The Levites would cleanse themselves before taking up the holy vessels.
And for us, clean hands and a pure heart are essential. There is no
communion with God without these; a small speck of dust in the eye
blinds us. There is no sacrificial service without them. No efficient
work among men can be done without them. One main cause of the weakness
of our Christian testimony is the imperfection of character in the
witnesses, which is more powerful than all talk and often neutralises
much effort. Keen eyes are watching us.
The consciousness of our own impurity should send us to Jesus, with the
prayer and the confidence, 'Cleanse me and I shall be clean.' 'The
blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.' 'He hath loosed us from
our sins and made us kings and priests to God.'