“I wash my hands to declare my innocence. I come to your altar, O Lord, singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all your wonders. I love your sanctuary, Lord, the place where your glorious presence dwells.”
Psalm 26:6-8 NLT
David made a declaration about his innocence before God by washing his hands. Why should that be of any significance? We earlier considered Psalm 24:3-4, “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god”. In Biblical days, the washing hands had several meanings. The Pharisees were obsessed with hand washing, as we read in Mark 7:3-4, “(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the market-place they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles)“. The first mention of Biblical hand washing was in Exodus 30:18-21, when the Lord gave instructions to Moses. “Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 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 a food offering to the Lord, they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come”. The Jews have maintained this tradition right up to the present day, particularly before eating bread. In strictly Jewish homes, the dining table has become a replacement for the Temple altar, which was destroyed in AD 70.
But the washing of hands was not just a Jewish ritual and like them we wash our hands to rid them of contaminants that might do us harm if we ingest them. Physical hygiene is not just a modern phenomenon. But in Biblical times hand washing was also a sign of spiritual cleansing. James 4:8, “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded“. Hand washing was associated with inner purity, to some a ritual but to others a necessary means of focusing minds. There are other parts of a Christian’s liturgy that do the same. Human beings seem to sometimes need something that connects them to God and His demands. In a conversation with religious leaders, Jesus reset the meaning behind hand washing. “Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!’ Jesus replied, ‘And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:1-3). The disciples asked Jesus for an explanation, and we read His response, “‘Are you still so dull?’ Jesus asked them. ‘Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts – murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them'” (Matthew 15:16-20).
Another reason for hand washing was demonstrated by Pilate at Jesus’ trial. Matthew 27:24, “Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”” That very act has survived in our language today with an expression such as “I wash my hands of this”, signifying that we are giving up on something because it is something we are unable to change. Think of a rebellious teenager’s bedroom for example.
Before David could come into God’s presence, though, he was careful to clean his hands and ensure his innocence. We pilgrims have to do the same, not by literally washing our hands, but by confessing our sins and cleansing our hearts. We sing the song, “Purify my heart” and it continues, “Cleanse me from within and make me holy“. Nice sentiments, but I wonder sometimes what the congregants really understand what they are singing. But the lyrics are an accurate reflection of what we as believers must do. As we read in Psalm 24, only those who have “clean hands and a pure heart” can enter the Lord’s presence. But as we pilgrims know, it is hard, even impossible, to generate within us a pure heart in our own efforts. We need God’s help. After the Bathsheba debacle, David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). We may not have broken the three commandments that David did on this occasion, but we still need that “clean heart”. John, the Apostle, wrote, “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). And there we have it. We are light dwellers, reliant on the blood of Jesus for cleansing us from our sins. There is no other way into God’s presence.
Dear Heavenly Father. From You comes the light we need to be able to dwell in Your presence with clean hands and hearts. We thank You for the blood of Your Son, Jesus, through whom our cleanliness is assured. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 