Isaiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

Seven is the number of completion. I thought it good to complete this ashes series with this verse from Isaiah. My point being that the Lord might be glorified. We have explored God’s Word in Leviticus 6 and in that we have had some very fruitful discussion. To this end, to this completion, let the Lord be glorified.

I do not expect everyone to “get it”. I pray that everyone could receive something, no matter what it might be, from the Lord. While we all have different gifts and different training, and different needs, it is the same Lord which lives in each of His believers.

I love the transitional phrasing here in Isaiah 61:3. Beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, praise for heaviness where He takes and transform us from one state unto another. While the transformation is significant and life giving, it pales in comparison to the fact the Lord did it. Let Him be glorified.

Have you given your life to the Lord? If you have, you know in part. We know in part because transformation is transitional. We are not perfected in a moment. We will be perfected at completion, just not yet.

If you haven’t given your life to the Lord, I pray you will. This world has turned into a promise of instant gratification. How long did it last? Please do not tell me it is instant and therefor satisfying. Anything that comes instantly can disappear instantly. I call it fleeting. Always chasing and never coming to a lasting satisfaction.

Proverbs 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

Psalm 17:15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

The Lord is my satisfaction. He can be yours also.

Leviticus 6:12-13 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

If you look to any bible study guide you can find meanings for ashes. According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia it is a mark of grief, humiliation, penitence, mourning, and in one case worthlessness, insignificance or evanescence. I can see all that but what does the Word say about ashes.

Job 30:19 He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes.

Genesis 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

The similarity of dust and ashes lead me to believe that it is a reversal of life, that sacrifice being reduced to ash, to our original state, literally being undone. I see scriptural support in that from Isaiah.

Isaiah 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

This verse gets us back to the alter, coming before the King, the Lord of hosts. That all ties together but what does it mean to be undone. As some put it, justification, just as if you never did it. Undone.

That is significant unto itself but what really is important is that the consuming fire “shall never go out.”

Justification can never be undone. Never.

If you see anything else, please share it.