"He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days. He shall purify himself
with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean:but if he purify not himself the
third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean. Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any
man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall
be cut off from Israel:because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be
unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him" (Numbers 19:11-13).

It is a solemn thing to have to do with God_to walk with Him from day to day in the midst of a
defiled and defiling scene. He cannot tolerate any uncleanness upon those with whom He deigns
to walk and in whom He dwells. He can pardon and blot out; He can heal, cleanse, and restore;
but He cannot sanction unjudged evil, or suffer it upon His people. It would be a denial of His
very name and nature were He to do so. This, while deeply solemn, is truly blessed., It is our joy
to have to do with One whose presence demands and secures holiness. We are passing through
a world in which we are surrounded with defiling influences. True, defilement is not now
contracted by touching "a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave." These things were, as we
know, types of things moral and spiritual, with which we are in danger of coming in contact every
day and every hour. We doubt not but those who have much to do with the things of this world
are most painfully aware of the immense difficulty of escaping with unsoiled hands. Hence the
need of holy diligence in all our habits and associations, lest we contract defilement, and interrupt
our communion with God. He must have us in a condition worthy of Himself. "Be ye holy, for
I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16).

But the anxious reader whose whole soul breathes after holiness may eagerly inquire, "What are
we to do if we are surrounded with defiling influences and are thus prone to contract that
defilement? Furthermore, if it is impossible to have fellowship with God with unclean hands and
a condemning conscience, what are we to do?" First of all we would say to be watchful; wait
much and earnestly on God. He is faithful and gracious, a prayer-hearing and a prayer-answering
God, a liberal and an unupbraiding Giver. "He giveth more grace." This is positively a blank
check which faith can fill up to any amount. Is it the real purpose of your soul to get on,, to
advance in the divine life, to grow in personal holiness? Then beware how you continue, for a
single hour, in contact with what soils your hands and wounds your conscience, grieves the Holy
Spirit and mars your communion. Be decided:be whole-hearted. Give up at once the unclean
thing, whatever it be_habit, or association, or anything else. Cost what it may, give it up. No
worldly gain, no earthly advantage, could compensate for the loss of a pure conscience, an
uncondemning heart, and the light of your Father’s countenance. Are you not convinced of this?
If so, seek grace to carry out your conviction.

But, it may be further asked, what is to be done when defilement is actually contracted? How is
the defilement to be removed? Hear the reply in the figurative language of Numbers 19:17-19:
"And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin,
and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel. And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip
it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that
were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:And the

clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day:and on the
seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall
be clean at even."

The reader will notice that in the twelfth and eighteenth verses there is a double action set forth.
There is the action of the third day and the action of the seventh day. Both were essentially
necessary to remove the ceremonial defilement caused by contact with the varied forms of death
above specified. Now what does this double action typify? What in our spiritual lives answers to
this? We believe it to be this:When we, through lack of watchfulness and spiritual energy, touch
the unclean thing and get defiled, we may be ignorant of it, but God knows all about it. He cares
for us, and is looking after us; not, blessed be His name, as an angry judge, or stern censor, but
as a loving Father who will never impute anything to us because it was all, long ago, imputed to
the One who died in our stead. But though He will never impute it to us, He will make us feel it
deeply and keenly. He will be a faithful reprover of the unclean thing; and He can reprove all the
more powerfully simply because He will never reckon it against us. The Holy Spirit brings our
sin to remembrance, and this causes unutterable anguish of heart. This anguish may continue for
some time; it may be moments, days, months, or years. We once met with a young Christian who
was rendered miserable for three years by having gone with some worldly friends on an
excursion. This convicting operation of the Holy Spirit we believe to be shadowed forth by the
action of the third day. He first brings our sin to remembrance; and then He graciously brings to
our remembrance, and applies to our souls through the written Word, the value of the death of
Christ as that which has already met the defilement which we so easily contract. This answers to
the action of the seventh day_removes the defilement and restores our communion.

Let us remember that we can never get rid of defilement in any other way. We may seek to forget,
to slur over, to heal the wound slightly, to make little of the matter, to let time obliterate it from
the tablet of memory. It will never do; it is most dangerous work. There are few things more
disastrous than trifling with conscience or the claims of holiness. And it is as foolish as it is
dangerous; for God has, in His grace, made full provision for the removal of the uncleanness
which His holiness detects and condemns. But the uncleanness must be removed, else communion
is impossible. "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me." The suspension of a believer’s
communion is what answers to the cutting off of a member from the congregation of Israel. The
Christian can never be cut off from Christ;; but his communion can be interrupted by a single
sinful thought, and that sinful thought must be judged and confessed, and the soil of it removed,
before the communion can be restored. It is well to remember this. It is a serious thing to trifle
with sin. We may rest assured we cannot possibly have fellowship with God and walk in
defilement. To think so is to blaspheme the very name, the very nature, the very throne and
majesty of God. No, dear reader; we must keep a clean conscience, and maintain the holiness of
God, or else we shall very soon make shipwreck of faith and break down altogether. May the
Lord keep us walking softly and tenderly, watchfully and prayerfully, until we have laid aside our
bodies of sin and death, and entered upon that bright and blessed world above, where sin, death,
and defilement are unknown.

(From Notes on the Book of Numbers.)