Seven Footsteps to the Throne
Part 1
A few weeks ago, we looked into the quality of "slaughtered gold" as one of the seven types of gold in Scripture. This week we'll pick up from there and examine the qualities of some of the others of the seven types of gold. No wonder that there are seven kinds, for the symbolism of the number seven is perfection. In the Mishkan was good gold, but also in the Temple that King Solomon built. In the Temple (the House) and his palace, there were seven kinds of good gold, representing Israel as a nation refined and prepared to beautify the dwelling place of the Holy Presence of Adonai.
If the Footsteps of Messiah are on the horizon, and each generation must behave as though they are, then knowing the degree of refinement necessary to be "good" in Jerusalem is to be informed of the price we pay for seeking the Torah, which is "more to be desired than gold, yes, than much fine gold." The First Mention of Gold was the Good Gold in Havilah, the inner precincts of the Garden of Eden.
Messiah is approaching to restore Good Gold to their inheritance in the Garden. Should we wait until we literally see Messiah Yeshua to prepare for our once and future home in Jerusalem? Or should we go beyond knowing what Good is by much study, yet never becoming the Goodness of Adonai that adorns His House? Lots of people know what good is. That doesn't mean they know how to be good according to that head knowledge.
Here is a description of some of the good gold in the Mikdash (Temple):
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“He overlaid the main room with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold [Zahav tov]; and he ornamented it with palm trees and chains.
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Further, he overlaid the house with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim.
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He also overlaid the house with gold—the beams, the thresholds, and its walls and doors; and he carved cherubim on the walls.
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Then he made the room of the Most Holy Place: its length across the width of the house was twenty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits; and he overlaid it with fine gold [Zahav tov], amounting to six hundred talents. (2 Ch 3:6-8)
Here's a recap of the seven kinds of gold:
Good, Tov, Gold [2 Ch 3:5 “זָהָב טוֹב”]
Pure, Tahor, Gold [2 Ch 3:4 “זָהָב טָהֽוֹר”]
Closed, Sagur, Gold [1 Ki 6:20 “זָהָב סָגוּר”]
Slaughtered, Shachut, Gold [1 Ki 10:17; 2 Ch 9:16 “זָהָב שָׁחוּט”]
Mufaz Gold [1 Ki 10:18 “זָהָב מוּפָֽז”]
Refined, Mezukak, Gold [1 Ch 28:18; 29:4 “זָהָב מְזֻקָּק”]
Fruitful, Parvayim, Gold [2 Ch 3:6 “זְהַב פַּרְוָֽיִם”]
Pure, or tahor, gold was used to overlay the porch in front of the Temple. It became the threshhold covering for those entering the house. "Tahor" is also the state of ritual purity, so its use on the porch suggests it is a prerequisite for crossing into and entering the holier spaces of His Presence:
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The porch which was in front of the house was as long as the width of the house, twenty cubits, and the height twenty; and inside he overlaid it with pure [tahor] gold. (2 Ch 3:4)
Learning ritual purity and practicing family purity are how Good Gold can prepare now. Even eating kosher is practicing the purities necessary to enter the holy spaces of the House. The Midrash to Song of Songs 3:17 says:
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“Tahor gold is so named because they would place it in a smelting furnace and it would lose nothing.” 3§17
That's incredible. Imagine that all our tests and trials refine us to the point that the gold going into the test is so pure that exactly the same purity of gold comes out the other side! Good gold in, good gold out! Our unfruitful work is burned with fire so all that is left is tahor, or pure gold fit for dwelling in the Garden/Temple:
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According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. (1 Co 3:10-17)
Another type of gold was used in the inner sanctuary:
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The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height; and he overlaid it with pure [sagur] gold. He also paneled the altar with cedar. (1 Ki 6:20)
Sagur means “closed.” In modern Hebrew, if you strike a deal with someone, you say, “Sagur!” It is the equivalent of sealing the deal by shaking hands.
The root of it, sagar, also may be understood at the simple level. It is gold enclosed in the Garden, protected from the outer, darker elements. It enjoys the spiritual light of the menorah. The Midrash gives other examples of significance:
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"From zahav sagur, closed gold, all the utensils for the Holy Temple were made-the jugs, the musical instruments, the bowls, the spoons, the pans, and the [potot]. Potot were thought to be hinges."
The vessels of the Temple and even the musical instruments were "closed" gold. This suggests those who have guarded their hearts so zealously that the Beast's many systems have not polluted their hearts. They are closed to the systems of Babylon, closed in their covenant with Adonai. Because they have the praises of music and guarded hearts, they are precious vessels, both beautiful and useful!
Gold and silver are also euphemisms for the Jews who returned to Israel from Babylon to rebuild the Holy City and the Temple:
- “Also the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned and brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.” (Ezra 6:5)
The caution is that in Babylon, many were tempted to assimilate into the benefits of the Babylonian systems of commerce, politics, sexuality, arts, etc. The Midrash goes on to caution the sanctified, precious vessels who want to return to the Jerusalem:
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“If one emulates King Menashe and brings an ‘idol into the Temple,’ that is, if he allows foreign desires and ambitions to take root in his heart, his spiritual power will wither and stop bearing their sanctifying fruit.” 3§18
The Apostle Paul echoes this caution in his letter to the Thessalonians:
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For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; and that no one violate the rights and take advantage of his brother or sister in the matter, because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you previously and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in sanctification. Therefore, the one who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you. (1 Th 4:2-8)
Perhaps the greatest threat to closed gold is sexual immorality. How important it is to guard our hearts and our children's from Babylon's influences today. Closed gold accepts Adonai as the Elohim over all. Paul says that one who rejects the sanctified, faithful life of closed gold vessels doesn't just reject something a human being says, but rejects "the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you."
Next week, we'll continue with an overview of more kinds of Good Gold.
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