Paneh (פָנִים): face

The Hebrew word for face would seem a quite trivial thing to make a blog post about, but I find it interesting for several reasons. Just like other body parts, face can be taken literally but also carry deeper symbolic meaning. For an ancient Jew, the face was also synonymous with "presence". This is sometimes reflected in the English translations of the Old Testament. The Hebrew word is paneh (פָנִים). For example, Psalm 95, that has been discussed many times on this blog, begins like this:

1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.

"Face" is not even mentioned once in English in these verses, but in the Hebrew text it is found twice (the bold parts). A literal translation of the bold part in verse 6 would read "kneel face Yahweh". That would make little sense in English. Knowing that the Lord's face has to do with his presence, the translators choose the preposition "before" even though there is no preposition in the Hebrew text. This is only one of very many examples, which means that whenever "paneh" is used in Hebrew in the meaning of presence, it gets a bit lost in translation. 

"Before the Lord" or "paneh Yahweh" is often used in the context of bringing sacrifices to the Lord. As I have often mentioned before, the Book of Mormon frequently uses Old Testament terms in a context that seems to expand on or show a deeper meaning to the Old Testament usage. "Before the Lord" in the Book of Mormon is almost always in the context of humility. The Book of Mormon people humble themselves before the Lord. They were humble in the Lord's presence, or literally his face. Perhaps this indicates that bringing sacrifices in the temple, which by definition is in the Lord's presence, is an act of humility.

The word, "face", is also frequently used in the early chapters of Genesis. Notice the reference to the creation in verse 5 of the Psalm quoted above. There is a poetic reference to both hands and face that is lost in translation. The creation account mentions the face of the waters and the face of the earth. Searching for "face" in the Book of Mormon, I also found that the overwhelming majority of uses of this word, is in the phrase "face of the earth/land". Lord Wilmore has previously postulated that this is a covenant term, and I think he is absolutely right. I want to expand on the theme in his linked post to further demonstrate this. The Book of Mormon frequently describes the activity of a chosen covenant people on the face of the (promised) land. I am not going to quote a lot of these verses, but I find Ether 6:12 particularly interesting:

12 And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over them.

13 And it came to pass that they went forth upon the face of the land, and began to till the earth.

If the Nephite language preserved this feature from Hebrew, perhaps the "face of the land" and "before the Lord" were linked by a common word as it would be in Hebrew. This is also seen in the early chapters of Genesis. When Adam and Eve had partaken of the fruit, they

hid themselves from the presence (Hebr. paneh) of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8)

Instead of humbling themselves before the face of the Lord, they hid themselves from it. This is repeated when describing the curse of Cain.When Cain's sacrifice was rejected, his countenance (Hebr. paneh) fell, as we read in Genesis 4:5. Then he murdered his brother, Abel, and was cursed.

14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. (Genesis 4:14)

Cain was banished from the face of the earth and hidden from the face of the Lord. But how could he be driven out from the face of the earth? He would be a fugitive and vagabond, but surely he was not going to be sent to another planet(!). I think there is a deeper and profound meaning here. Temporarily, we are all on the face of mother earth that was created for us to learn and grow. Her presence lets us enjoy the bounty she can bring forth, the fruit of the tilled ground. The face of mother earth is a gateway to the face/presence of the Lord. In the context of the plan of salvation, we know this to be the case. Because of his murder and rebellion, Cain was banished from the face of the earth, who would no longer yield its strength, and thereby also excluded from the possibility to come before (the face of) the Lord.

The humble Jaredites in Ether 6:12 represent the polar opposite of that. I have recently written about a reversal of curses in the beginning of Genesis, but apparently there are layers to that. Bowing ourselves upon the face of the earth in humility, tilling the earth and bringing forth her yield as a righteous sacrifice before the Lord, leads us to his face/presence. 

