Ecclesiastes 10:1 “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.
The apothecaries of the bible were those who mixed oils (mostly olive and some others with spices and other herbs to be used for different applications from perfumes to medications but mostly medications. People have never liked using medication of any kind. I can remember back to my childhood days in the 1940’s when we lived on a ridge in the North Georgia mountains, my siblings and I would get sick or something would be ailing us so my mom would get out the “dreaded” medicine bottle, we kids fondly called it “BQR” or “Be Quick and Run” because it tasted so awful. That’s why almost all pharmaceutical companies began using additives to make the medicines(medications) to smell good or taste like some sort of fruit or some kind of candy or gum. It seems like it was the same way in biblical days, because the apothecaries would mix spices and herbs with the oil to make the scent of the unguents to be more pleasant and more palatable.
The “church” the “ekklesia” “the gatherings of GOD’s children” “GOD’s people” or whatever term you like to use to represent GOD’s church, was put here on earth for the healing of the world. The world had and is gone astray, the world is sick, broken, crippled, hurting because of sin that it has let in and tolerates and most of the world remains in bondage because of that sin. So JESUS came to this world in a virgin birth, by Mary, this is how GOD took upon himself the flesh of man, lived a perfect sin free life, died a terrible death upon the cross on Calvary’s hill to pay our sin debt, was buried in a guarded tomb, and was resurrected and sits at the right hand of the FATHER to make intercession for those who believe in HIS name. Before HE left this world HE commanded the Apostles and the church, to go into all of the world preaching the GOSPEL of CHRIST and to baptize, all of those who believed in HIM. HE then sent the HOLY SPIRIT of GOD to dwell in the believers to give them the power to accomplish all of the tasks that HE gave them do. Now, why did HE do this, because the world needs the true “ointment of GOD” to heal it. But the ointment, the CHURCH, has become polluted, and because of that pollution has become ineffective, has become at some points obnoxious and even a laughing stock of the world. Hence the Ointment is Full of dead flies.
It is time for the church to stand up and be the church, to be the “ointment” that GOD has sent it to be. In Romans 13:11(KJV) the BIBLE says “And that, knowing he time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” Like I wrote just a few lines ago, the world needs this ointment, needs it desperately, to put on the wounds that they have received, to cover the chaffed skin that they have, to put on the infected sores and cankers that they have, to use as an eye salve to go on their blind eyes that they may see the truth again.
And always remember this, that it is LOVE that will get you where you want to be. It is LOVE that will get the church where it needs and wants to be. It is the AGAPE LOVE of CHRIST that this sin infested world needs. But first we must allow GOD to clean up the church, we must get rid of the dead flies that are polluting the ointment so that this AGAPE LOVE of CHRIST can emanate from us so that the world can use it to heal themselves of all of their problems. So, I want us to look at some of the “dead flies” that are in the “ointment of GOD” so that we can help eradicate them and let the church be the church. So for the next several blogs that I will be writing, I will be naming the “Dead Flies” and giving some remedies for them. Let’s allow that cleansing to begin with each one of us individually and spread like wildfire through our churches, our communities, our counties, our states, our country and yea throughout the whole world.