4:5-24 The Samaritan Woman

Who were the people of Samaria? Samaria was a region in the Northern Kingdom of Israel inhabited mostly by people of the House of Israel. Assyrians came in during the occupation, settling and intermarrying with the people there (2 Kings 17:5-6,24). As a result, when traveling north, most people from Judah and the Southern Kingdom would avoid the region as Samaritans were considered half-breeds in their eyes. But scripture was clear that the people who lived in darkness would be redeemed one day.

The book of John chronicles how Yeshua was traveling north and came to a town in Samaria called Sychar near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph (from the House of Israel). Jacob’s well was there, and it was at this well, at about the “sixth” hour, that Yeshua sat down. While at the well, a woman came to draw water, and Yeshua asked her for a drink. This woman was shocked that a man from the House of Judah would stop and ask a woman for water and drink "her cup."

The sixth hour was a foreshadowing of the time during Yeshua’s crucifixion that darkness would come over the whole land, until the ninth hour (Matthew 4:16; Mark 15:33). It would also be a sign for this woman and her people of the redemption the Messiah would bring to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, those people who lived in darkness (Matthew 15:24).

Nevertheless there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles [those who have lived among the Nations], by the way of the sea, along the Jordan. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned (Isaiah 9:1-2).

When Yeshua asked the woman for a drink it was with the understanding that he would be drinking from “her cup.” This cup represented the cup from the Law of Jealousy for the adulterous bride (Numbers 5:5-31). The House of Israel had become an adulterous bride to Yeshua. She had broken her covenant with Him. A type and shadow of the House of Israel, the Samaritan woman was an adulterous woman who had had five husbands (likened to the five books of Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). Yeshua shocked the woman by declaring to her His knowledge of this, further saying, "And the one whom you now have is not your husband." Meaning that what she was doing now was outside Torah, God’s teaching and instructions for life. She reminded Yeshua who He was – a Jew from the House of Judah – and stated that she was of the House of Jacob, the House of Israel. "How can you ask me for a drink?" she said. At this point the woman was very aware of the separation between the Two Houses of Israel. Also that the House of Judah was not friendly with "her people," as they were considered "unclean" for living among the Nations and thought of as a defiled people. Yeshua continued, "If you knew the gift of YHVH and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you Living Water."

As Israelites, this was "our" cup Yeshua was willing to drink on our behalf. It was not “His” cup as He was sinless before His Father. Just before Yeshua died, He prayed in the garden on the Mount of Olives, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” The cup He drank for us was for our purification. It was the cup of the adulterous bride called the Law of Jealousy. This cup was pressed to His mouth on the end of the hyssop stick at His crucifixion (Matthew 26:39).

Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit (John 19:29-30).

The Samaritan woman revealed that her father was Jacob and that the well belonged to him. "He drank from it as did his sons and his flocks and herds.” (A reference to the covenant of Abraham for ALL Twelve Tribes of Israel.) Yeshua said, "Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 7:38). This was prophetic of the redemptive work of the Messiah in renewing the covenant to her. It tells us that the adulterous bride would pass the test for the Law of Jealousy because Yeshua would drink the cup intended for her on her behalf. When she would drink her cup, she would be found to be the virtuous bride. Formerly “lost”, she was now “found” – back under the covering of the Abrahamic Covenant and walking out her redemption according to God’s ways (John 8:1-11; Revelation 19:13).

She saw that Yeshua was a prophet and said, “Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews (House of Judah) claim that the place where we (House of Israel) must worship is in Jerusalem.” Yeshua said, “A time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this Mountain nor in Jerusalem…a time is coming and has now come when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (Jeremiah 31:31-36).

With joy the woman recognized the scripture and realized Yeshua was the Messiah. Her heart opened when she saw the forgiveness offered her and her people, the House of Israel. She ran to the village telling of the “Good News,” (Good News is an idiom for the Mosaic Covenant, which is the teaching instruction booklet to the Abrahamic Covenant) and that the one Moses told them about had come! Yeshua stayed among these people two days and showed them the redeemed holy lifestyle in the Living Torah. Many came to believe and put their faith in Him as their Messiah.

It is Yeshua who cleanses us by His Spirit and Truth. Spirit and truth are references to blood and water, what came from Yeshua’s pierced side. YHVH is Spirit and His worshippers must worship Him in Spirit and Truth (Jeremiah 3:6-11).

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, YHVH made you alive with Yeshua. He forgave us all our sins. Having cancelled the written code with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the stake. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the stake (Colossians 2:13-14).

The word “cross” is the Greek word strauros (Strong’s # G4716) meaning: an upright stake, especially a pointed one, and, a cross.

When they came to Yeshua and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Yeshua' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water [spirit and truth] (John 19:33-34).

And I will pour out on the house of David (all Twelve Tribes) and the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son (Zechariah 12:10).

On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity [to restore David’s fallen tent/covenant – Amos 9:11; Acts 15:16] (Zechariah 13:1).