Adam and adamah -- Part 4

Here are the links to

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

I didn't think I would make a part 4, but I keep coming back to these three levels of the state of adamah (Hebrew for ground/earth)

1. Garden of Eden. No cultivation needed because the ground brings forth "every tree" (Genesis 2:9)
2. Cursed ground outside the Garden of Eden. Needs cultivation by man to bring forth fruit. (Genesis 3:19,23)
3. Both ground and tiller of the ground (Cain) are cursed. The ground no longer yielding its strength. (Genesis 4:12)

One reason is because three levels like this is a recurring temple theme. In our modern temples and theology, we talk about the telestial, terrestrial and celestial kingdoms or worlds. In the ancient tabernacle/temple, there were different names but the same structure. There was the outer court, the holy place within the temple and then the inner sanctuary referred to as the most holy place or the holy of holies. These three levels of the temple correspond to the three levels of man. The NRSV Cultural Backgrond Study Bible explains

Ancient Israelite society operated on the understanding that there were three distinct categories or states in which persons (and objects) could find themselves: the state of uncleanness, the state of cleanness and the state of holiness. Yahweh inhabited the last, and animals unfit to eat inhabited the first. Persons could move between being clean and unclean, depending on what they had recently been doing, eating, touching, etc. Persons in a state of uncleanness were not allowed to approach anyone or anything deemed holy. Even persons who believed themselves to be in a state of cleanness could suffer dire consequences for coming into contact with that which was holy without authorization (e.g., 2 Sam 6.6–7). One of the goals of Yahweh’s covenant with the Israelites was to make of them a “holy nation” (Ex 19.6).

The three different states of adamah in Genesis 2-4 therefore follows a recognizable pattern

Unclean - clean - holy

Outer court - holy place - holy of holies

Telestial - terrestrial - celestial

In the outer courts of the tabernacle/temple, there were bronze basins for washing to become clean. For the high priests, who were the only one who could enter into the inner sanctuary, there were sanctification/purification rituals to make them holy (Hebr. qodesh). The Garden of Eden is where the tree of life and God's presence is found. Man was cast out for his disobedience. But if we enter into and keep covenants (somehow associated with tilling the earth), we can be clean and prepare to become holy. If not, we are stained with blood and the earth will not yield its strength. 

I have discussed in the previous parts how Christ and covenants prepare a reversal of these curses and can help us progress through the three levels to a holy state back to the tree of life. What I did not fully realize is how the atonement of Christ symbolized this reversal. In the second part, I discussed the blood of Christ falling to the ground in Gethsemane. This is related to the third state where ground and man is cursed after the blood of Abel was swallowed up by the ground. Christ reverses the curse by spilling his own blood. The next day, Jesus is mocked and beaten prior to the crucifixion. The soldiers make a crown of thorns and put on his head. This reminds us of the second state of adamah, where it is cursed after Adam's transgression. Remember what the account says about the curse

cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field (Genesis 3:17-18)

Jesus voluntarily takes upon him the sting of thorns from the cursed adamah as he walks with us back to the tree of life. As a reversal of the curse, he wears them on his head as king. Finally, he is crucified by being "hanged on a tree" (see Acts 5:30, Acts 10:39, Acts 13:29, 1 Peter 2:24). Most likely, this was not a tree with roots and branches. The Greek word, xulon, that is used can mean both tree and wood. But the symbolism is clear, nonetheless. Xulon is used both for the cross where Jesus was hanged and the tree of life in Revelation 22. In a sense, this wooden cross that "the firstfruits", Jesus Christ,  (see 1 Corinthians 15:20) was hanged on becomes the tree of life for us and the reversal of curses is complete. 

Through Christ, we have gone through blood and thorns, from unclean to clean to holy and can finally enter into the inner sanctuary, the celestial world, the tree of life and God's presence. I love how earth and man follow each other on this path. As Adam goes from unclean/telestial to clean/terrestrial to holy/celestial, adamah goes from blood-stained and not yielding its strength to yielding through sweat and thorns to growing a tree of life. Adam becomes El and adamah yields elah. I know I am repeating myself a bit with this post but I just love to see previous and new themes coming together.

Adam and adamah -- Part 2 ("the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood")

Adamah as the mother of adam

When I write adam with lower case 'a' in the heading, it is in the meaning of mankind, not as a personal name. 

