Throughout the Bible, “dust” signified insignificance or finiteness. When Abraham spoke to God, he humbly declared that he was “but dust and ashes” (Gen. 18:27). God “raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap” (Ps. 113:7), but he “tramples kings underfoot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow” (Isa. 41:2). When you read the Old Testament, it’s important not to underestimate the amount of meaning that the physical imagery is trying to convey.
