Daily Devotionals

Voice of the Lord

Devotional: 9th of Shevat

A young red female cow without fault or defect and which has never borne a yoke (Numbers 19:2).

In the Torah, death is considered the ultimate source of defilement. Only the mixture of water and the ashes of the burned red heifer are able to wash away that defilement.

The strangest aspect of this ritual is that everyone who took part in preparing this cleansing formula was also rendered unclean by virtue of his participation in the process. The man who slaughtered the heifer, the priest who sprinkled its blood, the man who burned the carcass, and the one who gathered up the ashes all became unclean through their efforts. Nevertheless, the product of their labor made possible the cleansing of others (and themselves), satisfying the requirements of God.

This is a great mystery, but one that points to the even greater mystery of the cleansing death of Yeshua HaMashiach (the Messiah). All who were involved in that process became defiled through their actions: those who falsely accused him, those who judged him wrongly, those who turned him over to the Romans, those who beat and mocked him, those who did the crucifying, and all of us whose sin made his sacrifice necessary. Each part resulted in guilt and uncleanness for all involved.

The miracle is that the end result is the very means by which all are cleansed. Through his death and resurrection, the defilement of death is vanquished.

...walk in freedom, not carrying about my sins and past failures, for I know that my guilt and uncleanness have been washed away in the atonement of Messiah.

MM