The Red Heifer and the Copper Snake

Rabbi Ken Alpren
Summary by Teresa Bennett, Pharm.D.
Numbers 19-21
June 19, 2010

Numbers 19:3-6 "This is the regulation from the Torah which ADONAI has commanded. Tell the people of Isra'el to bring you a young red female cow without fault or defect and which has never borne a yoke. 3 You are to give it to El'azar the cohen; it is to be brought outside the camp and slaughtered in front of him. 4 El'azar the cohen is to take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle this blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. 5 The heifer is to be burned to ashes before his eyes -its skin, meat, blood and dung is to be burned to ashes. 6 The cohen is to take cedar-wood, hyssop and scarlet yarn and throw them onto the heifer as it is burning up.”

Numbers 19:9 A man who is clean is to collect the ashes of the heifer and store them outside the camp in a clean place. They are to be kept for the community of the people of Isra'el to prepare water for purification from sin.

The Red Heifer’s blood and ashes mixed in water were used for cleansing from sin. These passages can be related to washing through the water and the word as noted in 1John 1:7, Hebrews 9:14, Ephesians 5:26, John 15:3 and Psalm 119:9. The Red Heifer is ‘parah adumah’ in Hebrew. There is speculation and folklore concerning the Red Heifer, but as related to Messiah, it represents the combination of our cleansing through the Word of G-d and through the Blood of Messiah.

After ADONAI had given the regulation for the Red Heifer, the people quarreled against Moshe because they had no water as they entered the Tzin Desert. Numbers 20 “Why did you bring ADONAI's community into this desert? To die there, we and our livestock? 5 Why did you make us leave Egypt? To bring us to this terrible place without seed, figs, grapevines, pomegranates or even water to drink?"

Every day for nearly 40 years G-d had provided for their existence, but they had grown familiar and complained instead of being thankful. They could have cried out to G-d for water and provision. Ultimately, their behavior and Moshe’s response was disastrous. Moshe struck the rock instead of speaking to it as instructed by ADONAI and acted above the reproach of G-d toward the people. The consequence for Moshe was that he would not be admitted to enter the Promised Land. James 1:19-20 - “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

Subsequently, when the people were led on a detour they complained and their tempers grew short in Numbers 21 and this time G-d sent poisonous snakes.

Numbers 21:5-8 The people spoke against God and against Moshe: "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? To die in the desert? There's no real food, there's no water, and we're sick of this miserable stuff we're eating!" 6 In response, ADONAI sent poisonous snakes among the people; they bit the people, and many of Isra'el's people died. 7 The people came to Moshe and said, "We sinned by speaking against ADONAI and against you. Pray to ADONAI that he rid us of these snakes." Moshe prayed for the people, 8 and ADONAI answered Moshe: "Make a poisonous snake and put it on a pole. When anyone who has been bitten sees it, he will live."

Yeshua made reference to this event and related it to His atonement as recorded in John 3:14,15 “Just as Moshe lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that everyone who trusts in him may have eternal life.”

The snakes were sent as a discipline to bring the people to repentance. When the bronze snake was lifted up on the pole, they were to gaze at it. What did they see? They saw their own sin on that pole lifted up and then they received the healing for their sin. Why did Yeshua relate the serpent to Himself? Did He not become sin for us? When we look up at our sin on that stake, do we not see our own redemption?

The people were dying from snake bites and the remedy was to look up in their dilemma to who could deliver them. People are perishing as we were without the L-rd.

Isaiah 45:22 Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God; there is no other.

Yeshua is pleased when through our own reconciliation with Him that we can bring others to reconciliation. Just like Moses lifted up the Bronze Serpent, we can also be the vehicle to lift up the Name of Yeshua to those who are perishing. Let that be our heart’s cry this week.

2 Corinthians 5:18 And it is all from God, who through the Messiah has reconciled us to himself and has given us the work of that reconciliation

Further Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:5-10, Isaiah 52:7, Genesis 21, Exodus 17:6, 1 Corinthians 10:4, Psalm 18:1-3, Proverbs 14:17, 29, Ephesians 4:26, 1Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 7:25, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 53, Hebrews 12:6, 2Kings 18:4, John 8:24, 51.