Correlation between the Ashes of the Red Heifer and the cleansing of the Temple 532-1 - 3 -4

We learn from numbers 19 that a female red heifer without spot, etc., would be ceremoniously slain, blood sprinkled and the ashes stored for use either at the temple or in more remote areas of worship. The ashes of the red heifer, when mixed ceremoniously with water was considered "Water of purification."
CM's treatment of the water of purification, its relevance to the red heifer and the cleansing of the temple was a revelation to me. I had always assumed that the water in the storage jars was used for washing the feet of the guests. Thanks to this week’s lesson I understand that Jesus used the jars meant for the water of purification/ religious use as vessels for wine.

Jesus performed his first miracle during the wedding at Capernaum when he turned the aforementioned water into wine. I doubt that the temple leaders knew of the use Jesus had made of the water purification jars and would have considered it an abomination. However, to me this was Jesus at his best, simplifying the many laws into the redeeming knowledge that we are covered by the blood of Jesus shed at Calvary.

This transformation of the water purification into wine, in my opinion, was most definitely a preview of the wine used during the Last Supper. 1 Corinthians 11:25, “After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”

John 2:10, “And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.” Can one even imagine the home Jesus has/is building for us? We are just “passing through” this world as we wait for that “good wine” to come.

So many lessons to learn. Matthew 23 is a favorite of mine as Jesus exposes the hypocrisies of the temple leaders, e.g., verse 27 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.”

Jesus was a force to be reckoned with, John 2:15-16, “And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.” Once more, this points out the hypocrisy of the temple leaders; adhering to the law such as all the rituals involved in the water purification yet turning the temple into a house of merchandise.