Scripture
Isaiah 52:2 (NKJV)
2 Shake yourself from the dust, arise;
Sit down, O Jerusalem!
Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion!
Important words to consider:
Shake (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance):
shake off, out, self, overthrow, toss up and down
A primitive root (probably identical with na'ar, through the idea of the rustling of mane,
which usually accompanies the lion's roar); to tumble about --
shake (off, out, self), overthrow, toss up and down.
- Visualize the "sins" as gnats flying around you.
- It is up to us to rustle our manes and SHAKE THEM OFF!
Dust-
The signification of dust, is that which is damned.
- Visualize a rag after it has been used to dust a very old piece of furniture.
- This is the dust which will remain on our canvas if we do not SHAKE IT OFF!
Arise: verb
to leave the place or state of rest; or to leave a sitting or lying posture.
In Biblical times, it was common for a person to sit cross legged on dirt floors.
This verse is literally instructing us to stand up out of the dust and sit down on higher ground; to literally rise up OUT of the dust.
To arise requires ACTION!
Thoughts
Our life is like a canvas.
We are all born with a clean, white canvas.
Over time sin causes our canvas to become dusting and smudged.
But, like a painter's canvas, our lives can be wiped clean and refurbished!
It is not too late for any of us to become something new and beautiful!
Let's reflect once again on the steps required to refurbish a used canvas.
Let's take note of the first key step
Dusting
In order to hold a new picture, a canvas must first be dusted.
Physically we must do the same.
We must remove the dirt from our lives before we can hold a new "life picture".
Clearing ourselves from the dust of sin is sometimes difficult, but ALWAYS necessary.
Before we take any other steps, we must first stand up out of the sin.
This can be quite difficult to do.
It requires action!
We must literally rid ourselves of the sin.
To accomplish this, we will need a strength that we do not possess on our own.
We will need the ultimate artist and teacher, our Heavenly Father, to help us.
