Who is the Lord concerned about most in His quest for purity? The answer is the sons of Levi. In the Old Testament period, these were the persons who ministered before the Lord. The spiritual health of the nation depended upon them being in right relationship with God. If the sons of Levi were dirty, the channel to God was blocked. If the channel to God were blocked, national destruction and moral erosion were soon to follow.
So why the big deal about purity? The answer is quite simply that God wants the sons of Levi to be able to offer to Him an offering in righteousness. Whether or not their job was to offer an offering, it is not enough just to do the job itself. It had to be done IN RIGHTEOUSNESS. God has little regard for offerings given with sinful hands and a sinful heart. No, the offerings given to Him must be themselves pure, and they must be offered by pure servants.
Where does that leave us today? “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” Now, everyone who is a child of God is part of this kingdom of priests. It is no longer possible to simply point the finger up the ladder and say, “Well, you have to be holy, but I don’t.” THE NAME IS UPON US! And because of His name’s sake, He will do a cleansing work which will change your inside (refiner’s fire) and the outside (fullers’ soap) in order to make you pure. The day of making a dichotomy between a pure heart and a sinful body is OVER. We must be pure.
