Hi Mike,

I hope all is well with you and your family. I asked you quite a while ago about animals going to heaven, and in short you said they didn’t go. I am not questioning your answer but came across a scripture which I would appreciate if you could clear up for me. The scripture is Gen 9:5. The NIV version does not read the same as the King James. My question is: why is it that God will demand an accounting from every animal if the animal is going to be destroyed? I understand that we are just animals anyway (beasts). It just seems strange that he would demand an accounting from an animal thats ultimate destiny is to be destroyed. Maybe just how I am looking at it is wrong. Any light you could shed on this scripture would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for your hard work. It has been a fantastic help to me.
Thanks again, Mike.
S____

Hi S____,
Thank you for your question.
You ask:

Why is it that God will demand an accounting from every animal if the animal is going to be destroyed? I understand that we are just animals anyway (beasts). It just seems strange that he would demand an accounting from an animal thats ultimate destiny is to be destroyed.

Here is that verse and the following verse from the NIV:

Gen 9:5 And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.
Gen 9:6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man. (NIV)

Notice verse five ends with “I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man“. While Christ tells His followers to “love their enemies”, He has nevertheless ordained the death penalty to be carried out by the civil authorities for certain actions which cost another human life. There is no death penalty for the loss of the life of an animal. There is as much as four- fold restitution for the theft of certain animals, but there is no death penalty. But mankind, “all in Adam” are all “God’s sons”, and the death of one of His sons at the hand of either another of His sons or an animal, demands an accounting.
Here is how Gen 9:5 is to be understood and applied as it regards both man and animal.

Exo 21:28 “If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull must be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible.
Exo 21:29 If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull must be stoned and the owner also must be put to death. (NIV)

Notice, any animal that kills a human “must be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten”. That is just how much more important to God, a human is compared to an animal. If a human accidentally killed a human, God provided cities of refuge for that person.

Num 35:11 select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee. (NIV)

But the next verse, there in Gen 9, places the accounting upon the man. “If… the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman…” in that case “the owner also must be put to death”, because he had been warned, and did not care for his fellow man enough to keep his bull penned up.
I hope this helps you to see just how precious you are to our heavenly Father, and that to Him “you are worth more than many sparrows” or bulls. I also hope this helps you to understand what God meant in Gen 9:5 when He said “I will demand an accounting from every animal… for your lifeblood”. It is speaking specifically of animals killing humans.

Mat 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
Mat 10:30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Mat 10:31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (NIV)

Animals do not “believe that Jesus is the Son of God” and animals are not equipped to be “overcomers”. The very existence of beasts is to demonstrate to “overcomers” what they themselves are without Christ in them making them overcomers. Animals do not “give an accounting” for the deeds they have done in the flesh. Their destruction is just a spiritual type and shadow of our giving an accounting of the deeds we have done in our beastly physical bodies of sinful flesh and blood. Animals themselves do not “give an accounting”!

Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
Ecc 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

Without a resurrection of the dead, even “all in Adam” would never amount to any more than a dead beast which is simply dust.

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Ecc 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
1Co 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1Co 15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

Animals have no “faith”, and animals do not “fall asleep in Christ”. God bless you.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Audio Links

Gold (Positive Application) – Part 6, Paz and Betser

Introduction

I have been telling you that there are seven Hebrew words translated ‘gold.’ I have been saying that based upon the fact that Strong’s Concordance tells us that seven Hebrew words are all translated as ‘gold’. We will see today that Mr. Strong has misinformed us on this subject, and I will have to simply share this lesson with you and apologize for saying there are seven Hebrew words translated as ‘gold.’ In Truth there are only six, and the last two of these six are our words for this study.

Our Fifth of Six Words Translated Gold Is ‘Paz’

The first of these last two words is the word ‘paz.’ Paz appears nine times in the Old Testament.

H6337
paz
Total KJV Occurrences:  9
gold, 9
Job_28:17, Psa_19:10, Psa_21:3, Psa_119:127, Pro_8:19, Son_5:11, Son_5:15, Isa_13:12, Lam_4:2

It is found once in Job, three times in Psalms, once in Proverbs, twice in Song of Solomon, once in Isaiah, and once in Lamentations.

Why is this word ‘paz’ used in these nine verses, instead of any of the other six words translated gold? To understand why ‘paz’ is used in these verses let’s look at all nine entries:

Job 28:12  But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
Job 28:13  Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
Job 28:14  The depth saith, It is not in me: and the sea saith, It is not with me.
Job 28:15  It cannot be gotten for gold [zahab], neither shall silver be weighed [for] the price thereof.
Job 28:16  It cannot be valued with the gold [kethem] of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
Job 28:17  The gold [zahab] and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold [paz].

Psa 19:9  The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
Psa 19:10  More to be desired are they than gold [zahab], yea, than much fine gold [paz]: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Psa 21:1  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
Psa 21:2  Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
Psa 21:3  For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold [ paz] on his head.
Psa 21:4  He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
Psa 21:5  His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
Psa 21:6  For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.

Psa 119:125  I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.
Psa 119:126  It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.
Psa 119:127  Therefore I love thy commandments above gold [zahab]; yea, above fine gold [paz]
Psa 119:128  Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.

Pro 8:11  For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
Pro 8:12  I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.
Pro 8:13 The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Pro 8:14  Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
Pro 8:15  By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
Pro 8:16  By me princes rule, and nobles, eve all the judges of the earth.
Pro 8:17  I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Pro 8:18  Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
Pro 8:19  My fruit is better than gold [charuts], yea, than fine gold [paz]; and my revenue than choice silver.

