Elements of True Worship

Numbers 19:1-21:20 describes the laws of purification that the Mighty One gave to Israel through Moses and Aaron. These laws involved the sacrifice of a red or reddish-brown heifer, a rare and unblemished cow, that had never been used for plowing the ground, completely burnt to ashes with added components like a stick of cedar wood, a stalk of a plant named hyssop, and some scarlet yarn, were used to make water of purification. This water was sprinkled on anyone who had become unclean by touching a dead body, a grave, or the bones of a corpse. The purpose of these laws was to teach Israel the seriousness of sin and the need for cleansing the individual from its defilement.