Splish Splash
Numbers 19
And so we return to the latest edition of things that make you unclean. I think we've covered this before- but this passage deals with the consequences of touching a dead body (for the living person, the dead guy doesn't seem to mind much).
First off, it seems that just in case you might come into contact with a dead body (and who knows, there do seem to be quite a few of them around) you or someone in the community need(s) to take a red cow to Eleazar the priest. Eleazar will watch as the cow is escorted outside of camp and slaughtered. Eleazar will then get some blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the tent of meeting. Then Eleazar is to stick around and witness the cow being torched: it's hide, flesh, blood, and intestines. Then he's supposed to take some cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and put them on the burning cow. I have no idea why.
After the priest and the man doing the burning wash their clothes, they can come back into camp, but they are both still ceremonially unclean until evening.
Then somebody clean comes and gathers the ashes and takes them somewhere clean (ceremonially clean- not just tidy)in the camp to be stored until needed. I get the impression that these are community ashes, not just a jar carefully labeled with your(or your cow's) name. The ash-gatherer also needs to wash his clothes and is unclean until evening.
These ashes are to be used for the water of cleansing- which is for purification for sins. So, if you touch a corpse (as you may be wont to do) you purify yourself with this water on the third and seventh days following your contact; because what gets you cleaner than water mixed with cow ash? This seems to be a sprinkling- for ceremony not literal cleaning. People who aren't purified after shaking hands with a corpse (or any other contact) are to be cut off from Israel- they remain unclean. They have defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. Those getting purified are clean after seven days.
Then come all the scenarios for all you what-iffers out there. If someone dies in a tent? Everyone in the tent and anyone who enters is unclean- so are all open jars.
You are unclean if you...touch someone killed with a sword, touch someone who died of natural causes, touch a human bone, or touch a human grave. In all of these cases, if you use the water you are only unclean for seven days.
Finally we find out how the process works- because we were all on the edge of our seats. If you're unclean you put some of those ashes into a jar and pour some fresh water over them. Then you find someone who is clean (but don't touch them or they will become unclean) and get them to dip some hyssop into the mixture and sprinkle everything that was involved with the dead body- the tent, furnishings, all the people who were there, and anyone who touched those things listed above. This is to happen on the third and seventh days. On the seventh day he is to purify them.. I don't know what this would involve for the clean person except maybe just declaring them pure. The unclean person is to bathe with water and wash his clothes on the seventh day.
The human sprinkler is to wash his own clothes- and anyone else who touches this water is also unclean until evening as is anything an unclean person touches and everyone who touches something an unclean person touched.
If you're in the vicinity, you're probably unclean.
I'm not sure I'm too enriched after reading this passage except for appreciating Jesus making all of this unnecessary. And really appreciating my job- I wouldn't have enjoyed being the community ash-gatherer.
Numbers 19
And so we return to the latest edition of things that make you unclean. I think we've covered this before- but this passage deals with the consequences of touching a dead body (for the living person, the dead guy doesn't seem to mind much).
First off, it seems that just in case you might come into contact with a dead body (and who knows, there do seem to be quite a few of them around) you or someone in the community need(s) to take a red cow to Eleazar the priest. Eleazar will watch as the cow is escorted outside of camp and slaughtered. Eleazar will then get some blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the tent of meeting. Then Eleazar is to stick around and witness the cow being torched: it's hide, flesh, blood, and intestines. Then he's supposed to take some cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and put them on the burning cow. I have no idea why.
After the priest and the man doing the burning wash their clothes, they can come back into camp, but they are both still ceremonially unclean until evening.
Then somebody clean comes and gathers the ashes and takes them somewhere clean (ceremonially clean- not just tidy)in the camp to be stored until needed. I get the impression that these are community ashes, not just a jar carefully labeled with your(or your cow's) name. The ash-gatherer also needs to wash his clothes and is unclean until evening.
These ashes are to be used for the water of cleansing- which is for purification for sins. So, if you touch a corpse (as you may be wont to do) you purify yourself with this water on the third and seventh days following your contact; because what gets you cleaner than water mixed with cow ash? This seems to be a sprinkling- for ceremony not literal cleaning. People who aren't purified after shaking hands with a corpse (or any other contact) are to be cut off from Israel- they remain unclean. They have defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. Those getting purified are clean after seven days.
Then come all the scenarios for all you what-iffers out there. If someone dies in a tent? Everyone in the tent and anyone who enters is unclean- so are all open jars.
You are unclean if you...touch someone killed with a sword, touch someone who died of natural causes, touch a human bone, or touch a human grave. In all of these cases, if you use the water you are only unclean for seven days.
Finally we find out how the process works- because we were all on the edge of our seats. If you're unclean you put some of those ashes into a jar and pour some fresh water over them. Then you find someone who is clean (but don't touch them or they will become unclean) and get them to dip some hyssop into the mixture and sprinkle everything that was involved with the dead body- the tent, furnishings, all the people who were there, and anyone who touched those things listed above. This is to happen on the third and seventh days. On the seventh day he is to purify them.. I don't know what this would involve for the clean person except maybe just declaring them pure. The unclean person is to bathe with water and wash his clothes on the seventh day.
The human sprinkler is to wash his own clothes- and anyone else who touches this water is also unclean until evening as is anything an unclean person touches and everyone who touches something an unclean person touched.
If you're in the vicinity, you're probably unclean.
I'm not sure I'm too enriched after reading this passage except for appreciating Jesus making all of this unnecessary. And really appreciating my job- I wouldn't have enjoyed being the community ash-gatherer.
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