Chukat
Regulation
“Heifer and Serpent Faith”
Numbers 19:1-22:1
Judges 11:1-33
excerpted from TorahScope, Volume III
Now that the rules and guidelines for the Levitical priesthood have been widely delineated in the previous Torah readings, along with the disappointment of the spying expedition completed, and the challenges to leadership by Korah and his cohorts dealt with severely—our Torah portion for this week, Chukat, commences with the inexplicable, mysterious procedure for purifying the unclean with the ashes of a red heifer (Numbers 19:1-22). For millennia, Jewish Sages and Bible scholars alike, have been unable to fully comprehend just why the Lord would institute this practice—which purifies the unclean while rendering the clean unclean in the process—but nevertheless, because the instruction came from Him, we should recognize that it is something which would be done, if either the Tabernacle or Temple were operational.
In some regards, this confounding ritual at least partially foreshadows a future mindboggling event, when the unblemished Messiah would be sacrificed for the sin of fallen humanity, providing permanent atonement. Our Torah reading is notably specific, reminding the reader that being cleansed by the ashes of the heifer, the statute was applicable to all people within the broad community of Israel. What this should communicate to each of us, is how the work of being cleansed is undeniably something which God wants to provide for all people—be it a ritual cleansing or most importantly a spiritual cleansing:
“A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up outside of the camp in a clean place; and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for use in water for cleansing impurity. It is a sin offering. He who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. It shall be to the children of Israel, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among them, for a statute forever. He who touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days…The clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day. On the seventh day, he shall purify him. He shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at evening. But the man who shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him. He is unclean. It shall be a perpetual statute to them. He who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening. Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the soul that touches it shall be unclean until evening” (Numbers 19:9-11, 19-22, WMB).
After the ritual with the red heifer is explained, our reading actually fasts forward some thirty-eight years, to when the whole congregation was bivouacked in the Wilderness of Zin. This is where a number of generational transitions took place, as Moses was preparing the survivors of the sojourn to enter into the Promised Land. At this point in the journey, though, Miriam died. The rock which followed the Israelites, sustaining the people and their herds with water—having followed them since Horeb (Exodus 17:6; cf. 1 Corinthians 10:4)—was no longer spewing forth water. This dilemma naturally evoked a response from the younger generation, which was not too dissimilar from how their parents and grandparents reacted, when initially departing from Egypt (Exodus 17). However, in this case, one finds that the aged Moses did not adhere to the explicit instructions of the Lord, in terms of the people receiving water:
“The children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month. The people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and was buried there. There was no water for the congregation; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. The people quarreled with Moses, and spoke, saying, ‘We wish that we had died when our brothers died before the LORD! Why have you brought the LORD’s assembly into this wilderness, that we should die there, we and our animals? Why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in to this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.’ Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and fell on their faces. The LORD’s glory appeared to them. The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it pour out its water. You shall bring water to them out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink.’ Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, ‘Hear now, you rebels! Shall we bring water out of this rock for you?’ Moses lifted up his hand, and struck the rock with his rod twice, and water came out abundantly. The congregation and their livestock drank. The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you didn’t believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’ These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them” (Numbers 20:1-13, WMB).
While Moses and Aaron once again fell on their faces, imploring the Lord for guidance on how to handle not only the complaints of the grumblers—but most critically the need for water—Moses’ frustration with the circumstances, generated a reaction which did not conform with the Almighty’s command to simply take the rod of authority from the Tabernacle, and speak to the rock to bring forth water. Instead, Moses struck the rock twice with the rod, and in doing so, disobeyed the Lord, and sealed both his and his brother’s fate, from leading the assembly into the Promised Land.
This lack of obedience to the instruction of the Lord has, in time since, been a most severe warning to all of those called to be in leadership of God’s people. One would think that after nearly forty years of serving the Lord and following His instructions, someone of Moses’ stature—who was given such great responsibility—would not succumb to the impetuous actions of the flesh. However, Moses struck the rock twice, and the consequence of his actions resulted in being denied the blessing of entering into the Promised Land—despite some future pleadings, seeking the Lord to reverse His decision (Deuteronomy 3:23-27).