Son 5:9  What is thy beloved more than [another] beloved, thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than [another] beloved, that thou dost so charge us?
Son 5:10  My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
Son 5:11  His head is as the most [kethem] fine gold [paz], his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.
Son 5:12  His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, [and] fitly set.
Son 5:13  His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips [like] lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
Son 5:14  His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires.
Son 5:15  His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold [paz]: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.

Verse 5 tells us that Christ’s “head is as kethem paz,” that is Christ’s head is “as most (kethem) fine gold (paz).” ‘Kethem’ here is a noun used as an adjective to express a superlative. ‘Kethem’ is ‘most’ fine gold (paz).

Continuing with our verses containing ‘paz:’

Isa 13:9  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
Isa 13:10  For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
Isa 13:11  And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
Isa 13:12  I will make a man more precious than fine gold [paz]; even a man than the golden wedge [kethem] of Ophir.

Lam 4:1  How is the gold [zahab] become dim! how is the most fine gold [kethem] changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.
Lam 4:2  The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold [paz], how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of thepotter!

Eight times ‘paz’ is translated “fine gold.” It is likened in these verses to Christ’s “head,” it is likened to His feet, which are referred to here as “sockets”, and once it is used with ‘kethem’ as the ultimate gold, the superlative in golden jewels and valuables. So ‘Paz’ is called “a crown of pure gold”.  It is generally preceded by the word ‘zahab’, and is closely associated in these verses as gold having been formed into that which glorifies God. It certainly overlaps with ‘kethem’ in this application, but it is always translated as fine or pure gold, and ‘kethem’ is used as a superlative of ‘paz.’

Betser, the sixth of six words translated ‘gold’

The sixth of our six Hebrew words translated ‘gold’ is ‘betser.’ This word appears only in Job 22:24-25. In verse 24 it is translated as ‘gold’, and in verse 25 it is translated ‘defense’. It appears that ‘betser’ should have been translated as ‘gold’ in both verses.

Job 22:24  Then shalt thou lay up gold [betser] as dust, and the [gold] of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
Job 22:25  Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence [betser], and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

‘Betser’ here in Job is followed by mentioning both “plenty of silver” and the “pureness” of the “humble person.”

Job 22:26  For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.
Job 22:27  Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.
Job 22:28  Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
Job 22:29  When [men] are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
Job 22:30  He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.

Humility is gained only after pride is burned out of us. ‘Pureness of our hands’ is also achieved only after a purifying, purging process. It appears thus that verse 25 would be a more consistent translation if it read:

Job 22:25  Yea, the Almighty shall be thy gold [betser], and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

God is both our wealth and our defence, but When this same word is translated as ‘gold’ in the preceding verse, it is best to be consistent and translate it the same in verse 25.

Segor – A necessary correction

As I said at the beginning about today’s study my assertions that there are seven words translated as gold was mistaken. I have been saying that because that is what Dr. James Strong’s Concordance told me. Now that we have come to our supposed seventh and last word ‘segor’, I want to share with you how even scholars like James Strong must be verified against God’s Word. Strong’s Concordance told me that this ‘segor’ was found only twice, once in Job 28:15 and once in Hosea 13:8. Here is what Strong’s says about this word ‘segor:’

H5458
sego r
Total KJV Occurrences: 2
caul, 1
Hos_13:8
gold, 1
Job_28:15

Now that we are here at this word and we see these two entries, here is what we really find:

Hos 13:8  I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul [segor], Strong’s H5458] of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.

When we get to Job 28, we find that Mr. Strong has made a mistake.

Job 28:15  It cannot be gotten for gold [zahab with another word included in the interlinear, the word ‘sagar’, Strong’s H5462], neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

This word here in Job 28:15, which is translated gold, is ‘zahab.’ It is not the word ‘segor’ as Strong’s Concordance affirms, and I again cut and paste:

H5458
sego r
Total KJV Occurrences: 2
caul, 1
Hos_13:8
gold, 1
Job_28:15

It is not ‘segor (“Total KJV Occurrences: 2”); it is rather ‘sagar’ and while it is apparently in the Hebrew, it is not even translated into English in Job 28:25. It is simply left out and ignored in this verse.

The Hebrew word ‘sagar’ appears 92 times and is most often translated ‘shut’ or ‘shut up’. Here is what Strong says of this word:

H5462
sa gar
saw- gar’
A primitive root; to shut up; figuratively to surrender: – close up, deliver (up), give over (up), inclose, X pure, repair, shut (in, self, out, up, up together), stop, X straitly.

‘Sagar’ is the root word from which ‘segor’ is derived, but look again at what Strong’s Concordance says of ‘segor’ the word taken from the root ‘sagar’.

H5458
sego r
seg- ore’
From H5462; properly shut up, that is, the breast (as inclosing the heart); also gold (as generally shut up safely): – caul, gold.

It is not “also gold” and it is not “caul, gold.” It is rather, ‘caul, shut up, or caul, closely guarded.’

So the word translated ‘gold in Job 28:15 is the Hebrew word ‘zahab’, Not the word ‘segor,’ as it is listed in Strong’s Concordance under the number H5458. The word ‘sagar’ ^H5462 is not the word ‘gold’ at all in this verse, but should apparently be translated as ‘shut up’ or ‘closely guarded’, ‘sagar’, gold, ‘zahab’. Neither ‘sagar’, ^H5462 nor its derivative ‘segor’^H5458 have anything to do with the six Hebrew words for ‘gold’ except as an adjective describing how gold is shut up or guarded because it is so valuable.
Both Strong’s Concordance and the Interlinear say the word ‘sagar’ not ‘segor’ appears in Job 28:15. I do not read Hebrew so I assume they are right, but if that is the case then it has been left out of the King James Version.

