The search for personal purity is a long and at times agonizing one. We live in a world that is spiritually and morally unclean. A great number of people have become familiar with Ouija boards and various other occult practices. Giant, wall-mounted TV sets thrust evil images into homes, and pornography comes to handheld devices with simple clicks. Glossy magazines portray decadent lifestyles as glamorous and desirable, and ever-lowering standards are promoted as reasonable alternatives to “narrow-minded” thinking.
The Lord’s statement that the pure in heart shall see God implies that the impure shall not. “You shall be holy unto me, as I the LORD am holy.” (Leviticus 20:26) The question though is how in the world can we become that pure?
The Greek word “katharos” means “pure, as being cleansed” and refers to a purity that comes from an inner cleansing, as in “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” The English word “catharsis” comes from this Greek word and describes a purging.
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that artistic performances which caused “highs” and “lows” in audiences were useful in relieving people of their unhealthy, bottled-up emotions. We now call such performances “tear-jerkers” and “soap operas”.
Confession of sins or of crimes is known as “cathartic revelation” — the cleansing of the soul. Luke 11:41 and Titus 1:15 deal with the believer’s freedom from external ceremonial washings. What matters most is that we are clean not only on the outside but also on the inside.
The first miracle that Jesus did was change ordinary washing water into fine wine. Through this miracle Jesus introduced himself as one who would bring a change from religious ritualism to spiritual enjoyment. When Jesus contrasted the Jewish leaders careful, almost ceremonial, washing of hands before eating with the unclean thoughts that came from their hearts and overflowed through the words of their mouths, he was not dismissing the need for basic hygiene but pointing out the need for a cleansing that was more than superficial. (Matthew 15:1-20)
So, the “pure in heart” are those who have been cleansed, and since their sincere hope is to see God in the Resurrection and to be changed into His image, they keep themselves clean (1 John 3:3).
The Apostle Peter wrote his first epistle to Christians who were experiencing severe persecution. Peter encouraged them to view their trials as a cleansing preparation for entry into the kingdom. He warned that fiery judgement of a far worse kind awaited those who heard the Gospel and refused to repent. “For the time has come for judgement to begin at the house of the Lord, and if it begins with us, what will be the fate of those who disobey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17) Ezekiel 9:6 and Amos 3:2 also convey the thought that judgement begins with the people of God.
The Apostle Paul informs us that if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged by God. It is up to us to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This is what King Hezekiah did. His spiritual reformation began with the reopening and repairing of the Temple in Jerusalem. It continued with the selection of priests to do the clean-up work required in the “inner part” and the restoring of all the equipment required by the priests for their work.
When that was done, the king gathered the rulers of the city and went up to the Temple, bringing with them sin offerings to be sacrificed on behalf of all the people of Israel. While this began the Levites led a noisy celebration. The people worshipped while the singers sang and trumpets blew! Next the worshippers brought their own “thank offerings”, “drink offerings” and freewill offerings of animals to be sacrificed. The number of these and the willingness with which they were given showed how sincere the people were in wanting back the relationship with God they once had.
“So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order.” King Hezekiah then sent messages to all Israel (not just the kingdom of Judah over which he reigned but the northern kingdom as well) inviting everyone to attend the Feast of Passover. “So the messengers passed from city to city throughout the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, even to Zebulun, but they laughed at them and mocked them. Nevertheless, many from Asher and Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.” (2 Chronicles 30:10, 11)
The king prayed that God would forgive those from the northern kingdom of Israel who had not cleansed themselves, ceremonially, saying, ‘The good LORD pardon everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, even though he is not cleansed according to purification [rites] of the sanctuary.’ And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.”
“So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel [almost 300 years before] there had been nothing like it in Jerusalem.”
But that was just the start: the people then left the temple and went out and broke down all the false idols, pagan altars and places of idolatrous worship “until they had utterly destroyed them. Then all the children of Israel returned to his own city and property.” The final step in the restoration came with the response of the people to the king’s command that they support the priests.
This resulted in an abundance of corn, oil, wine, honey, and other produce, plus a tithe of oxen and sheep. “Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat with plenty left over,” reported the chief priest.
These combined restorations would later be known as “the children that have come to the birth” — the promises of a new age of God’s blessing that would result from the holiness of the people. In the face of an Assyrian invasion, they would have “no strength to bring them forth” — bring to birth those promises. But Hezekiah’s restorations and the spiritual reformation he brought about would bring a blessing — a spiritual “anointing” or “fatness” — that would forever break the yoke of Assyrian bondage. (Isaiah 10:27)
By now you’ll have realized that the process of restoration and reformation which resulted in revival during Hezekiah’s reign is one that God will use in our time — should we purpose to be as willing and committed to change as he was. Let’s look again at the steps he took, this time in 21st century terms, and see what we need to do.
1. We need to reopen the doors of the temple of the body (individual and corporate) to see with our spiritual eyes, hear with our spiritual ears, and think with the mind of Christ: uncover and restore the truth of worship as it was in the time of the Early Church. We need to reopen ourselves to all that is good. We need to guard the door of our lips so that we can offer to God the spiritual incense of prayer. (Psalm 141:2)
2. We need to reintroduce the priestly ministry that will cleanse the innermost part of the temple from the rubbish that has accumulated there during the time of our spiritual neglect. Only then will the spirit be as clean as it was when we were saved from sin, and only then will the spiritual cleanliness that is called holiness be restored in the inner part. (Psalm 51:6) This priestly ministry is not Levitical but is after the order of Melchizedek, and should be practised by every believer.
3. We need to bring our community leaders into what has been renewed, so they can sacrifice their most precious possessions to God’s work on behalf of the people they serve. This is the kind of leadership the Western World is waiting for and is yet to see.
4. We need to reintroduce true worship, which is spontaneous, noisy, and expresses the joy of spiritual and moral restoration and reformation!
5. We need to invite those who have separated themselves from us as a result of past differences to rediscover Passover fellowship with us by rejoining us in frequent times of spiritual communion.
6. We need to be sensitive and ask the good Lord to pardon those whose spirituality has suffered during their time of absence from spiritual fellowship. The speech of some will need to be cleaned up, but our unconditional love and acceptance and the Spirit of the Lord will take care of that.
7. We need to allow the people to return home and rid their dwellings of their celebrity idols, their substitute worship at sporting and entertainment events, and the secular altars to Success on which they have laid their marriage and their children.
8. We need to encourage believers to be generous with the blessings God has given, so that places of praise and worship will also be points of provision. There’s plenty to go ‘round in God’s “economy” (a word that comes from a Greek word meaning “to run a household”).
9. We need to know that when we’ve restored neglected worship and reformed fellowship to the New Testament standard, whatever comes against our society and threatens to destroy it and us, will itself be destroyed by the Lord our Defender. Our responsibility is to “bring the children to the birth” (so to speak), but it is the Lord’s responsibility to give the “strength to bring forth” — save the Church from what threatens it most and bring into being the result of its restoration and reformation.
This all results from a cleansing that begins with reopening the entry to biblical praise and worship, continues with restoration and reformation, and concludes with a new commitment to God by the wider community. It is spiritual cleansing from the inside out, and is needed as much today as it was in King Hezekiah’s time!