Purification and Worship of God

Purification in the Bible was always followed by the worship of God. The sole purpose was to prepare the mind, body and spirit to enter into His presence. When Jacob (who was later given the name of Israel) walked the earth he would purify himself before building an alter and worshiping God.

Genesis 35:2-5
So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.

Here Jacob sets a standard for purification.

1. “Get rid of foreign gods”
2. “Purify yourselves”
3. “Change your clothes”

All three steps are summed up in the following verse:

James 4:8
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

As seen with Jacob, purification was removing anything that came between him and God. All actions were in preparation to approach God uncluttered by distractions.

The First Standard of Purification

In the New Testament the Bible tells about our modern day idols or “foreign gods”. As there is only one God all others are unfit substitutes. God has only two principles that all other rules and guidelines hang on.

Matthew 22:36-39
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

God designed these principles as a guideline for the human race to live in harmony. Each of the Ten Commandments fall into either the “love your God” or “love your neighbor” categories. Following rules that deviate from these guidelines constitute creating your own god. An idol is anything that draws your attention away from Him.

Philippians 3:18-20
For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

The Second Standard of Purification

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Jacob started a cleansing process as he directed his thoughts to God. He was purified as the degrading thoughts of self began to wash away and a new focus flooded his being. He shaved back dead thoughts and thanked God for the promise of forgiveness as he confessed his sins in prayer. After doing all these things Jacob was mentally prepared to commit himself to God’s work.

The Third Standard of Purification

The final step of purification is an outward result of internal change. All true smiles start at the heart and end as an expression on the face. God directed to Moses the principles behind purification in object lessons. Moses then practiced these actions at God’s request so that all would remember the significance that was behind them. Many times God directed people to act out the processes that should take place in the minds of His people.

The external steps as described in Numbers 8 (below) are similar to those taken in the heart and mind.

• Purify by external washing
• Removal of dead growth fuelled by the past (hair is made up of dead cells; this was also done to ensure no disease was covered up during physical purification)
• Wash external raiment
• Prepare a thank offering
• Prepare a sin offering
• Visit the worship place of God
• Start the Lord’s work

Numbers 8:6-11
The LORD said to Moses: "Take the Levites from among the other Israelites and make them ceremonially clean. To purify them, do this: Sprinkle the water of cleansing on them; then have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves. Have them take a young bull with its grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil; then you are to take a second young bull for a sin offering. Bring the Levites to the front of the Tent of Meeting and assemble the whole Israelite community. You are to bring the Levites before the LORD, and the Israelites are to lay their hands on them. Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the Israelites, so that they may be ready to do the work of the LORD.


God used external reminders all the time.
In the verse below the blood was to be placed on the lobe of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand and the big toe of the right foot of the one being purified. This was to symbolise how important the blood of Jesus spilled at the cross was to be. By placing the memory of his blood in our head (ear), what we do (thumb of hand), and where we go (big toe of foot). We must remember Jesus in all these actions. The oil is representative of the Holy Spirit and how he will help all our actions and will be poured into our mind if we remember Jesus (see the topic about the Holy Spirit to learn more).

Leviticus 14:14-18
The priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. The priest shall then take some of the log of oil, pour it in the palm of his own left hand, dip his right forefinger into the oil in his palm, and with his finger sprinkle some of it before the LORD seven times. The priest is to put some of the oil remaining in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. The rest of the oil in his palm the priest shall put on the head of the one to be cleansed and make atonement for him before the LORD.

Genesis 22:8
Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

Just as Jesus died and took the punishment intended for the human race who disobeyed the law of God. We now no longer need to sacrifice lambs as symbol of what God promised as Jesus has conquered death and now He is what we remember. This is why we no longer have to practice all the old laws of sacrifice outwardly but we should follow them inwardly. Because the outward actions were only to be used to remind us of how to act on the inside and now we have a reminder that is stronger than death, the life of Jesus who made us all!

Romans 7:6
But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

However this does not mean that the original Law (of love of God and neighbour) that was further explained in the Ten Commandments should not be followed.

Matthew 5:17-18
(Jesus said) "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Jesus was upset at the religious leaders of the time because they purified the outside continually but on the inside they were filled with hate.

Matthew 23:26
Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Luke 11:39
Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

Once we see these principles we begin to understand spiritual actions of purification and why they were followed.

Closely linked to the Spiritual purification rites were the health based purifications.

As with the example below when enemies were overpowered and the valuables in the city were gathered they had to be sterilized either by fire or through washing.

Numbers 31:21-24
"This is the requirement of the law that the LORD gave Moses: Gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, lead and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water. On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean. Then you may come into the camp."

When spiritual purification happens first physical is bound to follow. This concept is demonstrated by the story of Zacchaeus.

Luke 19:8
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

Purification is processes of committing ones self to the Lord. As with Jacob once you put away all that doesn’t matter and seek the Lord in worship you are ready to perform the Lords work and people will notice. You don’t have to tell them as they will see it clearly in how you live your life.

Most importantly it is Jesus who cleanses us. Without Him everything is in vain. God doesn’t need our sacrifices but He wants us to remember Him and live with Him.

Isaiah 1:10-12
"The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?" says the LORD.
"I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

Proverbs 15:8
The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked,
but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

Proverbs 21:3
To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

James 4:8
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Romans 2:21
No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.