Knock on Wood (04-21-07)

I just finished the book of Jubilees. I had read it a few times before but it has been awhile. What intrigued me this time through was a list of woods that were acceptable for use in the burnt offering. Jubilees covers the same history as Genesis for those unfamiliar. The burnt offering I’ve spoke of before. It is allegorical of how we are to walk with God. In the burnt offering God gets everything consumed for Himself and for His pleasure alone. Think of yourself as a sacrifice unto God holding nothing back completely exposed to His good pleasure. In this context these woods spoke to me a truth. All of them were soft, supple, and fragrant. Hard woods burn hotter, quicker and are not fragrant. In this firery trial I realized that I have to be flexible to God’s dictates and direction. That I need to keep the moisture of faith and the oil of obedience within my members. This keeps me fragrant, burning slow equal to endurance, and acceptable. Does God not have a right to determine what He’ll accept? The old Cain and Abel story was a first instance of man imposing his opinion upon God and discovering God was not going to go for it. Do you not see the bitter hard wood flash burning their opinion here as God’s acceptable offering? They are only fooling themselves, they are bitter and stink. Their lives are not a fragrant offering there is no faith and no obedience. The lamb, the bull, the life God supplied but the wood came by our effort of toil. This co-op is a clever allegory to real life. Your victory can be proved by your fragrant enduring offering, as is Scott’s and mine. When God is pleased your hope is endless, valid, and devoid of vanity. That is what we call a win win acceptable to both parties. Hardwood is better for graven images that seek glory only in this deadwood world. It’s a cross born for us so we can remain tender and useful.