191 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, and unto Aaron, saying, 2 'This 'is' a statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the sons of Israel, and they bring unto thee a red cow, a perfect one, in which there is no blemish, on which no yoke hath gone up; 3 and ye have given it unto Eleazar the priest, and he hath brought it out unto the outside of the camp, and hath slaughtered it before him. 4 'And Eleazar the priest hath taken of its blood with his finger, and hath sprinkled over-against the front of the tent of meeting of her blood seven times; 5 and 'one' hath burnt the cow before his eyes; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, besides her dung, he doth burn; 6 and the priest hath taken cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and hath cast unto the midst of the burning of the cow; 7 and the priest hath washed his garments, and hath bathed his flesh with water, and afterwards doth come in unto the camp, and the priest is unclean till the evening; 8 and he who is burning it doth wash his garments with water, and hath bathed his flesh with water, and is unclean till the evening. 9 'And a clean man hath gathered the ashes of the cow, and hath placed at the outside of the camp, in a clean place, and it hath become to the company of the sons of Israel a charge for waters of separation—it 'is' a 'cleansing'; 10 and he who is gathering the ashes of the heifer hath washed his garments, and is unclean till the evening; and it hath been to the sons of Israel, and to the sojourner who is sojourning in their midst, for a statute age-during.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 19:1-10
Commentary on Numbers 19:1-10
(Read Numbers 19:1-10)
The heifer was to be wholly burned. This typified the painful sufferings of our Lord Jesus, both in soul and body, as a sacrifice made by fire, to satisfy God's justice for man's sin. These ashes are said to be laid up as a purification for sin, because, though they were only to purify from ceremonial uncleanness, yet they were a type of that purification for sin which our Lord Jesus made by his death. The blood of Christ is laid up for us in the word and sacraments, as a fountain of merit, to which by faith we may have constant recourse, for cleansing our consciences.