In Exodus chapter 27 there's this little bitty, 2 verse command givin in the middle of chapters and chapters of extremely detailed and lengthy laws. It wouldn't seem to be much of anything, but it came with a promise: the promise of making a difference.
There were four little sets of words in that command that caught my attention. You read it, and pick out your four favorites, then we'll see how close we were:
Exodus 27:20-21 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.
In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.
Have your list? Okie dokie, here's mine:
1. Pure oil.
2. To burn always.
3. Evening and morning.
4. A statute forever.
Obviously when we talk about light, one of the first things we think of is our testimony. It's compared to a light all the time. Matthew 5 probably has the most famous example with "let your light so shine." So what makes the brightest flame? I'll tell you- The best fuel. Keep the dirt and the grime and even the innocent, but useless, water out of your oil. Fill yourself with what is beautiful and pure so that the flame of Christ has only what is good and excellent to feed off of. Only allow the best of the best in your heart. That's the "pure oil."
Next is the "burn always." There's never ever a time when you're not supposed to be shining. Even in our own homes, or when we're completely alone, if we stop living as a testimony of Him then we'll miss oppourtunity to worship Him, and oppourtunity to be made more beautiful by Him. It's easy to make an effort that's gonna impress someone else, but make an effort that's only for Him, and see how much more wonderful it is.
"Evening and morning." Please don't roll your eyes and say "oh noooo. Here comes another "devotions" lecture." I'm not talking about regimented, planned, Bible studies that you have to do every morning and every night in order to be a "good Christian." What I AM talking about is keeping yourself from becoming a "stench" to the Lord. If the wick isn't trimmed and maintained properly then the lamp will start giving off a horrible, thick, sooty smoke. It's seriously chokable. Have you ever been in a room full of untrimmed lanterns? I have...it's not nice. You can't breathe, and your eyes sting from the contaminated air. Honestly, it's almost better to be in the dark.
You have to keep yourself perpetually in contact with the Lord to burn in the most pure way possible. The morning and evening stated in the command to the Israelites was to ensure that the lamp always burned how it was supposed to. In life it might be morning and evening, it might be once a day, it might be once an hour, and sometimes it might even be once a second, but keep your lamp maintained, no matter what.
The last of my favorite phrases is "A statute forever." Remember when we talked about Solomon and Ecclesiastes? Remember that when it all came down to it, all that would really last was the believing and fearing of the Lord? Well, God writes the testimonies of His children in the book of life. When you believe, when you burn bright and clear, when you live your life in a way that is a perpetual testimony, it last forever. God makes those moments into eternal acts of praise. Even if we can't see it now, He remembers.
That is a promise. That is a reward worth working toward.
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