Shake Well
Shake Well
“And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.”
Matthew 28:4 KJV
Interestingly enough, in the verse above, no one died.
During the resurrection of Jesus, an earthquake trembled the earth. The guards that were, well guarding, the tomb, shook so horribly in fear that they fainted. If you read the verse like I did originally, I thought it meant they died. Especially since there was no further mention of them again.
As rabbit trails go, this took me down a crazy path. Last night at supper we had a salad. Have you ever eaten a salad and forgot to shake the dressing? Once you pour it, this watery liquid, not dressing, ends up on your salad. From this point, for awhile, everything gets shaken; mustard, steak sauce, ketchup, you get the point.
The stuff that comes out is still salad dressing, sort of. But it’s not the good stuff. It’s all the stuff that should’ve been mixed-in, and wasn’t.
In this verse, shake is used to describe a violent action which caused men to faint.
Just imagine that if you will. I’ve never been in an earthquake, so I can’t even imagine what that would be like. Shaken to the point of fainting.
Shake in the Bible is used in several different ways. It is used to describe getting dust or dirt off the bottom of your feet. It is also used to describe something that is not moveable, something strong. And it is also used to describe an action of something, like a reed in the water.
The most amazing way it is used in the Bible though is when it talks about Gods power over the earth. It is used several times to describe God shaking the earth, heavens or the sky.
Some would say this describes a way that God invoked fear. I take it as a way He used it to display His awesome power over everything there is.
“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”
Acts 4:31
Has God ever shaken your life? Has he given you something to remind you of His power? Maybe this was done through fear. Or through punishment. In my example, God was tired of trying to get me to live in His Will. I was clearly reminded that He is sovereign and that I was not obedient.
We have the option and the ability to live our lives any way we want to. We can live our life cursing, drinking, being adulterers, womanizers, blasphemers. Or we can live to serve God. It is our life to live, and we will benefit from how we live it, good and bad.
We have a choice to think about our lives and what we are doing. We can change the way we live and live for God. Sure we will still make bad decisions and mess up. Our lives after all, are only human. Once we turn to God though, we can live to make decisions based on following Christ, the Bible and our relationship with God.
God used so many people in the Bible for good purposes. And many of them weren’t the best of people. God can use you to do amazing things if you will let Him into your life.
What’s amazing to me is that people will look at me and think I’m the oddity. I spend Sunday’s at church instead of fishing and drinking. I get up early and pray and worship God. I stopped drinking. And I concentrate on my family and friends instead of people who are a bad influence in my life.
I may be remembered as a bad person because that was my life and that’s who I was. I’m just glad that when God looked at me, he remembered to Shake Well.
Remember friends, go to church, read your Bible, pray daily and fellowship with people who believe in Christ. It will change your life.
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33