Page 81 - Through New Eyes

74 THROUGH NEW EYES

told that manna was the color of bdellium. Since manna was
white (Exodus 16: 31), the bdellium was also white. Notice that
Israel only ate manna while she was in the wilderness of
Havilah, the land of bdellium.z
Gold is much more familiar to us. More than any other
metals, gold and silver show forth the glory of God. In every
time, in every clime, in every land and nation, gold and silver
come to be regarded as valuable. There are two points to be
made concerning this.
First of all, gold and silver, especially gold, are heavy. The
Hebrew word for “glory” literally means ‘heavy.” A few years
ago, in American slang anything that was impressive was “heavy,”
and this reflects a sound linguistic instinct. Part of the attractive-
ness and glory of gold, then, lies in its weight.
Second, not only is gold heavy, it is also radiant and shining.
God’s glory appears as a flaming fire and a burning furnace, and
gold more than any other mineral ties into the human tendency
to appreciate this glory. The walls of the Tabernacle and Temple
were both lined with gold, creating a golden glory environment
all around. Similarly, the fiery tree or lampstand in the Taber-
nacle — an abiding replica of the burning bush — was made of
gold, as were many other items.

Stones of Fire
Let us turn our attention now to precious stones. They are,
after all, the glory-stones. We enjoy looking at them in coffee
table books. We make jewelry out of them. We pay high prices
for them, not because they are rare (after all many other miner-
als are much rarer), but because they are beautiful and thus
highly prized.
In Ezekiel 28:13-14, we find a description of the “King of
Tyre”:

You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The ruby, the topaz, and the diamond;
The beryl, the onyx, and the jasper;
The lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald;
And the gold, the workmanship of your settings
and sockets,