Washing

 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.
Leviticus 8:6 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/lev.8.6.ESV

'Cleanliness is next to godliness', or so this verse seems to suggest. The Mosaic law seems to emphasise us 'cleaning up our acts' in order to approach the Holy One. The new testament has a different emphasis.

If the old testament is us cleaning ourselves up in order to approach God; the new testament's emphasis is about God 'rolling up His sleeves' and 'getting His hands dirty' in order to clean us up. In the old testament it is easy for us to get dirty and hard to get clean. In the new testament, Jesus's blood washes away our sins.

Having been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, we should fear getting spiritually dirty more than the Aaronic priests feared becoming unclean. Baptism doesn't cleanse us of our sins, but it is a picture of what Christ has done for us by faith, washed us in His blood. Jesus is the ultimate fulfilment of the prophet Moses.

Just as Moses washed Aaron's family to serve God, so God washes us in Christ's blood to serve Him. We are a Kingdom of priests to intercede for unbelievers before Almighty God. May we rise to the challenge.

'O Lord, please help us to serve You well, even as You have prepared and equipped us to intercede and witness to the world. In Jesus' name we pray, amen'

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