August 17 - Laboratory Rat (PURITY - August 17-25)
August 17
Laboratory Rat
Bible Reading: Exodus 37:1-3
1Then Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits was its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 2He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold all around it. 3And he cast for it four rings of gold to be set in its four corners: two rings on one side, and two rings on the other side of it.
Exodus 37:10-24
10He made the table of acacia wood; two cubits was its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 11And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a molding of gold all around it. 12Also he made a frame of a handbreadth all around it, and made a molding of gold for the frame all around it. 13And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that were at its four legs. 14The rings were close to the frame, as holders for the poles to bear the table. 15And he made the poles of acacia wood to bear the table, and overlaid them with gold. 16He made of pure gold the utensils which were on the table: its dishes, its cups, its bowls, and its pitchers for pouring. 17He also made the lampstand of pure gold; of hammered work he made the lampstand. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and its flowers were of the same piece. 18And six branches came out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side. 19There were three bowls made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower—and so for the six branches coming out of the lampstand. 20And on the lampstand itself were four bowls made like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob and flower. 21There was a knob under the first two branches of the same, a knob under the second two branches of the same, and a knob under the third two branches of the same, according to the six branches extending from it. 22Their knobs and their branches were of one piece; all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold. 23And he made its seven lamps, its wick-trimmers, and its trays of pure gold. 24Of a talent of pure gold he made it, with all its utensils.
"IT’S RUINED! It's totally ruined!" The scientist pressed his hands against his head as if he were trying to crush his own skull.
"What, master?" hissed his assistant, a stooped man in a lab coat.
"The experiment is ruined! It's all wasted--all my years of research and work!"
The assistant looked back and forth from the scientist's face to the test tubes and dishes that were spread out on the vast table in front of them.
The scientist turned angry eyes on his assistant. "Because that. . . ," he said, pointing to a white metal box in the corner, "is not a refrigerator!"
The assistant cast a panicked glance at the box. "It... it's n-not?"
"No!" the scientist shouted. "It is ... or was . . . ," he said, struggling to control the emotion in his voice, "a hermetically sealed environment for controlling, perhaps reversing, the human aging process!" He opened the door and pulled out a ham salad sandwich and a Fruit Roll-Up. He held the sandwich in one hand and shook it in his assistant's face. "You ... you ... you dirty rat! That box had been sealed for thirteen years, and you ruined thirteen years of work with . . . with a . . . ham sandwich!"
The assistant blinked and cleared his throat. "It... it's, uh, ham salad, sir," he said.
So what's the big deal about putting a ham salad sandwich in a hermetically sealed environment? The reason the scientist got so upset was that his experiment had been ruined because it was no longer pure. Impurities had ruined his experiment.
That's not only true in scientific experiments; it's true in a lot of things. Pure gold is worth more than gold mixed with other metals or ingredients; that's why Bezalel and the others who helped build the furnishings for God's tabernacle made sure they used pure gold for the ark and all the other stuff. Because purity is good.
That's also why God wants us to be pure. He doesn't want our lives to be made impure because of sin. Of course, we can't make ourselves pure or keep ourselves pure--only God can. He can forgive our sins and purify us from all our guilt and unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Are you trusting God to help you live a pure life?
REFLECT: Why do you think using "pure gold" was so important to the people who helped build the furnishings for God's tabernacle? Do you have the power to keep yourself pure (free from sin)? Why do you think God's help is necessary to lead a pure life?
ACT: Check your kitchen cupboards for something that has the word pure on it (a box, a bottle, and so on). Place that item in a place where it can remind you to trust God to help you live a pure life.
PRAY: "God, remind me that purity is good and right not only in gold but in my life, too."