Baptism in the OT
There is not a single ordinance for immersion of any person, whether great or small. The person was never applied to the element, but the element, whether blood, oil, or water, was invariably applied to the man, or part of the man. In all the figurative language in scripture, we find many figures of sprinkling, ablution, and affusions, to picture the LORD God's methods of purifications, but never any figure of immersion, whether in the OT or NT. Only tradition finds immersion, but not sound exegesis. Immersion is a tradition, an assertion w/o proof, and thus is merely an assumption.
The first passover was a sprinkling on 3 places, and, from that day on, for Israel, sprinkling became a symbol of the application of the blood of deliverance. This is true to such an extent that Hebrew 9:9-14 KJV even the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is referred to as a sprinkling.
The blood of sprinkling of the Israelites: Exodus 24:6- 8 KJV; Exodus 29:16 KJV, Exodus 29:20 KJV; Lev. 1:5 KJV,Lev. 1:11 KJV; Lev. 3:2 KJV, Lev. 3:8 KJV, Lev. 3:13 KJV; Lev. 7:2 KJV, Lev. 7:14 KJV; and on and on....
The water separation :
"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. .....But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean." Numbers 19:13 KJV, Numbers 19:20 KJV
Washings with water:
-to pour water over the surface, to rinse-it never means immersion. Hands were washed by pouring water over them..
"But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brasen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water." Lev. 6:28 KJV
"And whomsoever he toucheth that hath the issue, and hath not rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water." Lev. 15:11-12 KJV "Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and great hailstones in my fury to consume it. " Ez. 13:11-14 KJV
The word "baptism in the OT stands for all the ceremonial sprinklings, pourings, and washings:
"Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment." Hebrews 6:2 KJV
"Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation." Hebrews 9:10 KJV
"And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed." Lev. 11:32 KJV
This is the only reference to immersion in the OT-everywhere else it is sprinklings, pourings, washings.
But notice:
-it refers to things, not persons
-the immersion was not just for a moment, but for a day until evening
-it was for the purpose of making the unclean clean
-the immersion was purely ritual
-the immersion was entirely for the LORD God's earthly people, the nation Israel
The immersion of one person by another was entirely unknown to Israel. The "modern" rite of immersion finds no proof or precedent in the OT scripture..
The OT does recognize a future "baptism" by sprinkling-the unique and unprecedented sprinkling of the Holy Spirit, flowing from the throne of the LORD God:
"Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider." Is. 52:13-15 KJV
"For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." Ez. 36:24-27 KJV
That is, the Holy Spirit upon all flesh, per Joel 2:28 KJV, and Acts 2:17 KJV :
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:.." Joel 2:28 KJV
" And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:...:" Acts 2:17 KJV
The astonishing result is that Israel and the nations, including all animal life(explaining the future no fear of animals in the millennial kingdom), will become filled with the Spirit. In that future day, the so-called "Great Commission" of Matthew 28:19-20 KJV will be literally fulfilled-the future Spirit baptism.
Self "immersion" was an invention of the Jewish scribes, and it is foreign to the law of Moses. The immersions had their origin in unbelieving Israel, the Jewish leadership, after they rejected their true LORD God. They not only rejected the Messiah, their Messiah,the Christ, but also the scriptures that "typified" the Messiah/Christ and His Spirit, because the sprinkling of the water, blood, and oil, pointed to the application of the Messiah's blood and Spirit. The OT testifies that in the sprinkling or pouring, the recipients were passive, while in self-immersion, the self-righteous man was active. The sprinkling pictured the LORD God's work, not man's, as the LORD God said:
"For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses." Is. 44:3-4 KJV
In the law, there is no immersion, or even a figure of immersion-it was a tradition added by the apostate Jewish leadership, the uninspired oral law of self-righteous Talmudic Judaism. "Immersion" is a Talmudic word, but not a biblical word. The scriptures, in contrast, abound with figures of sprinkling and pouring. Any immersion was of objects, not persons, and even with objects, the defiled object was to be put into water. The sprinklings were self washings=designated as "baptisms." The word water occurs over 500 times in the "volume of the book," but not in a single case does it refer to, or even suggest, immersion.