Yeshua fulfilled all the requirements for the red heifer sacrifice of purification. As an unclean people, this requirement in Torah that we could not fulfill, He fulfilled for us. Yeshua cleansed our impurities once and for all. He was taken outside the camp to a clean place and, there, sacrificed. Taking our sin upon Himself literally killed Him. The hyssop requirement for the red heifer sacrifice was evidenced in the drink brought to him on a hyssop branch. The scarlet thread requirement was fulfilled at his death also, for when the sword pierced his side, a “scarlet thread” of blood and water from His heart poured out. The fulfillment of the cedar requirement was realized in both the wood he carried to the crucifixion site and the Altar of Incense made of cedar. This was located in front of the dividing curtain before the ark in the temple. When Yeshua died, the dividing curtain tore into two pieces. This could only happen if His blood was accepted on the heavenly Altar of Incense. Once a year the Altar of Incense needed atonement. It not only was atoned for by Yeshua’s blood in the year of His death, but was eternally atoned for once and for all (John 19:29; 1 Kings 6:20, Exodus 30:10).

Fulfillment of the requirements of the “cup of bitterness” (of the law of jealousy for the adulterous bride) and the water of cleansing (with ashes from the red heifer sacrifice to cover the unclean) brought about Yeshua’s death. As Israel, we were both that adulterous bride and that dead (tzaras) body. We were considered dead in our trespasses and iniquities from our forefathers before us. Yeshua drank our cup and was our red heifer sacrifice. As a result of our adultery and uncleanness, we were worthy of death; therefore Yeshua died that death on our behalf. We who believe enter His death and resurrection, and if we die IN Him, we will also rise with Him as His resurrected; we are His Firstfruits from the dead.

For you died and your life is now hidden with Yeshua in YHVH (Colossians 3:3).

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people (Psalm 22:6).

Remember the scarlet description earlier; worm was another word for scarlet (Strong’s # 8438).

Wherever scarlet is mentioned, it is a picture of Yeshua dying on the tree, shedding His precious blood – atoning, covering, purifying and redeeming us from our sins. Our sin was dealt with that He might "bring many sons unto glory." He died for us that we might live through Him.

Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool (Isaiah 1:18).

Just as there were many who were appalled at Him – His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and His form marred beyond human likeness – so will He sprinkle many nations (Isaiah 52:14-15).

Prophesy of Yeshua our Messiah at His crucifixion, that He would sprinkle many people/nations by His blood.

Before Pilate, all the people answered, "Let His blood be on us and on our children!" (Matthew 27:25).

The Matthew scripture speaks of FUTURE GENERATIONS! We want Yeshua’s blood to be upon us! This was a cry for all future generations. The law says that whoever touched a dead person needed to be cleansed (Numbers 19: the red heifer sacrifice); we were dead in our transgressions. They wanted His blood to be upon them to be forgiven, absolved and sanctified of the sin they, their generations, and the whole community committed by having walked outside YHVH’s teaching and instruction give us at Mt Sinai (Exodus 24:3-11).

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God (Ezekiel 36:25-28).

The hand of YHVH was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of YHVH and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign YHVH, you alone know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of YHVH!'" And YHVH said, "I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am YHVH."

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign YHVH says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.

Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole House of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign YHVH says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am YHVH, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I YHVH have spoken, and I have done it, declares YHVH'" (Ezekiel 37:1-14).

Surely YHVH is my salvation (Yeshua); I will trust and not be afraid. YHVH, YHVH, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation [Yeshua]. With joy you will draw Water from the wells of salvation [Yeshua] (Isaiah 12:2-3).

There were many believers and followers of Yeshua at the time, who knew He was the Messiah spoken about by the prophets. When Yeshua rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, days before His death, they were the ones who shouted "Hosanna, Hosanna, save us completely." At his death, believers knew this would confirm His Covenant to them. You want Yeshua’s blood to be upon you and future generations! Halleluyah!

The scripture in Matthew 27:25, “Let His blood be on us and on our children," has been misunderstood for years. The "Jewish" people have been falsely accused of Yeshua’s murder for generations. Many people and people groups, including the Church, have done terrible atrocities against the Jewish people, all because this scripture had been taken out of context. Would the crusades, inquisition, pogroms, holocausts, and terrorism, as well as the thousands of murders and threats and against the innocent Jewish people ever have taken place if this scripture was understood and taught correctly?

Yeshua is the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

This is prophecy of Yeshua’s death and His blood "sprinkled upon us," which cleanses and heals us from the sins of our forefathers.

So will he sprinkle many nations (Isaiah 52:15).

Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24).

It is as if we were standing there with our ancestors when Moses received the Covenant at Mount Sinai as the Israelites present represented not only themselves but also all future generations. In effect, we were with our ancestors when Moses sprinkled the blood of the Covenant upon the people. And in the same way, we were there with the twelve disciples (who represented the twelve tribes of Israel and their companions) when Yeshua took the bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body broken for you." Therefore we were there when Yeshua "took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them saying, "Drink from it, ALL OF YOU. This is MY BLOOD OF THE COVENANT, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (The Minchah offering – Leviticus 2; Numbers 15:4; John 6:35. Numbers 15:5; Matthew 26:26-27.)

