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The Red Heifer and Julian of Norwich

Today I read Numbers chapter 19 and was thoroughly puzzled by the Ordinance of the Red Heifer. I was trying to see the prefiguring of Christ in it and really couldn't make it out.

Later in the evening we watched an episode of Call the Midwife in which one character quoted Julian of Norwich, "If you ask what God meant by this, He meant love." I thought about how that fit, and  while it was superficially satisfying, it wasn't quite enough answer for my mind.

As I perused some of the quotes from the Revelation of Divine Love, this one seemed to be the answer I had hoped for:

 “...we need to fall, and we need to be aware of it; for if we did not fall, we should not know how weak and wretched we are of ourselves, nor should we know our Maker's marvelous love so fully...” 
― Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love


Needing this ordinance and the other rituals of purification, atonement, and redemption showed the Israelites how utterly dependent we are on God's grace and His supply of its means. If nothing else, this ordinance pointed out our need for a Savior and a one-time, ever-lasting purification.

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