Revelation 6:6
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
The balances are God's great standard of righteousness in the sanctuary by which every dealing is weighed, and the oil and the wine are His own people, precious as the apple of His eye and purchased by the blood of Christ at infinite cost. The command to hurt not the oil and the wine requires guarding every word and action so as to deal with fellow believers tenderly, patiently, kindly and lovingly. That faithfulness means laboring earnestly to lift up the desponding, the discouraged, the weak, the wavering, and those who seek to obey amid unbelief and darkness at home. Pressing, crowding, crushing and frightening souls, and urging confessions God does not require, breaks the command and brings His displeasure, while He still loves and leads with care those who have been crushed. The scarcity and strife pictured stand amid God's terrible judgments upon iniquity and reveal a spirit of confusion and dissension among nations and in the church, especially among those who reject the light He has given.
Context and Symbols
The chapter stands full of meaning, revealing terrible judgments of God going forth to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, when the earth shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover her slain. Those judgments point forward to the plagues of God upon the earth, when hail about the weight of a talent shall fall upon the wicked who would not care for and obey God but insulted Him and despised all His mercies.
The measure of wheat and barley for a penny represents a spirit that works to confuse and to perplex, bringing dissension among nations and disorder, strife, and confusion in the church, especially among those who reject the light God has given. That spirit recurs in history and is seen today, for history is to be repeated and that which has been will be again, with dissension to be seen in every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Those who have not followed the light God has given through His living oracles and through His appointed agencies become confused and reveal weakness of judgment. Their spiritual drunkenness comes not from strong drink but from unholy ambition.
The balances are God's great standard of righteousness in the sanctuary, by which every transaction, small or great, is weighed. No institution doing God's work bears His approval if it practices oppression, selfish dealing, sharp practice, or taking unfair advantage of any person, saint or sinner, even to advance the interests of the institution. Any deviation from righteousness, even in jot or tittle, is registered in the books of heaven, weighed, found wanting, and stamped with condemnation, revealing a character condemned by God's holy law and unsanctified in heart.
The oil and the wine that are to be left unhurt are God's people under His care, His children, servants, brethren and sisters, and fellow believers, His little ones precious as the apple of His eye and dear to Him. They are purchased by the blood of Christ at the infinite price of the Son of God, His riches and glory and life given to make man a being of His throne and to secure eternal salvation, so that to touch them to hurt them is to touch God Himself. In particular they are aged men who are fathers in experience, who have brought up families and learned to command them and are therefore better prepared to judge in church matters, and they must be entreated as fathers and not rebuked or handled as disobedient children.
Protecting the Oil and Wine
To hurt not the oil and the wine is to guard every word and action so as not to harm fellow men, brethren and sisters, fellow believers and fellow workers. They are to be dealt with tenderly, patiently, kindly and affectionately, and with love, humility and grace, preserving the beauty of holiness. Harsh, unkind, impatient dealing, indifference, tearing down, discouraging and destroying pushes and destroys one of God's little ones.
Faithfulness to the command means laboring faithfully and earnestly to lift up the desponding and the discouraged, the weak, the wavering, the feeble-minded, and those whose surroundings are less favorable. It means binding up bruises of the soul, supporting the weak, confirming the wavering, and comforting the feeble-minded. It especially means tender care for those who seek to obey the truth while having no encouragement at home but constantly breathing the atmosphere of unbelief and darkness.
Pressing, crowding, crushing and frightening hurts the oil and the wine, as does urging confessions that God does not require. Such a course displeases God and brings His frown and watchful notice. Yet God still loves and cares for those who have been crushed through confusion, and leads them with caution.
The command is broken when young preachers act independently without counsel of aged brethren. It is broken when they hold self-dignity and jealousy cruel as the grave, and lack a weeping, meek, humble, childlike spirit. It is broken when they refuse sympathy to a stricken father in anguish over his children, and thrust with side and shoulder with cruel and unnatural counsel.
Even when those entrusted with large responsibilities prove unfaithful and more dross than gold, the oil and the wine must not be harmed. Believers must not injure God's work and workers, must not give up God's ordained instrumentalities or cling less to them, and must not become a dead weight and drag upon them by withdrawing help, sympathy and earnest effort. In such cases believers must not join those who refuse correction and turn to revenge and try to injure the work and the workers because their unfaithfulness was discovered and faithfully reproved. They must not accept their misrepresentations and drink in their spirit, nor imperil souls who received merciful messages of warning by treating the guilty as innocent and abused and by giving unsanctifying sympathy to those wholly undeserving of it out of confidence in erring mortals rather than in God and the working of His Spirit through His appointed agencies who correct wrongs and errors.
Acting selfishly hurts the oil and the wine and calls for mercy and forbearance toward fellow believers. Selfish, humanly devised work by a president hurts God's servants by supporting men God could not favor. In times of difficulty, those in responsible positions must work carefully and patiently with tact, avoiding harm through hasty changes or overcentralized control. They must avoid injuring what must be protected while addressing problems, including in the publishing work, which is to be handled with care, tact and patience without changes that could damage it.