No
Sweat
The global market for antiperspirants
is about $25
billion. People just don’t like to sweat…or stink. But sweating is a
normal body function. When body temp exceeds a certain point, it
automatically triggers sweat glands to help the body cool itself
down. Sweat
is a biblical concept, and an instructive one. There are just three
references to “sweat” in scripture. But together they tell a beautiful
story.
We begin with Ezekiel 44:18, which
pertains to the
priests who ministered before the Lord in the holiest place: “They [the
priests] shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have
linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with
any thing that causeth SWEAT.” Linen, which is
woven from cotton,
is what we know today as a ‘breathable’ fabric. In other words, it does
not trap body heat, such as “wool” does (44:17), and therefore
mitigates sweat.
So why did the Lord require that
priests ‘don’t
break a sweat’ as they ministered before him? The first reason might be
SWEAT would signify WORK on man’s part. God wanted OT priests (and NT
priests alike, who enter into his presence by the blood of Christ), to
know entry into his glorious presence was ALL a matter of
GRACE.
The
second reason might be SWEAT was reminiscent of the CURSE brought upon
mankind by the Fall of Adam. Genesis 3:19: “In the SWEAT of thy face
shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground.” NO SIN
would have meant NO SWEAT. When the priest ministered in the holiest of
holies, God demanded there be no representations of the curse, or of
unholiness.
There is, however,
one exception—the Lord Jesus
Christ, the One who would become our High Priest, and to whom all God’s
requirements for his OT priests pointed. In Luke 22:44, we read:
“And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his SWEAT was as
it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” The
SWEAT God disallowed from his OT priests was inevitable from his Son,
who was on the cusp of becoming a CURSE for us, SIN for us, who knew no
sin.
Jesus of Nazareth was not only the
first and last SINLESS
priest, but the One who would become the very MERCY SEAT upon which the
OT priest would sprinkle the blood of atonement. There was nothing
prohibitive about the SWEAT Jesus expended for you and me in his
passion as our Great High Priest.
When
a believer enters the holiest today by the blood of Christ, he should
be cognizant of the fact Jesus has already done all the sweating
required for us to gain access to his presence. The privilege
believers enjoy at this hour is ALL of GRACE on his part, NO SWEAT on
our part!
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