The Red Heifer and Purifying Pots

I'm trying to write these post a little shorter, so I will start today with the sacrifice of the red heifer. The Lord commanded, "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke" (Numbers 19:2). The Atonement symbolism is quite apparent. There can be no blemish, like the Son of God. And Jesus is the One who sets us free, therefore, there is no yoke.

The red heifer is slain and the ashes of the sacrifice are combined with cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet. You will remember the cedar wood represents the cross of Jesus, the vinegar given to our Lord was put upon hyssop and raised up to His mouth, and the crucifiers put a scarlet robe on Jesus (see John 19:29; Matthew 27:28).

The ashes of the red heifer are put in a special purification vessel for future ritual cleansing. These large pots (and I saw one of these at the Leonardo in the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit) are the same vessels Jesus used at the wedding feast in John 2. The water pots were "after the manner of the purifying of the Jews" (John 2:6). In these vessels water was made into wine. The Divine Son was symbolized by the water, which represents spirit matter and divinity. The incarnate, mortal Son was symbolized by the wine, which represents blood. The ashes of the heifer become a purifying agent when living water is added. The Savior is the provider of living water (see John 4:10-14) and the only One who can purify us from all sin. The transformation from water to wine symbolizes the Savior's role, as He had a spirit body in premortal life (like us) and condescended to become our Savior making it necessary for the Word to be made flesh (see John 1:14). He took upon Himself flesh and blood, and provided the very blood that could make us clean.

I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His willingness to suffer the pains of all mankind to bring us back to the presence of the Father.