And the LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sign and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” Ezekiel 9:4 HCSB
Today is Ash Wednesday. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I didn’t understand what Ash Wednesday was all about. I grew up in a Baptist church and went to a Baptist school. I just knew that on this day friends who were Catholic would have this smudge of ashes on their foreheads in the shape of a cross.
If you live here in Louisiana, you know that Ash Wednesday is the day after Mardi Gras or what is sometimes called Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras began as a time to indulge in all wanted to indulge in before entering the Lenten season. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of lent.
Lent is a form of fasting. We talked about this yesterday, but today I want to talk about the ashes we will see on foreheads today. These ashes symbolize mourning. This is largely a Catholic tradition. These ashes used to be worn at a funeral mass as a sign of mourning as well as a sign of recognizing one’s mortality. If we are honest with ourselves, funerals often remind us of our mortality.
Fasting also symbolizes mourning and penance. There were often times in the Bible when the people fasted and prayed.
In our Scripture passage today, Ezekiel has a vision of the slaying of the people of Jerusalem. But the Lord tells him to put a taw, which is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, on the foreheads of the men who mourned over the sins being committed in the city. This taw was written at that time like a cross.
We see in Genesis 4:15 that after Cain killed Abel, “the LORD set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.” Revelation 7:3-4 says, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed. 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:”
The judgments are delayed until these 144,000 Jewish people can be sealed or protected supernaturally. These are Jews from the 12 tribes (12,000 each) who are protected to perform some service for God during these times. They may be evangelists. The tribe of Dan was omitted maybe because Dan was guilty of idolatry on many occasions.
This is not to be confused with the mark of the beast in Revelation 13:16, but it is important to note that this beast will deceive those who dwell on the earth by performing signs that he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image of the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived (Revelation 13:14).
Keep in mind that today is a day set aside for reflection on our sins. It is a time for us to confess our sins to God and repent.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:16 not to neglect our appearance or look gloomy when we fasted. The Pharisees wanted everyone to know when they were fasting, so they did not wash or trim their hair and sometimes put ashes on their foreheads.
In the Old Testament people wore ashes and sackcloth as a sign of mourning. In the New Testament Jesus warned against letting everyone know you were fasting. This was to assure you were not doing it to bring attention to yourself but to bring glory to God.
So, whether you wear ashes or don’t wear ashes, remember to do whatever you do to God’s glory. Use this as an opportunity to explain what the ashes symbolize. Explain that this is a time to repent and ask forgiveness from God.
As Christians, isn’t that what we should do every day?
Have a great day!