In and Behind Your Ears

S

oap and water are the sworn enemies of all children!  There’s just something about the words “bath time” that strikes fear into the heart of any kid, no matter how big, brave, or dirty he or she may be!

I remember how much I hated taking a bath.  I would always find some excuse to avoid the dreaded march to the bathroom. I argued that I wasn’t that dirty, that I had just had a bath the night before, or that, following up on a conversation I overheard between my parents, our water bill was just too high and that by not taking a bath, I was actually “helping” keep costs down.  I had no idea what that meant but it sure sounded good!

None of these arguments, however, swayed or even phased my mom!  When she said, “bath time,” that is exactly what she meant--no negotiations, no appeals to dad, just the obedient death march to the bathroom.  Once in the tub, I had to make sure all the dirt, grime, and filth was completed washed away.  Just about the time I finished this “burdensome task,” mom would call from the kitchen and remind me to “make sure you wash in and behind your ears!” On more than one occasion she had informed me that we could probably produce a good crop of potatoes from the dirt in my ears!

Washing behind my ears, I could understand, but washing in them was beyond me. Who, besides mom and the doctor, was going to be looking in my ear canal?  Who wanted to?  But, in order to avoid any confrontation, I took the washcloth and dutifully washed both in and behind my ears.  Who would have thought that a little dirt would be such a big deal?  But mom knew that keeping my ears clean, especially the inside, would avoid infections and all kinds of not-so-fun stuff.

The idea of keeping the outside and the inside clean and protected can be found in the story of Noah and his ark!  Don’t believe me?  Then just take a look at this brief, but very important passage found in Genesis 6:14, “So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.”

God’s instructions were clear, Noah was to use cypress wood to build the ark and he was to make sure it was coated, both inside and out, with a substance called pitch. Why would God make this demand of Noah?  Let’s find out!

Pitch was a resin that could be made from any of a number of substances, such as coal tar, plants, etc. It was used as caulk to waterproof sea-going vessels.  Putting pitch, both on the inside and the outside of a ship ensured the vessel would be waterproof and stay afloat.  Noah, had to make sure that pitch covered every joint and seam of the ark, whether they were inside or outside.  The outside pitch prevented water from seeping in and the inside pitch was used to stop any water that might get past the outside resin.  The inside pitch, although unseen from the exterior, guaranteed the security of the ark.

The application to the Christian life is clear.  Jesus, in Matthew 23:27 warned the Pharisees of having cleaned behind their ears, so to speak, but having neglected to clean them on the inside, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.”

Our Lord knows the hearts of men.  He knows that outward appearances are no indication of the inward condition.  The outside may appear clean but the inside is dirty, dark, and sinful.  Only the saving blood of Christ can pitch and seal the human heart both inside and out.  So, how clean are your spiritual ears today?