How do we get to the real cleansing? When does the sin really get washed away? It wasn’t cleansing the Israelites’ sins. In reality, the washing of hands is a reminder of sinful, dirty hearts. It was an object lesson of sorts, letting the people see with their eyes something they couldn’t know on their own. These detailed rules, these seemingly over-ritualistic washings were to show the people how incredibly dirty sin is and how holy and clean God is.
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In my Bible in 90 days adventure, I read through all the rules for the people and the priests for bathing before they entered the tabernacle or temple. The ancient Jews were serious about this clean hands thing–they had all kinds of baths and washing rituals (which sadly, did not include fancy soaps).
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Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. The first chapter focused around Psalm 24:3-4, It’s a simple, encouraging book with beautiful pictures from the Holy Land. It’s a little devotional based on historical places and insights from ancient Israel. On Monday, I started a new book called Secrets from Ancient Paths by Andy Cook. I can tell from 3 feet away if the boy actually scrubbed with soap or not! Which is, of course good when you have a 6 year old boy who thinks washing hands means wiping them on a towel. And the scent! Oh, the scent! You can smell it before you even get to the sink and it stays on your hands for hours. They add a little fancy to a mundane task, a little happy to a mindless part of your day. You know those pretty soaps you can get at farmer’s markets and cute little boutiques? The ones with glitter and swirled colors? They look like they’ve been cut from a giant loaf of soap? These are my new favorite splurge.