“But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean." (vs. 9).
The days of witness pass, and now the last of those seven days draws nigh. What must he do? Does he need more blood to make him fit to enter that longed-for home? No, we have seen already that the blood was only shed once, and only offered once. "By one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." Heb. 10:1414For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14). But he does need to shave and wash again. As long as we are down in this world, and not at home with the Lord, we will find the constant need for shaving and washing. And did you notice that the description of the shaving is more minute and careful than when he shaved the first time after the priest had pronounced him clean? This tells us that as we go on in our life as a Christian, and learn to know our Lord better, we will be more and more conformed to Him, and less and less conformed to the world.
Perhaps the hair of his head speaks of his natural intelligence; the beard, of experience; the eyebrows, of power of observation. Intellect, experience and observation all need to be conformed to Christ and His death.
But not only does he shave afresh, but he again washes his clothes and his own flesh. This tells us of the need for constant cleansing by water in thought and word and deed. May you and I, dear reader, be more careful about this needed washing and shaving, for we are in a world that is filled with defiling influences on every hand. Soon we will be home, then we will hear no more of washing in water. The "sea" before the throne in Rev. 4:66And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. (Revelation 4:6) was a sea of glass like unto crystal, telling us of fixed and settled purity that never could be defiled, and needed not to be used for cleansing.
But we have another lesson in this "seventh day." The seventh day in Scripture tells us of the Sabbath, the day of rest. We read, "Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest." Ex. 23:1212Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. (Exodus 23:12). But the Sabbath rest of this seventh day is broken into by the defilements that need cleansing, and instead of rest we find work. Instead of enjoying the Sabbath of rest prescribed by the law, we find the man busy shaving, bathing and washing his clothes. Does this not tell, to the opened ear, that where sin and defilement have come in, the seventh day of rest has passed away, and a new order of things has been brought in?