Rev. 6:5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius,and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
When The Lord took me to this passage this morning He began to talk to me about not living a “Measured Life.” The third horse brought a rider with scales for measuring, and I’ve come to believe that the chief work of the enemy of our souls is to influence us to live measured lives before our God. The barley and the wheat harvest are part of the latter rain harvest if you see the oil and wine as part of the first harvest. Oil and wine speak of the work of the Holy Spirit and His joyful fresh fillings. So many of us have experienced fresh starts (fillings) of the Holy Spirit; some of us several times. But sadly many of us have been intercepted, and never allowed the Holy Spirit finish His work with the Barley and Wheat harvest. Without elaborating too much, barley, the hearty grain, speaks of moving beyond the first flush of being filled, and maturing into a hearty steadfast love for Jesus: a sustainable passion. Barley, as a hearty grain also speaks of becoming an Overcomer who has learned to live in the power of the Resurrection life of Christ. These two things make up the Barley work of The Spirit in our lives; a sustained, deep, affection, manifested by extravagant surrender and obedience, and the wonder of living by radical and reckless faith, allowing the Risen Christ to live through you in all the the daily issues of life. Has your filling been permanent enough to reveal a Barley harvest, or just spiritual Puppy love. More tomorrow on the peril of a Measured Life.