Nazarene Israelite Two House Congregation of Port Elizabeth

Numbers 19 verse 1 to 22 verse 1 (Chu’kat).

This week’s Torah portion is called Chu’kat, meaning the ‘statutes of’. This Torah portion deals with five different topics. We commence in Numbers 19: 1, and read to verse 9 to try and understand the first topic: ‘Then HASHEM spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, (2) “This is the statute of the law which HASHEM has commanded saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which is no defect, and on which a yoke has never been placed. (3) And you shall give it to Eleazer the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. (4) Next Eleazer the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. (5) Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide and its flesh and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burnt. (6) And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet (scarlet was the color red which was obtained from a red or crimson worm or maggot of the fly) material, and cast it into the midst of the burning heifer. (7) The priest shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward come into the camp, but the priest shall be unclean until evening. (8) The one who burns it shall also wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and shall be unclean until evening. (9) Now a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place, and the congregation of the sons of Israel shall keep it as water to remove impurity; it is purification from sin.’ The ashes of the red heifer was to be used for purifying from sin. 

Reading the remainder of Numbers 19, we see that the water (ashes obtained from the red heifer) was used to purify anyone who touches a corps of a person. Such a person is regarded to be unclean for a period of seven days and has to purify himself on the third day after he touched the corpse and again on the seventh day, then he shall be clean. The Torah of the red heifer is an ordinance which is not fully understood, yet fully binding, known as a Chuk. There are a number of Chukim (plural of Chuk) in the Scriptures which even though we do not understand are binding upon us. One of these is the law that we shall not wear a garment made from two different fabrics. Even though we do not understand the logic behind this law, there are many lessons to be learnt from obeying the same. One such lesson is found in Amos 3: 3, where we read: ‘Do two men walk together unless they have an appointment?’ This is essentially saying that we cannot walk together with people who keep the appointed times or Feast Days at different times to us; or that a believer cannot fellowship with an unbeliever. The wearing of tzitzit is to remind us to obey the commandments and is therefore not a Chuk, because we know the reason for wearing it. 

The lesson about the red heifer is very specific, in that the heifer had to be female (a cow), between two to three years old, with no blemish upon it: its hide should only be covered in red hairs and its hooves and horns should also be red. In addition, it had to be an animal on which a yoke has never been placed. We see that the person who burns the heifer becomes unclean and has to wash his clothes and bathe himself after performing the ritual. But we see that the ash obtained from the burned-out heifer was used for purification.  What is the reason for this strange law?  We see that the ashes of the heifer were used for the purification of people who came into contact with dead people. Real cleansing or healing comes from HASHEM, but in this case the substance obtained from the thing causing them to be unclean, is used for purification. This ritual deals with death, which we know separates us from G-d. When we come in contact with the dead, it separates us from HASHEM, who is Set-apart. We also know from reading the first part of Romans 6: 23, that ‘(For) the wages of sin is death.’  The lesson behind the ritual of the red heifer was to warn the Israelites to keep away from sin, as it leads to (the second) death. We saw in Torah portion B’ehe’Lothca in Numbers 9, that a person who came in touch with a dead person, could not partake of the first Passover kept on the fourteenth day of the 1st month at twilight. Such a person could only partake of the second Passover, kept exactly a month later, because he was considered unclean because of contact with a dead person.  

The red heifer which had to be unblemished, reminds us of Y’shua, who like the Passover lamb, had to be without sin (or unblemished), to be able to take away the sins of the world. Messiah is the one who takes away our sins and even though it is red like scarlet, He washes us to be white as snow, as we read in Isaiah 1: 18, as follows: “Come now, and let us reason together,” says HASHEM, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.”  We keep the Passover annually as a memorial to Messiah’s death, using wine as the new (or renewed) covenant in His blood, which was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. We eat the unleavened bread, representing his body. Like the ashes of the red heifer, used for healing, began by defiling the people preparing it, so even though we are forbidden in Torah to consume blood, we are cleansed by the blood of Messiah, as He said in John 6: 53 – 56: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. (54) He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (55) For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. (56) He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him.” We know from reading about the Passover in Mark 14, that the unleavened bread that we eat at Passover represents His body and that the wine that we drink at that time, represents His blood. We are commanded in the Torah not to eat the blood of the clean animals that we slaughter for food, since imbibing the same will result in us taken on the nature of such an animal. But by partaking of the Passover wine, which represents Y’shua’s blood, we take in of Y’shua’s nature.  After all, we do not keep the Torah to be saved, because Y’shua already died for us, we keep Torah to show our faith in Him. Our obedience to Torah does not save us, but we show our faith, by our works, as we read in James 2: 26, as follows: ‘For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.’  

