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A Study Of Silver: Chapter 5
Silver, The Idol Makers Metal Of Choice Anything that can be used for good can also be used for evil, and silver is no exception. We have seen in the previous chapter how an abundance of silver shows God’s blessing on both nations and individuals. Later we will see many more biblical uses of silver for good things, such as constructing and decorating the tabernacle and the temple. Silver Idols Forbidden To Be made Or Worshipped (Exo 20:23 NCV) You must not use gold or silver to make idols for yourselves; do not worship these gods in addition to me. When the Israelites came out of Egypt God warned them not to worship idols like the heathen nations. The practices of those nations are documented in the bible. Silver Used To Make Idols (Deu 29:17 NCV) You saw their hateful idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold. (Psa 115:4 NCV) Their idols are made of silver and gold, the work of human hands. (Psa 135:15 NCV) The idols of other nations are made of silver and gold, the work of human hands. (Isa 40:19 NCV) An idol is formed by a craftsman, and a goldsmith covers it with gold and makes silver chains for it. (Isa 46:6 NCV) Some people are rich with gold and weigh their silver on the scales. They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god. Then they bow down and worship it. (Jer 10:4 NCV) They decorate their idols with silver and gold. With hammers and nails they fasten them down so they won't fall over. (Jer 10:9 NCV) Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, so the idols are made by craftsmen and goldsmiths. They put blue and purple clothes on the idols. All these things are made by skilled workers. (Dan 11:8 NCV) He will take their gods, their metal idols, and their valuable things made of silver and gold back to Egypt... Even in the new testament idols continued to be worshipped. As far as making money goes being in the business of making idols was a prosperous trade. (Acts 19:24 NCV) A man named Demetrius, who worked with silver, made little silver models that looked like the temple of the goddess Artemis. Those who did this work made much money. While it may have been a prosperous trade in this life, the eternal punishment for leading people astray will far outweigh any material pleasures gained in this life by the riches obtained from it. Silver Idols To Be Burned God commanded the Israelites not to worship idols made from silver and gold or any other substance. He commanded that the Israelites destroy any idols the found of captured as the spoils of war. (Deu 7:25 NCV) Burn up their idols in the fire. Do not wish for the silver and gold they have, and don't take it for yourselves, or you will be trapped by it. The LORD your God hates it. The Israelites however, did not heed his command at all times, and very often fell into the sin of idol worship. An example of this is given in the book of Judges, when Micah, an Israelite made an idol and a shrine for himself from silver. (Judg 17:1-6 NIV) Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse--I have that silver with me; I took it." Then his mother said, "The LORD bless you, my son!" When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, "I solemnly consecrate my silver to the LORD for my son to make a carved image and a cast idol. I will give it back to you." So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into the image and the idol. And they were put in Micah's house. Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some idols and installed one of his sons as his priest. In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit. Micah made the shrine, and then he offered a Levite, a descendant of Aaron, the priestly tribe, the job of being a priest for the shrine. The Levite accepted the job and was paid with clothes, food, and some silver spending money. Even the priests in Israel were not beyond corruption. (Judg 17:7-12 NIV) A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of Judah, left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way he came to Micah's house in the hill country of Ephraim. Micah asked him, "Where are you from?" "I'm a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah," he said, "and I'm looking for a place to stay." Then Micah said to him, "Live with me and be my father and priest, and I'll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food." So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man was to him like one of his sons. Then Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house. This is not isolated incident, many people in Israel worshipped silver idols. The prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel and Hosea document their sins. (Isa 2:8 NCV) Their land is full of idols. The people worship these idols they made with their own hands and shaped with their own fingers. (Ezek 16:17 NCV) You also took your beautiful jewelry, made from my gold and silver I had given you, and you made for yourselves male idols so you could be a prostitute with them. (Hosea 13:2 NCV) But they still keep on sinning more and more. They make idols of their silver, idols that are cleverly made, the work of a craftsman. Yet the people of Israel say to each other, "Kiss those calf idols and sacrifice to them." The Dream Of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 2:31-45 NIV) "You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue--an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. "This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. "After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron--for iron breaks and smashes everything--and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands--a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. "The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy." Nebuchadnezzar’s dream gives us a snapshot of history with the most part being that at some time in the future God will set up his kingdom, which will