In connection with the biblical passage from Luke 16:24, the Holy Spirit revealed an important factor, which is the symbiosis between ‘poor’ and ‘rich’.

 

It is both remarkable and revealing that in this parable that Jesus shared with the Pharisees, the poor man and the father’s level are mentioned by name, while the rich man is mentioned without a name.

 

Luke 16:24:
24 So he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.”

 

We know from the Word of God in many places how names revealed by God emphasize identity, origin and meaning that the LORD gives and speaks to us in them to point to His redemption.

 

 

It is clear that it is primarily about the meaning of fatherhood and ‘being poor’ in spirit, which are associated with the blessing of God (cf. Matthew 5:3).

 

Matthew 5:3:
3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. …’

 

Being spiritually ‘poor’ involves the awareness of being totally focused on God and relying on Him alone, recognizing your own inferiority to God. This means that you are aware that you do not have the ability to please God out of yourself, but rather out of His given grace and sovereignty (cf. Romans 3:9-12).

 

Romans 3:9-12:
9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.
10 As it is written: ‘There is no-one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no-one who understands; there is no-one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-one who does good, not even one.’

 

In the parable mentioned by Christ, a communication took place between ‘divine fatherhood’ and ‘earthly wealth’, which asked that ‘spiritual poverty’ should become active towards him by asking for the ‘index finger’ of the poor Lazarus dipped in water.

 

The name ‘Abraham’ means ‘Father of many’ and the name ‘Lazarus’ means ‘My God is help!’.
‘Lazarus’ can also be translated as ‘The Almighty surrounds with His strength to help and support’. The meanings of the name show that it is about the dimension of the promise of sonship under the Heavenly Father and the power of God in the form of protective support.

 

The parable mentioned by Christ thus reveals a communication between ‘divine fatherhood’ and ‘earthly prosperity’, in which the latter asked for ‘spiritual poverty’ to become active towards him. The communication of ‘earthly prosperity’ (Note: wealth, being rich) includes the request for poor Lazarus’ ‘index finger’ dipped in water to be brought to him.

 

 

The realm of the poor Lazarus carries within it a call like that proclaimed by the prophet John the Baptist, that he must decrease so that Christ may increase (cf. John 3:30).

 

John 3:30:
‘… 30 He must become greater; I must become less.’

 

This is due to the fact that the Hebrew word for ‘to be poor’ means, among other things, ‘low, weak, thin’. It can also mean ‘door’. (part excerpt from the Elberfelder Study Bible on the Hebrew word ‘דל – dal’ with the word key number: 1836, 1837 and Strong’s Concordance with the word key number: H1800)

 

The heart attitude of ‘being poor’ opens the door to the dimension for Christ in the facet of the bridegroom, which includes ‘first love’ (cf. John 3:29-30).

 

John 3:29-30:
29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.
30 He must become greater; I must become less.’

 

At this point, the question should be asked whether there is an ‘exalted weak circumstance’ by God outside our ‘door’ i.e. in our lives that the Holy Spirit wants to use to draw us closer into the love and wisdom of God as the bridegroom.

 

This area carries the potential of the ‘’etsba’ – pointing finger of God.’ It is the place where He meets us with His directive prophetic word, as the voice of the Almighty is like the sound of many waters (cf. Ezekiel 1:24a).

 

Ezekiel 1:24a:
24a When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty [Shaddai], …

 

Thus, through this parable, a spiritual principle is revealed in the call of the rich man to the divine fatherhood represented by Abraham, as mentioned earlier.

 

This principle contains the potential for all saints who are in spiritual ‘poverty’ to become a bearer of God’s prophetic instruction, which contributes to changing or renewing the heart of the earthly ‘rich’. This also means touching their communication, represented by the chilled tongue they long for. For we know that what the heart is full of, the mouth speaks of (cf. Matthew 12:34b).

 

Matthew 12:34b:
… 34b For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

 

Amen and Amen.

 

In His Wisdom,

 

Daniel Glimm