- 2 Chronicles 4 lists the many items made of bronze and gold.
- It talks about Solomon making them, but it also talks about the man sent from Tyre doing the skilled work.
- I hope he had help and was apprenticing others!
- We get one little hint of how they worked. They seemed to create molds by digging into the ground, which was clay. Then they poured the metal into the clay mold.
- Solomon has bronze and pure gold items made. The forks and shovels are bronze; the tongs are gold.
- It stuck out to me how such an “ordinary” item was made of pure gold. We’re specifically told about the pure gold the tongs were made of.
- It reminded me of 2 Timothy 2:21. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
- We want to be a useful utensil, like a fork or tongs or a fire pan. We want to be of use in the Master’s house. We want to be ready for every good work.
- To be so used, we need to be set apart as holy. These utensils weren’t holy until they were consecrated. They were presented to the Lord to be cleansed on the altar by the blood.
- We are set apart by the blood of Christ and the finished work of the cross, but the verse says that we will be a vessel of honor if we cleanse ourselves from what is dishonorable. We have a responsibility in our cleansing.
- The next verse helps guide us in that.
- 2 Timothy 2:22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
- We need to flee youthful passions. We flee away from passions, the lusts of the flesh, desires, the indulgence of the flesh. Can you think of ways you indulge your flesh?
- We’re to crucify self and live as Christ. We’re to not let our flesh dictate to us, but instead live with Christ as our Lord.
- If Christ is our Lord, then we’ll pursue faith, righteousness, love and peace – in other words, pure gold.