In review

In review gold’s negative application is its association with the color yellow, a type for sin in our flesh.

Psa 68:13 Though ye have lien among the pots, [yet shall ye be as] the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow [yeraqraq] gold [charuts].

Gold’s primary negative application in scripture is its misuse as a covering of our “idols of the heart.” We are all guilty of twisting God’s golden doctrines into the “doctrines of men.”

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,

2Pe 3:16 As also in all [his] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Col 2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
Col 2:21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
Col 2:22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

Gold in its positive application has all the physical properties which reveal to us what God considers to be useful, valuable, rare, and beautiful. Gold alone has all the qualities of being extremely rare, extremely beautiful, extremely ductile, and extremely malleable. Gold alone does not tarnish or rust, and seems to be virtually indestructible. Gold will melt only under the most extreme temperatures of any of the metals mentioned in God’s Word. Gold is the only metal to be seen in the holy place or in the holy of holies.

Gold is so versatile that the holy spirit has seen fit to use six different Hebrew words to express its value and usefulness to our Lord. Here is a summary of those six words. While the use of these words overlap each other, there are definite uses which are more emphasized in the various words.

1) The first and most prevalent is ‘zahab.’ This is pure refined gold in its all inclusive application. Gold which has been tried and purified in the fire, the extreme heat needed to melt and refine gold from the earth:

Job 23:10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold [zahab].

2) ‘Dehab,’ the Aramaic form of ‘zahab,’ is found only in Ezra and Daniel and has the same overall and all inclusive application as ‘zahab’.
3) ‘Charuts’ is gold as malleable and ductile for its many uses. ‘Charuts’ is gold as “the hand of the diligent… (Pro 12:24), the valley of decision… (Joe 3:14), a threshing instrument…(Isa 28:27 and Mic 4:13), and the wall of God’s city (Dan 9:25 and Rev 21:12).
4) ‘Kethem’ is gold as being as rare and precious as “the golden wedge [kethem] of Ophir” (Isa 13:12). It is used to describe just how precious to our God is wisdom and understanding:

Job 28:12 But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
Job 28:13 Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living.
Job 28:14 The depth saith, It [is] not in me: and the sea saith, [It is] not with me.
Job 28:15 It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed [for] the price thereof.
Job 28:16 It cannot be valued with the gold [kethem] of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.

5) ‘Paz,’ is always preceded by ‘zahab,’ the all inclusive word for purified gold. ‘Paz’ overlaps but differs from ‘kethem’ in that it is always called fine gold, or pure gold and is mentioned as formed into a crown and as being fine jewels. Paz is used as a description of Christ Himself.

Job 28:17 The gold [zahab] and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold [paz].

Psa 21:3 For You meet him with the blessings of good things; You set a crown of fine gold [paz] on his head. (NASB)

Psa 119:127 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold [zahab]; yea, above fine gold [paz].

Son 5:10 My beloved [is] white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
Son 5:11 His head [is as] the most [kethem] fine gold [paz], his locks [are] bushy, [and] black as a raven.

6) ‘Betser’ appears only in two adjacent verses in Job:

Job 22:24 Then shalt thou lay up gold [betser] as dust, and the [gold] of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
Job 22:25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence [betser], and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

It appears that a consistent reading of ‘gold’ would better show ‘betser’ as a word describing great wealth as opposed to “defence.” This is especially true in light of the verses which follow, speaking of the strength and accomplishments of the humble person with pure hands.

Job 22:26 For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.
Job 22:27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.
Job 22:28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
Job 22:29 When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
Job 22:30 He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.

The man who was spiritually the richest man who ever lived “had no place to lay His head,” and yet He had great riches in heaven:

Mat 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Conclusion

This concludes our study of God’s gold. It also concludes our study of the spiritual significance of all the metals mentioned in scripture.

Metals in scripture reveal where we have progressed in our walk. Of course we will see this only as we “look behind us to see the voice speaking with us.”

Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

The base metals represent our walk as carnal Christians, the best of whom are but common copper; the best of the base metals. Gold and silver, on the other hand, represent our walk as converted Christians, God’s elect who are whole hearted, and are driven by, and filled with, a strong desire [silver] to become God’s most usable, beautiful, diligent, and uncorruptible treasure [gold].

We must all travel through and “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Mat 4:4). We must all start out as lead refined from lead ore, out of the ground, and progress upward through the tin, iron and copper into the strong desire to serve and please God until we come to be God’s beautiful, glorious gold, covering Him and in His house. https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/metals_precious-metals-silver-negative-part-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=metals_precious-metals-silver-negative-part-2 Fri, 21 Dec 2007 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.iswasandwillbe.com/?p=3459

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Silver’s Negative Application, Part 2 – Self-Righteousness and False Doctrines

Introduction

By way of review, let’s look again at Strong’s definition of silver:

H3701 – – keseph – keh’- sef – From H3700; silver (from its pale color); by implication money: – money, price, silver (-ling).

When we look at 3700, the Hebrew root for this Hebrew word ‘keseph,’ we find this:

H3700 – ka saph – kaw- saf’ – A primitive root; properly to become pale, that is, (by implication) to pine after; also to fear: – [have] desire, be greedy, long, sore.

