Tag Archives: iron

The Bible and Science – Cold/Hot

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The Bible and Science – Cold/Hot

To each one of us, grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. Ephesians 4:7(NIV)

Cold or hot are sensations or feelings. I think when we say cold or hot our minds compare things to how we feel in air or water. Most of us will say solid water (ice) is cold (32°F) or hot is steam (gaseous water) at 212°F. The melting point of nitrogen is -345.82 °F and its boiling pointnitrogen is -320.44°F whereas iron melts at 2795.0°F and boils at 4982°F so trying to compare them with water really does not work well. (See Why Cold or Hot)

All too often, in Christianity, we compare people using the terms cold or hot – unfair. Not everyone is nitrogen but we all aren’t iron either; God knows when we are cold, hot, or lukewarm. God made us all different but we are still part of His Body. What He told us to do was love one another.

By the way, nitrogen is 78% of air and an important part of protein and iron is used for all cannon 1sort of building and structural components and is needed in your blood to carry oxygen.

 

 

∞Father, help us to love one another so that everyone will burn brightly for you.

http://www.chemicalelements.com/elements/n.html

pic of nitrogen: Cory Doctorow aka gruntzoki on Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/2288526230/

God’s Will, Has Made Your Will

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Ok, this study will not make much sense if you do not have a NIV (mine is copyrighted 1990) or even a Holman Study Bible, mine is a 2006 copyright.  King James and several other popular versions use the word “shall” instead of the word “will.”

From Isaiah 59:15 to 62:12 the word “will” is used 86 times. (All scriptures are NIV.) The majority of the “wills” however is God stating what will happen for us or at least to our “enemies.”  When you see the word “will,” you think of inheritance; this is found in 61:7 it talks of the “double portion” which is the part that belongs to the first-born son of the family.  I will give an example form 60:10 of the promises that are found in this section of scripture – Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. 

The section addresses these promises to two different things, the first is Zion and the second His people.  Zion refers to the hills that Jerusalem is built on but it has become synonymous with Jerusalem.  The way the promises are worded it seems that God is concerned about the physical land/city but they also apply to Jerusalem the “people of the city.”

Inside of these verses are some very popular scriptures; Isaiah 61:1-3 is a great example.  I can image the Apostle Paul reading/thinking about 59:17 when he wrote Ephesians 6:14 – the breastplate of righteousness, helmet of salvation, garments of vengeance, and the cloak of zeal.  Isaiah 59: 21 is a great promise – “This is my covenant with them”, says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth.”  Have you ever prayed for guidance and wondered how you would know what to follow look at 60:17 – I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.  The first part of verse 17 is another example of the will of God making your will – Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron.  (See my blogs on metals – bronze, gold, silver, iron, these go to separate blogs.)

Another theme in these verses is “righteousness,” it is mentioned nine times. According to my concordance righteousness carries with it the idea of prosperity, this is from the concordance that has Vine’s Dictionary incorporated into it. (OK, it is a small part but it is there.)

Two verse that connect are 60:21b and 61:3b – (21b) They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.  (3b) They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. 

God has a lot of “wills” for you in this couple of pages; take a look and find His will for you. I want to leave with 60: 22b – I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.

WHAT TYPE OF METAL ARE YOU? Part 6

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Using these concepts let us look at Achan  (Joshua 7).  His sin was one of rebellion and greed but the symbolism behind what he stole is important; he took a Babylonian garment, a wedge of gold, and some silver.  He wrapped the gold in the garment and buried it on top of the silver in floor of his tent.  The warning is not to wrap what is God’s in the false religion of the world and cover up the true religion that is acceptable to God.

Now that we have studied these metals let us, look at Jeremiah’s ministry again and see the people he observed.  In Jeremiah 28, we find Hananiah, a false prophet from Gideon (see Joshua 9). He is the perfect example of lead, he was dragging the Israelites down and hindering them from following God by saying, that the Babylonian’s power was broken and that the items from the Temple would be returned.