In Numbers 20 we read about the second topic of this week’s Torah portion. We notice that the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Zin, in the first month and that Miriam died there. We see further that there was no water there and the people assembled against Moses and Aaron. They repeated their complaints as in previous instances, asking in verse 4 & 5 of Numbers 20: “Why then have you brought (HASHEM)’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beast to die here? (5) And why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.” Then Moses and Aaron went to the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces and the glory of HASHEM appeared to them. Then HASHEM told Moses to take his staff; to let the people assemble and to speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield water. So, Moses took the rod as HASHEM commanded and he and Aaron gathered the people before the rock. Then in verse 10 of Numbers 20, Moses said to the Israelites: “Listen now you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” Then Moses lifted his hand and hit the rock twice with his rod and water came out and the people and their animals drank. Then HASHEM spoke to Moses saying: “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as set-apart in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” We see that because Moses became impatient with the people and did not do exactly as HASHEM told him, he was not allowed access to the land of Canaan. In fact, Moses made as if he was the one giving the water to the Israelites. However, this should be a warning to all of us not to become impatient with weaker members in our midst. We should also be mindful to do exactly as we are told in the Torah of HASHEM and not try and find reasons not to obey certain commandments. Talking about our fathers in the wilderness Rav Shaul tells us that the rock from which they drank was Y’shua as we read in 1 Corinthians 10: 1 – 4, like this: ‘For I do not want you to be un-aware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were immersed into Moses in the cloud and in the sea: (3) and all ate the same spiritual food; (4) and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from the spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Messiah.’ We read in verse 13 (of Numbers 20) a second time that those were the waters of Meribah (as we have in Torah portion Beshalach in Exodus 17), because the sons contended with HASHEM, and He proved Himself set-apart among them.

We move onto the next topic in verse 14 of Numbers 20, where Moses approaches the Edomites, to seek their compassion, asking that they allow the Israelites to pass through their land. He promises that they will not touch anything on their way, until they have reached the end of the Edomites’ territory. However, the king refused. The sons of Israel asked a second time to pass through the land of the Edomites, promising that if their animals should drink any of its water, they will pay for it. However, the Edomites refused a second time to let the Israelites pass through their land. The Israelites moved on and came to Mount Hor, where HASHEM spoke to Moses and Aaron, telling them that Aaron will die there. So, Moses in obedience to HASHEM took Aaron and his son Eleazer up Mount Hor where he took off Aaron’s garments and put it on Eleazer, after which Aaron died. Moses and Eleazer came down from the mountain and when the sons of Israel saw that Aaron died, they wept for him for thirty days. 

Following the death of Aaron on Mount Hor, we read in Numbers 21, that: when the Canaanite king heard that Israel is coming by the way of Atherim, he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. However, we see that Israel made a vow with G-d, saying in verse 2 of Numbers 21: “If Thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” We see that HASHEM heard the voice of Israel and delivered them from the Canaanites. We read in the last part of verse 3: ‘Thus the name of the place was called Hormah (meaning a devoted thing or, destruction).’ The next topic is found in verses 4 – 9 of Numbers 21. We read in verse 4: ‘Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey.’ Again, they spoke against G-d and Moses, saying in verse 5: “Why have you brought us up out of the land of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water and we loathe this miserable food (meaning the manna).” This is when HASHEM sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many died.  The people then told Moses that they sinned and asked him to intercede for them, to remove the serpents. HASHEM instructed Moses to make a fiery serpent out of bronze and put it on a pillar (or standard) and when the people look upon this serpent they shall live, even if they were bitten by the serpents. Moses did as he was told and the people who were bitten by the serpents lived when they looked upon the bronze serpent. Again, like in the case with the red heifer, we see that the very cause of the problem amongst the Israelites became the cure. This bronze serpent put on a pillar also represented Y’shua who was impaled for the sins of the world: consequently, if we accept Him as our personal Savior and after immersion into His saving name, start obeying the commandments of G-d,  we shall have eternal life, as we read in John 3: 14 & 15, as follows: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; (15) that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life.”

We read in verse 17 & 18 of Numbers 21, that the Israelites sang this song: “Spring up, O well! Sing to it! (18) The well, which the leaders sank, which the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and their staffs.” This song was obviously aimed at Moses (and Aaron) who obtained water for the people using their staffs. Israel moved on asking Sihon the king of the Amorites if they could pass through his land, but he refused and he gathered his people and attacked the children of Israel. Israel struck them with the edge of the sword and took possession of their land and we read in verse 31 that Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. Then Moses sent out spies to spy out the land of Jazer and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites living there. The people continued on, but Og the king of Bashan went out to battle against Israel. Nevertheless, HASHEM told Moses that Israel should not fear, as He will deliver them into their hands. So, they killed the king and possessed his land. 

We conclude in Numbers 22: 1, where we read: ‘Then the sons of Israel journeyed, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho.’ Here we find the people of Israel opposite the entrance of the promised land again, but as we will see in the next Torah portion, they will not enter the land of Canaan, yet.