Genesis 24:32 NKJV
Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
Laban brought water to wash the feet of Abraham’s chief servant and the other servants that accompanied him on his mission to find a wife for Isaac. The washing of the feet was common in their culture because a lot of people traveled by foot, wearing sandals. The openness of the shoes would permit the feet to get dirty as they walked on dusty roads. What a relief it must have been to rid themselves of the dirt and feel the refreshing the foot washing brought to their tired feet.
Spiritual parallel: Traveling on earth amidst the dirt of humanity influenced by the devil requires a regular washing. Jesus used this parallel with His disciples before He left the earth. (See John 13:3-17)
Peter was resisting Jesus who was washing His disciples' feet. Peter thought it was inappropriate for Jesus to be doing the lowly task of foot washing. Jesus told Peter He had to wash Peter’s feet or Peter would have no part with Him. The Amplifies version adds “we can have nothing to do with each other.”
We know from the scriptures that water is a type of the Word and Ephesians specifically uses it as a method of washing.
Ephesians 5:25-26 NKJV
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
Jesus said when we are clean, we only need our feet washed. It could mean that once we are saved – washed in the blood of Jesus, all we need is a periodic washing to free us from the constant contamination we are exposed to as we live in this world. Periodic washing means from time to time each day – based on how much exposure to the world we experience. Because we are constantly exposed to the world’s ways, news and propaganda, without the washing of the Word, we can begin to conform to the world’s system. If we conform to the world’s ways, we can reach a place where we have nothing to do with Jesus and He has nothing to do with us.
There are other reasons we need the Word. “Washing our feet” is just one of them.