With so much focus on the earth (Hebr. adamah) in Genesis 2-4, it is an interesting exercise to read these chapters from the perspective of the earth instead of the perspective of man. Part 1 displayed the role that the earth/ground is playing in this story. It is portrayed as much more than a lifeless planet of rock and dirt. It is "the mother of men" (Moses 7:48). Even though we all have mothers who have given us birth individually, the earth is portrayed as the mother of mankind in general. Adam/mankind is formed from the dust of the earth and has an intimate connection to adamah as shown in part 1. In Job 1:21, we read

Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither

Obviously, Job does not think that he will return into his mother's womb, unless he considers earth itself to also be his mother. This is a reference to Genesis 3:19. But let's have a look at the larger passage for context

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

The bold part is the allusion made by Job. It is also interesting to note that in the next verse, Adam calls his wife Eve because she is the mother of all living. As if there is a connection to the ground in the preceding verses. Eve brings forth life, just like mother earth.

Bloodshed and curse

In part 1 I noted that there are two curses in these chapters involving the ground. The passage from Genesis 3 quoted above, recounts the first curse that came as a consequence of Adam partaking of the fruit. A bit later in the story, in Genesis 4, Cain tills the ground and makes an offering of fruit. After God rejects it, he kills his brother, Abel, resulting in the second curse. So Abel also returns unto the ground, but in this particular case, the text focuses on his blood rather than his dead body made of dust. 

10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; (Genesis 4:10-11)

This presents a vivid and somewhat strange image. The adamah, mother earth, opens her mouth to receive Abel's blood. I am not sure if I fully understand the symbolism here, but eating and drinking in the Bible often has cultural and symbolic meaning. I wrote here about the covenant meal. Eating together binds people together because they partake of the same substance. Whatever you eat and drink becomes part of you. This is powerful symbolism that applies to the sacrament, for instance. In this case with the ground drinking Abel's blood, there is a negative connotation. There are several examples of that in the scriptures too. In Numbers 5:23, an adulterer is made to drink bitter water. In Exodus 32:20, Moses grinds the golden calf to powder, mixes it with water and makes the Israelites drink it. This all as a way to show that you internalize the bitter consequences of your actions. 

But what did the ground do wrong? Nothing, I guess. The story just shows the close relationship between adam and adamah (and in this case also dam). Mother earth involuntarily and unjustly suffers the consequences of human iniquity. In the Pearl of Great Price the story goes on and we get details that we don't find in Genesis. As the "children of men" began to multiply and became "numerous upon all the face of the land", there was "wars and bloodshed" (see Moses 6:15). More of that in Moses 7

15 And the giants of the land, also, stood afar off; and there went forth a curse upon all people that fought against God;

16 And from that time forth there were wars and bloodshed among them; but the Lord came and dwelt with his people, and they dwelt in righteousness.

17 The fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people. And the Lord blessed the land, and they were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did flourish.

Here is another curse because of bloodshed, but also a contrasted blessing upon the land. I will get more into that in the next post. Adamah suffers because of this bloodshed but has no other choice than to receive it. Here is how Mormon describes the bloodshed among his people.

15 And it came to pass that there were ten more who did fall by the sword, with their ten thousand each; yea, even all my people, save it were those twenty and four who were with me, and also a few who had escaped into the south countries, and a few who had deserted over unto the Lamanites, had fallen; and their flesh, and bones, and blood lay upon the face of the earth, being left by the hands of those who slew them to molder upon the land, and to crumble and to return to their mother earth. (Mormon 6)

As a side note, there are two Hebrew words with similar meaning, adamah and erets. Erets is usually translated as "earth" or "land". But when "face of the land/earth" is used in the Old Testament, it is usually from the Hebrew adamah.

Bloodshed and sanctification

I quoted Moses 7:48 in part 1, when mother earth cries out in agony longing for sanctification. Verse 45 explains where the sanctification comes from

And it came to pass that Enoch looked; and from Noah, he beheld all the families of the earth; and he cried unto the Lord, saying: When shall the day of the Lord come? When shall the blood of the Righteous be shed, that all they that mourn may be sanctified and have eternal life?

