Cw – The Cleanser Must be Made Clean 16: 23-28

The Cleanser Must be Made Clean
16: 23-28

The cleanser must be made clean DIG: How many times did the high priest need to be immersed in a mikvah on the Day of Atonement? Why? Why did the man who released the goat for Azazel also have to immerse? What was the paradox of purification? How did Yom Kippur demonstrate Yeshua’s work on our behalf? Why were his grave clothes left behind?

REFLECT: How have you been made pure and righteous in the sight of ADONAI at the moment of your salvation (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith)? Does Yeshua then remain in a state of ritual impurity? Does our uncleanness and sin cling to Him forever? What do you think?

So too, in order to cleanse us, the Master became unclean. He took on death itself,
the most contaminating source of uncleanness, in order to cleanse us.

After sending away the goat for Azazel, the high priest prepared the purification offerings for the bronze altar and then immersed a third time, dressed in the high priestly garments and offered rams for the burnt offerings. According to Yoma 7:4, he then immersed a fourth time and put the linen garments back on for reentering the Most Holy Place to remove the incense shovel and ladle he had left there. After a fifth and final immersion he put on the high priestly garments again, signifying that the atonement services were completed. This was probably the practice. Otherwise the accumulation of incense shovels and ladles would fill the Most Holy Place [in the Temple] within a few centuries.

Aaron was to go back into the Tabernacle, where he is to remove the linen garments he put on when he entered the Most Holy Place, and he was to leave them there. Then he is to bathe his body in water in a holy place, put on his other high priestly garments, come out and offer his ‘Olah Offering (see Ao – The ‘Olah Offering: Providing Access to God) and the burnt offering for the people (see Ai – The Burnt Offering: Accepted by God), thus making atonement for himself and for the people. He is to make the fat of the purification offering, the bull and the goat, go up in smoke on the bronze altar (16:23-25).

Similarly, the man who released the goat into the wilderness was required to immerse before returning to the camp. The man who released the Azazel goat into the wilderness (see Cv – The Goat for Azazel) was to wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; only afterwards, would he be able to return to the camp. So too the priest who oversaw the burning of the carcasses of the purification offerings was required to immerse himself before returning to the camp. The bull for the purification offering and the goat for the purification offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place (see Cu – The Blood of the Bull and Goat), is to be carried outside the camp; there they are to burn up completely their hides, meat and dung. The person burning them was to wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; afterwards, he may return to the camp (16:26-28).²⁸⁸

A comparison with the Red Heifer: According to the Torah, purification from contact with a human corpse could only be could only be accomplished through the sprinkling of living water mixed with the ashes of a red cow. Procuring these ashes was an involved process. A heifer which had never given birth, been ridden or born a yoke, was taken outside of the camp to a ritually clean place (see the commentary on Numbers Df – The Red Heifer). The heifer was slaughtered and its blood was sprinkled in the direction of the Tabernacle seven times. Then the heifer was totally burned. While it was still burning, a scarlet thread (see Ch – The Initial Procedures for Cleansing Leprosy: The leper needed to bring six items), cedarwood and hyssop were added to the fire. The ashes were then gathered and stored in a ritually clean place outside the camp. In most respects the red heifer was treated as a Chatta’ath Offering (see Aq – The Chatta’th Offering: Communicating God’s Forgiveness). Numbers 19:9 explicitly refers to it as such. As with the Day of Atonement rituals, everyone involved in the preparation of the ashes was rendered unclean and needed to immerse in a mikveh before returning to the camp.

When an Israelite became unclean through corpse contamination, he was cleansed through the sprinkling of living water mixed with the ashes of the red heifer. A ritually clean priest mixed the ashes with living water, dipped hyssop into the water/ash mixture and sprinkled it onto the unclean person to effect purification. Again, the priest who mixed the ashes and sprinkled the living water was rendered unclean and needed to immerse in a mikveh.

The cleanser must be made unclean: Previous files had described the Messianic imagery of the Day of Atonement service. No other Tabernacle/Temple service so graphically demonstrated the work of Yeshua on our behalf. For our purposes, we will simply observe how the paradox of impurity is also the paradox of Messiah.

The paradox of purification is that the one cleansing is rendered unclean. Everyone involved in the Yom Kippur service or in the preparation of the ashes of the red heifer or in the sprinkling of the ashes and living water was made unclean. So too, in order to cleanse us, the Master became unclean. In order to liberate us from death, He died. The curse of the Torah is death (see the commentary on Galatians Bk – Cursed is Everyone Who Hangs on a Tree). He became death for us, so that we might be freed from death. Nothing is as contaminating as a dead body. Yeshua took on mortal uncleanness by virtue of His human birth. He took on human uncleanness by virtue of His healing ministry in midst of ritually unclean people in His day. He took on the uncleanness, the iniquity, the transgression and sin of Isra’el in order to cleanse us. He took on death itself, the most contaminating source of uncleanness in order to cleanse us.

Just as the high priest was made unclean through his efforts to cleanse Isra’el, so too the Master was made unclean through His efforts to cleanse us. Just as those administering purification from death were rendered unclean, so too the Messiah was made unclean, even taking on the contaminating impurity of death itself, in order to cleanse us from sin and death.

Does Yeshua then remain in a state of ritual impurity? Does our uncleanness and sin cling to Him yet? Surely not! Just as the high priest was decreed to immerse himself in a mikvah, so too our Lord came out of the grave in perfect purity. He shed the mortal form; and with it, He shed ritual impurity. The Savior came out of the tomb like Adam in the garden, clothed in perfect purity. The unclean grave clothes Messiah left behind Him (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Md – The Empty Tomb).

This is our assurance. One day we shall shed the mortal frame in which we now live and be raised up immortal, alive and pure, a new creation (see the commentary on Second Corinthians Bd – A New Creation). In perfect purity we will enjoy free access to the Divine. That which separates us from ADONAI will be removed.²⁸⁹ I can hardly wait. How about you?

Dear Heavenly Father, It is amazing that You, in great and awesome love, would become unclean, so that You could make those who love You clean! There is no greater love! We bow in humble worship of what Your great and costly sacrifice that You willing made for sinners. We thank You that You are wise, and that though You desire all to come to heaven to live with You, there is a requirement- not works, but there is something else needed. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some consider slowness. Rather, He is being patient toward you – not wanting anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance (Second Peter 3:9). What is needed is not any work nor any type of a good deed; but in order to receive Your gift of righteousness (Romans 5:17).

Your gracious gift of salvation can only be received by having a repentant heart. Repentance means turning away from sin and turning to You in love, for love is the most important. And He said to him, “You shall love ADONAI your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-38). We love You and delight in pleasing and in serving You! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen