Blessed Are They That Mourn

 

Matthew 5:4

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

    From The Topical Lexicon:

The verb appears ten times in the Greek New Testament and consistently depicts profound sorrow that is either godly—aligned with repentance and dependence on The Lord—or worldly, lamenting the loss of earthly pleasure and prosperity. 

    In Genesis 37:34 Jacob mourned the loss of his son Joseph. Here the word mourn is associated with a visible display of personal bereavement (grief, sorrow, sadness, trauma, deprived of someone's presence). It is a heartfelt, vocal state of being. 

    He tore his clothes. He put on sackcloth, a coarse, uncomfortable fabric usually used for bags and sacks that held grains. He mourned: he lamented, bewailed. His cries of pain, suffering, and loss were impossible to ignore and yet he could not be silenced. Cries of irreparable grief at the suddenness of this calamity on his son filled the air. His heart was broken and his plans for his son were shattered into nothing. 

    This is the state of mourning in a seeker's heart when they come to God through the cross of Christ. We recognize that we are unholy, unrighteous, unable to save ourselves. We throw ourselves on The Rock, begging God to forgive us. The stained garment of flesh which clothes us is inappropriate to wear in His holy presence. We need Jesus to cover us with Himself. And He can only do so when we ask Him into our hearts and give Him the reins of our lives. 

    This mourning, this lamenting, over the ruination of our souls brings us to Jesus on the cross, Jesus in the tomb, and Jesus in the garden. It is in the cross we are saved. In the tomb we are conquerors over death. In the garden we are clothed with resurrected bodies, we are covered with grace and salvation. 

    In such a state of mourning God does not leave His flock. He sends us His Comforter to teach us how to be His holy people. To teach us what it means to live a righteous life; to live the fruit of The Spirit. [Galatians 5:22,23]. To fill us with power to witness of God's saving grace through Jesus Christ that we may carry the message of this blessed Hope to all nations. [Acts 1:8; 2:1-4]. 

    The Lord God comforts us in times of sorrow and grief. He fills us with His Hope, His Peace, His Joy, His Love, His Presence. Through His Holy Spirit God fills us with more of Himself, taking away the darkness of loss and replacing it with The Light of His Love. 

    And, not wanting to see anyone perish in their ruination, we speak The Truth, proclaiming to all who hear, that Jesus Christ is Lord. Come to Jesus. And Live. 

The Color of Worship - Brown

 

A Time of Creation and Growth

Genesis 1:9-12 And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into

one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of waters He called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so. The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 2:7, 22

Then The LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being. ... And from the rib that The LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him. (Genesis 1:26-28)

A Time of Repentance

Joel 1:13

Gird yourselves and lament, you priests; Wail, you who minister before the altar; Come, lie all night in sackcloth, You who minister to my God; For the grain offering and the drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. 

Daniel 9:3-5

Then I set my face toward The Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to The LORD my God and confessed, “O, Lord, The great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of loving devotion to those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have acted wickedly and rebelled. We have turned away from Your commandments and ordinances." 

Jonah 3:5-6

And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. When word reached the king of Nineveh, he got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

The Gem

SARDONYX is the fifth foundation of the city walls:

Revelation 21:20

...the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

    As you can see, it is reddish-brown in color and so qualifies to be placed in this study. Though there are a number of distinct shades of sardonyx, or onyx, I like this one. 

    Onyx was also on the breastplate of the priest bearing the names of the twelve tribes.

Exodus 28:9, 10

Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: six of their names on one stone and the remaining six on the other, in the order of their birth. Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings.

   From The Topical Lexicon:

 1. Permanence and Strength: Like a mason choosing the hardest stones for foundational tiers, the heavenly Architect selects gems that will never decay (Revelation 21:14). Sardonyx’s toughness illustrates the inviolable security of the saints’ eternal dwelling.

2. Purity and Sacrifice: The deep sard layer evokes the blood of the Lamb, while the white onyx layer evokes righteousness (Revelation 7:14). Together they preach redemption: washed robes made white by atoning blood.

3. Witness and Authentication: Because sardonyx signet rings authenticated decrees, the stone signifies that God’s promises are sealed and irrevocable (2 Corinthians 1:20).