CONSECRATION; Or, HANDS FILLED.
This word, in its various cognate forms, occurs in the Bible forty-two times. In the sense of "to separate" it is used three times; "to set apart," seven times; to "denote" and "dedicate," once each; but "to fill," or "being filled," twenty-nine times. Only once is it used in the sense of "to perfect," and that in connection with the eternal and only begotten Son (Heb_7:28). Let us view this subject in the above fourfold aspect. It means-
I. To be Separated from the Unclean. The law of the Nazarite clearly taught this (Num_6:1-13). To touch the unclean was to bring instant defilement and to mar his holy relationship. Separation is no new doctrine. It began with Adam; it appears in Abel. It is seen in Enoch and Noah. It is taught in the calling out of Abraham, in the lives of the patriarchs, in the God-raised Judges, the prophets, and the apostles. The Church itself is the out-called of the grace of God. The very name saint tells us that we are separated ones. Ye are not of the world, says our Lord, but I have chosen you out of the world (Joh_15:19). "Wherefore come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean" (2Co_6:14-17).
II. To be Set Apart for God. Separation does not mean isolation. The Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself (Psa_4:6). The word godly here has reference more directly to the gracious state of the soul. All the subjects of His saving grace are marked out as His own. By the holy anointing Aaron and his sons were consecrated (set apart) that they might minister unto the Lord (Exo_30:30). So with all the vessels of the Tabernacle, which were set apart for the service of God, by being anointed. These vessels, although they were a "new creation" for the work and worship of God, yet they were unfit for use until they had received the baptism of the holy oil (Lev_8:10-11). They were sanctified and made meet for Jehovah’s use as soon as they occupied their true place, and were set apart by the special anointing. In this sense, that sanctification which fits for service is not a growth, it is a gift. We grow in grace, but we are made meet for the Master’s use by the anointing of the Holy Ghost. We cannot grow into the promise of the Spirit. We receive it by faith (Gal_3:13-14). Who then is willing to set himself apart, that he might receive the unction from the Holy One?
III. To be Devoted to God. It was said of Jericho that "the city shall be devoted, and all that is therein, to the Lord" (Jos_6:17, R.V.). Achan took of the "devoted thing" and brought trouble upon the camp and condemnation upon himself. Surely this is a solemn warning to us never to appropriate for our own selfish use what has been devoted to God! "Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price" (1Co_6:20). Samuel was devoted to the Lord "as long as he liveth." Every offering laid upon the altar was devoted to God. It would have been sacrilege to have taken it back. The servant with the bored ear became for ever devoted to his master (Exo_21:5). Who then is willing to devote himself unto the Lord?
IV. To have the Hands Filled for the Service of God. As we have already noticed, the word "consecrate" is used twenty-nine times in the sense of "filling the hands." So that the most prominent thought in connection with consecration is not giving, but taking; not yielding, but receiving. The marginal reading of that well-known text, 1Ch_29:5, is, "Who then offereth willingly to fill his hands this day unto the Lord" (R.V.). The Lord would not have us to serve Him with empty hands. What have we worth offering, either to Him or to perishing men, that we have not received? Our Lord Jesus Christ did not send the hungry multitude away because the disciples had not enough to satisfy them. He filled their hands with the heaven-sent bread, and so equipped them for the carrying out of His gracious will. Are our hands so filled with Christ, the "Bread of God," that hungry souls are being satisfied. We cannot bless the people with empty hands. And what shall it profit if our hands are full of other things than those which God Himself puts into them. Our hands will hang down in emptiness and feebleness until they are "given unto the Lord," and filled with the gift of His Son (2Ch_30:8, margin). Empty hands mean powerless and fruitless service for God. As the priest’s hands were only filled after he was cleansed and anointed, so must we be saved and sanctified ere our hands can be filled with acceptable service in His sight. And what a filling He gives when Jesus Christ, in all the unsearchable riches of His grace, is made ours in reality by the revelation of the Holy Spirit (Joh_16:14).
Autor: James Smith