Disinfecting and washing of hands certainly has become more prevalent over the past couple of years. Nothing like a pandemic to heighten the need for sanitizing. It has become such a part of my life now that I automatically head to the bathroom sink the moment I walk in the door. It's just routine.
For anyone reading through the book of Leviticus, the laws regarding those who are ceremonially unclean can make one nauseous. The description of diseases and contaminations that need cleansing are intense. Whether a physical malady or a household mold, the issue needed attention and a priest was the one who determined diagnosis.
Once identified, a prognosis for purification was given. What may read as strange rituals to us today, were the process by which the unclean would become clean. Whether through isolation, bathing, destroying a defiled item by fire or bringing a burnt offering there were ceremonies of cleansing that needed to be followed.
Why did this cleanliness matter? The Israelites are God's chosen people and they were to be set apart from other nations. Since they were called to be holy as He is holy, these laws were a vital part of keeping them in fellowship with God.
With the coming of Jesus Christ, a new cleansing was initiated. We all stand before the Lord "unclean". The prophet Isaiah writes, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6a) We all need a washing from the Lord. In Psalm 51:2, 7 David writes, "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin...Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."
Cleansing comes from God alone. Our intermediator is not an earthly priest but a High Priest who is more concerned about inner than external purification. It's our heart that needs sanctifying. The agent of atonement is the precious blood of Jesus. It is in this cleansing alone that we are made fully clean. Christ's sacrifice on the cross, and the shedding of His blood, purifies us from all sin. Hebrews 10 tells us that Jesus is the Priest who offered for all time, one sacrifice for sins, and then sat down at the right hand of God.
A forever cleansing is possible when one acknowledges and confesses their sins, understanding Jesus died in their place, putting their faith in God alone for salvation. He was the ultimate sacrifice. Through the shedding of Christ's blood, we can now enter into fellowship with Him.
As the old hymn lyrics ask, are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
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