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UT where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? 13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living. 14 The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me. 15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. 16 It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. 17 The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. 18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. 19 The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. (Job 28:12-19)
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HO can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. 13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. (Proverbs 31:10-13)
There are two creations of God that are masters of beauty and meaning in their respective fields – one is the red, red rose, and the other is the red RUBY. The red rose is the strongest symbol of romantic and committed love; while the red Ruby symbolizes a passionate and sacrificial love. In fact, red symbolizes sacrifice and love. The most precious commodity we own is the red blood flowing through our veins. It was that divine blood of Christ that gushed forth at Calvary in redemption for us and for an atonement for our sins. It was the supreme sacrifice. ‘The life is in the blood.’
Crimson red is the symbolic color for the red ribbon of redemption that runs from Genesis to Revelation. That crimson blood flowed at Eden after our primitive parents partook of the forbidden fruit. An innocent animal’s life was taken to cover the nakedness (sin) of Adam and Eve. Of course, Satan mimics all that the Lord does, so innocent blood was taken by the first man born of woman, Cain, when he slew his brother, Abel, over jealousy of Abel’s blood sacrifice. God has forever had His prophets among men, and Abel was the first. 47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. 49 Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: 50 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. (Luke 11:47-51)
You will observe in the text quoted from the Gospel of St. Luke above that all prophets of the Lord are represented – from ‘A’ to ‘Z’ – Abel to Zacharias, and all in between. Blood sacrifice has always been represented in the Crimson Ribbon of Holy Scripture. All blood sacrifices of the Old Testament were intended as a precursor of the final great blood sacrifice of the Lamb of God sacrificed from before the foundations of the world. Our Lord Jesus Christ was symbolized in that first Passover Lamb in Egypt. By His sacrificial death, our Lord Jesus Christ became our PASSOVER as well as our Sabbath Rest.
I find it remarkable that the final benedictory verses of Proverbs, (31:10-31), would make reference to a virtuous woman. She embodies all the marks of wisdom and knowledge. She remained pure in her virginity until marriage. But she remained pure in her life and care of others throughout her life. The Book of Proverbs is about WISDOM, and the virtuous woman is a type of that wisdom personified. I will not relate all the ending verses of Proverbs 31, but in summary, they describe the dedication, sacrifice, wisdom, and love of the virtuous woman. She is a credit to husband, children and neighbors alike.
She is compared to the qualities of a RUBY, but even of higher value. She is known by all around to be virtuous for her innate qualities of love, mercy and service.
The ruby is beautiful. I believe all young children would choose the ruby over every other stone regardless its market value because the eyes of a child are naturally attracted to the color red. Why is the ruby of such quality when compared with a virtuous woman – what makes the ruby more germane of that quality than a diamond or sapphire? First of all, the ruby is red symbolizing sacrificial love. Secondly, the beauty of a ruby is intrinsic. Its beauty emanates from deep within itself. It is not a reflected or refracted beauty as the diamond and sapphire are. Those stones depend upon the light from without entering in and being refracted out in its multi-colored patterns, but not the ruby. In fact, the beautiful red gleam of the ruby is not divided by refraction – it is constant and singular. It reflects the inner beauty of the virtuous woman who is unchanging in heart and constant in devotion.
The virtuous woman of Proverbs stands descriptive of the Bride of Christ. She must be without blemish and pure. Unfortunately, she is not born pure, but possessed of the sins of her parents. She must be MADE pure, and that is the work of Salvation in Christ and sanctification of the Holy Ghost. Of that Bride, God says: 4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. 5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. (Isaiah 54:4-5)
Now, I will remind you that Christ has become our High Priest who is our intercessor before God the Father, and none other is our intercessor. The Veil of the Temple was torn top to bottom the moment of His death for the great purchase had been made. No longer are we separated from God by such a Veil, but Christ stands ever ready to be our Advocate with the Father. 1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. Hebrews 3:1 and 14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
There is no priest who can forgive us our sins but Christ. The priests of our church simply assure us of sins forgiven when repented before God because it is always the will of God to forgive sins.
May I remind you the High Priest whom we worship requires a Bride who is a virtuous woman? The Church has fallen into the mire of late and seems to revel therein, but Christ can wash her sins away and make her pure. All High Priests of the Old Testament required a bride who was a virgin. Should less be expected for the ultimate High Priest of our Faith?
10 And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes; 11 Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; 12 Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. 13 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife. (Leviticus 21:10-14)
I conclude this devotion with a warning to the modern Church: 17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. (1 Peter 4:17-19). Do not be deceived into believing that you cannot judge. The greatest damage ever done to Church discipline has been the counsel of Christ taken out of context: Judge not that ye be not judged. Our Lord made that counsel conditional according to His following remarks. READ IT! We and the Church are, in fact, commanded to judge, but with righteous judgment, i.e., the written Word of God. 24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. If God calls a certain behavior sin, then we are not personally judging when we call it sin. We are judging with righteous judgment. Too often I hear the tired old error proclaim, ‘I cannot judge others.’ 1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? 2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? It is about time the Church awakened to her duties to practice mortal discipline and stop mimicking the social values of the world. Be Ruby Red and Virtuous Church – that is filled with sacrificial love and virtuous character.
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