Crib Notes

(Proverbs 14:4 KJV)  Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

The Jews had a place for washing.  It was part of the law.  Because of that they had less disease than surrounding nations.  The practical purpose was quickly buried by the ritual and ceremonial liturgies that developed in the temple and daily life.  Washing separated the work from the worship.  It isolated the potential for disease by washing hands and isolation.

At the same time, work was important.  Labor was considered productive.  Profit was good.  Those good things required sweat and mess.  There are certain social expectations that develop that refute this.  Slavery gave people the impression that work was only for the inferior.  Victorian class expectations said that the genteel classes did no do work that required perspiration or dirty hands.  That is not Biblical.  The plumber is loved as much by God as the professor, probably more.

So?  Some of the best discussion I have at school are with the janitor that cleans my room.  Assume that those doing the dirty work know something you don’t.  Let the mess remind you to be productive.