Exodus 19:10-11 And the LORD said to Moses, Go to the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes,… What was the signification of this Divine command? God gets at the mind through the senses; and He doubtless intended to instruct the people by this act that their minds should be purified, and their hearts prepared for His service. And to us it points out the necessity of our hearts being cleansed from sin, from the defilement and the love of it, before we can serve the Lord acceptably; it teaches us also that we must not rush heedlessly into the presence of God, even in private prayer. This becoming reverence for the presence of the Divine Majesty will likewise show itself in our demeanour in the house of God. "Let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day." This will bring a man in time to the house of God. He will feel with David, "I was glad when they said, Let us go to the house of the Lord"; and if by any unavoidable circumstance he is later than he ought to be, his very step will testify his concern that it should be so, and a solicitude lest he disturb the solemnity of the worship of others. In the man who fulfils the spirit of this command there will be no wandering eye, but that general decorum of manner which shows that he has put off his shoes from his feet, for the place whereon he stands is holy ground. (George Breay, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, |
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