The Spiritual Significance of Metals in Scripture Silver (part 3) Silver's Negative Application by Mike Vinson Introduction By way of review, let's look again at Strong's definition of silver: H3701 - כסף keseph keh'-sef From H3700; silver (from its pale color); by implication money: - money, price, silver (-ling). When we look at 3700, the Hebrew root for this Hebrew word 'keseph,' we find this: H3700 כסף kâsaph kaw-saf' A primitive root; properly to become pale, that is, (by implication) to pine after; also to fear: - [have] desire, be greedy, long, sore. But this is how this word is used: H3700 כסף 1
kâsaph Total KJV Occurrences: 5 - desire, 1 - Job_14:15; desired, 1 - Zep_2:1; greedy, 1 - Psa_17:12; longedst, 1 - Gen_31:30; longeth, 1 - Psa_84:2 So silver is connected with the concept of strong 'desire,' be it for good or bad. For example: Gen 31:30 And now, [though] thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst [Hebrew - kasaf] after thy father's house, [yet] wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? Psa 84:2 My soul longeth [Hebrew - kasaph], yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Job 14:15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire [Hebrew - kasaph] to the work of thine hands. And this as a negative application: Psa 17:12 Like as a lion that is greedy [Hebrew - kasaph] of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. Zep 2:1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired [Hebrew - kasaph]; "Kasaph, " meaning 'strong desire,' is the Hebrew root from which "keseph," the Hebrew word for silver is taken. There is great spiritual significance for that fact. Silver, is not a common or base metal. It is very valuable, very desirable and is associated with 'strong desire.' Just as the base metals, lead, tin, iron, and copper, all typify what is refined out of the earth and yet is so plentiful that is has little value 2
compared to precious metals, and is considered to be common and cheap, so to the precious metals portray for us God's view of the opposite end of the spectrum. Precious metals portray for us, spiritually, what is rare and expensive and highly valued, or highly desired by God. There are only two precious metals mentioned in God's Word. Remember the significance of the number two is 'witness.' Those two metals are silver and gold. Our study this week is the spiritual significance of silver in scripture. As always we will start out with the negative application, the "dark side" of silver in the Word of God. But before we go into that any farther let's refresh our memory of silver's primary precious, and positive application as the symbol in scripture for both atonement and redemption and as a symbol of the righteousness of the saints through "Christ in you." Silver as Atonement and Redemption Exo 30:15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when [they] give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. Exo 30:16 And thou shalt take the atonement money [Hebrew - keseph - silver] of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. [He was valued at thirty pieces of silver] Mat 26:15 And [Judas] said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 3
Silver as Righteousness Before we show the use of silver as self righteousness, let's first show it' symbolism as righteousness. Silver is always associated with Christ and His righteousness. 1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 1Co 3:13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 1Co 3:14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 1Co 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. 1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. We defile God's temple when we live lives unbecoming the children of God. But even in God's house there are both precious and base metals. 2Ti 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 4
Silver's Negative Application As we saw last week, silver placed on top of copper witnesses to the fact that we have taken credit for God's righteousness. What did Christ admonish us all? Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. "Abiding in me" is typified by pillars of gold in sockets of silver: Exo 26:32 And thou shalt hang it [the veil] upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. This is contrasted with pillars of copper with silver bands and hooks on sockets of copper: Exo 27:9 And let there be an open space round the House, with hangings for its south side of the best linen, a hundred cubits long. Exo 27:10 Their twenty pillars and their twenty bases are to be of brass ; the hooks of the pillars and their bands are to be of silver. Does this mean 'You can do nothing good without me?' Or does it mean 'nothing?' Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now lets look at how the metals that make up Nebuchadnezzars image are ordered: 5
Dan 2:27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise [men], the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; Dan 2:28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; Dan 2:29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came [into thy mind] upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. Dan 2:30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for [any] wisdom that I have more than any living, but for [their] sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart. Dan 2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness [was] excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof [was] terrible. Dan 2:32 This image's head [was] of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, Dan 2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. The silver on the top of the copper pillars of the court of the tabernacle tells us the same thing that a silver breast and arms on top of a copper belly and thighs, tells us. When ever we see these two metals so arranged with the silver over the copper, we know that we are dealing with the power, strength and self righteousness of the flesh, the beast. We will see later what becomes of all the metals that are in Babylon, even Babylon's precious metals. So there are four metals in five kingdoms mentioned in the story of Nebuchadnezzar's dream of this image. But for those with "eyes to see," this is all about one single beast, with all of these various characteristics brought together in that one self righteous, very powerful, very religious beast. 6
These same four kingdoms are mentioned again in Daniel chapter seven: Dan 7:1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, [and] told the sum of the matters. Dan 7:2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. Dan 7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. Dan 7:4 The first [was] like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. Dan 7:5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and [it had] three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. Dan 7:6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. Dan 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it [was] diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. But it is in the book of Revelation that we learn that all these Old Testament kingdoms, in Nebuchadnezzar's image are all really one spiritual beast which "comes up out of the sea." Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. Rev 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a 7
lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. Seeing this tells those with "eyes to see" that God's Word is all a parable of how Christ is revealed in us all. Seeing this should tell us that all of these metals are in all of us. Now all we need to do is to come to see what is silver in God's Word. We have seen that silver is connected with the thought of strong desire, but that desire is subverted by the dragon to turn God's Word on its head and turn His Word into idols of the heart: Eze 16:17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men [false doctrines of men], and didst commit whoredom with them, All false doctrines are built upon twisting the word of God. Joe 3:5 Because ye [Tyre, a type of Babylon] have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: [Christ has been molded into "another Jesus"] 2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. That is "carrying into your temple my goodly things... my silver, and my gold." 8
Conclusion We have seen that the Hebrew word for silver is 'keseph,' and that silver carries with it the concept of being highly desired as a precious metal. As such it also associated through it's Hebrew root 'kasaph,' with the concept of 'strong desire.' We have seen that this "strong desire" is carried over into both the desire to serve Christ and to know His mind, to have His gold and His silver, and it is also carried over into the desire for the silver and gold of Babylon. We have seen silver used of Paul to typify the doctrines and works of Christ's righteousness, and we have seen silver typifying Babylonian doctrines and self righteous works of the flesh. We have seen that silver as self righteousness is likened to silver over copper and on the pillars of the court and the silver arms and breast, over the copper belly and thighs, of Nebuchadnezzar's great image. We have seen that God's silver and God's gold are morphed into images of men's making, and are taken into temples of men's design. We will continue with this same theme, and we will see just how thoroughly the manufacturers of gold and silver idols have been using God's gold and silver to form their hearts idols, and we will see the we are guilty of being the manufacturer and distributor of those "idols of the heart." 9