But this is how this word is used:

H3700 – ka saph – Total KJV Occurrences: 5 – desire, 1 – Job_14:15; desired, 1 – Zep_2:1; greedy, 1 – Psa_17:12; longedst, 1 – Gen_31:30; longeth, 1 – Psa_84:2

So silver is connected with the concept of ‘desire‘, be it for good or bad. For example:

Gen 31:30 And now, [though] thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst [Hebrew: kasaf] after thy father’s house, [yet] wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?

Psa 84:2 My soul longeth [Hebrew: kasaph], yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

Job 14:15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire [Hebrew: kasaph] to the work of thine hands.

This as a negative application:

Psa 17:12 Like as a lion that is greedy [Hebrew: kasaph] of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.

Zep 2:1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired [Hebrew: kasaph];

Just as the base metals lead, tin, iron, and copper all typify what is refined out of the earth and yet is so plentiful that it has little value compared to precious metals, and is considered to be common and cheap, so too, the precious metals portray for us God’s view of the opposite end of the spectrum. Precious metals portray to us, spiritually, what is rare and expensive and highly valued, or highly desired by God.

There are only two precious metals mentioned in God’s Word. Remember that significance of the number two? Those two metals are silver and gold. Our study this week is the spiritual significance of silver in scripture. As always we will start out with the negative application, the dark side of silver in the Word of God. Before we go into that any further, let’s refresh our memory of silver’s primary, precious and positive application as the symbol in scripture for both atonement and redemption and as a symbol of the righteousness of the saints through “Christ in you.”

Silver as atonement and redemption

Exo 30:15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when [they] give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
Exo 30:16 And thou shalt take the atonement money [Hebrew: keseph, silver] of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.

Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works [He was valued at thirty pieces of silver].
Mat 26:15 And [Judas] said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

Silver as righteousness

Before we show the use of silver as self-righteousness, let’s first show its symbolism as righteousness. Silver is always associated with Christ and His righteousness.

1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
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.

We defile God’s temple when we live lives unbecoming the children of God. Even in God’s house there are both precious and base metals.

2Ti 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

As we will see below, works are also typified by ‘fine linen.’

Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Silver is the metal that is used to condemn Joseph’s brothers while uniting Joseph with his favorite brother Benjamin and reconciling Joseph with his brothers who hated him

Joseph’s brothers were starving from the famine and came to buy grain from Joseph. This was their second journey. They were on their way back home with both Benjamin and Simeon. But their faith is about to be tried, and as always Christ himself doesn’t do it, He sends a messenger to try His brothers:

Gen 44:1 Then he [Joseph] commanded his house steward, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.
Gen 44:2 “Put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph had told him.
Gen 44:3 As soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys.
Gen 44:4 They had just gone out of the city, and were not far off, when Joseph said to his house steward, “Up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?
Gen 44:5 ‘Is not this the one from which my lord drinks and which he indeed uses for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.'”
Gen 44:6 So he overtook them and spoke these words to them.
Gen 44:7 They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing.
Gen 44:8 “Behold, the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?
Gen 44:9 “With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.”
Gen 44:10 So he said, “Now let it also be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and the rest of you shall be innocent.”
Gen 44:11 Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack.
Gen 44:12 He searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
Gen 44:13 Then they tore their clothes, and when each man loaded his donkey, they returned to the city.

That, I submit, is how things are done in the realm of the heavens.

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

The life of a slave is valued at thirty pieces of silver.

Exo 21:28 If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
Exo 21:29 But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.
Exo 21:30 If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.
Exo 21:31 Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
Exo 21:32 If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

Like Joseph, a type of Christ, Christ himself was sold to the Jews for the price of a slave. Notice the events surrounding Christ’s betrayal for thirty pieces of silver. They are very revealing of who you and I are. What they reveal is that we all “live by every word of God:”

Mat 26:1 And it happened when Jesus finished all these sayings, He said to His disciples,
Mat 26:2 You know that after two days the Passover comes, and the Son of Man is betrayed to be crucified.
Mat 26:3 Then the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, assembled together to the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas.
Mat 26:4 And they consulted so that they might take Jesus by guile and kill Him.
Mat 26:5 But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people.
Mat 26:6 And when Jesus was in Bethany , in the house of Simon the leper,
Mat 26:7 a woman came to Him, having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on His head as He reclined.
Mat 26:8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
Mat 26:9 For this ointment might have been sold for very much and given to the poor.
Mat 26:10 When Jesus understood it, He said to them, Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work on Me.
Mat 26:11 For you have the poor with you always, but you do not always have Me.
Mat 26:12 For in putting ointment on My body, she did it for My burial.
Mat 26:13 Truly I say to you, Wherever this gospel shall be proclaimed in the whole world, that which this woman has done shall be spoken of also, for a memorial of her.
Mat 26:14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests.
Mat 26:15 And he said to them, What will you give me, and I will betray Him to you? And they appointed to him thirty pieces of silver.
Mat 26:16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him. (MKJV)

Judas and all of Christ’s disciples were demonstrably self-righteous. The “son of perdition” is incited to betray Christ when Christ puts His body ahead of the poor. Here is this same story from John’s perspective:

Joh 12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was (who had died, whom He raised from the dead).
Joh 12:2 Then they made a supper there for Him. And Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those reclining with Him.
Joh 12:3 Then Mary took a pound of ointment of pure spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
Joh 12:4 Then said one of His disciples (Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who was to betray Him)
Joh 12:5 Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? [denarii are silver Roman coins]
Joh 12:6 He said this, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and held the moneybag and carried the things put in.
Joh 12:7 Then Jesus said, Let her alone. She has kept this for the day of My burial.
Joh 12:8 For you have the poor with you always; but you do not always have Me. (MKJV)

Mary had a more realistic valuation of Christ. It was the same difference Joseph placed between Benjamin and his other ten brothers:

Gen 45:22 To all of them he [Joseph] gave each man changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of clothing.

