A high priest stands before God in filthy clothes while the accuser stands beside him, pointing. Nobody argues with the accusation. The clothes are filthy; everyone can see it. Then God speaks, and the whole scene turns.

You will stand in that courtroom today. Come as you are, not as you wish you were, because the verdict does not depend on the state of your laundry. It depends on the One who speaks.

Set today's two mouths side by side. The woman in Proverbs wipes hers and declares herself innocent; nothing was removed, only hidden. Joshua says nothing at all, and God removes everything, filth, accusation, verdict. Those are the only two strategies for guilt anyone has ever had: manage the evidence, or let God take the sin away.

Self-cleaning always leaves you exactly as dirty and twice as defended. Confession leaves you in clean clothes you did not sew. And when the beast-days come, the days demanding patient endurance, it is the people in the clean clothes who can stand there quietly, because their accuser has already lost his case.