the hang-up for me was that i couldn't fathom God trying to do something and failing. i imagined Him 'doing all the world's laundry' but some of the stains not coming out -- and well, God's soap is divinely perfect soap. i said, this is impossible; He must have separated the laundry and only washed the children's clothes.
but i came to understand it differently ((and maybe still not rightly, but this is where i am now)) -- His divine hamper is open and His soap is sufficient, but many people decide to keep wearing their dirty clothes instead. they remain leprous because they refuse to dip in the river, not because the river isn't there.
and God knows, of course He knows. from the beginning He has known the end of all things. so it's remarkable that He chose a river or a sea -- the kind of thing anyone could walk up to; it's not fenced off or locked behind gates, and you don't need to put quarters in it. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness and the unrighteousness of those who despise Him. this is more than a laundromat; it's a proof & a witness, a sword with two edges, parrying and striking at once.
