God develops the idea of the perfect jewel throughout his holy word. The idea begins with the fact that God created man from the dust of the ground, that is, from the minerals which make up the earth itself. All of the world’s stones and jewels consist of these same basic elements, except that they take on different forms. Dust, of course, represents one of the most unrefined example of the elemental building blocks of the earth. It is almost useless while simply “dust” and has to be worked upon to become something of value.
Dictionaries define a jewel as “a precious stone.” A stone is “concreted earthy or mineral matter.” One could say that a stone is “hardened dust.” A jewel could thus be defined as “precious dust.” God created man from the dust of the ground. All organic compounds, including man, include the element carbon, so the dust God used to create man must have included carbon. Science teaches that intense pressure turns common carbon into diamond. Spiritually, God works upon this dust he called man, each of us men and women, with pinpoint pressure in order to turn us, like carbon in the natural, into spiritual diamonds, spiritual jewels.
One of the first parables, or prophetic historical stories, which sheds light on this process occur in the Book of Deuteronomy. There we read,
1 Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying: “Keep all the commandments which I command you today. 2 And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. 3 You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the LORD your God is giving you, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’[a] just as the LORD God of your fathers promised you. 4 Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. 5 And there you shall build an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones; you shall not use an iron tool on them. 6 You shall build with whole stones the altar of the LORD your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God. 7 You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before the LORD your God. 8 And you shall write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.”
9 Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, “Take heed and listen, O Israel: This day you have become the people of the LORD your God. 10Therefore you shall obey the voice of the LORD your God, and observe His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.” (Deuteronomy 27:1-10, NKJV)
Moses here introduces us to the principle that God requires that the materials for his worship be prepared “outside the camp.” He reveals here that God will not have tools worked upon his stones at the place where they are ultimately used. This means that God’s stones must be ready before they can be used. He fully prepares them away from the final work site. Second, this passage shows that God’s stones will have his word, his law written upon them.
We see the first principle appear again when Solomon built God’s majestic temple in Jerusalem,
And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. (1 Kings 6:7)
Later, concerning this second idea, Isaiah says,
Hearken unto me, you that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear you not the reproach of men, neither be you afraid of their revilings. (Isaiah 51:7 KJ2000)
Paul applies this principle to believers in Christ, saying,
Since you are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. (2 Corinthians 3:3 KJ2000)
Then Peter teaches us,
You also, as living stones, are built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5 KJ2000)
Finally, we see the two Mosaic principles discussed above carried forward to the very end of the Bible where God reveals his Bride, the Bride of Christ, as New Jerusalem descending from heaven. In Revelation 21 God describes her as a holy city built with all types of precious stones. This pictures the perfected saints wherein no sin can even enter. God’s Law, the perfection of his ways, has now been fully written upon her heart. Having thus been perfected she now appears to mankind in glory, ready to take her throne with Christ, ready to rule with him. She, the Bride of Christ, New Jerusalem, the Overcomers, the Remnant, the Sons and Daughters of God, is the perfect jewel of prophesy. She is the crown of creation, that which God has slowly, but deliberately, made from the dust of the ground!
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