When we think about dust it is usually in a negative context – something that needs to be removed with a cloth or vacuum. But dust is given a prominent role in the first chapters of the Bible:
Gen 2:7. Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. NIV
Gen 3:19. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return. BSB
Ecclesiastes 3:20 says. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. ESV. And Ecclesiastes 12:7 adds the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Abraham describes himself as dust, and thus unworthy to approach God, in Gen18:27. Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes…”
Consider Psalm 103:10-14:
He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust. BSB
Dust and Repenting
Job 42:6 is one of several places that describes the application of dust as a visible form of humility and repentance: Therefore I repent in dust and ashes. Applying dust and ashes is a visible expression of frailty and worthlessness, representing humility before God and a reminder that we are but dust. Even though God remembers that we are but dust, and are unworthy, He still loves, forgives and has compassion on us.
Dust and Service
If we were to walk around the campground in sandals as did people in Jesus’ day, our feet would be dusty. Jesus gave us an example of true humility and servanthood by washing the dust from His disciples’ feet.
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