Steemchurch: Gold, shiny metal and biblical symbol

It was the year 1530. The Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, knows the Muiscas, an indigenous tribe that lived in the Cundiboyacense Altiplano, in Colombia. Amazed, listen to the story of a unique Muisca ceremony: the election of a new Chief of the tribe.

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When Cacique Muisca died, the new Cacique was recognized before his tribe, by means of a ceremony, which took place in one place: the Guatavita lagoon. On the shore, moque (indigenous incense), resins and other perfumes were burned. The priests of the tribe anointed the new Cacique with a sticky mass of earth, mixed with powdered gold. And at their feet, they placed a lot of gold and emeralds. Mounted on a raft, he left the shore, and in the midst of the music and the hubbub of the people, he reached the center of the lagoon. There, in the midst of silence, the new Cacique threw himself into the water, and threw into the lagoon all the gold and emerald offerings he brought in the raft. He returned to the shore, being the new Cacique.

What happen after?

This story was told among the conquistadors, extending through northern South America, descended to Peru, and from there passed, a few years later, to the Río de la Plata. With the addition of more fascinating details, product of the imagination and greed that awakened to find a lagoon full of gold and precious stones, a legend emerged: the Golden Legend. And the mere mention of this story symbolizes the desire to find the greatest and invaluable treasure, at all costs.

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Gold ... What is it? Why does so much imagination awaken? It's a soft, yellow coloured precious metal. Its chemical symbol is Au, from the Latin aurum, which means "bright dawn". Gold is mentioned in the Bible, as part of the beauty and incalculable wealth that was in Eden:

The name of the first river is Piso; it is that which surrounds the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good.
Genesis 2: 11-12

Gold is more than a precious metal. It is used in the Scriptures to symbolize several things. One of them is wealth. But, if we compare gold with divine wisdom, which is worth more?

We can find the answer of 3 very rich and powerful different characters, who possessed immense fortunes in pure gold: Job, and the kings Solomon and Hezekiah:

The purest gold can not be given in exchange for it (divine wisdom), and silver can not be weighed as its price.
Job
Job 28:15

Happy is the man who has found wisdom, and the man who gets discernment, 14 because having it as a gain is better than having money as a profit; and having it as a product, than gold itself.
Solomon
Proverbs 3: 13-14

Getting wisdom is oh, how much better than gold! And getting understanding has to be chosen more than silver.
Solomon
Proverbs 16:16

That is why I loved your commandments more than gold, even if it is refined gold.
Hezekiah
Psalm 119: 127

Finding gold takes an arduous effort, time, hard work, having the right tools and patience. The gain of those who find gold, is to have wealth, a comfortable and prosperous life. Getting gold, or having it, is good. However, the value of finding divine wisdom is greater. So gold, for what it represents in effort to find it, and its value, is a symbol of divine wisdom. It symbolizes the divine, that which is of more value than the simple and everyday.

The most important elements of the Tabernacle, or Temple of God, were made of gold, as indicated by the biblical account that describes the Most Holy, the place where the Ark of the Covenant was, symbol of the Presence of Jehovah:

Behind the second curtain was the compartment of the store called "Santísimo". 4 In this there was a golden censer and the ark of the covenant covered with gold everywhere, in which were the golden jar that contained the manna and the rod of Aaron that threw buttons and the tables of the covenant; 5 and above it were the glorious cherubs who covered the propitiatory cover with their shadow. But now is not the time to talk in detail about these things.

Hebrews 9: 3-5

Gold is also a symbol of divinity, royalty, authority, divine power, the light of God and his presence. Therefore, the descriptions that are made of the Throne of God, include gold. In the Bible, references made to God, Jesus Christ, or the New Jerusalem include gold.

Gold also symbolizes a spiritual quality: faith. This is indicated in 1 Peter 1: 7:

Gold, though perishable, is refined by fire. So also your faith, which is worth much more than gold, to be purified by the proofs will show that it is worthy of approval, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Christians understand that we must have faith. What kind of faith? One that is of excellent quality, worthy of the approval and pleasure of God. How do we achieve a faith of that kind? The apostle Peter compares the proofs, or difficulties, to the refining, or refining of gold.

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Let's put it this way: the tests, or difficulties that we have, serve a purpose: to refine our faith. So that at the time of the so-called "revelation" of Jesus Christ, it is found for God to approve it. And that would bring us approval, glory and honor. Is it nice to have to face problems? No. God describes himself as a Refiner:

And he will have to sit down as a refiner and cleaner of silver and he will have to cleanse the sons of Levi; and he will have to clarify them as gold and as silver, and they will certainly become for Jehovah people who present a gift offering in righteousness.
Malachi 3: 3

God refines, cleanses, and clarifies, spiritually, just as an expert refiner does. When one has problems to face, there are points to improvement. Should we have more patience? Improve the quality of prayers to God? Or maybe you need to have a broader view of things? We will not know, unless we go through a difficulty. God does not get us into the problem. But it can serve to help us give clarity about oneself, about how to learn to react in the midst of adverse situations. And what happens if the problem seems to last longer than what one wanted or expected? It is worth trusting that God causes "all things to cooperate for the good" of oneself, that this difficulty has a blessing for one.

With a positive attitude, trusting in God, and doing things as well as possible in the midst of difficulties, our faith can be an excellent gold, found to be approved by God.