When Pork is Beef – Part 2
Now it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, that Shishak the king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and he took everything, even taking all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. So King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place [1 Kings 14:25-27].
We concluded our last study by noting that there is an important detail in the verses just quoted, but that this detail is usually, if not always, overlooked. Let’s continue on in that vein now.
In the Bible and especially in the Old Testament, the Lord employed visible physical realities to teach us invisible spiritual truths. This is one of those times. Rehoboam was Solomon’s son. He became king after Solomon.
Well, King Rehoboam sinned against the Lord by practicing idolatry. This was why the Lord permitted Shishak king of Egypt to invade Jerusalem and deprive King Rehoboam of his wealth. Shishak was the Lord’s tool to judge and punish Rehoboam, you see.
We must needs digress for a moment. In the Law of Moses there were two altars in the tabernacle worship structure. One was made of gold and the other of bronze. The gold altar was used to offer incense to the Lord. It was inside the tent of meeting, outside the veil where the Lord dwelt. That location symbolized heaven. It typified man’s interaction with the Lord. Gold was a type of heaven, the antitype.
The bronze altar, contrariwise, was located outside the entrance to the tent of meeting. It was used to present blood offerings to the Lord. Those blood offerings represented the offerer. All men are sinners and the wages of sin is death. The Lord provided the Israelites a temporary reprieve from dying for their sins by allowing them to substituting animals to die on the bronze altar in their stead.
Bronze represented God’s judgment against sin, you see. It was outside the tent of meeting, outside the location where the Lord dwelt in the midst of His people Israel. Sin had to be judged before anyone could enter the presence of the Lord.
So gold represented heaven, holiness, the Lord’s presence, while bronze represented God’s judgment against sin. Let’s keep this context in mind, as we depart our digression and return to 1 Kings.
In 1 Kings 14 Solomon had GOLD shields. The symbolism of gold denoted a good thing, that the Kingdom of Israel was right with the Lord. But when Solomon and then Rehoboam practiced idolatry, Israel was no longer right with the Lord. Consequently the Lord had the gold shields taken to Egypt. When Rehoboam replaced them, he made the replacements of bronze, symbolizing God’s judgment on Israel because of her sin of idolatry. Two types of shields, one beef the other pork. Or was that one bronze the other gold?
When we come to recognize suchlike details in Scripture, it makes the Bible come alive. We learn so much more and the Bible becomes exciting. In all five volumes of my Heavenly Citizens series, I go into lengthy detail to bring out these nuances. Allow me to encourage you, yea, even exhort you, to get your copies. May the name of the Lord Jesus be exalted!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
We concluded our last study by noting that there is an important detail in the verses just quoted, but that this detail is usually, if not always, overlooked. Let’s continue on in that vein now.
In the Bible and especially in the Old Testament, the Lord employed visible physical realities to teach us invisible spiritual truths. This is one of those times. Rehoboam was Solomon’s son. He became king after Solomon.
Well, King Rehoboam sinned against the Lord by practicing idolatry. This was why the Lord permitted Shishak king of Egypt to invade Jerusalem and deprive King Rehoboam of his wealth. Shishak was the Lord’s tool to judge and punish Rehoboam, you see.
We must needs digress for a moment. In the Law of Moses there were two altars in the tabernacle worship structure. One was made of gold and the other of bronze. The gold altar was used to offer incense to the Lord. It was inside the tent of meeting, outside the veil where the Lord dwelt. That location symbolized heaven. It typified man’s interaction with the Lord. Gold was a type of heaven, the antitype.
The bronze altar, contrariwise, was located outside the entrance to the tent of meeting. It was used to present blood offerings to the Lord. Those blood offerings represented the offerer. All men are sinners and the wages of sin is death. The Lord provided the Israelites a temporary reprieve from dying for their sins by allowing them to substituting animals to die on the bronze altar in their stead.
Bronze represented God’s judgment against sin, you see. It was outside the tent of meeting, outside the location where the Lord dwelt in the midst of His people Israel. Sin had to be judged before anyone could enter the presence of the Lord.
So gold represented heaven, holiness, the Lord’s presence, while bronze represented God’s judgment against sin. Let’s keep this context in mind, as we depart our digression and return to 1 Kings.
In 1 Kings 14 Solomon had GOLD shields. The symbolism of gold denoted a good thing, that the Kingdom of Israel was right with the Lord. But when Solomon and then Rehoboam practiced idolatry, Israel was no longer right with the Lord. Consequently the Lord had the gold shields taken to Egypt. When Rehoboam replaced them, he made the replacements of bronze, symbolizing God’s judgment on Israel because of her sin of idolatry. Two types of shields, one beef the other pork. Or was that one bronze the other gold?
When we come to recognize suchlike details in Scripture, it makes the Bible come alive. We learn so much more and the Bible becomes exciting. In all five volumes of my Heavenly Citizens series, I go into lengthy detail to bring out these nuances. Allow me to encourage you, yea, even exhort you, to get your copies. May the name of the Lord Jesus be exalted!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
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