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Hungry!?

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You can imagine the meager rations of those exiles on the Isle of Patmos. Whether it’s coincidental, or because of the meager rations, the theme of food comes up often enough to warrant attention. Consider the following passages: Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols…NKJV

Revelation 2:17 To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. NKJV

Revelation 2:20 Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. NKJV

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. NKJV

If I had been hearing these words from the Lord I would have been tempted to ask the Lord for mercy. I would have asked Him to possibly choose other analogies and references. But Jesus didn’t stop there. He “hid” a food reference in plain sight – yet it’s hard to see. Several months ago I noted a distinction in translating Revelation 3:18. The AMPC translation reads: Therefore I counsel you to purchase from Me gold refined and tested by fire, that you may be [truly] wealthy, and white clothes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nudity from being seen, and salve to put on your eyes, that you may see. Take note of this last boldened, phrase:…and salve to put on your eyes, that you may see.

Now take note of how the NKJV translates the same passage: I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

The first thing to notice is that in the AMPC translation they were to purchase refined and tested gold, white clothes, and eye salve. But the NKJV separates the gold, and clothes from the eye salve. In fact the NKJV states that they should purchase the first two, but anoint their eyes with eye salve. In the NKJV translation, anointing the eyes appears to be a separate topic. Why are there two different verbs: purchase and anoint?

When you study the original meaning of the word for salve you discover something that is quite startling. You discover that it was an extremely small, “coarse bread roll.”  Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words states: Hence an “eye-salve,” shaped like a roll….The word is doubtless an allusion to the Phrygian powder used by oculists in the famous medical school at Laodicea. Which led me to ask another question, What was considered coarse bread to John’s readers? Basically there were two sources of grain used for making bread, wheat and barley. What does this have to do with our eye salve? Bread made from barley was considered the poor man’s bread, while bread made from wheat was for those who were wealthy. Now keep in mind Jesus is addressing the wealthy, self-sufficient Laodiceans. They have no need, or lack. Yet, Jesus is stating that the cure for their spiritual blindness is salve shaped like a roll or loaf of barley bread. What does this remind you of? Matthew 5:3,6 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.“…Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

What’s the interpretation? Those that are spiritually poor – are spiritually hungry. Those who are spiritually poor will ENTER through the DOOR of Jesus; the DOOR of Revelation 4. Those that recognize their spiritual poverty and blindness will be moved to make room for Jesus; will be moved to overcome the Laodiceans, do-it-yourself righteousness; will be moved to open their spiritual senses: sight, hearing, and feeling. The spiritually hungry will be moved to be zealous; to be on FIRE with the FIRE from the Man whose legs and eyes burn with HOLY FUEL.

Bread throughout Scripture has typically been a symbol for the Word of God. Those who are aware of their spiritual blindness will seek to “anoint” their spiritual “vision” with the revelational, living, out of the Mouth of God – Word of God. This is the Spiritual Manna that comes down out of Heaven and feeds the spiritually hungry. Are you hungry for more of Jesus? Are you hungry to be closer to Him? Are you hungry to see more of Jesus? Are you hungry to be hot, on FIRE, in love with Jesus? Are you hungry to hear His Voice? Hungry to fellowship, commune and have a daily, intimate love relationship with Him? Then cry out for the poor man’s “bread” to “rub” in the way you see.

Choices

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Dear Sir: I am writing in response to your request for additional information in Block #3 of the accident reporting form. I put “Poor Planning” as the cause of my accident. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the following details will be sufficient. I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I found I had some bricks left over which when weighed later were found to weigh 240 lbs. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor. Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 240 lbs of bricks. You will note on the accident reporting form that my weight is 135 lbs. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel which was now proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed. This explains the fractured skull, minor abrasions and the broken collarbone, as listed in Section 3, accident reporting form. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley which I mentioned in Paragraph 2 of this correspondence. Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold the rope, in spite of the excruciating pain I was now beginning to experience. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground-and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel weighed approximately 50 lbs. I refer you again to my weight. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building.In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and severe lacerations of my legs and lower body. Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked. I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks, in pain, unable to move and watching the empty barrel six stories above me, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope.

Choices. They determine the outcome of so many things. Some choices are weightier than others. Like who you marry, taking a job, buying a car or a house, etc. Then there are the lighter choices in life like, Do I want a third patty on this cheeseburger, buttressed by extra slabs of bacon? (Did I tell you I chose to do a Daniel Fast?) When you read the Bible you discover people making choices that have eternal consequences. Consider the temptations of Jesus in the Wilderness:

And the tempter came and said to Him, If You are God’s Son, command these stones to be made [loaves of] bread. (Mt. 4:3)

Then the devil took Him into the holy city and placed Him on a turret (pinnacle, gable) of the temple sanctuary. And he said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, He will give His angels charge over you, and they will bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone. (Mt. 4:5-6)

Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory (the splendor, magnificence, preeminence, and excellence) of them. And he said to Him, These things, all taken together, I will give You, if You will prostrate Yourself before me and do homage and worship me. (Mt. 4:8-9)

3 Temptations, 3 Choices. The first was occupied with life. What do you live for? The second, what would you die for? And the final, and third choice: Who or what do you worship? Jesus made it clear what we should live: You should live for every word that comes out of God’s Mouth. Another way of saying that is to say that we should be living for a relationship with God. The second choice, requires closer inspection to understand what Jesus was referencing. In Exodus 17 the people demanded water to drink. Moses took note that they were trying, tempting or testing God. But then he adds another nuance: Why do you find fault with….? Not only were the people trying God, they were finding fault with Him. Are we willing to die not finding fault with God? The third and final choice rested squarely in Eternity. The modern church understanding of worship is that it is a song or posture. Whereas Scripture’s definition goes much deeper than that. Worship involved who or what you served. It was a lifestyle of sacrifice.

What happens in the wilderness, in the praying, and the seeking? What happens when you choose to search for Jesus outside the camp? You discover what you are living for, what you are willing to die for, and what or who you really worship. What choices have you been making?