DCLM Daily Manna 11 December 2020 – Oil For The Lamp
Text: Leviticus 24:1-9 (KJV)
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.
3 Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations.
4 He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.
5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.
6 And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD.
7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.
9 And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.
Key Verse: “Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.” – (Leviticus 24:2)
MESSAGE:
On a Wednesday night, five members of a family were having devotion in their living room. All of a sudden, there was power outage. While the elder son was pleading with his father to put on the generator, the younger one was screaming. Amid the plea and scream, their father went upstairs and brought a rechargeable lamp. Immediately the man put on the lamp, there was much relief, and they continued their devotion.
Our text centres on God’s directive to the Israelites to provide “pure olive oil beaten for the light.” The purpose was to keep the lamps on the tabernacle of the congregation burning. He described how the lamps should be arranged upon the candlestick outside the veil in the tabernacle. He, also, directed them to “take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof… And set them in two rows… upon the pure table before the LORD…”
This account is more explicit in Matthew 5:13-15. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. He gave us light when He came to the world. While the lamps symbolise the ministers of God and every true Christian, the candlestick represent the Church of Christ. The lamps of Christ in the world are to be kept burning by the pure, sacred and undiluted oil of the word of God.
As believers, we represent Christ on the earth and should reflect His light before the world of sinners. But we cannot reflect His light sufficiently if we cannot feed on God’s word. To keep burning, therefore, we must consciously read and study His Word daily, take the gospel of Light to the world of darkness and earnestly pray for their conversion. We must not retreat to our privacy and obscurity under pretence of modesty or self-preservation. Rather, we must be a shining light to others for the conversion, comfort and direction of their souls.
Thought For The Day: Brighten your corner daily with God’s word.
The Bible In One Year: 1 John 1-5
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
