August 8, 2022

Exodus 30: 20, 21 (NIV)

“Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made to the Lord by fire, they shall wash their hands and feet so they will not die.”

Holiness is who he is and what he does.*

Whoever coined the phrase, “Cleanliness is next to godliness,” must have been thinking about this priestly ritual. Although, it might be more appropriate to say that cleanliness comes before you can get next to godliness. The priests were heading into the presence of the most holy God but the Almighty was not concerned about the spreading of germs, and all that washing couldn’t really make anyone clean enough to approach God. God was concerned about what their physical hygiene represented: holiness.

We don’t need priests to stand in for us today. We are our own priests – each of us must be cleansed personally before we approach God. How do we meet the requirements for ceremonial cleanliness? In Hebrews 9: 14 we read that it is the blood of Christ that cleanses us. How do we apply the blood for cleansing purposes? In Acts 22: 16, Paul says that after his conversion experience, he was instructed by Ananias to get up, be baptized and wash his sins away. And Peter writes, in I Peter 3: 21, that the water of baptism saves us – not by removing dirt from the body but as a pledge of a good conscience toward God.

Unlike the priests, we don’t have to rewash every time we approach God. Jesus entered the Most Holy Place “once for all by his own blood” (Hebrews 9: 12). Instead of offering many sacrifices, year after year, Christ’s sacrifice is the only one we need for complete forgiveness.

Are you washed in the blood?

At our baptism, God empowers us with His Holy Spirit to serve with the attitudes and character of Christ.*