Bird's-eye view
In these closing verses of Numbers 19, the Lord lays down the stark consequences for neglecting the purification rites He has just established. This is not some optional religious add-on; it is a matter of life and death within the covenant community. The central issue is defilement, specifically the defilement that comes from contact with death, and how that defilement corrupts the sanctuary of God. The man who remains unclean and presumes to remain part of the assembly is committing a high-handed sin. He is, in effect, tracking death into the house of Life. The penalty is severe: to be "cut off." The passage concludes by showing the pervasive, contagious nature of uncleanness. It spreads by touch, a tangible picture of how sin corrupts everything it comes into contact with. This whole chapter, with its intricate laws about the red heifer and the water of purification, is a massive audio-visual aid, as I like to say, designed to teach Israel about the gravity of sin and the absolute necessity of a divinely-provided cleansing.
Ultimately, these laws drive us to the gospel. They show us our desperate condition apart from a mediator and a sacrifice. The water of purification, as potent as it was, could only cleanse the flesh. It was a type, a shadow, pointing forward to the reality. As the writer to the Hebrews argues, if the ashes of a heifer could sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God? (Heb. 9:13-14). This passage in Numbers, therefore, is not just an archaic piece of ceremonial law; it is a declaration that fellowship with a holy God requires a thorough and divine cleansing from the defilement of sin and death.
Outline
- 1. The Consequences of Negligent Uncleanness (v. 20)
- a. The Offense: Refusing Purification (v. 20a)
- b. The Penalty: Excommunication from the Assembly (v. 20b)
- c. The Reason: Defiling God's Sanctuary (v. 20c)
- 2. The Perpetual Nature of the Cleansing Laws (v. 21)
- a. An Enduring Statute (v. 21a)
- b. The Transference of Uncleanness in the Act of Cleansing (v. 21b)
- 3. The Contagious Nature of Uncleanness (v. 22)
- a. Defilement by Direct Contact (v. 22a)
- b. Defilement by Secondary Contact (v. 22b)
Context In Numbers
Numbers 19 comes on the heels of the rebellion of Korah in chapter 16 and the subsequent plague that killed nearly 15,000 Israelites. Death is thick in the air. The people are terrified, crying out, "Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone!" (Num. 17:12). This chapter is God's answer to their fear. It provides a way to deal with the constant defilement of death that will be a feature of their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. It is a provision of grace, a way for the unclean to be made clean and restored to the community. These final verses, however, serve as the stern warning that accompanies the gracious provision. Grace is not to be trifled with. The means of cleansing has been provided, and to neglect it is to despise the very presence of God in their midst.
Clause-by-Clause Commentary
v. 20 ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself from uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly...
Here is the sharp edge of the law. God provides a remedy, the water of purification, but He will not tolerate contempt for His provision. The sin here is not simply being unclean; that was an unavoidable part of life in a fallen world. The sin is remaining unclean by neglecting the prescribed cure. It is a willful act of disobedience. To be "cut off" is a severe penalty. It means excommunication, to be removed from the covenant community, and in its most severe form, it could mean capital punishment. This is not about ritual fussiness; it is about covenant fidelity. To refuse cleansing is to refuse fellowship with God and His people. It is to declare that you prefer your defilement to God's holiness.
...because he has made the sanctuary of Yahweh unclean; the water for impurity has not been splashed on him; he is unclean.
The rationale is crucial. The offense is cosmic in its implications. An unclean person, by his very presence in the assembly, defiles the sanctuary of Yahweh. Remember, the tabernacle was the place where heaven and earth met, where God condescended to dwell among His people. To bring uncleanness into that space was an act of high treason against the King of Heaven. It was like tracking mud into the throne room. The repetition drives the point home: "the water for impurity has not been splashed on him; he is unclean." There are no excuses. The means were available. His condition is his own fault. This is a powerful picture of the state of the unrepentant sinner who, having heard the gospel, refuses the cleansing blood of Christ. He remains in his sin and is therefore unfit for the presence of God.
v. 21 So it shall be a perpetual statute for them. And he who sprinkles the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he who touches the water for impurity shall be unclean until evening.
This is not a temporary bylaw for the wilderness generation. It is a "perpetual statute." While the ceremonial laws are fulfilled in Christ, the principles they teach are eternal. The principle here is that God's holiness must be taken seriously for all time. Then we see a strange paradox. The very instruments of cleansing are themselves involved in the transference of uncleanness. The man who sprinkles the water becomes unclean. The one who touches the water becomes unclean. This is a profound theological lesson. The remedy for sin takes on the very uncleanness it is meant to remove. The clean man becomes unclean in the process of making the unclean man clean. Does this not shout Christ to us? He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). Our cleansing was purchased at the cost of His own defilement in the eyes of the law, as He bore our curse on the tree.
v. 22 Furthermore, anything that the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ”
The chapter concludes by emphasizing the contagious nature of defilement. Uncleanness is not a static state; it is an active, spreading corruption. Whatever the unclean man touches becomes unclean. And whoever touches that object, in turn, becomes unclean. This is a vivid illustration of how sin works. It doesn't stay contained. It spreads, corrupts, and defiles everything it comes into contact with. One person's sin affects the entire community. This is why holiness is a corporate concern. We are interconnected. The man who refuses to deal with his own uncleanness becomes a source of pollution for everyone around him. The requirement to be unclean "until evening" signifies a temporary state, a period of separation before restoration is possible. It reminds us that even secondary defilement must be dealt with before God. All of this is designed to make us long for a cleansing so powerful that it not only removes our sin but breaks the very power of its contagion, which is precisely what we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Application
So what do we do with a passage like this, filled with ashes, water, and ritual uncleanness? First, we must see the utter seriousness of sin. Our culture treats sin as a therapeutic problem, a mistake, or an alternative lifestyle. God treats it as a lethal, contagious defilement that makes us unfit for His presence. These laws were given to instill in Israel a holy dread of sin. We need a healthy dose of that same dread. To be casual about sin is to be casual about the holiness of God and the defiling of His sanctuary, which today is the Church, and our own bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16-17).
Second, we must flee to the only true cleansing agent. This whole elaborate ritual was a shadow. The water of purification could clean the body, but it could not cleanse the conscience. It pointed to something greater. We are not cleansed by a ritual, but by a person. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). The man in this passage was cut off because he refused the remedy God provided. The warning for us is just as stark. How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation (Heb. 2:3)? To hear the gospel and to walk away is to remain in your filth and to defile the sanctuary of God. It is to choose death.
Finally, we see the cost of our cleansing. The clean man became unclean to make the unclean clean. Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, was "made sin" for us. He touched us lepers and, instead of becoming unclean Himself, He made us clean. He entered into our death to bring us into His life. Our salvation was not cheap. It cost the Son of God everything. Therefore, let us not treat His grace lightly. Let us walk as cleansed people, hating the defilement of sin and pursuing the holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14).