What’s Your Job?

      There was one man (or more) who worked in the Tabernacle of the Jewish nation whose job it was to wash the internal organs and legs of the sacrifices with water.  but its inwards and its legs shall he wash with water:  (Lev. 1:9, 13) Hmmm… sounds like a pleasant job!  My point is, you read something like that and you say, “What?...”  Why is that in there?  Why was it important enough to put it in the Bible?  The other parts were already on the altar, but the insides had to be washed first.

      Perhaps there is symbolic lesson in there.  We take plenty of care, time, effort, and spend lots of money on washing up, and looking good on the outside.  How much care, time, effort and money do we spend on washing our inside man (heart: personality, emotions, intellect, will)?  Not so much I think.  So if we are to present ourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, (Rom. 12:1), then we must also wash our insides with water. 

      It is not the outside of man that is considered unclean by God, but the inside.  …but it is the sin that lives in me. (Rom. 7:20 ISV); O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness,… (Jer. 4:14 KJV).  It is the inner disposition of the heart which is of great value in the sight of God. (1 Pet. 3:3,4)   That is why the Bible says, …for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. (1 Sam. 16:7 KJV)  We might think we are doing okay because on the outside of us, no one sees our corruptness but we know, and God knows the truth.  He weighs our hearts. (Pr. 21:2)

      That is why Jesus got down on the religious leaders of the day so often.  They looked good on the outside always appearing to do the right things and say the right things, but inside their hearts were corrupt- and they never cared to wash their insides.  Read this:

You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that its outside may also be clean.  "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people's bones and every kind of impurity. In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Mat 23:26-28 ISV)

      He’s saying their cups looked clean, their tombs were painted and beautiful, and they appeared righteous, but inside they were unclean, dead, impure, and full of hypocrisy and iniquity.  Ouch!  Can’t we be that way sometimes?  Notice, Jesus says to first wash the insides.  Wash our insides; wash our hearts.

      Right now I seriously need to wash my hair as it is a greasy mess.  It would be pretty embarrassing if anyone came over and saw the state it is in.  Strange how it wouldn’t bother me so much if my heart weren’t clean- after all, how would they see it? 

Lord, my heart is always in need of washing.  Help me to remember that frequently.

Remind me to put more effort into my insides rather than my outside.