The Gospel of Isaiah: Ch. 54:11-12, Precious Jewels and Gemstones
The Gospel of Isaiah: Ch. 54:11-12, Precious Jewels and Gemstones.
WANTED: An imaginative scribe who can write exquisite poetry. A faithful, articulate believer in Yahweh who can switch from one extreme to another at the Lord’s command… from a sublime vision of God’s glory, to a ridiculous demonstration of shameful nakedness; from confronting the people over their sinfulness, to comforting people with hopefulness; from being an outspoken messenger one minute, to a living object lesson the next; from having one foot in the immediate surroundings one minute, to one foot in the future messianic realm the next. Must be adaptable, thick-skinned, and extraordinarily brave. Person who answers, “Here I am. Send me!” will be especially considered. (from The Jerusalem Post, 740 BC).
“O afflicted city, storm-tossed and troubled, I am ready to rebuild you with precious stones of turquoise, and lay your foundations with lapis lazuli. I will make your towers shine with rubies, your gates with sparkling garnets, and all your encircling walls with delightful gemstones.” (54:11-12).
Q. = What inanimate objects in nature play a significant role in the biblical story, literally from the beginning of Genesis all the way to the conclusion of Revelation?
A. = Gemstones and Jewels. Scripture found precious gems to be perfect for illustrating the divine beauty of God’s glory as well as the natural beauty of God’s creation; the durability of a product of the earth as well as the resilient faithfulness of God’s love; the natural varieties of color, texture, size, and shape found in God’s creation; the extraordinary splendor and majesty of God’s essence; the sparkle of natural light as well the brilliance of spiritual light; the priceless value of a natural product as well as the priceless value of spiritual riches. On the one hand, precious stones are so unique and distinguished in nature that they are a world unto itself. Hence their unlimited value and popularity. On the other hand, we see them everywhere in history, especially biblical history, and so have become a major part of our world as well. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the names and identities of most of the gemstones mentioned in the Bible are uncertain and questionable. In some cases, the names of the gems have changed from the ancient world to the present world. And recent research has discovered that some of the precious stones mentioned in Scripture, like diamonds for instance, were most likely not even present in the Middle East during ancient days. Nonetheless, precious stones were mentioned right at the beginning of prehistory, in the middle of the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 2:12, “… And the gold of that land is exceptionally pure; bdellium and onyx stone are also there.” Various translations mention, instead, everything from carbuncles to emeralds, from lapis lazuli to carnelians. It’s clear that Creator God saw fit to provide precious stones in the very beginnings of the earth, making sure Paradise was rich in beauty and natural resources. It’s interesting that these gems mentioned here were later used in the making of the Tabernacle and the Temple, intending to return to the innocence and beauty of the Garden. Much later in Ezekiel 28, the spiritual beauty and richness in the Garden before man’s rebellion was symbolized by the listing of precious stones… “You were in Eden, the Garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, clear crystal quartz, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire and lapis lazuli, emerald and carbuncle…” (Ez. 28:13). It’s not clear if these gems mentioned were symbols of the priceless beauty in the Garden, or if they were literally in Eden right from the beginning. It wouldn’t be surprising if these gems were tucked away in the Garden at the very start of the earth’s existence. After all, God the Artist values beauty for its own sake, He receives great pleasure in things of beauty, and would surely love to bless the earth in that extravagant way. And what did Creator God do after His six days, or was it a billion years, of creative work? “Then God looked over all He had made, and He saw that it was very good!” (Genesis 1:31). The Lord took stock of the beginning of His creation, and was supremely pleased with His initial handiwork that got things going. He delighted in the finished product of His introductory efforts. God didn’t say “good enough,” He didn’t even say “good” when He was completed with creation. God said, “Very Good!” The Hebrew word actually means, “Excellent! Beautiful! Just what I was hoping for!” I would imagine that for God to say “Beautiful!“… precious stones had to be involved in there somewhere.
Exodus 24:10. “And all the elders of Israel went up to the top of Mt. Sinai, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under His feet as it were a pavement of lapis lazuli (sapphire stone), like the very heaven for clearness.” One assumes, since a mere mortal cannot see the face of God and survive, all these elders saw of God was His feet on the clear blue pavement. Most scholars now say it was lapis lazuli that was seen on Sinai, the precious stone that is a brilliant sky-blue color with gold flecks. This precious stone represented the heavenly throne of God in all its purity, majesty and splendor. This was a profound mystical vision of the Lord on His throne with the sky and its golden stars at his feet. Not only that, but this scene with lapis lazuli is also the only stone mentioned during all this time on Mt. Sinai. And immediately after this vision of God’s majestic pavement here, the Lord said that He would give to Moses the “tablets of stone” with the Law and the Commandments for their instruction. (24:12). Therefore, it is rabbinic tradition that the Law was inscribed on lapis lazuli, the beautiful precious stone bearing the very handwriting of the Holy Spirit! This makes perfect sense, the Finger of God writing on one of His precious stones! The stone was a brilliant blue and was later reverently stored in the Ark of the Covenant. No wonder they wanted to keep it forever… this stone was precious in more ways than one! And then why did the Lord soon after this scene order that sky-blue must be one of the colors of the sacred tassel? No doubt, this was a direct reference to the Law inscribed on the intensely blue lapis lazuli. Awesome!
