PRÉCIS ON THE HOUR OF PURGING: MAKING READY FOR THE REAL WORK AHEAD

SCRIPTURE. “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean [ceremonially]; wash me, and I shall [in reality] be whiter than snow.” – PSALM 51:7, AMPC

KEY TERM: “WASH.” ‘Kabas’ [כָּבַס]: “A primitive root meaning, ‘To trample, hence, to wash or cleanse by stamping with the feet;’ as with a fulling process of washing clothes (leaving the garments out to dry in the fuller’s field for a period of time); used as a symbol of Christ’s demand for purity; refers to the Christian duty to exercise effort to overcome debilitating sin; ‘an internal cleansing of the heart to make it ‘white as snow.’”

QUOTATION. “Our perspective is so limited. We keep forgetting that God’s Love does not show itself only in protection from suffering. It is of a different nature altogether. His Love does not hate tragedy. It never denies reality. It stands firm in the teeth of suffering. The Love of God did not protect His own Son from death on a Cross. That was the proof of His Love, though ‘legions of angels’ might have rescued Him. He will not necessarily protect us—not from anything it takes to make us more like Jesus. A lot of hammering and chiseling and purifying by fire will have to go into the process. Through it all, we learn to trust Him in every little thing.” – ELISABETH ELLIOT, Be Still My Soul, 2003, p. 48

COMMENTARY. “‘Purge me with hyssop’ — Or, ‘as with hyssop;’the note of similitude being frequently understood. As lepers, and other unclean persons, are by thy appointment purified by the use of hyssop and other things, Leviticus 14:6; Numbers 19:6; ‘So do Thou cleanse me,’ a most leprous and polluted creature, by Thy grace, and by the virtue of that Blood of Christ, which is signified by those ceremonial usages.

The Word, תחשׂאני, ‘techatteeni,’ here rendered ‘Eurge me,’properly means, ‘The Psalmist well knew that his sins were too great to be expiated by any legal purifications, and, therefore: ‘Prays that God would himself expiate them, and restore him.’ That is, ‘not only remove their guilt, but ‘make him as free from those criminal propensities to sin, and from all the bad effects of his aggravated crimes, as though he had been purified from a leprosy, by the water of cleansing, sprinkled on him by a branch of hyssop; and that he might be, if possible, clearer from all the defilement and guilt of sin than the new fallen snow.I think both these senses are included in the Expiation which the Psalmist prays for; as the person whose leprosy was expiated was wholly cured of his disease and freed from all the incapacities attending it’ (Dodd).” – JOSEPH BENSON, Notes on the Holy Bible, 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

DK. This Passage left me nearly stunned, as I had been praying for months if not longer that two areas of my walk with Christ were in great need of elimination, or at least temperance. I thought I heard Him say some time ago, “We’ll get to it, but later.” Thinking that was possibly my own voice, I didn’t necessarily trust that

Word.

Then today happened (Saturday, March 16, 2024).

What Mr. Benson wrote here was virtually, word for word, my own prayer: ‘That God would Himself Expiate them, and Restore me; that is, not only Remove their guilt, but ‘make me free’ from those criminal propensities to sin, and from all the bad effects of his aggravated crimes, as though he had been purified from a leprosy, by the water of cleansing, sprinkled on him by a branch of hyssop; and that he might be, if possible, clearer from all the defilement and guilt of sin than the new fallen snow.”

As I read those words, my heart lept within me as I realized that God not only heard my cry for deliverance, but that He would indeed, deliver me so that I can walk much cleaner now for the terribly wonderful work ahead. Since He had spoken to me before, another Scripture raced to mind to complete the Promise – for me, beloved, and for us all.

“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good word and promise which I have made regarding the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He (the Messiah) shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.” – JEREMIAH 33:14-15, AMP

CODA. Can you not see it? This is likely ‘Christ’s Final Cleansing’ of us for our Last Days Mission just down His Road. He is standing at the massive pearlescent Gate of Heaven, waiting for ‘The Moment’ when the entire Universe will shout:

“He is On His Way!”

Therefore, fill up your Lamps to the full by inviting the Holy Spirit to make you ready for the works we are ordained to perform, and to be thereby found with our shoulders faithful to His Plow as He Arrives.

It’s happening soon now, beloved. Make sure of your walk while it is still Day; Night is fast descending upon the whole world when no one will be able to walk. Selah.