Contemplative Bible Reading

James 4:8 (New International Version 2011)

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Notice the three things the writer encourages the reader to do:

• come near to God
• wash your hands
• purify your hearts

How did wash your hands make the list?

I can argue that wash your hands is a metaphor for something else, something spiritual. It cannot be literally washing dirt from the hands.

The other two tasks in the list sure seem to be literal. Why would the one in the middle be a figure of speech or something else?

I don’t know the answer, but I thought it was an intriguing question.