last forever. It is interesting that silver was used a part of this description. The head of gold was the most valuable part, silver was second, and mentioned as inferior to the gold. It is the same today with gold being more valuable than silver. Not much has changed. The other materials used to construct were worth even less than the gold or the silver. Later the king, perhaps inspired by his dream, set up an image of gold and nearly everyone in his kingdom obeyed his command to fall down and worship a lifeless gold statue. There were three however who refused. Apparently Daniel’s was away on the kings business for he would also have refused had he been there. However, Daniel’s being away was a blessing for his three friends. It was an opportunity for them to exercise their faith on their own without Daniel’s encouragement. It was good for their personal spiritual growth. (Dan 3:1-7 NIV) King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it. Then the herald loudly proclaimed, "This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace." Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. (Dan 3:8-18 NIV) At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever! You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon--Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego--who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up." Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." (Dan 3:19-23 NIV) Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. (Dan 3:24-25 NIV) Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." (Dan 3:26-27 NIV) Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. (Dan 3:28-29 NIV) Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way." (Dan 3:30 NIV) Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to worship idols, even if they were to be killed for it. God saved then and then put it into the heart of the king to promote them. They did a great amount of good being a witness to the people of Babylon of the power of the Lord, the God of the bible. Belshazzar's Feast During the reign of Belshazzar he gave a great feast and used the royal vessels from the temple for his party. Included in the festivities was idol worship. This angered the Lord and he ended the reign of Belshazzar that very evening. (Dan 5:1-4 NIV) King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. (Dan 5:5-12 NIV) Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way. The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom." Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled. The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. "O king, live forever!" she said. "Don't be alarmed! Don't look so pale! There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father--your father the king, I say--appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. This man Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means." (Dan 5:13-17 NIV) So Daniel was brought before the king, and the king said to him, "Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom. The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not explain it. Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom." (Dan 5:17-23 NIV) Then Daniel answered the king, "You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means. "O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes. "But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. King Belshazzar should have known better than to worship idols and to desecrate the holy items used for temple worship. His fate after doing so shows us the futility of worshipping idols of silver and gold. They are no help in a time of trouble. Only the Lord can help us when we need it, not lifeless idols, no matter what valuable material they may be made of. (Dan 5:24-29 NIV) Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription. "This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. "This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. (Dan 5:30-31 NIV) That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two. Some may say, well, that was then and this is now. No one in these modern time would be foolish enough to ever worship idols. According to the bible that will not be the case in the end times. (Hab 2:19 NCV) How terrible it will be for the one who says to a wooden statue, 'Come to life!' How terrible it will be for the one who says to a silent stone, 'Get up!' It cannot tell you what to do. It is only a statue covered with gold and silver; there is no life in it. (Rev 9:20 NCV) The other people who were not killed by these terrible disasters still did not change their hearts and turn away from what they had made with their own hands. They did not stop worshipping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood--things that cannot see or hear or walk. There are still idol worshippers in the world today and there will be until Christ returns. We know that because the prophecies in the book of Revelation have not yet been fulfilled, and in the times when they are fulfilled there will be idol worship occurring in the world. After Christs return though, idol worship will finally be a thing of the past, which will be a great blessing, especially for the Israelites. (Isa 2:20 NCV) At that time people will throw away their gold and silver idols, which they made for themselves to worship; they will throw them away to the bats and moles. (Isa 30:22 NCV) You have statues covered with silver and gold, but you will ruin them for further use. You will throw them away like filthy rags and say, "Go away!" (Isa 31:7 NCV) The time is coming when each of you will stop worshiping idols of gold and silver, which you sinned by making. So then, we see that although silver has a great many worthwhile uses, making idols from it is not one of them. It is sin and God's anger due to that sin only brings judgment, followed by sorrow. So then, let's use our silver for good, not evil. We will be better off that way. |
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