Good Morning.
Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water. You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. (Exodus 40:12-13)
The act of washing with water before entering into the Sanctuary service was both practical and ceremonial. If you consider that the Tabernacle came to be in the wilderness, a place filled with dust and rock, it is logical to presume that everyone collected a lot of dust in a very short period of time. And as everyone knows, you don’t come to the dinner table with dirty faces and dirty hands. Likewise, in God’s House, those who served were expected to enter in with clean faces, hands and feet.
Now consider what dust represents: it speaks of the earth and, because man came from the dust of the earth, it alludes to the works of the flesh. The fact that the serpent was sentenced to “eat dust” all the days of its life seems to underscore this notion; in other words the serpent (adversary) feeds on the carnal deeds and fleshly inclinations of man. Seeing this connection, it is easy to understand why God wanted His priests to wash themselves before entering into His house. Years after the inauguration of the Levitical priesthood, David would write these words:
Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. (Psalm 24:3-4)
Those who are to stand in His holy place are regarded as His priests and, consequently, must be cleansed of the things pertaining to this world that offend the Most High. The instructions given to Moses in regard to Aaron and his sons speak of much more than just washing the desert’s dust from their hands and feet. It speaks of the necessity for anyone wishing to approach the Almighty to be clean and pure of sin and carnality — and why? Because He is holy and, therefore, we must be holy. Thankfully, through Yeshua, He has made it possible for us to stand before Him pure and holy, and yet, we must do our part. So, that we may not be tainted by the world, let us stay in the Word and be continually cleansed and washed by the water He provides.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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