Note: In Numbers 15, when the wine offering (representing Yeshua) was introduced with the Minchah (meal offering of unleavened bread called challah), the wine and bread were from then on always to be offered together. It was to be served for all special vows, freewill offerings and ALL YHVH’s Feast days, including Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh (New Moon) celebrations, not just at Passover (Numbers 15:3; 28:9-40). Every time we break bread and drink the wine, we are remembering the “Covenant” that Yeshua made with us. When we do this, the bride is saying, “We will do everything YHVH has said; we will obey the Covenant.”

We were there when Yeshua died and “we” cried, "His blood be upon us and upon our children." We are that generation of children that received Yeshua’s blood upon us (Exodus 24:3-11).

This is the One who came by water and blood, Yeshua the Messiah. He did not come by water only, but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit bears witness because the Spirit is the truth. There are three witnesses – the Spirit, the water, and the blood – and these three are in agreement (1 John 5:6-8 CJB).

Yeshua fulfilled the red heifer sacrifice. As Israel, we had been an unclean tzarat people and we had no hope of restoration. Yeshua restored us to Himself by nailing our impurity to the stake. He atoned the Altar of Incense and drank our cup. He has cleansed us so that we can now be a sweet aroma to our Father. As Yeshua was a Living sacrifice, we are to be living holy sacrifices today with Him (Romans 12:1). He died our death.

Peter’s letter was addressed to the Twelve Tribes and those sojourning with them:

To YHVH’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of YHVH, the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for the obedience to Yeshua (the Covenant) and SPRINKLING BY HIS BLOOD (1 Peter 1:2).

You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to YHVH through Yeshua (1 Peter 2:5).

"They stumbled because they disobeyed the message…" (1 Peter 2:8-9). What message? The Covenant, the teaching and instruction of YHVH given to us through Moses. "which is also what they were destined for! But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to YHVH, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful Light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of YHVH; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy” (because we now understand and walk in obedience to YHVH’s teaching and instruction). (Hosea 2:25)

1 Kings 4:33 Solomon’s Wisdom

He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall.

The mention of the cedar and hyssop plant together could just look like big plant versus little plant. But just maybe King Solomon, who received wisdom from YHVH, understood that only Ha Mashiach, the Messiah of Israel, could fulfill the red heifer requirement for purification. "Men of ALL NATIONS came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who heard of his wisdom" (1 Kings 4:30).

When Yeshua came as high priest of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect Tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 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 Yeshua, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts of useless rituals that lead to death, so that we may serve the Living YHVH! (Hebrews 9:11-14).

He has showed you. O man, what is good. And what does YHVH require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).

In Numbers 20-21, the Israelites arrived at the Desert of Zin near Kadesh. Miriam died there and the community grumbled against Moses for lack of water. This time it was out of fear not anger that they quarreled with Moses. When Moses and Aaron were called to speak to the Rock for a miraculous flow of water, they spoke to the Israelites in anger and struck the rock. To misrepresent the Word of YHVH was a grievous error. YHVH intended for the sheep to be led, not struck with harsh words. The show of a stony heart rendered Moses and Aaron unclean, as the Israelites before them, and they too could not enter the land.

The parsha ends with the Israelites not allowed to pass through the boarders of Edom (Esau’s lineage and territory). At Mount Hor, Aaron’s passing was eminent. His next eldest son, Eleazar, was made High Priest before the whole community entered into mourning for Aaron.

They continued their journey, passing the Red Sea to go around Edom, where they began to grumble against Moses again due to the lack of water. Lack of bread and water was a direct result of their attitudes (lashon hara) toward the Living Word. This dried up the Living Water and made the manna tasteless. In other words, their hearts rendered Yeshua and Torah unpalatable to them. YHVH sent poisonous snakes among them. They cried out in repentance for YHVH to save them. When Moses lifted up a bronze snake on a pole and the people looked at it, they lived. This reflected the love and care of YHVH for them, as the bronze snake foreshadowed Yeshua and how He would die lifted up on a stake for our deliverance. Those who cried out and looked upon Him (His Word, Torah) lived.

As the Israelites traveled toward Moab and the Amorites (Lot’s family), they camped at Oboth (desires), Iye Abarim (mountain beyond), Zered Valley (brook), and Arnon (rushing water). From there they continued to Beer (a well), where they were given water. They then traveled into the desert to Mattanah (gift of YHVH), Nahaliel (valley of YHVH), Bamoth (high places) to the valley in Moab. The people of Moab refused to give them passage through their land. Instead they entered into war with them and lost their land to the Israelites.

To be continued…

Shabbat Shalom,
Carl and Julie Parker

References:
Call to Torah by R. Munk

The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Abingdon Press

CBJ: Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern

Jewish New Testament Commentary by David H. Stern.

The Law of Jealousy: NassoNumbers 4:21 to 7:89 www.sheepfoldgleanings.com

Law of Jealousy and Two Mounts by STBM

Past Parshot: www.messianicisrael.com/sheepfold-gleanings/
Sheepfold Gleanings written by Carl and Julie Parker: www.sheepfoldgleanings.com
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