Exodus 28:2,15-21. “You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty… You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. You shall set in it four rows of precious stones: A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; the second row has an emerald, lapis lazuli, and a clear quartz crystal; the third row has jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; the fourth row has beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree.” Yahweh wanted Aaron to be distinctive in his role of high priest. Aaron’s identity was firmly established in the minds of the people whenever they saw him because of his holy garments. Aaron wore a set of clothing that distinguished him as high priest. His sacred garments set him apart from the people, and it reinforced in his own mind that he was called to a serious business with God and with the people. Aaron’s high priestly uniform pieces were made to be “glorious and beautiful.” Rabbinic sources state that the garments were not intended to be just strikingly attractive in their own right, but also made for “the glory of God and for the beauty of His presence.” His holy garments with these precious gems were made to reflect the very glory and beauty of Yahweh. So nothing but the finest of materials were used, and even the tailors producing these garments were specially gifted for this project by the Lord Himself. Over the high priest’s brilliant blue robe would be a beautiful, multi-colored ephod, an apron-like long vest that would be the anchor-point of the breastplate. On each shoulder of the ephod was placed a stone, six names on each of the two shoulders, that represented the High Priest’s bearing all twelve tribes of Israel up in his intercession and service onto the Lord in the Tabernacle. It truly represented the glory and beauty and magnificence of the Lord. Over the ephod the High Priest would put on the breastplate. It was like a pouch, 9 inches square, hanging by golden ropes in all four corners to the ephod. This is a sacred vestment visibly displaying 12 precious stones. The four rows of these precious stones, three in each row, represented all twelve tribes of Israel. All these stones were placed in pure gold settings on the breastplate. These priceless gems told the people that the High Priest was responsible to intercede for all the people before God, and that he would hold them close to his heart. The precious gems were permanently fixed to the breastplate, representing the permanent covenant God has with His Chosen People. The stones, being so irreplaceable, reminded the people that they were special to Yahweh, priceless treasures to the Lord God.
Revelation 4:2-3. “At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with One seated on the throne. And He who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.” What a glorious vision! John is attempting to describe the indescribable glory of the Lord by bringing to mind these three precious stones… Jasper, a brilliant light green symbol of glory in its clear, bright splendor; Carnelian, a translucent, glassy stone that is a gorgeous shade of blood-red; Emerald, a word that can also be translated “flashing of light.” What a sight this must have been to describe, with John referring to a deep green crystal light surrounding the throne of God, a halo circle going fully around the presence of God that gave him the impression of a rainbow but with a whole different color scheme. The rainbow of course points to God’s covenant promise with Noah to faithfully protect the earth from destruction. Evidently, John believed that God’s glory was best described by envisioning precious stones in all their glory.
Revelation 21:10-11, 19-2o. “And the angel carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the shekinah glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal… The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of precious stone…” And believe it or not, John goes on to repeat the same list of jewels from Aaron’s breastplate in Exodus 28 as he described the walls of the New Jerusalem. One translator wondered if John was combining these two visually stunning spectacles to somehow provide a glimpse of divine perfection. After all, John gives us an explosion of color and beauty here… The list of gemstones represented light green, deep sky blue with gold flecks, a milky blue-green turquoise, a deep green crystal, a pure white, a blood-red, a gold-olive, a sea green-blue, a gorgeous yellow-green, a violet blue, a shining purple, and a topaz stone that shows lots of colors because it is transparent and reveals the variety of colors of its impurities. Can anyone imagine such a riot of brilliant colors gleaming for all to see? God wanted the eternal city to be a thing of beauty, and as John Keats once wrote, “A thing of beauty lasts forever.”
Zechariah 9:16-17. “On that day the Lord Yahweh their God will save them as the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown sparkling in His land, like the precious stones catching all the colors of the sun as they are gleaming over His countryside. How great is God’s goodness and how great His beauty!” The gemstones here, according to many early church theologians, represent the godly people who “sparkle” in the world, the jewels being pictures of righteous people doing virtuous deeds and thus residing in the glorious crown of God. Is that what Jesus meant when He called us to be lights in this world? Did He mean that we are to be like the shining, gleaming lights of precious stones, blessing the world with color and stability and resilience, making His world a more righteous and beautiful place?
1 Peter 2:4-6. “As you come to Jesus, a Living Stone, rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves are living stones being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious…” So here Peter presents us with the glorious picture of Jesus being the ultimate “precious stone,” the jewel hand-chosen out of all the gemstones in the sacred mine, the “living stone” that sparkles with life and vitality as it reflects the spectrum of the light from the Father. And consequently, so we are the same… living, precious stones, shining jewels on the walls of the spiritual house being built by our Craftsman Lord. Mirroring the foundation walls of the New Jerusalem, we are God’s gemstones that comprise His house, the Church. We are called to absorb His life and reflect God’s glory-light like a precious jewel, being filled with His light and shining it outwards for all to see. We, like precious stones, are each unique, our gemstone properties display a color, shape, size, texture and purpose all our own. And also like precious stones, we learn to submit to the jeweler as He cuts away the impurities in our rough state, allowing Him to transform us from a homely and unformed stone into a polished and beautiful jewel to reflect God’s glory.