At the waters began to flow again, the attempt to make the final push toward Canaan, encountered a number of impediments, because of the presence of other people groups residing in the territory along the designated route to the Promised Land. After all, transporting hundreds of thousands of people, and their livestock, through the area, was naturally going to require a significant amount of provision. Immediately, the fledgling nation of Israel was about to receive a foretaste of the fact that their neighbors were not about to just welcome them with open arms. First, their kindred among the descendants of Esau, rejected Moses’ request for passage through their territory—despite the assurance that Israel would not even drink any of their scarce water resources:
“Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: ‘Your brother Israel says: You know all the travail that has happened to us; how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers. When we cried to the LORD, he heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt. Behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the edge of your border. Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink from the water of the wells. We will go along the king’s highway. We will not turn away to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed your border.’ Edom said to him, ‘You shall not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against you.’ The children of Israel said to him, ‘We will go up by the highway; and if we drink your water, I and my livestock, then I will give its price. Only let me, without doing anything else, pass through on my feet.’ He said, ‘You shall not pass through.’ Edom came out against him with many people, and with a strong hand. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border, so Israel turned away from him” (Numbers 20:14-21, WMB).
Moses and Aaron certainly contemplated the rejection of their request to the Edomites, and our Torah reading provides some transitional information communicated, while the people assembled near Mount Hor. Aaron would die, and his priestly responsibilities would be transferred to his son Eleazar—literally as the garments of the high priest were taken off of Aaron and placed onto Eleazar. In a seemingly seamless procedure, Eleazar, who was raised serving and following his father Aaron’s lead, was given the representative clothing of the high priest, so that the congregation would know that the transfer of authority had been completed to the next generation. In a fitting tribute to the loss of a useful servant of the Most High, the congregation mourned the loss of Aaron for thirty days, establishing a meaningful precedence for future generations to consider, when those who have served them ably pass away:
“They traveled from Kadesh, and the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor. The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, saying, ‘Aaron shall be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah. Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor; and strip Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron shall be gathered, and shall die there.’ Moses did as the LORD commanded. They went up onto Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron died there on the top of the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. When all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel” (Numbers 20:22-29, WMB).
With the disappointment of not being able to travel through Edom realized, Moses decided that another route through the Negev was the way to proceed. As noted earlier, though, these other neighbors were not necessarily welcoming the Israelites, but instead were going out to battle with them. However, this time the Lord heard the pleas of His people, and with His blessing, the Israelites overcame the Canaanites who impeded their progress:
“The Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the South, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharim. He fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. Israel vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, ‘If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.’ The LORD listened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. The name of the place was called Hormah” (Numbers 21:1-3, WMB).
When the journey recommenced around Edom, there was a chronic return to complaining about a lack of food and water—which prompted the Lord to send serpents into the camp, to severely chastise the recalcitrant Israelites. Once again in his intermediary capacity, Moses interceded for the people. The Lord directed him to fashion a bronze serpent, which was to be lifted up and made visible to all in the camp. All the people had to do was to gaze upon this bronze serpent standard, with the belief that it would heal them from the sting of the serpents:
“They traveled from Mount Hor by the way to the Sea of Suf, to go around the land of Edom. The soul of the people was very discouraged because of the journey. The people spoke against God and against Moses: ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, there is no water, and our soul loathes this disgusting food!’ The LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and they bit the people. Many people of Israel died. The people came to Moses, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.’ Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a venomous snake, and set it on a pole. It shall happen that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.’ Moses made a serpent of bronze, and set it on the pole. If a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of bronze, he lived” (Numbers 21:4-9, WMB).
