2 Samuel 11:4 (NIV): Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
There is no small amount of irony in this single verse. Bathsheba had offered the sacrifice to cleanse herself from her monthly uncleanness, but as soon as David called for her, she went to him and made herself morally unclean. She was exacting as to the procedure to be CEREMONIALLY unclean, but was unwilling to keep herself MORALLY clean.
Jesus had the same problem with the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They were scrupulous in the fine details of the law, keeping themselves ceremonially clean even to the point of ensuring that they never touched a grave, and even straining their drinks through cloth so that they wouldn’t accidentally swallow a gnat, making themselves unclean. But, at the same time, their hearts were full of hate, and malice, and all manner of evil thoughts. This contrast is painted in full-color in John 18:28. The Jews refused to enter the governor’s mansion, because that would have made them ceremonially unclean, and unable to eat the Passover. They made Pilate come out to them so that they would stay CEREMONIALLY clean. But, at the same time, they were in the process of consciously railroading a Man whom they knew to be innocent of the things they were accusing Him of, in clear violation of commandment #9: You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16 NIV) This made them MORALLY unclean, and unpresentable before God, but they were totally unconscious of the contradiction. This was precisely why Jesus called those leaders “whitewashed tombs;” nice-looking, ceremonially clean on the outside, but full of corruption, and spiritual death, morally wrong on the inside.
This same dichotomy exists today in the minds of people who are called Christian. They make efforts to do the right things on the outside, but their minds and hearts are a mess. For example, they make a strong effort not to swear or use crude language (especially in the church building), but their minds are full of unclean thoughts, hateful attitudes, and agendas that run at cross-purposes to God’s. They dress nicely (and often look down on others who won’t “present their best to God” in their church clothes), but inside their thoughts are far from God, focusing far more on those around them than on God and His agenda. And it is quite frequent for people to come to the altar to confess their sins and receive forgiveness, only to leave the church building and go right back into their sinful lifestyles, actions and attitudes.
God requires His people to be, not just well-behaved, ceremonially clean, but genuinely holy. Holy not just in their outward actions, but holy all the way to their hearts. There are many these days who declare that those standards are too high, beyond the reach of anyone. And in our own strength, it is. But in past days, God revealed Himself to His people as Yahweh Mekadesh: The Lord who MAKES you holy (Leviticus 20:7-8). It was never God’s plan to have a people who were simply well-behaved. It was always His plan to have a people in whom He Himself could continually dwell, reshaping their very hearts, moving them to obey His commands, and making them legitimately holy, inside and out. No other kind of people can actually DO the work that he has left for us to do. No other kind of people can bear consistent witness to His love, His grace, and His power. But God has promised to do the work of making genuinely holy anyone who will turn to Him with all of their heart. And He ALWAYS keeps His promises. He WILL do it! (Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)
Father, forgive us for being too willing to be holy only on the outside. Instead, fill ALL of Your people with a deep and powerful hunger and thirst for Your righteousness, so that we CAN be filled by You. Amen!