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. 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.