All who are refrained from the presence of the Lord are refrained because they are not yet made aware of their total worthlessness in and of themselves in the flesh.

That is the message we are being given when we are told that the pillars of the court of the tabernacle are covered on the top, and banded on the top, and given hooks of silver to hold up the veil of “fine twined linen.”

That silver on those pillars with copper (brass) sockets (Exo 27:10) tells us two things, 1) our own self- righteousness, and 2) our redemption through the sale of Christ to His death.

Note the difference between the sockets for the pillars of the court and the sockets of the pillars and boards of the tabernacle. All but the sockets of the door of the tabernacle are pure silver sockets.

The four pillars between the holy place and the most holy are golden pillars with golden hooks, standing on sockets of silver

Exo 26:30 And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount.
Exo 26:31 And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
Exo 26:32 And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.
Exo 26:33 And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy [place] and the most holy.

The sockets and the pillars of the court are brass, but the bands and hooks of these pillars are silver.

Exo 27:17 All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass.
(BBE) All the pillars round the open space are to have silver bands, with hooks of silver and bases of brass.
Exo 27:9 And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward [there shall be] hangings for the court [of] fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:
Exo 27:10 And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets [shall be of] silver.
Exo 27:11 And likewise for the north side in length [there shall be] hangings of an hundred [cubits] long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.
Exo 27:17 All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass [the false doctrine of free will, my works].

We all start our walk in Christ on a self-righteous, free will, base of spiritual copper. The silver bands, the silver hooks, and the fine linen speak indeed of our righteousnesses and of our good works, as we noted above:

Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.

1Co 3:11 For other foundation [sockets of the tabernacle] can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
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.

There is nothing in the temple of God but pure gold and pure silver. There are no alloys, and there certainly are no base metals except at the entry of the door, as we have discussed before. God does not want hard alloyed gold or hard alloyed silver. He wants gold so pure it can be beaten to cover all the boards, the arch of the covenant, and be formed into the cherubims with golden wings. The gold and silver in the tabernacle or the temple must be completely purified. All impurities are right now being burned out of the gold and silver in the temple of God:

Psa 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

It is our self-righteous works which are “burned up.” It is we who must “lose our lives that we might find life.” Silver, as Christ in us, is not at first in our view. Instead when we first enter into the court of the tabernacle or the temple, we are full of self-righteousness, as silver bands and hooks, on copper pillars which stand on copper sockets, symbolizing a foundation which is based on the false doctrines of “free moral agency” and “it is our own faith which saves us.” Those doctrines and that attitude are silver bands and hooks on pillars made of brass, standing on brass sockets.

Babylon also, is full of gold and silver and precious stones and fine linen.

Zec 9:3 And Tyrus [A type of Babylon] did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets [As Christ is figured by both a lion and a lamb, so it is with many things in scripture including ‘the prince of Tyrus and the king of Babylon’].

Rev 18:9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
Rev 18:10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
Rev 18:11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
Rev 18:12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

It is all silver bands and hooks on a self-righteous copper pillar and standing on a socket and foundation of self-righteous copper or brass.

Exo 27:10 And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.
(BBE) All the pillars round the open space are to have silver bands, with hooks of silver and bases of brass.

Conclusion

We have seen that silver, a symbol of atonement, redemption and of Christ performing good works in and through us, was also used to sell both Christ and Joseph into death and slavery. We saw that our Savior was sold for the price of a slave. We have also seen that both Tyrus and Babylon are full of silver and gold. We have seen how silver was used in the court of the tabernacle to cover the top of brass pillars and was used as hooks to hold up the veil of the court. We also saw that silver standing on self-righteous, brass pillars, standing on brass sockets is nowhere near the house of God and is never allowed into the house of God.

We have also been shown in 2 Timothy that God’s “great house… has vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor.” What we have seen is that Babylon is full of idols of silver and gold, which must never be permitted into the tabernacle of God.

There is much more about the subversion of this precious metal and how that subversion so successfully blinds us to the enthroning of the beast within us. We will see much more of this phenomenon next week when we see how silver is used by those who work with silver to form it into idols. We will see who the idol manufacturers are and where they work. Of course, what we will find out is that we have been partakers in the manufacture and distribution of idols as part of “living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

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Silver’s Negative Application – Part 4

Introduction

We are continuing today with the negative application of silver in the Word of God. We will see today, just how complete the success has been of those who have taken God’s gold and God’s silver, the doctrines of Christ, at turning those treasures of God’s Words into Babylonian gold and silver idols of the heart; false and deadly doctrines called “another Jesus, another spirit, and another gospel.”

2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus [“another Jesus is another husband], whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel , which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

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 [false doctrines of men], and didst commit [spiritual] whoredom with them,

All false doctrines are built upon twisting the word of God.

