2 Chronicles 4

“He also made ten lavers, and put five on the right side and five on the left, to wash in them; such things as they offered for the burnt offering they would wash in them, but the Sea was for the priests to wash in.” 2 Chronicles 4:6 (NKJV)

As a teenager, I worked as an electrician’s helper.  The man who owned the electrical company was known for having the highest standards.  My job was to gather supplies, get tools out of the truck, and clean up when the electricians had finished their tasks.  On occasion, I would be asked to tack up wire in an attic.  Although I was not an electrician, none of the licensed electricians wanted to climb into a hot attic in July!  So, I tried my best, but my workmanship showed I was an amateur.  After finishing, one of the electricians would cover my work with insulation and say, “It’s good enough for government work!”  He meant I did a poor job, but the boss would never climb into a hot attic to inspect it.  Then, one day, the boss climbed into the attic, and boy, those guys got an earful!  Was my workmanship dangerous?  No.  It was just ugly, and the company owner demanded perfection.  In the end, my boss was gracious to me, but he never let me forget the standard I should be working toward.

The idea of being “ceremonially clean” for a priest is very similar to a perfectionist boss cutting you slack because he knows you are trying your hardest.  No priest (apart from Jesus – Hebrews 7) was ever perfectly clean concerning living a sinless life.  No Levite could stand before the Lord because of his own righteousness, as if they and God were peers.  But the fact that they were imperfect did not mean there was no standard at all!  Priests were required to strive toward living according to God’s Word, and the Lord even called for a basin of water to be present so they could wash before they entered the temple.  So, what does this mean to us?  Quite a lot, seeing as we are also called into a holy priesthood.

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NKJV)

Jesus washed His disciples’ feet before the “last supper” (last Passover seder meal with His disciples - John 13:1-6).  He was preparing them for their upcoming apostolic “priestly” ministries.  While they were not clean themselves, Jesus was signifying that they should not be afraid to approach the Lord because He would make them clean by the blood He was about to shed for them (and us) on the cross.

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”  Hebrews 10:19-22 (NKJV)