The Gems of Exodus and Revelation - Emerald

It's notable that the exact identity of a few stones mentioned in Exodus 28 and Revelation 21 are uncertain and differ from translation to translation. Since many of the stones are now contemporary birthstones, I will highlight them in the months in which they correspond, not necessarily in the order they are mentioned in scripture. It's also notable that the number 12 (the number of perfection in government, and completion) is a key theme throughout these particular posts.

In the Exodus Chapter 28 description of the breastplate of Aaron, Emerald was the third stone in the second row and represented the tribe of the seventh son of Jacob, Gad. The tribe of Gad would become known as fierce warriors and great protectors of life. It might be fitting then that a stone whose color represents life would also represent a tribe that would fight valiantly to protect it.

In the Revelation Chapter 21 description of the foundations of the New Jerusalem, Emerald decorates the 4th foundation and represents the apostle John. John and his brother James were the third and fourth disciples called by Jesus. Jesus would call them "Boanerges" which means something like "Sons of Thunder" - perhaps evidence of their zeal and temper, and perhaps of Jesus' sense of humor. John's brother, James, was the first of the apostles to die, where John, on the other hand, was the last. All of the apostles met a violent death, however, John died peacefully in Ephesus, where he pastored a church, at an advanced age around the year 100 AD.

Again, Emerald bearing the color of life, comes to represent (in the 4th foundation on the New Jerusalem) the one who enjoyed the longest life of all the apostles.

While in Ephesus, by order of the Roman emperor Domitian, John was exiled to an island called Patmos. In what is known as the cave of the Apocalypse (located on this island), the sacred text of the book of Revelation was given to the apostle John by Jesus (it is here that John recorded what is written in the New Testament book of Revelation). Other New Testament books accredited to John are the Gospel of John, along with 1st, 2nd and 3rd John.

Ten times in the New Testament, John proclaims Christ’s commandment to love one another. (John 13:34, John 13:35, John 15:12, John 15:17, 1 John 3:11, 1 John 3:23, 1 John 4:7, 1 John 4:11, 1 John 4:12, 2 John 1:5) It was a message that was important to him and one that should be important to us. The message is that there is no life without love, love for one another and love for Jesus, who is The Way, The Truth, and The Life.

Emerald is the color of life. Emerald should serve as a reminder that we should (like the tribe of Gad) always fight to protect life, and we should (as Jesus taught and the apostle John wrote) always love, to perpetuate life.

NEXT POST: Alexandrite and Our Never-Changing God

Having Great Metal and Having Great Mettle

Great Metal
Gold is the most malleable and ductile of all known metals. A single ounce of gold can be beaten into a sheet measuring roughly 5 meters on a side. Thin sheets of gold, known as gold leaf, are primarily used in arts and crafts for gilding. One sheet of gold leaf can be as thin as 0.000127 millimeters, or about 400 times thinner than a human hair.

Pure gold is soft and is usually alloyed with other metals such as silver, copper, nickel, zinc, and magnesium to increase its strength. Gold alloys are used to make jewelry, decorative items, dental fillings and coins.

Gold would never be able to keep the shape of any purpose without the addition of something else to help give it strength.
The same could be said about relationships in that while they can be good all by themselves, they can be better with the addition of something that will help them keep the nature of their intended purpose, the addition of something called Jesus.

I believe it's quite evident that Jesus thinks relationships are very important. In John 13:34 Jesus states "A new COMMAND (not suggestion) I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, love one another."(NIV)

It's appropriate then that we would call both gold and relationships "valuable". Both are able to be shaped, and can become whatever a person or persons will make of them with enough effort. One can make a ring out of pure gold, or a relationship out of pure love. But comes a test and the true strength of both the ring and the relationship is discovered. The ring can become warped, bent out of shape and useless in the purpose for which it was intended. A relationship can become painful, hurtful and useless in the purpose for which it was intended as well.

Great Mettle
Whether we're talking about gold or relationships, it takes great courage to take something precious and introduce anything to it in an effort to make it better. A jeweler can add alloys to gold which strengthen and make it useful for any and every kind of purpose for which the jeweler intends. We can add Jesus to our relationships to make those relationships stronger and more useful for any and every kind of purpose God intends. Whether that relationship is with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, or between a man and woman as husband and wife, the addition of Jesus as a strengthening alloy makes those relationships stronger than they would be without Him, able to stand against any stress.

You read earlier that a single ounce of gold can be beaten into a sheet measuring roughly 5 meters on a side and 400 times thinner than a human hair. It's very difficult to do anything with gold when it has been beaten and spread out that thin. In that condition, gold can literally be blown away with just your breath.

Relationships too can be hard-pressed to find proper function when those people that make up the relationship are beat-up and spread too thin. Relationships can also be blown away with just your breath…articulated with a sharp tongue or harsh words.

What's It Worth?
The distinction between adding alloys to gold and adding Jesus to relationships however can be made in that while a jeweler can add too many other alloys to gold, no one can add too much Jesus to a relationship. If a jeweler adds too much alloy material to gold, it decreases the value of that gold to a point that it is truly worthless.

Conversely, the more Jesus you add to relationships (or anything else for that matter) the more valuable it becomes, both to the people who make up the relationship and to Jesus who can use that relationship to further His Kingdom. Other 'alloys' like prayer, forgiveness, and bible study all contribute to a strong relationship.

As a jeweler I’m always looking for ways to better preserve the precious metal I work with. As Christians we should always be looking for ways to better preserve our relationships, with each other and with Christ. In working on gold and in working on relationships, both can become whatever we will make of them with enough effort.
NEXT POST: Diamonds and The Real Thing