Holy Cow
3 min read
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.”
Numbers 19:21-22
How are we supposed to think about these rituals of cleansing that God had ordained for the Israelites?
Sometimes, I hear people trying to give a naturalistic explanation for the instructions that God gave to the Israelites, instructions that are nonsensical on the surface.
In other words, people will suggest that the rituals somehow provide a natural benefit for those who practice the rituals. I have given such naturalistic explanations myself. For example, maybe the ashes of a red heifer mixed with the water of the ancient Middle East can provide some natural defense against the spread of disease?
But when we try to explain any of the nonsensical things we read about in the Bible in a naturalistic way, we are actually confining God’s activity to only those things that are possible within the realm of a materialistic worldview.
But we think in this way only because our minds have been so greatly influenced by modernity and the Age of Reason. It is the same reason that so many educators believe that STEM is somehow the answer to the problems of the world.
However, it is more likely—and probably certain—that a materialistic worldview cannot explain anything that God decrees or does. Rather, it is better to explain the things that God decrees and does from within the context of Scripture as a whole.
From a biblical context, there is so much to think about with respect to this particular cleansing ritual. But one thing does stand out for me.
How is it that the very medium being used for cleansing people who had been exposed to a dead body could also defile those who had not been expose to a dead body?
It can only be because that medium had been set aside by God for a specific purpose. In other words, the medium is made holy. And if that medium is not used for that holy purpose, it becomes unholy itself and also causes whatever it touches to be unholy.
The word of God tells us that that principle applies to everything that God has deemed holy, including His holy people.
Our holiness is not about perfection but progress. At the same time, we should make every effort to progress in holiness. And ultimately, holiness is more about being used by God for His purpose than it is perfection in our behavior. In fact, God has made us perfect in Christ so that we can be used for His purpose and His purpose alone.
Father, You are holy, holy, holy, and Your ways are perfect. We know that we fall short of Your glory, but we add to our sin by letting our imperfection hinder us from being used by You. Forgive me, and forgive us. Let us recognized and embrace the perfection we have in Christ so that we might be used for Your glory. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