Joe 3:5 Because ye [Tyre, a type of Babylon] have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: [Christ has been molded into “another Jesus”]

2Pe 3:16  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Babylon is full of idols crafted of our Lord’s own precious metals

We must never desire the silver or the gold of Babylons idols. “Graven images” are Bible-speak for “idols of the heart” (Eze 14:1-9). The fact that we are told not to desire the gold and silver and garments of Babylon, tells us that that is exactly what we have done.

Deu 7:25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold [that is] on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.

“Lest you be snared therein” is another way of saying:

2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

2Jn 1:10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine [“My gold and my silver], receive him not into your [spiritual] house [“lest you be snared therein”], neither bid him God speed:
2Jn 1:11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

The gold and silver of Babylon is to be found everywhere:

Eze 27:12 Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.

What is the effect of desiring the gold and silver and garments of Babylon?

Jos 7:21 When I [Achan] saw among the spoils [of Jericho] 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.

What did Joshua do with this forbidden gold and silver and this Babylonish garment?

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 [kill the false doctrine and then burn it up].
Jos 7:26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger . Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

Our Lord will not long tolerate an adulterous wife. She provokes His “fierce anger.”

The wealth of the enemy is judged “in the day of the Lord.” We will all be tempted as Achan:

Zec 14:1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
Zec 14:2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Zec 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

Zec 14:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
Zec 14:14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. [Exactly what Achan found]

Isa 2:17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
Isa 2:18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
Isa 2:19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
Isa 2:20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
Isa 2:21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
Isa 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

Eze 7:19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it [their false doctrine] is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

The false doctrine of ‘the secret rapture’ will not keep our Lord from His preordained decision to “gather the tares first, and bind them in bundles to be burned.”

Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Isaiah 2:19-21 is the “sixth seal” earthquake of Revelation 6.

Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
Rev 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Rev 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

The sins of the idols of our hearts will find us out:

Isa 30:22 Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.

Jer 6:30 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.

These idols “made each man for himself to worship,” spiritually are false doctrines we place before the Word of God.

Isa 31:7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.

Isa 40:19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

Isa 46:6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance , and hire a goldsmith [their minister]; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.

How an idol is constructed

We construct an idol when we learn the ways of the heathen:

Jer 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
Jer 10:3 For the customs of the people are vain : for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
Jer 10:4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
Jer 10:5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also [is it] in them to do good.

We cover our sins with the word of God. All ‘idols of the heart” are covered in the words of God. “They are decked with silver and gold,” but they are still our own works:

Jer 10:9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.

The Babylonian image is made partly of precious metals:

Dan 2:32 This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

Hab 2:19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

Conclusion

Christ is valued as a slave who we want dead, while we consider the silver and gold of Babylon as worth dying for. That is the self-righteousness of the flesh. The determination of the flesh to earn its own salvation drives the flesh to construct its own Babylonian idols of the heart and to use God’s word and the record of Christ’s works to cover those “idols of the heart.”

Deu 7:25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.

2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Babylon within us cannot resist the gold, silver and precious stones of spiritual Babylon. There is no spirit or principle in Babylon:

Psa 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

Psa 135:15 The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

Isa 3:1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water [spiritual vision and the ability to see the things of the spirit].

The book of Daniel tells us that all of Babylon’s wealth will be destroyed and carried away “like the chaff of the summer… wind.”

Dan 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

Dan 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Dan 2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

We have all, in our turn and in our time, made and manufactured our own “idols of the heart,” and we have all done our part in making those “idols of the heart” so universally abundant. If we can acknowledge our guilt in this, then we are ready to begin to learn how we can acquire the true silver and gold of the truths of the doctrine of Jesus Christ.

In our next study we will begin to look at the positive application of silver in the Word of God.

[The next study in this series is here.]

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Silver’s Negative Application – Part – 3

Introduction

By way of review, let’s look again at Strong’s definition of silver:

H3701 – – keseph – keh’- sef – From H3700; silver (from its pale color); by implication money: – money, price, silver (- ling).

When we look at 3700, the Hebrew root for this Hebrew word ‘keseph,’ we find this:

H3700 – – ka saph – kaw- saf’ – A primitive root; properly to become pale, that is, (by implication) to pine after; also to fear: – [ have] desire, be greedy, long, sore.

But this is how this word is used:

H3700 – – ka saph – Total KJV Occurrences: 5 – desire, 1 – Job_14:15; desired, 1 – Zep_2:1; greedy, 1 – Psa_17:12; longedst, 1 – Gen_31:30; longeth, 1 – Psa_84:2

So silver is connected with the concept of strong ‘desire’, be it for good or bad. For example:

Gen 31:30 And now, [ though] thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst [ Hebrew – kasaf] after thy father’s house, [ yet] wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?

Psa 84:2 My soul longeth [ Hebrew – kasaph], yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
Job 14:15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire [ Hebrew – kasaph] to the work of thine hands. And this as a negative application:

Psa 17:12 Like as a lion that is greedy [ Hebrew – kasaph] of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
Zep 2:1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired [ Hebrew – kasaph];

“Kasaph, ” meaning ‘strong desire,’ is the Hebrew root from which “keseph,” the Hebrew word for silver is taken. There is great spiritual significance for that fact.
Silver, is not a common or base metal. It is very valuable, very desirable and is associated with ‘strong desire.’
Just as the base metals, lead, tin, iron, and copper, all typify what is refined out of the earth, and yet is so plentiful that is has little value compared to precious metals and is considered to be common and cheap, so too, the precious metals portray for us God’s view of the opposite end of the spectrum. Precious metals portray for us, spiritually, what is rare and expensive and highly valued, or highly desired by God.
There are only two precious metals mentioned in God’s Word. Remember the significance of the number two is ‘witness.’ Those two metals are silver and gold. Our study this week is the spiritual significance of silver in scripture. As always we will start out with the negative application, the “dark side” of silver in the Word of God. But before we go into that any farther let’s refresh our memory of silver’s primary precious, and positive application as the symbol in scripture for both atonement and redemption and as a symbol of the righteousness of the saints through “Christ in you.”

