Oil

I have been reading through the Torah - the first five books of the Bible - sometimes called The Pentateuch.  Torah means "instruction" and it gives an account of God's shaping the world for redemption.  Starting with the creation it leads the reader to see how the Fall of mankind is being reversed through the work of God in and through his people.

As I read recently I was struck by this particular passage:

Exodus 25:1-2 (NIV)
¹ The LORD said to Moses,
² "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give...

⁶ olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense...


⁸ "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.
⁹ Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. 

From there Moses goes on to explain the various things God directed him to have made.  They made a chest that would become the Atonement seat on the Ark of the Covenant.  They made Cherubim statutes that would serve as a reminder that God's presence was always there and that His Holiness was paramount in all that they did to worship Him.  They made a table for the bread to remind them that God was their provision, not their own ingenuity and skills.
But, one of the most important things as a reminder was the lampstands.  They made them from pure Gold and filled them with oil.

Exodus 27:20-21 (NIV)
²⁰ "Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning.
²¹ In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the LORD from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come.

My soul is in need of this reminder over and over again.  The lamp must keep burning and the oil must be continually maintained.  The oil does not come from within, it comes from the Holy Spirit of God.  The oil of God is that desire to ask God for help in everything...my prayers, my work, my marriage, my family, my friends and church...everything.  Day and Night I am in need of fresh oil...the fresh filling and working of the Holy Spirit of God.

We will dry up...the lamps go out...and we'll be tired, without hope, without motivation, with the wrong attitudes, with complaining and bitterness of soul without the oil of God's Spirit within.  From Him comes "love, joy, peace, perseverance, patience, self-control", and on and on it goes.

Sometimes....the greatest thing we can do is pray the prayer of "God I need you..."

"O God, because without you we are not able to please you; mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit would in all things direct and rule our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, Now and Forever, Amen."

Peace