Eleazar to Cast Cedar Wood, Hyssop and Scarlet into the Burning Remains of the Heifer While It Burned (Numbers 19:6).
“ And the priest shall take cedar-wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.”
The priest was then to cast into the place where the heifer was burning, cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet (compare here Leviticus 14:4). Cedar wood denoted strength and size and long life in a living thing. It was an indication of fullness of life. The cedars of Lebanon were famous for their height and beauty and long life. Hyssop was a plant used for the application of sacrificial blood and water. It was a purging and cleansing agent (Psalms 51:7; compare 19:18; Exodus 12:22). Scarlet was the colour of blood and might represent sacrificial death. Or it may represent the destruction of the sin that caused death (Isaiah 1:18), or the emergence of new life (Genesis 38:28; Genesis 38:30). Thus this emphasised the introduction of life, cleansing and atonement into the ashes.