Cleanliness is Important

Exodus 19 and the Call to Consecration

Verse 10, then the Lord said to Moses, go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow and let them wash their clothes. This seems a little unusual. John MacArthur writes this about verse 10, how serious this step was for the nation was emphasized for them by two days of special preparation.

The inward preparation for meeting with God was mirrored in the outward actions of maintaining bodily cleanliness. I would just like to add this because we've all heard people say this. We've probably said it ourselves.

The Biblical Meaning of Outward Appearance

This statement is actually biblical. We say, God does not look upon the outward appearance. God looks upon the heart. Of course, that's true. But what does that mean? Does that mean that the outward appearance doesn't matter at all?

No, that's not what that means. What that means basically is God doesn't care if you're tall or good looking, or God doesn't care about the superficial things like that. But if you believe Exodus 19, God, there's something to be said about cleanliness and how you present yourself.

Cleanliness, the Tabernacle, and the Pleasant Aroma of Worship

Probably not heard a lot of sermons about cleanliness, but if you read through the Old Testament especially, there's a big emphasis put on this. I think that's part of why in, not the only reason, but in the tabernacle, there were, there's incense.

You wanna make sure there was a smell, a pleasant smell, right? The sacrifices, there was a pleasant aroma coming up. So if you have an unpleasant aroma coming out of you, you, how we dress and how we present ourselves can, it can reflect what's on the inside.