Be Clean!

Read Deuteronomy 23
 
Deuteronomy 23:14 For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.
 
MOST of us, I think, have heard the phrase “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” Although these words are not in the Bible, it is easy to see how being clean is being “next to” or in agreement with God’s Word.
    The main view of “clean” in the Bible is most often connected with the Holy Trinity’s work to cleanse our sins and save our souls. Baptism is an outward sign of the internal washing: Hebrews 10:22 “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” Jesus, too, said, “Be clean!” (Matthew 8:3) to some he healed. And once Jesus taught obedience of the commands would make us clean in our hearts. Luke 11:41 “But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.” Yes, having clean souls, washed of disobedience and neglect, we come close to God.
    As we note in Deuteronomy 23:9-14, the Bible has many personal and “clean camp” commands. The LORD made the cleanliness-to-godliness connection in Exodus 19:10-11 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. To be consecrated – set apart – from the world to be present with God required one to be physically clean as well as morally ready. A clean house – a clean camp – is our physical response to the LORD’s gracious love to welcome us into his household.
    Throughout time and even up to our present day, superstitions and lack of knowledge regarding infectious diseases have caused many illnesses and massive numbers of deaths. As serous and deadly as our current world pandemic is, it is minimal contrasted to the worldwide flu pandemic in 1918 that killed 20-50 million people. Europe’s first Black Plague in 541-542 killed 20 million, and its second Black Plague of 1346-1353 caused 75-200 million deaths. People allowed filth to remain in their “camp” – in their homes, villages and cities.
    The LORD’s healthy commands are another example of his wise love for us. Since creation, he has been directing our lives in order to protect us from things we cannot see and do not know about. Be healthy in your body and soul. God’s, “Be clean!” commands has healed even death, so we are near to him forevermore.
 
John 13:9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but (wash) my hands and my head as well!”