Silver as atonement and redemption

Exo 30:15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when [ they] give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
Exo 30:16 And thou shalt take the atonement money [ Hebrew – keseph – silver] of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. [ He was valued at thirty pieces of silver]
Mat 26:15 And [ Judas] said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

Silver as righteousness

Before we show the use of silver as self- righteousness, let’s first show its symbolism as righteousness. Silver is always associated with Christ and His righteousness.

1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
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.

We defile God’s temple when we live lives unbecoming the children of God. But even in God’s house there are both precious and base metals.

2Ti 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

Silver’s Negative Application

As we saw last week, silver placed on top of copper witnesses to the fact that we have taken credit for God’s righteousness. What did Christ admonish us all?

Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

“Abiding in me” is typified by pillars of gold in sockets of silver:

Exo 26:32 And thou shalt hang it [ the veil] upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.

This is contrasted with pillars of copper with silver bands and hooks on sockets of copper:

Exo 27:9 And let there be an open space round the House, with hangings for its south side of the best linen, a hundred cubits long.
Exo 27:10 Their twenty pillars and their twenty bases are to be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their bands are to be of silver.

Does this mean ‘You can do nothing good without me?’ Or does it mean nothing?

Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Now let’s look at how the metals that make up Nebuchadnezzar’s image are ordered:

Dan 2:27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise [ men], the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
Dan 2:28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
Dan 2:29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came [ into thy mind] upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
Dan 2:30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for [ any] wisdom that I have more than any living, but for [ their] sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
Dan 2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness [ was] excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof [ was] terrible.
Dan 2:32 This image’s head [ was] of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
Dan 2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

The silver on the top of the copper pillars of the court of the tabernacle tells us the same thing that a silver breast and arms on top of a copper belly and thighs, tells us. When ever we see these two metals so arranged with the silver over the copper, we know that we are dealing with the power, strength and self- righteousness of the flesh, the beast. We will see later what becomes of all the metals that are in Babylon, even Babylon’s precious metals.
So there are four metals in five kingdoms mentioned in the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of this image. But for those with “eyes to see,” this is all about one single beast with all of these various characteristics brought together in that one self- righteous, very powerful, very religious beast.
These same four kingdoms are mentioned again in Daniel chapter seven:

Dan 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, [ and] told the sum of the matters.
Dan 7:2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
Dan 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
Dan 7:4 The first [ was] like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
Dan 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and [ it had] three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
Dan 7:6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
Dan 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it [ was] diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

But it is in the book of Revelation that we learn that all these Old Testament kingdoms, in Nebuchadnezzar’s image are all really one spiritual beast which “comes up out of the sea.”

Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [ the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

Seeing this tells those with “eyes to see” that God’s Word is all a parable of how Christ is revealed in us all. Seeing this should tell us that all of these metals are in all of us.
Now all we need to do is to come to see what is silver in God’s Word. We have seen that silver is connected with the thought of strong desire, but that desire is subverted by the dragon to turn God’s Word on its head and turn His Word into idols of the heart:

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 [ false doctrines of men], and didst commit whoredom with them,

All false doctrines are built upon twisting the word of God.

Joe 3:5 Because ye [ Tyre, a type of Babylon] have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: [ Christ has been molded into “another Jesus”]
2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

That is “carrying into your temple my goodly things… my silver, and my gold.”

Conclusion

We have seen that the Hebrew word for silver is ‘keseph,’ and that silver carries with it the concept of being highly desired as a precious metal. As such it also associated through its Hebrew root ‘kasaph’ with the concept of ‘strong desire.’ We have seen that this “strong desire” is carried over into both the desire to serve Christ and to know His mind, to have His gold and His silver, and it is also carried over into the desire for the silver and gold of Babylon. We have seen silver used of Paul to typify the doctrines and works of Christ’s righteousness, and we have seen silver typifying Babylonian doctrines and self righteous works of the flesh.
We have seen that silver as self- righteousness is likened to silver over copper and on the pillars of the court and the silver arms and breast, over the copper belly and thighs, of Nebuchadnezzar’s great image. We have seen that God’s silver and God’s gold are morphed into images of men’s making, and are taken into temples of men’s design.
We will continue with this same theme, and we will see just how thoroughly the manufacturers of gold and silver idols have been using God’s gold and silver to form their hearts idols, and we will see the we are guilty of being the manufacturer and distributor of those “idols of the heart.”

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Silver’s Negative Application – Part 1

Introduction

Strong’s definition of silver is:

H3701 – – keseph – keh’- sef – From H3700; silver (from its pale color); by implication money: – money, price, silver (-ling).

Just as the base metals, lead, tin, iron, and copper, all typify what is refined out of the earth and yet are so plentiful that they have very little value and are considered to be common and cheap, so, too, the precious metals portray for us God’s view of the opposite end of the spectrum. Precious metals portray for us spiritually what is rare and expensive and highly valued by God.

