Bread of Tears: Anointed with the Oil of Gladness

Bread of Tears: Anointed with the Oil of Gladness

“Those who sow their tears as seeds will reap a harvest with joyful shouts of glee. They may weep as they go out carrying their seed to sow, but they will return with joyful laughter and shouting with gladness as they bring back armloads of blessing and a harvest overflowing!” (Psalm 126:5-6, TPT).

The Miracle of Tears. Each of us as human beings share a spectacular miracle… We each have been gifted by our Creator God with the ability to shed tears. And not merely one type of tear, but three kinds of tears, all of them benefitting us in different ways that, being so common, are easily taken for granted. First there are the Basal tears which are constantly produced to keep our eyes lubricated and moist, and which also provide much-needed nutrients to the cornea. Secondly are the Reflex tears that are triggered by irritants which wash away debris like dust and foreign objects, sooth our eyes from smoke, and prevent further irritation by giving our eyes time to heal up from the irritation. Amazingly too, Reflex tears contain antibodies to fight bacteria and avoid infection in our eyes. Finally, there are the Emotional tears which are released during times of strong emotions both positive and negative, such as anger, joy, sorrow, relief, fear, high stress, grief, and when something  is felt deeply and needs expression. Emotional tears are a special gift of our creator God, because they contain protein-based hormones that act as natural painkillers; a higher protein content to strengthen the eyes and keep them healthy; neurotransmitters that effect the ability to remember, to learn, to focus and pay attention, and release harmful stress. Emotional tears are a divine gift because it helps us express ourselves in healthy ways that are difficult to express any other way. Regardless of the kind of tear, they all contain enzymes that promote healing and maintain the health of our eyes. All tears are basically a water-based liquid that contain .3 mg of salt which have electrolytes and salt particles like sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. God is certainly the Lord of the Details when it comes to something as common yet complex as human tears.

“For those who grieve over Zion, God has sent Me to give them a beautiful crown in exchange for ashes, the oil of gladness to replace grief, the garment of praise instead of a heavy spirit. People will call them magnificent oaks of righteousness, planted by the Lord so He may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:3).

No one in Scripture can compare with Isaiah when it comes to poetic images and picturesque language. And here in this passage he is at the top of his game, giving us imaginative pictures that communicate profound truths, complete with crowns and diadems, anointing oil and ashes, festival clothing, and he even threw in oak trees to finish the poem.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.”  (Isaiah 61:1-2).

Christ’s Mission, Part One. Those first verses in Isaiah 61 were quoted by Jesus to proclaim His mission and ministry (Luke 4:16-17). And He pointed directly to the tears of brokenness when He exclaimed to His hometown that He was sent “To heal the brokenhearted.” Some historical manuscripts omit this phrase from the Luke passage. But the original Isaiah 61:1 reference includes this phrase, so in keeping with some NT translations and the Isaiah reference, this phrase will be included here. As Messiah, He will heal those who have had their hearts broken by rejection, by loss of loved one, by shame or guilt or failure. He will bind up those who are broken by the state of the world and its presence of sin and wickedness and pain. He will mourn with those who mourn, and His heart will be broken by whatever is breaking our hearts as He comes alongside us. The anointed Messiah will personally bring the Good News of hope and healing. His tears will absorb our tears as he offers us His comforting and healing presence in the midst of our misery.

Christ’s Mission, Part Two.  But His life purpose as Messiah does not stop with the first couple of verses. The earthly mission of Christ continues in Isaiah 61:3. The Holy Spirit is upon Jesus to provide an exchange that is truly life-giving and difficult to reject if we are using common sense:

1. Beauty for Ashes, taken in context, means that the Messiah will take away the lifeless remains of our hopeless defeat, the effects of sin and brokenness that seem to cling to us, the signs in the world of the ugliness of death. And He will replace all that by placing on our heads a crown of glorious beauty, something beautiful to replace something dreadful, something full of splendor that makes us shine.
2. The Oil of Gladness will replace the drenching sorrow of our sinful nature, taking the place of grief and hopelessness in our brokenness. The Lord will anoint us with His sacred oil of joy, and lavishly pour onto us, from head to foot, a blessing of light-heartedness to replace our mourning.
3. Garment of Praise. The Lord will continue His work of consolation and hopefulness by clothing us in a garment of festive praise to replace our spirit of burdened heaviness. He will dress us in splendor, with a spirit of rejoicing and celebration instead of a fainting spirit of weakness and despair.
4. Oaks of Righteousness. The poetic Isaiah chose oak trees here to symbolize the stability, usefulness, and longevity of the person planted in the fertile soil of God. Oaks drop acorns, of course, which grow slowly but surely to produce magnificent trees famous for their massive presence, their long life, and for providing hard wood for ships and farming implements. The mighty oak tree, planted by God to be useful for His Kingdom, to stand up for goodness and saving justice, so that God Himself will be glorified.

A Daily Exchange. This profound ministry of consolation is not a one-time offer from Jesus. His ministry of replacement with us is the sanctifying process in our daily renewal. This involves a daily exchange of going to the feet of Jesus every day and giving to Him the ashes, the sorrow, and the heaviness in our lives, those parts of us that are broken, or hopeless, or spiritually unhealthy; those aspects of our lives that cause us sorrow and grief; those times when we have a spirit of despair or are burdened and listless. He can’t replace those parts of our lives that keep us from flourishing unless we first offer them to Him. And He has promised that He will take those ugly, lifeless ashes that were placed on the heads of those in mourning or despair, and replace them with a beautiful crown to wear on our heads instead. He has promised to take our grief and replace it with a fresh anointing of joy. He has promised to lift our heavy, dejected spirits and give us a new wardrobe of praise and celebration. As we participate in this daily exchange, our inner lives in Christ will continue our daily renewal during which we will go from glory to glory.

Renew, Restore, Redeem. God has proven Himself to be in the business of redemption and deliverance all through history. He yearns to take the bad and turn it into something good, to renew what has gone lifeless and stale, to restore into wholeness what has been broken or warped, to take what is disfigured and make it become beautiful. God takes our powerlessness and uses it as a springboard for His power. His strength comes into its own in our weakness. He uses the ashes and the tears in our lives to construct something glorious and beautiful. Astoundingly, in the ultimate act of redemption, God has already proven that He can take death and make it come alive.