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Show A GOOD NAME BETTER THAN PRECIOUS OINTMENT "A good name is better than precious ointment: and the day of death than the day of one~s birth." (Ecclesiastes 7: 1) Frr ~y J Six days before the Passover, when Jesus was here a woman approached Him one day, broke an alabaster box of expensive perfume, and poured it on His feet and wiped His feet with her hair. Judas and the other disciples saw it and complained that the ointment was so expensive that it was wasted and might have been sold and given to the poor. The Bible says that Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon indignation was not because he was so concerned about the 1 poor but because he carried the bag and //'Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you: but me ye have not always." (John 12: 1-8; Matthew 26: 7he was a thief. Jesus responded, 13) Solomon had written about precious ointment hundreds of years before in good name is better than precious ointment: and the day of death than the day of one's birth." It is Ecclesiastes 7: 1: ll'A not so much that ointment is precious e/ but that a good name has great value. You can have all the precious ointment you want but it will not last while a good name keeps. 2 This text talks about a good name which seems to suggest that a bad name could exist. A bad name is a name you cannot trust. It means trouble. It is something to be ashamed of. A bad name closes doors and hinders progress. A bad name makes you the laughing stock of the community and the butt of jokes. It makes you a fish-out-water or the odd ball. On the other hand, a good name is one of respect, of high regard, of positive consideration. With a good name, doors are opened and we move forward. It brings reverence, honor, and esteem. It is to be looked-up-to. It suggests honesty and worthiness. It draws good news and sheds light in dark 3 corners. NA good name is better than precious ointment: and the day of death than the day of one's birth." We have it all backward and confused. We celebrate and throw a party for the birth of a child. We host birthday parties even when the person whose birthday is not fully aware. We make a lot out of the day of one's birth when we know there will be countless challenges for the living. We can expect sickness, trouble, headaches, pain, tears, sorrows, tribulations and yes, even the pains of birth. They tell me that a mother comes to the point of death when giving birth to a child. The day of one's birth is indeed a time to pray. Pray 4 for the parents and all of the troubles, all of the frets, all of the worries, all of the disappointments. Pray for the child and all of the crying, all the dirty diapers, all the hard classes, all of the worn out shoes, all the sickness, and the last enemy which is death. Then, celebration the day of death. No more trouble. No more pain. No more sickness. No more. All the tears are gone. No more good-byes. As they led Jesus away from Pilate to be crucified, He turned to them ad said, NDaughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold the days are coming, in the which they shall say, 5 Blessed are the barren~ and the wombs that never bare~ and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains~ Fall on us~ and to the hills~ cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree~ what shall be done in the dry. {Luke 23: 28-31) H IAJ~ ua/{ rf- t,0°cL h-,•~/' Tk.e J°'y ~5t0 f id +l~ f I/ (rrt--e 1 or cA t)uv' 90) vqflo,J, 6 |
