September 17, 2020

Bible Reading – Galatians 5:22-27, Ephesians 1:11-14, I Corinthians 2:9-16

Exodus 27:20 KJV
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.

For weeks I have meditated on this verse, and it’s lessons have been both difficult for my slow mind and incomprehensibly beneficial for my yearning soul. As we study through Exodus, and more specifically about the tabernacle and how it relates to Christ and the church, there are truths embedded in God’s design that occasionally require more effort than the traditional glance I often dedicate to my daily Bible reading.

Oil in Scripture is often a picture of the presence and blessing of the Holy Spirit of God. While the comparisons between oil and the Spirit may be numerous and further meditation warranted, a few particular things stand to be highlighted. We unmistakably see that the oil was pure and the olive beaten, as was Christ before the Holy Spirit was sent. We also realize that the perfect and enduring plan of God was for the oil to be always present and ever burning. It is His desire that the presence of the Holy Spirit and the blessings of God be perpetually upon our lives.

But it seems that the lesson I cannot help but focus on is that while God was willing, the relationship required attention from men. Just as the oil was methodically and religiously checked, we must also regularly examine our relationship with the Holy Spirit of Almighty God. The presence of His Spirit is perhaps the greatest immediate and eternal blessing in the life of a Christian. The Spirit is the Comforter, the Earnest of our heavenly inheritance, our Teacher and the Revealer of the wisdom in God’s Word, and we ought to make Him the Controller of our lives, praying fervently for Him to lead us every moment of every day. May we continually invest in the nurturing of our relationship with such a precious Gift!

— Eli Faulds