Psalm 119: 83: For I am become like a bottle in the
smoke, yet do I not forget thy statutes.
In David’s day, most people did not have houses as
we know them today. The majority lived in small huts or tents, others
lived in mud brick structures in towns or small villages. They were
poor folk who didn’t have much. For warmth and for cooking, they
would simply build a fire somewhere in the room and since there was
no fireplace and chimney to hold the fire, the room would soon fill
with smoke. They would build their roofs leaving a small opening in
the top so that the smoke could escape, so, I suppose the women would
light the fire, then leave the room until most of the smoke had a
chance to rise and clear a little.
Also, water was not readily
available to every household. Most all of them had to walk to a well
or stream somewhere to get water, so they would make bottles out of
goat skins and bring it back to their homes. The best place of
safety for these bottles would be to hang them on a nail inside the
house or from the rafters someway. Of course, each day the bottle
hung in the house, the rising smoke from the fire began to blacken
it, even to make it shrivel above the level of what it contained.
David lamented that he was like the bottle in the smoke.
God’s people have their trials and tribulations
don’t they? Throughout the Bible we can read about Godly men and
women who went through terrible trials and tribulations. Jesus
himself tells us in John 16:33...”In the world ye shall have
tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world”.
What are the sources of the smoke in our lives? Many people will tell
you that the main source of trouble in their lives is their job. A
wise schoolteacher once sent a note home to the parents on the first
day of school that read “If you won’t believe everything your
child says happens at school, I won’t believe everything that he
says happens at home! Being a retired school teacher, I fully understand the significance of this statement! Things happen on every job and the more salary you command or the more you can
advance in the workplace, the more responsibility you have…smoke!
Often trials arise from the things that make us comfortable. Many
people want the finest houses and all the modern conveniences of
today to the point that they will take on more than they can handle.
Think about the fire that warmed those people in their huts. Did it
not also smoke the bottle and the warmer they kept the house with a
fire, the more the bottle blackened. In today’s world, the more
comforts we have, the more responsibility we have to take care of
them---smoke!
Most of us have children and they certainly should be a
comfort to us as they are one of God’s many blessings, but, they
often do things or don’t do things that are against the way we
tried to teach them…smoke!
Many people are
losing their livelihoods because of economic conditions. It is very troubling when a company dissolves or moves to a place where labor is cheaper. People who have devoted their entire careers to a company are left out in the cold…smoke!
Even the church can be a source of smoke to the Christian. Have you
ever come to church thinking that all is well, going good, and then
the preacher delivers a convicting sermon that sort of bursts your
bubble? Maybe you’ve come to church with a warm heart toward your
brothers and sisters and then left with a heart blackened by
something that happened during church or by what someone said.
Perhaps you try to perform a Christian service for someone with your
heart in the right place and the person you tried to help takes it
the wrong way or seems unappreciative…smoke!
Personal health
issues like high blood pressure or diabetes, caring for an elderly
parent, sickness in a family, the death of a loved one, abusive
relationships, terrorism, war and many other things are ever present
contributors to the smoke in our lives.
A question: Does being saved mean that we should not
feel the effects of our trials and tribulations? Think again of the
water bottle in the hut. Does it feel the effect of the smoke? Of
course it does, it turns black, it shrivels up because of the smoke.
It is not a single puff that does it but rather a daily bombardment
over a long period of time. So it is with us, we feel the hurt and
pains of our trials and tribulations, often, to the point that we
think they will get the best of us, and they never seem to let up on
us. But realize this, although the smoke aggravates and damages the
water bottle, it does not destroy it. It would take the flame of the
fire itself to do that and the water bottle is kept safely away from
the flame. A Christian will most certainly feel the pain of his smoke
throughout his life, but the Holy Spirit within us will keep us away
from the fires of this world and they will not consume us unless we
let them.
Perhaps we feel as David did, a bottle in the smoke.
What then can we do to make it through? David said though he felt
like a bottle in the smoke, he would not forget God’s statutes. The
smoke could harm the outside of the bottle, but, it had no power over
what was on the inside. Could this be our source of strength and
comfort in the face of trials and tribulations? Most people think of
statutes as laws, the ten commandments, and we will do well to
remember them in the face of adversity, but if you think about it,
isn’t everything God says a statute? The Bible is God’s word and
it is absolutely true, so, shouldn’t we remember His promises also
as statutes? This seems to me the only logical way to withstand the
smoke in our lives, remember His promise to those of us who believe.
Jesus said “Let not your hearts be troubled, ye believe in God,
believe also in me. In my father’s house are many mansions; if it
were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you
and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and
receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also”
(John 14:1-3) Jesus is going to return for us. He promised! Well,
“when?“ do we say. No man knows the answer to this, so, what are
we to do in the mean time? Jesus says “If ye love me, keep my
commandments and I will pray the Father, and He shall give you
another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever“(John
14:15-16) “ Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and
I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28) In the mean time, we are to keep
Jesus’ commandments, i.e., love God with all our hearts and souls
and love each other, the second causing all the other commandments to
fall into place. If we do this, Jesus promises another Comforter, the
Holy Spirit will reside inside us forever.
Although we all have smoke
in our lives from various sources, as believers we all have one thing
in common, that steadfast faith that God will not desert us. We must
hold tightly to our faith even when we cannot understand why the God
that we love allows things to happen to us His children. The promise
that Jesus will return for us is our comfort, our strength is the
presence of the Comforter-the Holy Spirit-within us, and our peace is
the promise that there is a place of rest awaiting those of us who
refuse to let the smoke in our lives cause us to forget God‘s
statutes. The future seems uncertain but God’s law and his
promises will stand forever. If you feel battle scarred and wounded
by life’s trials and tribulations, uncertain about the future, or
beaten down by circumstances, remember the example of the bottle in
the smoke, blackened and wrinkled on the outside but clean and safe
on the inside.
God bless us all!
(adapted from a sermon given by C.H. Spurgeon, March 23, 1856)
