Ezra 1
The Lord moved the heart of Cyrus, king of Persia and he brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god (v.7). He declared, "The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem." (v.2)
In addition to my surprise that a foreign king, who I presume was not god-fearing, became aware that God had appointed him to support the Israelites in returning to build their temple, I was particularly impressed that the King of Persia knew exactly which articles in the temple of his god belonged to the temple of God.
I am reminded of Jer 29:7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto Jehovah for it; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. ASV
Ps. 84, 85
"You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins. You set aside all your wrath and turned from your fierce anger" 85:2,3
Luke 7
"Therefore I tell you, her have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." (v.47)
For years I have puzzled over Luke 7:47. Today it prompted me to pray the following prayer:
Lord, please forgive me to the depths of my being. Forgive the depth and the breadth of my sin. Forgive me for my fear, my doubt, my unbelief. Forgive me for my dullness of hearing and my slowness of response. Forgive me for my anger, bitterness, even hatred. Forgive me for my stubbornness, my self-centredness. Forgive me for not trusting you, not believing, not applying that which I have learned. Forgive me for my lack of faith in you, for you are always faithful. Search me, O, God. Don't let anything go uncleansed, unaddressed, unforgiven, and create me a clean heart, renew a right spirit within me. I thank you that my sins which are many are forgiven. I love you, Lord.
I think it is when we come to realize who Jesus truly is, that we love and worship him, and suddenly, in his presence, we become aware that our sins are many and we need his forgiveness. This is what I imagine to have been the experience of the woman who poured perfume on Jesus' feet.
We too can imagine we are physically with Jesus. A true revelation of Jesus will bring us to our knees, perhaps even weeping and kissing his feet. We will want to pour out our precious perfume, the costly sacrifice, fragrant oils that represent our innermost being in liquid form, like our tears. It's' an act, a gift, a symbolism of our love.
I find myself needing to be reminded of this place of worship. I need to remember that I have been forgiven much. One way to remember, is the way Jesus instructed us, by commemorating the Lord's Supper, Communion. It is a time to meditate on his worthiness, and our unworthiness.
I am reminded of another verse, Psa 30:5 For his anger is but for a moment; His favor is for a life-time: Weeping may tarry for the night, But joy cometh in the morning. ASV We do not remain in this place of sorrow over sins. We leave rejoicing that our sins, which were many, are forgiven.
