Cautiously she ventured in
Although an uninvited guest
But there is one that she must see
And a task she must complete
She has brought to Him her best
She approached and unashamed
Poured out her precious, fragrant oil
Disparaged and misunderstood
By those that she thought surely would
Know that He deserved it all
The smell of worship filled the room
As her perfume ran down His head
And with a heart set free from sin
She lavishes her praise on Him
Thanksgiving in each tear she shed
Betrayers and the Pharisees
Look on in scorn and with disdain
For darkened hearts can never see
The glory of a soul set free
And view such lavishness as vain
As Mary, so it is for me
Though once lost, I have tasted grace
And seeing clearly Jesus’ worth
Let my own oil be poured forth
Until that day I see His face
Romans 1:18-1:32 is a sad commentary on a people who reject the grace of God. It chronicles the descent into the depths of wickedness. One thing I noticed is that man always takes the first step:
We suppress the truth in unrighteousness, and God reveals His wrath (v. 18)
We did not glorify Him as God or thank Him, and our thoughts became vain and our hearts darkened (v. 21)
We exchange the glory of God, then He gives us up to uncleanness (v. 23-24)
We do not retain God in our knowledge, and He gives us over to a debased mind (v. 28)
As I thought on this, the pattern seemed clear – we give God up and then He gives us up. His action is a response to ours. I wondered…..is this true in the reverse? And then I remembered these verses:
“I love those who love me and those who seek me diligently will find me.” Proverbs 8:17
“Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you.” James 4:8
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7
“Call to me and I will answer you….” Jeremiah 33:3
What an encouragement this is to me. My prayers are not just haphazardly hurled into the heavens. My worship is not merely the expression of my love and dependence on Him. But these things are a reaching up for a divine response.
“Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.” Luke 17:12
My heart was filled with pity for these men as I read this passage. These words…”who stood afar off”…what sad words these are. These men, outcasts, allowed only the companionship of their fellow sufferers, cannot even come near enough to Jesus to have Him touch them. The law forbids it. Imagine the loneliness and hopelessness of such men.
But our merciful Savior, with a word, heals them and sends them to the priest to complete the requirements of the law for one healed of leprosy. The ceremony seems a bit odd and certainly messy, but it is full of beautiful symbolism.
Leviticus 14 gives us a detailed description of this ritual to be completed when one has been healed of leprosy. Two birds are taken by the priest. One bird is killed and the other bird is dipped in its blood and set free. These birds are not brought by the leper, but they are provided for him. In this we see a picture of Christ as our substitute; His blood spilled, covers us, and we are set free. And just as the leper brought nothing for the completion of this ceremony, so we bring nothing to God, but trust completely in the atonement provided by Christ.
After 7 days, the leper comes to the priest with his offerings. In a curious ceremony, the priest takes the blood of the sacrifice and puts it on the right ear, right thumb and right big toe of the leper. Then he takes a measure of oil (about 8 ounces) and puts oil on the leper’s right ear, right thumb and right big toe. The rest of the oil is poured on the head of the leper.
All this detail seems tedious, but God is showing us something so incredibly beautiful in Leviticus 14.
You see, we are the leper; our lives undone by the leprosy of sin. Hopelessly far from God.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13.
The application of the blood to the ear, thumb and toe is done no other place than the consecration of the priests. I Peter 2 says that we are a holy priesthood (v5) But in addition to the application of the blood, there is an application of oil, which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit, and if that isn’t glorious enough, the oil is then poured over the head – just as in the anointing of a king.
The one most unworthy, most despised and disregarded – the leper – is anointed as a priest and a king. What a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for us.
“To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” Rev 1:6
I recently read the story of Rizpah from 2 Samuel 21. Her two sons were given to the Gibeonites to be executed for their father, King Saul’s, sin in transgressing the covenant between Israel and Gibeon. Rizpah can do no more than setup watch at the spot of execution, guarding the corpses from animal predators. But she does what she can and stands between those she loves and what would tear them in pieces. With the approach of a wild animal or bird, surely a cry must have risen up in her heart and she ran towards the offending creature – NOT MY SON! Certainly with tears and anguish of soul she maintains her post, watching continually…faithfully. Daily, their lifeless bodies were a reminder that they were dead. Yet she remained, determined to provide whatever manner of protection to them that she could. She watched over the dead – a bone yard guardian.
Rizpah, to me, models the work of the intercessor – standing between the dead and the powers that would tear them to pieces, that enemy that is seeking to devour. Like Rizpah, I am a bone yard guardian, standing watch over those I love who are dead in trespasses and sin. Continually and faithfully watching.
The Lord has given me the responsibility and privilege to stand watch. So I watch and pray and cry over the deadness of their souls. And in this verse I have hope:
“….God who gives life to all things….” 1 Timothy 6:13
He is the only one that can breathe life into those dead bones. He gives life and is Life.
Can these bones live? He knows. The God who gives life to all things….He knows.
