Numbers 19:11-22 / A Cleansed Community
📖 Scripture
11 “Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days.
12 They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean.
13 If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the Lord’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.
14 “This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days,
15 and every open container without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.
16 “Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.
17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them.
18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death.
19 The man who is clean is to sprinkle those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them. Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean.
20 But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean.
21 This is a lasting ordinance for them. “The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening.
22 Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”
✅ Scripture Summary
✅ Memory verse
✅ Reflection
Preserve One Another (19:11–13)
This passage provides the reason for the cleansing water. Any person who touches a dead body remains unclean for seven days and must purify themselves using clean water with some of the heifer’s ashes mixed in. One everyday example that might help us understand this concept is how we literally wash our hands after handling something that is covered in germs. In today’s passage, the cleanliness God demands concerns more than individual persons: an unclean person can make others around them unclean. Therefore, the Israelites must carefully follow God’s instructions for cleansing and anyone who neglects to do so is cut off from the community. Under the new covenant, we, too, must be mindful of how we might negatively impact those around us, especially our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Think about how your sin has affected others in the past. Ask the Lord to purify you and keep you from stumbling and making others stumble.
From Unclean to Clean (19:14–22)
This portion of the Law describes the situations that cause uncleanliness, the purification procedure, and the penalty in case of failure to follow that procedure. The instructions for how to properly apply the ashes are specifically laid out. A man who is ceremonially clean helps with the procedure, but this man also has to ensure that he is clean afterward. Anyone who does not purify themselves is cut off from the community because they are defiling the sanctuary of God. We are blessed because God sent His Son Jesus Christ to cleanse us by His blood. We were not able to purify ourselves, but because of Him, we are declared clean. Those who receive this cleansing from Jesus are purified, but those who refuse this cleansing cannot remain in the presence of the holy God.
What does this law reveal about the importance of being clean before the Lord? Ask God to help you remain clean and pure in your daily life.
“Holy, Holy, Holy! though the darkness hide Thee, though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see, only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee, perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.”
– Reginald Heber
✅ Prayer
✅ Essay
Cleanliness and Godliness
“Cleanliness is next to godliness.” This proverb in the English vernacular, is often mistaken for a Bible verse. John Wesley mentions the phrase in his 1791 sermon “On Dress” in which he preaches, “Slovenliness is no part of religion. . . . Cleanliness is indeed next to godliness.” This idea can also be found in ancient Babylonian and Jewish texts.
While the saying can be used to promote good sanitary practices, the concept of being clean is also a crucial aspect of the Christian life. More significant than physical cleanliness, being spiritually clean begs the two-part question: what makes you clean and unclean? Addressing the latter, what makes a person unclean is found in his or her own heart. We can believe ourselves to be generally good people, but the dark plague of sin can infect our inner being. Murder, sexual immorality, adultery, and deception are just a few examples Jesus Christ gives of how spiritually unwell we can be (Matt. 15:18–20).
If we are all unclean because of our sin, then we must know how we can become clean. God makes clear that no number of good words, deeds, or thoughts alone can wash away the filth we are covered in. Our limited actions cannot cleanse and purify us. Instead, the Bible says that those who put their faith in Jesus are washed by His blood. Jesus makes us clean. Let us look to Him and rely on His righteousness to purify us.
Written by John Pai
