GOLD

What do these dates and places have in common?
1849…California
1896-99…. The Klondike

It is Gold, by far the most precious of all substances in all of history.

U.S. Financier Bernard M. Baruch (1870-1965) said of Gold, “Gold has worked from Alexander’s time…. When something holds good for 2000 years. I do not believe it can be so because of prejudice or mistaken theory.”

Gold is a yellow coloured metallic element. Its chemical symbol is Au and comes in at #79 in the chemical charts with a mass of 196.967
(Ask Chas.).

In its most plentiful form it is found in ore, but there are minute traces of Gold found in seawater.

An ounce of Gold will cost you about £291.

An ounce of gold can vary in size, but on average it is probably about one cubic inch in size.

In order to extract 1oz of pure gold (a cubic inch), it is necessary to dig out up to 5 Tons of ore, that is 200 cubic feet!

A gram of gold can be drawn to a length of 2.4 Km.

The biggest nugget ever found contained 82.11 Kg of gold.

Gold has for centuries been used as an adornment, a measure of wealth and a symbol of greatness. In the 16th century the Spanish explorers Cortes and Pizarra were driven by lust for gold seeking to find the fabled City of Gold (El Dorado—the Golden one). They disappeared and their remains have never been found!

In Matthew 24 we read how the apostles were remarking on the beauty of the temple buildings, one of the reasons for the temple’s exquisiteness was the fact that almost everything was inlaid with pure gold. It is for this reason that the Lord’s prediction concerning the Temple’s destruction came true, in 70 AD when Titus sacked the city and burned the Temple the heat was so great that the gold melted and ran in between the stones. In order to get the gold the Romans dismantled the temple stone by stone; thus not one stone was left upon another that was not cast down!

The Bible tells us that there are some things more precious than gold: -

Wisdom—Job 28:12-28; Pro 3:13-18; 8:11-19
God’s Judgements—Ps 19:9-10
God’s Commandments—Ps 119:127
The Trial of one’s Faith—I Pe 1:3-7

If the trial of our faith is more precious than gold we ought not to be shocked when we are tried, I Pe 4:12-13.

For one thing, it produces patience, Jas 1:2-4.

Therefore we shouldn’t run away from trials, Heb 12:5-17

Readings

Prisoner Rejoice Ch 3 Pg 93

In God’s Underground Pg 90

Tortured for Christ Pg 32

I Pe 1: 3-7 What God has placed in us is as gold, but as we have seen an immense 5 tons of ore will produce only 1 oz of Gold. In order to retrieve this gold the ore must be smelted under intense heat, several thousands of degrees, and this is done with the aid of FIRE. Whatever the fiery trial we have to endure we should welcome it, for it is to this that we are called; I Pe 3:9; Phil 3:10

I Pe 4:12-13.

Let us consider Job, his patience during his trials. He lost everything, his wife constantly nagging him with grievous and angry words; his friends called his faith into question. Yet in spite of all this he hung on to his faith that God was with him in all his troubles! He didn’t blame anyone for all his misfortune; in fact he still praised God in spite of it!

Trials are necessary. In order to get the purest of gold the fire must be very hot, and the purification process repeated several times! In this way the impurities rise to the surface and can be removed. In a similar way, when under stress our impurities come to the surface. It is at this time when we must submit our will to God, denigh ourselves in order to yield to himself, to forgive when we feel we can’t, to love when we feel no love for that individual or group of individuals.

The stress of trials affects us all differently, but we must YEILD to God. Let us confess to him that we don’t feel like doing what He wants admitting it to God when we are struggling and seeking His salvation in all things! Thus He will remove the impurities away!

It grieves the Holy Spirit of God when His children resist His discipline. It may grieve us to obey, but it grieves Him more when we disobey!

©1998 JOHN HAYWORTH