Asa, King of Judah, had experienced a mighty deliverance from his enemies by the intervention of the Lord. His prayer for help is a beautifully humble cry:
“Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against You!” 2 Chronicles 14:11
The Lord overthrew his enemies and Asa experienced rest until the 35th year of his reign, until once again an enemy arose. This time is was Baasha, king of Israel. And this time there is no humble cry to the Lord for help. Instead, he plundered the treasuries of the house of the Lord to hire the Syrian army; an army that already had a alliance with Baasha, but was willing to trade allegiance for a bit of gold.
How often does this happen to us? Some type of difficulty arises in our life and we do not seek the heavenly solution, but instead go through all sorts of conniptions to try to engage worldly resources to aid us. How foolish to turn to the world (which by the way, cannot solve it’s own problems) when all of heaven is available to us in our time of need. Yet we turn to the faithless, fickle world.
Asa got what he paid for – Baasha was defeated, but by pursuing worldly methods he forfeited victory over the Syrians.
“…Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.” 2 Chronicles 16:7
This is the lesson for me: The enemy that you join yourself to is one that you will not have victory over. Your compromise will have further reaching implications that you might at first believe.
Let us press on in faith, fully trusting the Lord to deliver us, whatever the situation. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9
From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee
From fearing when I should aspire
From faltering when I should climb higher
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee
From subtle love of softening things
From easy choices, weakenings
Not thus are spirits fortified
Not this way went the Crucified
From all that dims Thy Calvary
O Lamb of God, deliver me
Give me the love that leads the way
The faith that nothing can dismay
The hope no disappointments tire
The passion that will burn like fire
Let me not sink to be a clod
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God
“Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 20:13
The Moabites and Ammonites have gathered for battle against Jehoshapat and his army. He has proclaimed a fast and gathered all the people together to seek the Lord. Jehoshapat prays a wonderful prayer of dependence, beseeching the Lord’s help. And then we come to this verse.
The solemnity of it struck me. It was almost as if I could see the scene, and the multitude standing there silently, having heard the king’s prayer. And now they wait for the Lord’s answer. It was a holy silence that needed nothing but to hear from Him. And He did not disappoint, but sent the promise of a great deliverance.
Often I find that my prayer times are filled with my words. I will pray until I run out of things to say and then assume that prayer is over. This is not communing with God. How can I be said to have a relationship with someone when the communication is always one sided? Life seems to always be in such high gear and there is always so much to do that it is hard to slow down and wait. But OH the reward of waiting is the joy of hearing from God. He does still speak to his people. We have just forgotten that we need to listen.
Lord, help me to develop this ability of holy listening. I desperately need to hear what You are saying.
Oh Lord speak, for Your servant is listening
Your slightest whisper is manna from heaven for my needy soul
What more could I ever need in this life
If only I can walk with You
My heart cries out “that I may know You!”
Expectantly I come and pray to You
I know that You are there – Jehovah Shammah
That name is so precious to me
For I can do without many things
But I must know that You are near
When my gaze is fixed upon my heavenly Master
Only then does life make sense
So Lord, please speak, for Your servant is listening.
The book of Malachi contains the final words of God to his people prior to the initiation of the New Covenant. It was a time of lukewarm spirituality and flagrant disregard for God by His people. But as much as we would like for God to be quiet and leave us alone in our backslidings, He is faithful to give warning.
The priesthood, for the most part, had become corrupted by a casual attitude towards the sacrifices God had established for His people. He had specifically outlined through Moses what was acceptable and what was not. In the book of Malachi, God contends with these priests over their failure to adequately perform their ministry.
One has to wonder how this deterioration had happened to the priesthood. How did they lose sight of the importance of their ministry?
Were they clueless? Had they neglected the Scriptures to the point that they had no understanding of what God required?
Were they careless? Had the priestly ministry become just a job for them, with no real understanding of the significance of what they were doing?
Were they calloused? Did they just not care about the things of God at all?
The Lord says to the priests, not the people in general, but the priests, “where is my honor?” And then He gives them this command – Honor My Name. He doesn’t ask. He doesn’t beg. He commands.
He confronts their offering of blemished sacrifices, the weak and feeble of the flock. And He confronts this in us as well. Something is terribly wrong when we can offer God the leftovers of our life and be satisfied with that. Worse yet, when we think God is satisfied with that. We throw the leftover crumbs of our life to God and expect that He will be happy with whatever we give Him, like a pet, hoping for some scraps from the table.
Rather than our half-hearted offerings to Him, he prefers nothing.
“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain!” Malachi 1:10
We trifle with a God who is a great King. Do we think He does not see? Do we think He does not know the very thoughts and intentions of our hearts when we give ourselves to other things and satisfy our conscience with the meager morsels of our lives that we throw to God?
May God make us aware of every way in which we have offered Him something less than our best and may we begin to take seriously the command to honor His name.
He is my Delight 