There are just two precious metals mentioned in God’s Word. Those two metals are silver and gold. Our study this week is the spiritual significance of silver in scripture. As always we will start out with the negative application, the dark side of silver in the Word of God. Before we can show you silver’s subverted application, we must first establish silver’s primary precious and positive application as the symbol in scripture for both atonement and redemption and as a symbol of the righteousness of the saints through “Christ in you.”

Silver as atonement and redemption

Exo 30:15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when [they] give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
Exo 30:16 And thou shalt take the atonement money [Hebrew: keseph, silver] of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.

Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works [He was valued at thirty pieces of silver].

Mat 26:15 And [Judas] said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

Silver as righteousness

Before we show the use of silver as self-righteousness, let’s first show its symbolism as righteousness. Silver is always associated with Christ and His righteousness.

1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
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.

Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

As we will see below, works are also typified by ‘fine linen.’

Rev 19:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Silver’s negative uses and applications in scripture:

There is a false Christ, “another Jesus,” and there is self-righteousness. The scriptures point all this out to those who have eyes to see.

2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or [if] ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with [him].

Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

So when ‘fine linen’ and ‘silver’ are supported with “sockets of brass,” which are not allowed into the tabernacle or temple, the righteousness they typify becomes self-righteousness, as we will see demonstrated below.

As with all negative applications of God’s gifts, the positive is subverted into a negative, and “the light is darkness.”

Ecc 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

Unless our ‘silver’ is of and for Christ, our own works and our own doctrines will not satisfy either us or our Lord.

Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Isa 1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it].
Isa 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
Isa 1:22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
Isa 1:23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

Eze 7:19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
Eze 22:18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they [are] brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.

Just as light becomes darkness, silver becomes dross. We are all guilty and must see this in ourselves.

Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Luk 11:35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.

The ‘light’ of righteous, redemptive silver can so easily be the darkness of self-righteous, condemning, blood money.

Joseph’s ten brothers sell him into slavery for twenty shekels of silver, affecting their own redemption

Gen 37:28 Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.

Gen 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

Gen 45:7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Christ was also sold for silver, affecting the redemption of all mankind

Mat 26:15 And [Judas] said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver [More about these thirty pieces of silver below].

Zec 11:12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give [me] my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty [pieces] of silver.
Zec 11:13 And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

Mat 27:5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
Mat 27:6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
Mat 27:7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.

What came of Judas’ betrayal of Christ? Just as Joseph’s betrayal was turned into the salvation of all of Egypt and Joseph’s family, so, too, Christ’s betrayal was turned into the salvation of all mankind:

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1Ti 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

How light is darkness – Why those in darkness never realize their light is darkness

Eze 16:8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.
Eze 16:9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
Eze 16:10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.
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.

Where else in scripture do we find a woman wearing a crown?

Rev 9:7 And the shapes of the locusts [were] like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads [were] as it were crowns like gold, and their faces [were] as the faces of men.
Rev 9:8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as [the teeth] of lions.

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 fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
Eze 16:14 And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it [was] perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 16:15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
Eze 16:16 And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: [the like things] shall not come, neither shall it be [so].
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,
Eze 16:18 And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
Eze 16:19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, [wherewith] I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and [thus] it was, saith the Lord GOD.
Eze 16:20 Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,
Eze 16:21 That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?

We all usurp God’s words as our own when we construct our idols out of God’s words and take credit for our own salvation:

Eze 28:4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:

Hos 2:8 For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.

Gold and silver first come from God, but after is is subverted it becomes “their silver and their gold…”

Hos 8:4 They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew [it] not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.

Hag 2:8 The silver is mine, and the gold, d is mine. saith the LORD of hosts.

Hos 13:2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.

Zep 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

Joseph’s brother’s were self-righteous

Joseph’s brothers, who represent you and me when we were in Babylon, felt good about what they had done. Joseph was robbing Reuben of his birthright as far as they were concerned. They felt justified and were very self-righteous in what they had done. They sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver, two pieces for each of the ten brothers. Just look at how they had justified the murder of an entire city of innocent men:

Gen 34:25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
Gen 34:26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out.
Gen 34:27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister.
Gen 34:28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which [was] in the city, and that which [was] in the field,
Gen 34:29 And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that [was] in the house.
Gen 34:30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I [being] few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.
Gen 34:31 And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?

Here is Judah’s attitude towards Tamar:

Gen 38:23 And Judah said, Let her take [it] to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
Gen 38:24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she [is] with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
Gen 38:25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.

Joseph’s ten brothers and you and I, were, in our appointed time, very self-righteous. We have all swapped Christ’s righteousness for our silver:

Amo 2:6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes.

Amo 8:6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? [false prophecies].

All of this is all of us in our spiritual infancy. All of this is us when first we had all of our Babylonian idols. We were very proud of all we had done and accomplished “of our own free will.”

Isa 48:10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Psa 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

Even the redemption and righteousness of Christ in us is subverted into darkness which appears as an angel of light. Silver can and does symbolize, not only Christ’s righteousness but, also “the works of men’s hands,” which means we assume that we have something to contribute towards our own salvation, which also includes our idols of the heart.

It is the inability to forfeit the flesh which drives our desire for self-righteousness, which is nothing but Babylonian silver that turns light into darkness. The unrecognized attitude that drives Babylon within us, is that it’s all right to lie, cheat and steal if it gets you the silver and the gold of Babylon, which we, as the first Adam, value more than life.

We must live the events in our Eden before we can face the giants in the land or the fiery trials of returning from Babylon.

[The next study in this series is here.]