The Spiritual Significance of Metals Gold (part 2) Gold s Negative Application by Mike Vinson Introduction Last week we looked at the attributes of gold that make it the most precious metal mentioned in God's Word and the we saw why God uses gold as a symbol of that which He values so much. We saw what gold is both from God's perspective and from the perspective of jewelers and gemologists who work with gold. This week we will look at how gold is used in God's word in a negative sense and we will see that gold just as with every other word in the Word of God, has a negative as well as a positive application. We have already seen gold is capable of being "drawn" into wires finer than human hair. Gold can be and was woven into the fabric of the temple veils and was used in portraying the cherubims on those veils. This quality of being able to be drawn into wire is referred to as being ductile. But we also learned that gold was capable of being beaten so thin that light can pass through it. While there was no call for gold to be pressed or beaten that thin in the way God used gold in the tabernacle, this demonstrates this quality of gold which is called malleability. And gold's malleable qualities were put to use covering everything in God's house. It covered all the furniture of the holy place and all of the tools and utensils of the holy place. Of course it also covered the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat, which represents the throne of God. Even 1
all the boards that made up the walls and ceiling of the holy place and the holy of holies were covered with pure ductile and malleable gold. Finally we saw that gold, unlike any other metal mentioned in God's Word, does not tarnish, corrode or rust. All of the other metals do tarnish, become corroded or rust.. How Can Gold, With All of These Qualities, Become Negative? The answer is that just as these incredible qualities of being ductile, malleable and tarnish, corrosion and rust proof, appeal to God, and are used for God's purposes, these same qualities appeal to the flesh and the Adversary, and are used by the Adversary to tempt and to entice and to deceive. We have two scriptures which give us the ability to see just how gold, with all of it's wonderful and incredible qualities, becomes a "cursed thing." Jos 7:11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Jos 7:12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. Jos 7:15 And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel. Jos 7:16 So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: 2
Jos 7:17 And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: Jos 7:18 And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. Jos 7:19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide [it] not from me. Jos 7:20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: Jos 7:21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. Jos 7:22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. Jos 7:23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. Jos 7:24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. Jos 7:25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. Aren't you glad that you are not Achan? Aren't you glad that you have never defiled the temple of God? Aren't you glad that you do not need to concern yourself with being destroyed from God's people? Oh, but we are all Achan, we have all defiled the temple of God and we will all be destroyed and "burned with fire." 3
Achan coveted what was supposed to go into God's treasury. What is "covetousness?" Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: Jos 6:18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. Jos 6:19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD. What is in us that gives us all these sinful desires? Here is what causes us to want God's gold without going through God to get it: 1Jn 2:16 For all [sin] that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. What is the solution to the lust of the flesh? Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. When we "walk in the spirit" we do not "transgress my covenant which I commanded them" as Achan did. Achan wants God's gold, but he doesn't want to "do the will of his heavenly Father." What we don't understand is that God's gold is doing God's will and obeying His doctrine. God's gold is what makes us ductile, malleable and untarnished in Christ. 4
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? So whose is our gold? Is it really 'our' gold? Here again is what God had commanded Israel before they began the campaign against the cities of Canaan: Jos 6:16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. Jos 6:17 And the city shall be accursed, [even] it, and all that [are] therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that [are] with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. Jos 6:18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. Jos 6:19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD. Does God not want us to have His silver and His gold? Not at all. He wants us to be "rich in silver and in gold." Gen 13:2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. Eze 16:11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. Eze 16:12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. Eze 16:13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat 5
fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. We are a kingdom within: Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you We are God's gold-covered temple: 1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? But we will all live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, and what that means is that we will all be lustful, covetous, idolatrous, pride-filled Achan, and we will all be destroyed and burned with fire following our destruction. 1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. How will we all become Achan in our walk? How does gold become "the accursed thing" for us instead of being ductile, malleable and incorruptible in the hands of our Lord? Besides the story of Achan who wanted and desired God's gold without receiving it from God, we also have this scripture that helps us to see how gold becomes "the accursed thing" instead of the blessing it will later be. Here is how this is accomplished: Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, 6
Two chapters earlier we are told that these "images of men" are "idols of the heart" or false doctrines in which we take pride. How, then does gold become the cursed thing? When we take God's wonderful gospel and take it unto ourselves and fail to "glory only in the Lord," our gold has just become an "idol of our heart" and a "stumbling block of our iniquity." Eze 14:1 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. Eze 14:2 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Eze 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? Eze 14:4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; Eze 14:5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols. Eze 14:6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn [yourselves] from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. Eze 14:7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself: Eze 14:8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD. Eze 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 7
Achan "separated himself from God." Though Israel did not realize what Achan had done, still "a little leaven" had leavened all of Israel and Israel was being destroyed by the Canaanites by inward covetousness and pride. Achan had taken God's gold to himself independent of God. We do the very same thing every time we become puffed up over being given God's gold and God's silver. We have "taken of the accursed thing" the very thing that is such a blessing when it is given to us by God and when we are able to acknowledge that it is only ours if we receive it "of the Lord." Conclusion When we take God's gold and God's silver to ourselves and become boastful and proud of the knowledge and understanding given us by God, at that very point God's gold and God's silver become "the accursed thing" instead of the beautiful, untarnished, humble, ductile and soft malleable material He is bringing us all to be. But we do "keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book," and we do "live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Therefore we are all, at first, desirous of God's gold and God's silver without first acknowledging that we must first acknowledge that all the gold belongs in and is part of His treasury. Only after we acknowledge this great Truth, will we be found worthy to wear God's incorruptible, untarnished, ductile and malleable gold. 8