Baal worship and worshipers are “tin” in Jeremiah 7.  These harden the people of God by giving them a “form of God” and caused the real worship of God to be changed into pagan practices.

Zedekiah was both “copper” and “iron”.  In chapter 38:14-28 he showed concern for Jeremiah and had a desire to know God’s will, this shows us his “copper” side.   Jeremiah knew he still had an “iron” heart when he told Zedekiah that even when he heard God’s plan that he would not follow it.

In chapter 35 the Rechabites were “ pure silver” when they followed the orders of not drinking wine set down by their ancestors, even in the face of pressure from a “man of God” to do so.

Eded-Melech is “pure gold” in chapter 38 and 39, his concern for Jeremiah and helping him is impressive considering that some officials wanted to kill Jeremiah and anyone who would show concern for him.  God was so pleased with Eded-Melech that He promised him deliverance from the Babylonians because he had trusted in God.

So, what kind of metal or metals are you?

Can we change our habits?

Is there anything more important than gold?

In Isaiah 60:17 God said He would do some exchanging of metals, gold for copper and silver for iron, in an effort to show His greatness toward us.

All the sharpening, heating, beating, and blast of wind come into clear view when you read 1 Peter 1:6+7 where we find that our faith is greater than even gold.

And in Psalm 19:7-10 where the law, testimony, statues, commandment, fear, and judgment OF THE LORD are to desired more than fine gold.

The start of this series can be seen at What Type of Metal Are You? Part 1

https://ificouldteachthebible.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/what-type-of-m…are-you-part-1/ 

WHAT TYPE OF METAL ARE YOU? Part 4

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Now that we are getting things “ironed out” we can go on to the “valuable” metals.

Copper, like iron, is native to Israel and is an interesting and useful metal.  It is in the same chemical family as silver and gold.  Copper was used in making every day items and it was used in the making of the Tabernacle.  Pots, forks, utensils, fire grates, and bases for the tent and curtain poles were some of the items that were made of copper in the Tabernacle.  In the Bible, the same word is used for copper and bronze/brass.  Bronze is copper with tin or lead added.  So we know alloys and metallurgy appeared very early in Israel’s history.

The “copper” in our lives maybe natural character traits and habits, but these personal qualities may be what God wants to use in developing our ministry.  Our “copper” may have fears and other peoples expectations added to it just as bronze is combined with tin or lead.  I have found that these additions may be either good or bad.  In Genesis 37 we read of the dreams God gave Joseph.  Joseph had natural qualities that God wanted to use, but the way the story plays out it would seem that he had to add patience and humility and his pride and arrogance had to be removed before his “copper” was ready for use before God and man.

See “iron” in part three.

https://ificouldteachthebible.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/what-type-of-m…are-you-part-3

WHAT TYPE OF METAL ARE YOU? Part 3

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Iron was a metal that was naturally present in Israel, even though it took the Israelites some time to learn how to work it (1 Samuel 13:19-21).  Iron requires a lot of heat and hammering to produce a usable material; however, iron has to be protected or it will rust, and eventually the object made of iron will be useless and destroyed.  Iron was used for tools made for cutting and digging because of the hard, sharp edges that could be made with iron.

Our “iron things” (some of our natural character traits) come from inside of us and can represent some of our toughest obstacles to overcome.  Proverbs 27:17 (as iron sharpens iron) tells us why a person may rub us the wrong way, God wants our hard areas worked on and that is done by having to work with other people’s hard areas.   An example in David’s life is his relationship with his brothers (1 Samuel 17:28+29).  As an over achieving little brother who had killed a lion and a bear, and had been in the king’s service as a harp player he apparently allowed these accolades to develop as a sore spot with his brothers. Our own attitudes can be a hard, sharp cutting point in our life.  People will view them as either our greatest asset or our biggest bane, but yielding this “iron” to God’s testing and use is really what is important.   These “iron areas” will either be protected and maintained in us, rust and cause real problems, or sharpened and gotten rid of.