Psalms 51:2: “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”
Practically every modern translations says wash me thoroughly. I mean that’s cool that expresses the idea. David has committed adultery and murder and he wants to be washed thoroughly, get a clean slate. However, in the Hebrew I think we catch a glimpse of David’s heart and why he was man after God’s own heart.
The word wash is kabbeseni from the root word kabas which means to wash. It comes from an old Phoenician word meaning to tread down or subjugate. That is what you are doing when you wash your hands you are treading down the dirt or subjugating it, in a sense you want to take control of it and get rid of it. So David is asking God to take his sin of adultery and murder and just step on it, subjugate it, take control of it and get rid of it. This is exactly what God did with David’s sin and ours, His Son took them all to the cross and he tread it down, subjugated it, took control of it and removed it.
That is pretty straight forward. What does fascinate me about this passage is that the word kabbeseni wash has an adverb added to it. It is the word harav which means to become great, many, numerous, to greatly increase, to enlarge or to be full of. David is saying, “Don’t just cleanse me but really cleanse me, multiply that cleansing to its limit. That is why the translators put in the adverb thoroughly.
What you do not see in the English but is in the Hebrew is that word harav is repeated. Technically you should say; “Wash me through and through.” Often a repetition is used to create an emphasis. Now we need to pause and consider something. In our 21st Century Western Civilized Culture we are experts on cleaning.” We know that if we take a drop of water and look at it, it will look clear and pure, but if we put it under a microscope, sudden there is a world that is not seen with the naked eye. That little drop of water is teaming with living things. If one of those living creatures happens to be toxic he could kill you. We know and understand that today; we have no problem with that. Long before I ever peered into a microscope in my grade school class my mother told me all about germs. I could not see them but they were there and I believed it, even though I never saw a real live germ until I got to school.
Yet, ancient man had no concept of microbes. If you were to even suggest such a thing in the ancient world they would consider you daff and the fact that these little creatures living in a microscopic world could harm you was beyond imagination. Washing your hands in ancient times had no hygienic purpose, it was done ceremonially to remove the dirt, once removed the seen dirt and there was no sign of dirt you had harav kabbeseni, thoroughly washed. It was not until 1665 just 450 years ago that Robert Hooke and Antoni Van Leeuwehoek peered into a microscope and discovered this hidden world changing forever our understanding of illnesses and diseases. The so called evil spirits that caused diseases could now be seen and combated.
Then why did David add another harav to repeat the word thoroughly? I believe David knew that even if his sin was removed so the world could not see it, he would appear thoroughly cleansed, something was still there, something unseen yet it would pop up in his quiet moments and bring him pain. I believe God led David to add that extra harav for us in our modern culture because He knew we would one day discover this hidden microscopic world that causes havoc with humankind. So instead of two words modern science would give us one word to describe this type of cleansing of not only the seen defilements but the unseen as well. A friend of my suggested the word sanitize. I think that is perfect for harav kabbeseni (thoroughly washed). David is praying: “Sanitize me.” I first considered the word decontamination, but sanitize fits much better. When I think of sanitizing I think of a dirty washroom. You can wash it, kabbeseni it, but you really need to harav kabbeseni or sanitize it, destroy the seen and unseen hidden filth.
I think David saw his sin like a filthy toilet, I know I see my sins this way and like David I just don’t want them washed away. Sure God washes away my sin but as the old saying goes, “God forgives, but now we must forgive ourselves.” I know my sins are forgiving, but I need God’s help to forgive myself. I need that adverb added to my cleansing; I need God to not just wash me but to sanitize me. Even a clean washroom can still have germs that will make you sick or kill you. Even a clean heart will still have those hidden germs that will destroy your walk with God.
You know I often wondered why David asked for a clean heart when the prophet Nathan told him God forgave him. That wasn’t enough for David, he had wounded God’s heart and he could not live with that. He could not forgive himself and he was pleading with God to help him forgive himself.
God will do that, if not, why is it in the Bible that David is asking for God to help him forgive himself. Maybe you can do that on your own, I can’t, I even need God’s help for that.
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