Genesis 30:14-16
Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." But she said to her," Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" And Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes." When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son's mandrakes." And he lay with her that night. NKJV
Replacing your dry wall dust with the vigour of a Rhino!
I was in a large food supplement store recently looking for some powerful vitamins and was once again overwhelmed by the choice before me. “Can I help you today?” Says the assistant. So I explain my need and requirement of information to make the right decision and he looks at me with piercing eyes and says, “Well, let me guess, I am pretty sure you are in your fifties so I would recommend…” Astonished I replied, “In my fifties! I might soon be knocking on the mid-century door mate but I’m not there yet!” I was not well pleased.
I became a Christian when I was in my nineteenth year and being nearly in my fifties, (at the time of writing this) I have been walking with God for nearly thirty years and tonight, being such an expert on walking with God, I have been invited to speak at a Presbyterian church about the need for a strong devotional life. I shall of course, be talking about the need for some real spiritual Viagra.
Our text for tonight makes reference to Mandrakes. These are part of the potato family and are also linked to ‘Belladonna’ or, ‘Deadly Nightshade.’ They are referred to as ‘The Devil’s fruit’ or ‘Love Apples’ and the reason for this, is that they are in effect, an aphrodisiac! It is not just for their mild narcotic, aroma therapeutic properties that Mandrakes were sought after, but in heavy doses, the Mandrake can also act as an anesthetic whilst in mild doses, they can, as one old commentator put it, “excite the nerves, act as a stimulant and have power to excite voluptuousness!” Sounds good to me!
So, in our text tonight, Leah, the loser in love to Rachel for the heart attention and associated passion of their husband Jacob, is very simply, trying to get the sexual edge. Leah is trying to use artificial means to no doubt excite both her and Jacob into a such a passionate love making session, that it will in turn, result in babies. You see, Rachel and Leah are locked into a competition of love, through the means of child production. Believe me when I tell you, that this still goes on today.
Old Testament stories present us in the 21st Century with such a foreign cultural context that the stories we read seem so very strange to us. Yet, what an equally strange world we live in! A world where have murdered unwanted children in their tens of millions and yet a world in which conception control coupled with erections out of control, magnifies and increases sexual activity to such an extent, that all the associated terrible transmissions of sexually acquired diseases are multiplied in a mad voluptuous viciousness. Yes, it is a mad, mad, mad, mad world!
Viagra of course is the brand name of one of the latest 21st Century chemical Mandrakes. It’s not cheap though, and so many folks are buying the drug online and/or from cheaper places of production like South America or China. One of the latest drug manufacturing scams of course involves the production of Viagra, in that the “knock off” of the drug, whilst presenting itself in identical packaging, colouring, shape and sizing, is not in fact anywhere near the real deal. Pharmacists have been examining the cheaper product coming into the country to find that not only is not of the same potency and consistency as the more expensive local product, but millions of pills are in fact very simply, nothing but compressed drywall dust! That’s right, what many men thought were Mandrakes, were in fact just dry white plasterboard dust and the only thing the consumption of that material will make solid, is their stools! Hilarious!
The truth is that just about all Christians believe that the only way to maintain a strong devotional life, a close and passionate, long-lasting, life-producing love affair with Jesus, is to get hold of some real spiritual Viagra. Therefore, with this rising demand of desperate and unsatisfied Christians, our Christian bookshop shelves are bending under the weight of all the spiritual motivational potency you could ever imagine and most of our sermons and seminars are really selling the same kind of spiritual Viagra as well. “ Do this for a solid Christian life!” Unfortunately though friends I have to tell you tonight, that it’s all mostly plain old drywall dust. It might all be presented in shiny packaging and brightly coloured covers, it might promise the fulfillment of all your wildest dreams as well but in the end, it’s mostly a load of old drywall dust. Expensive, ineffectual drywall dust. Difficult to digest, difficult to pass and very difficult to flush.
I tell my lovely wife that she is all the Viagra I need. I can think of no greater compliment. I tell Jesus the same. “Show me You glory” I ask Him, “In all Your glorious nakedness my Lord, please reveal Yourself to me for I know that You are all I need.” I tell you, all the religious drywall dust in all the long wide world cannot compete with that! The satisfaction of such a desire is the only thing that will maintain the circle of relationship with God. If you see Him, you will want Him! If you get Him, you will be satisfied.
Do you want to have a strong devotional life even an ever increasing inspirational life? Do you want some potency and power, some strength and solidness put back into you spiritual life? In other words, do you want a more passionate life in Jesus? Then be a Rhino with Him! Yes, pursue desire, pursue satisfaction, pursue real holiness in naked openness, all the time! Real Holiness In Naked Openess. RHINO! See it? Clear your shelves of all your old drywall dust folks and be PASSIONATE about your PURSUANCE of Jesus. Got it?
Listen: - Come, my beloved, Let us go forth to the field; Let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; Let us see if the vine has budded, Whether the grape blossoms are open, And the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love. The mandrakes give off a fragrance, And at our gates are pleasant fruits, All manner, new and old, Which I have laid up for you, my beloved. Song of Solomon 7:11-13 NKJV
Pray: - O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. (Psalms 63:1-8 NKJV)
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