Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. (Numbers 19:4)

It is obvious in the passage that Eleazar wasn’t the one who slaughtered the heifer or else he would have been rendered “unclean,” ritually speaking, and unqualified to sprinkle the blood before the Tabernacle. Another priest would have presented him the blood, which had been received into a vessel and Eliezer, standing to the east of the Sanctuary facing toward the Holy Place, would have sprinkled the blood in the direction of Sanctuary. Alright, so what could we possibly glean from this that would have bearing on our life today? Well, again, this ceremony points us to the Messiah.

There are many, and I would include myself among this number, who believe that Yeshua was executed on the Mount of Olives which is  east of the Temple Mount. Admittedly, that flies in the face of long-held tradition, but consider the logic. Jewish tradition teaches that the Red Heifer was taken outside of the camp and slaughtered while the attending priest faced the Sanctuary — that would put him eastward. In the days of the Temple, this same scenario would have been possible only if the Red Heifer was slaughtered and then burned on the Mount of Olives, thus lending to the argument that Yeshua crucified on the Mount of Olives. Here is the point though: just as the blood of the Red Heifer was sprinkled seven times TOWARD the Sanctuary’s door, Messiah shed blood in seven different ways, possibly toward the door of the Sanctuary from the east.

The Bible tells us that His 1) sweat became blood; 2) He was scourged until His torso was shred to ribbons. (3) His beard was plucked out of His face and that was followed by a crown of thorns (4) being placed upon His head. Both His hands (5) and His feet (6) were pierced hands, and finally, (7) a lance was thrust into His side. Once again we see the Red Heifer’s connection to Messiah’s suffering in a very specific way which leads me to the concluding thought.

When He, as our High Priest, entered into the heavenly Holy Place with His own blood, He obtained eternal redemption for all who believe. I am convinced beyond any doubt that He sprinkled the Holy Place with His own blood seven times, signifying the work was complete and thus fulfilled all that was necessary that our conscience could be cleansed “from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14). We should take comfort in knowing that our heavenly High Priest, having atoned for our transgressions,  continues to make intercession for us, night and day.

Blessings and Shalom,  

Bill 

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