Beaten Oil for the Light
“Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. 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.”Leviticus 24:2–3 (KJV)
The lamp in the tabernacle had to burn with a particular kind of oil: “Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.” Not pressed lightly. Beaten.
The lamp was never supposed to go out. Aaron was to “order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually.” The light depended on olives that had been crushed.
On the night before the cross, Jesus “went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives.” There, “being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” On the mount of Olives, the one who called himself “the light of the world” was crushed.
The light that never goes out was paid for with that agony. When you see his light in your life, remember what it cost.
Count it yourself
“continually” appears 4 times in Leviticus 24 (24:2, 3, 4, 8).
What does it mean to you that the light of the world was crushed on the mount of Olives?
Lord Jesus, thank you for the agony that bought my light. Let your light burn in me continually. Amen.