This chapter contains another account of the temple furnishings.
“Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east… Its thickness was a handbreadth… It held 3,000 baths. He also made ten basins in which to wash, and set five on the south side, and five on the north side. In these they were to rinse off what was used for the burnt offering, and the sea was for the priests to wash in.” (v2,4-6 abr)
Washing was a critical component in temple ceremonies. For most people in this time, bathing was done infrequently, because water was somewhat scarce. For the temple to have multiple basins, one of which held enough water for ‘3000 baths’ (roughly 3600 five gallon jugs), it was really quite extravagant.
Ceremonial washing was intended to prevent the spread of physical disease, yes, though it was also symbolic of spiritual cleanliness. Most sacrifices brought to the temple would be sin offerings, so people would be primarily seeking to cleanse themselves spiritually. Having physical washing as part of the spiritual cleansing ritual was both hygienic and symbolic. No imperfections were allowed in God’s presence, either physical or spiritual, so cleansing was a necessity.
This brings to memory my study of Shakespeare in high school. There’s a scene in Hamlet where Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking and ringing her hands furiously, trying to wash the bloodguilt off of her hands (she helped murder someone), but the ‘spot’ won’t come out – her hands were physically clean but her soul remained bloodstained. That’s why sin sacrifices were a two-part process, a physical and spiritual cleansing, because water itself cannot cleanse the soul, and cleansing the soul still leaves physical dirt/bacteria on the hands.
To aid in our health and wellbeing, I encourage us to make physical and spiritual hygiene a regular practice. Whenever possible, especially in light of our current global pandemic, physical hand washing should be done multiple times each day. Spiritual cleansing, meaning times of prayer and confession to God, should be done as often as the Spirit leads – that interval is between each of us and God. We must ensure however, that we don’t neglect this too long because it will harm our souls (like Lady Macbeth perhaps?).
Father God, our Most High God, You are truly righteous and holy. Father we have all sinned, and we ask for Your mercy and grace. Father please forgive us our sin for which Jesus has already paid the penalty. Please cleanse us of all unrighteousness in Jesus’ name, and please help us to walk a righteous path going forward. Would Your Spirit be our guide, both now and forever, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training