Centuries later, in His encounter with Nicodemus, Yeshua the Messiah Himself would describe how this act of Moses, in the Ancient Israelites’ desert sojourn, was a significant foreshadowing of the need for all people to look to Him. Yeshua would be lifted up as a sacrifice for human sin, which all being saved would need to recognize in order to be born from above:
“Yeshua answered him, ‘Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can’t see God’s Kingdom.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Yeshua answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and Spirit, he can’t enter into God’s Kingdom. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Don’t marvel that I said to you, “You must be born anew.” The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus answered him, ‘How can these things be?’ Yeshua answered him, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and don’t understand these things? Most certainly I tell you, we speak that which we know and testify of that which we have seen, and you don’t receive our witness. If I told you earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only born Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life’” (John 3:3-16, WMB).
Despite the Lord’s issues with the complaining Israelites, He still loved them and was committed to fulfilling His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as their sojourn continued—with yet some more neighbors to contend with in order to enter into the Promised Land. The Amorites were given the same assurances as the Edomites, regarding foraging from fields and vineyards and consuming water from their wells—but without any logical alternatives, Moses decided to route the Israelite entourage through the Amorite territory. In this case, the favor of the Lord was with Israel, and when the battles concluded, Israel had taken possession of land from the Arnon to the Jabbok Rivers, as well as their cities and villages:
“Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, ‘Let me pass through your land. We will not turn away into field or vineyard. We will not drink of the water of the wells. We will go by the king’s highway, until we have passed your border.’ Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border, but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz. He fought against Israel. Israel struck him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, even to the children of Ammon; for the border of the children of Ammon was fortified. Israel took all these cities. Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even to the Arnon. Therefore those who speak in proverbs say, ‘Come to Heshbon. Let the city of Sihon be built and established; for a fire has gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon. It has devoured Ar of Moab, the lords of the high places of the Arnon. Woe to you, Moab! You are undone, people of Chemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, to Sihon king of the Amorites. We have shot at them. Heshbon has perished even to Dibon. We have laid waste even to Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.’ Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. Moses sent to spy out Jazer. They took its villages, and drove out the Amorites who were there. They turned and went up by the way of Bashan. Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. The LORD said to Moses, ‘Don’t fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people, and his land. You shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’ So they struck him, with his sons and all his people, until there were no survivors; and they possessed his land” (Numbers 21:21-35, WMB).
After the victories were secured, as Chukat comes to a close, the Israelites were encamped on the plains of Moab poised by the Jordan River—overlooking Jericho and prepared for entry into Canaan:
“The children of Israel traveled, and encamped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho” (Numbers 22:1, WMB).
Now, it would just be a matter of preparing the Israelites for a final push into Canaan—with some substantial obstacles like the fortified city of Jericho impeding their progress. There were still some challenges to come from the Moabites, which will be addressed in further reading, but the next generation of people (often called the “Joshua generation”) which was on the precipice of occupying the Promised Land, was being primed for the coming invasion. Naturally, they had common needs such as access to water and food to sustain them continually, which became a concern—but they had just witnessed and participated in the final thrust defeating the Amorites, and were enjoying the spoils of their triumph. They had a new high priest, without the presence of previously recognized leaders like Miriam and Aaron around—but the emergence of Joshua and Caleb as elder leaders and fearless warriors, perhaps gave the Israelites some confidence, as the Jordan River was all which separated them from their destiny.
All who survived the attack of the serpents, had to have realized that God’s means of deliverance was punctuated by faith in what Moses had instructed them to do. The Tabernacle was in full operation, and the ashes of the red heifer were still performing the cleansing of the people (perhaps as the final corpses of the generation not permitted to enter into Canaan were being buried). After nearly forty years, Moses, despite his indiscretion in striking the rock, was still among them. The anticipation of finally settling in the Promised Land, no doubt, offered thoughts of completion, as the community of Israel could finally settle down.
Thinking about what Chukat might communicate to modern-day Believers in the Messiah of Israel, the concept of living by faith and in what the Lord has instructed His people to do, does not come naturally. In many ways, for those living today—even with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit—there can still be a tendency to follow after ways of the flesh. Not following the dictates of one’s fallen humanity will be a battle which becomes even more apparent, as we continue our reading of the Torah.
