In Exodus 27, as the Lord gave Moses instructions for the construction and worship of the Tabernacle, He told Moses to, “command the children of Israel that they bring… pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.” This oil was to be used for the Menorah, which was placed inside the Tabernacle. The oil was obtained by pressing or beating the olives. One commentary states that this yielded a grade of olive oil that was clear, colorless, and gave off much less smoke than the regular oil that was sometimes used. In other words, it burned brighter.
Not many of use would choose the press for ourselves, but from time to time God will place us in His press in order to squeeze more and more of the world and self out of us. We should desire to be emptied of self and filled with the Holy Spirit. It will not always be a pleasant process, but the result is a grade of oil that is purer than before. The more pure the oil, the brighter the lamp burns.
The psalmist prayed in the ninety-second Psalm that the Lord would anoint him with fresh oil. May the oil of the Spirit fill us and may we burn brightly for the glory of God in a world that desperately needs to see His Light.
In Christ’s service,
Allen