The Goldsmith's Hammer

Once the gold is refined and purified, it is ready for use. Oh, did you think that the fire and furnace were the whole story? “God pulled me out of the miry clay, cleaned me up, purified me, and set my feet on the rock to stay.” Sorry, but that is about as close to the full story as the idea of floating on clouds and playing harps for eternity describes heaven.

The gold does not stay in the crucible once it is refined. The time and effort put into purifying gold is for the purpose of gaining a malleable, workable piece of material that can be shaped into the image that the artist holds in his mind. It may be thin sheets used for covering a base material; it may be an ornament to enhance the beauty of the wearer; it may be a working object that is used daily. But to go from the refining fire to the end purpose requires shaping.

1 Kings 7
v.48 Solomon also made all the furnishings that were in the Lord’s temple:
the golden altar;
the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence;
v.49 the lamp-stands of pure gold (five on the right and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary);
the gold floral work and lamps and tongs;
v.50 the pure gold basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and censers;
and the gold sockets for the doors of the innermost room, the Most Holy Place, and also for the doors of the main hall of the temple.

Once the dross is removed from the gold, the shaping can start. Pure gold can be trusted to yield to the tools used to change its shape from a lump of valuable gold to a precious object with form and function which displays the skill, imagination, and creativity of the shaper. Unlike wood or stone, it does not need portions cut away or scraped off or gouged out. Instead, gold is shaped by hammer blows.

Exodus 36:34 They overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also overlaid the crossbars with gold.

Does that sound like what is happening in your life? Be of good cheer, for you are in great company! God is shaping the Body of Christ to be worthy of His Son, Jesus. Regardless of what function in the tabernacle that the gold was put to, it went under the hammer of the craftsman. Now notice, the gold is not randomly beaten by anyone passing by, taking out their frustration on a convenient target. Never! The gold is too precious to be entrusted to anyone else by the craftsman, for they may try to steal it; the image in the craftsman's mind is personal, intimate, and not shared with the general public; the tools necessary are specifically designed for the task and no one else has them; neither does anyone else possess the skill AND the high regard the craftsman has for his task. No matter how the blows fall, they are each to a purpose that is designed to demonstrate the love of the Lord of lords for you, and allow you to glorify the King of kings.

Exodus 25
v.10 Have them make an ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.
v.11 Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it.
v.12 Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other.
v.13 Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
v.14 Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it.

The ark of the covenant was made of wood, but covered with gold inside and out. God's divine nature overlays our baser nature, hiding us under His hand and we let His nature shine forth, bearing the shape others know, but transformed into a completely new creation. How did that lump of gold that came out of the crucible change into thin, flat, uniform sheets of gold that overlaid the wood of the ark and the poles that it was carried by? The golden lump is cut into thin segments, each of which are hammered out thin, but not so far that holes are made. After getting each one thin enough, they are stacked in alternating layers with leather, and hammering begins again. The leather gives the strength to spread the hammer blows evenly across the gold, thinning, spreading the gold sheet without puncturing it. With this method, goldsmiths can make gold foil almost thin enough to see through.

Exodus 37:17 And he made the lamp stand of pure gold; its base and shaft were made of hammered work; its cups, its knobs, and its flowers were of one piece with it.

Consider the lamp-stand in the tabernacle. It was large, ornate, and complexly shaped. It was made of one piece of gold, not poured into a mold, or separate parts welded together, but hammered out, bit by bit, shaped with small hammers, pointed hammers, broad hammers, using light blows, heavy blows, blows from above, blows from below and from each side, stretching, curving, making dents, dimples, depressions, raising edges, removing corners, always shaping, smoothing, until the lamp was finished and could hold oil. Once it was lit, the light shone off the gold, reflecting from the many leaves and flowers and fruit that had been shaped into it, giving off more brilliance than any rough, small lump of gold could ever manage. What glory we will be able to show forth to the world from our Lord, the Almighty God, as we yield to His hand and cooperate with the shaping He desires to do in our lives, as we bring our thoughts into subjection and submit our emotions to the Father for Him to use as He wills.

Remember, gold can only reflect light from its surface. Any gold that is buried and left on the inside of the lump will remain in darkness and not be seen. That is the reason for being made into complex figures and involved decorative shapes, or spread thin and made to cover much area. It allows all the gold to be available to reflect the glory of our Creator. It allows more light to be reflected into the darkness. Let Him make of you what He desires, for in no other way will we be able to give as much glory back to our Lord and Redeemer as when we submit to His will and accept His direction for our lives.

Righteous and glorious God, Giver of light and life, endlessly creative and always fully worthy of praise, we worship You, Lord! You have made us savable by the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus Christ, and allowed us to be a part in the building of Your Tabernacle, Your Temple, the place where You choose to dwell, the place You allow Your Name to reside and Your Nature to be seen. Thank You for working Your will in our lives, shaping us into vessels of honor and ornaments of beauty. We submit to the shaping You bring our way, and as much as we trust and submit to a doctor who prescribes bitter pills and painful regimes, even more can we safely and joyfully accept with gratitude and appreciation the path and process You lead us through, knowing You have already invested what is dearest to You for the sake of Your love for us. Therefore You will not cause us needless pain, and will walk with us in an intimate relationship through it all, sharing our suffering which is outweighed by the joy we have from our fellowship with You. Thank You, Father!

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