...as does Moses 6:60

by the blood ye are sanctified

Bloodshed both curses and sanctifies. The bloodshed by wicked men corrupting the earth is contrasted by the bloodshed of "the Righteous" that sanctifies. The latter is fulfilled in Gethsemane

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:44)

Perhaps there is a symbolic parallel between the bitter cup that Jesus had to drink and the blood that the ground had to "drink". Hebrews 12:24 ties this event to the blood of Abel that cried from the ground.

And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

The blood that speaks

Why does the blood of Jesus speak better things that that of Abel? The speaking blood is an interesting aspect of the Cain and Abel story. Not only is adamah personified (that is, assigned attributes of adam), but also the dam is personified and cries unto God from the ground. This is unique in the Old Testament but alluded to about a dozen times in the Book of Mormon. Here is one example

22 And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not. (Ether 8)

Note that the name Cain comes from the Hebrew word for "get gain". Like the blood of Abel, the blood of the saints will cry from the ground for vengeance upon the modern Cains who seek to get gain. The blood of Abel and by extension, the blood of all righteous and innocent who are killed by the wicked, always cry for justice. The blood of Jesus, however, cries for mercy and sanctifies. This is probably why Paul says that it "speaketh better things".

3 Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—

4 Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;

5 Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life. (D&C 45)

Adam and adamah -- Part 1 (Introduction)

As I read the beginning of Genesis recently, I noticed the central role of the ground in chapters 2-4 in particular. The Hebrew word adamah means land, ground, earth, soil (listed in order of translation frequency in the Old Testament). Linguistically, it is closely related to Adam, the Hebrew word for man or mankind in addition to the personal name. But it can also mean "red". This is the exact same word in Hebrew, only spelled differently in English (adom or edom, written old Hebrew did not really have vowels anyway). Scholars are not unified on this issue, but many believe that both adamah and Adam come from the root meaning "red". Adamah could then be more literally translated “red ground,” and the name Adam could be said to mean “red man” or “man from the red dirt". Living in the cold and wet north, I would usually not consider the ground red, but this is probably more natural for people in the hot and dry Near East. 

Another related word is blood, dam in Hebrew. I don't know if the word for blood and its color, red,  being so similar is coincidence or not. But there are definitely relations that are used as an integral part of the narrative and symbolism in the early chapters of Genesis. Identifying all the cases of "adamah" in chapters 2-4, we can summarize the following story of the ground:

·      Man is formed from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7) because there is nobody to cultivate it (Genesis 2:5)

·      Out of the ground God formed every tree (Genesis 2:9)

·      Out of the ground God formed every beast of the field and fowl of the air (Genesis 2:19)

·      After Adam’s transgression, God curses the ground for his sake (Genesis 3:17)

·      The fall brings about death so that Adam returns to the ground (Genesis 3:19)

·       Man is sent out of the garden to cultivate the ground (Genesis 3:23)

·       Cain, who was a tiller of the ground (Genesis 4:2) made an offering of fruit of the ground (Genesis 4:3)

·       After Cain murdered Abel, his brother’s blood was crying from the ground (Genesis 4:10) and the ground opened its mouth to receive it (Genesis 4:11)

·       As a result, Cain became cursed from the ground (Genesis 4:11) and future cultivation of the ground would no longer yield as before (Genesis 4:12)

Considering the fact that ground (adamah), man/Adam and blood (dam) are all very similar words in Hebrew, there are lots of puns in these chapters that are lost in translation. I am fascinated by the story of the ground in these chapters as summarized above. The ground gives and receives. It is heavily involved in the creation and the fall. We will also consider some later events that I think might tie back to these.

In Hebrew, the ground, adamah, is a feminine noun. There is nothing extraordinary about that. All Hebrew nouns are either masculine or feminine. However, the ground/earth is sometimes personified. Genesis 4:11 gives one example of that. Adamah opens her mouth to swallow the blood of Abel. Another is Moses 7:48

And it came to pass that Enoch looked upon the earth; and he heard a voice from the bowels thereof, saying: Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face?

The earth is portrayed as a woman, even "the mother of men". This is consistent with Genesis 2, where man beast and tree was formed out of the ground, like a mother gives birth.

There is much to say about this but one thing is clear: The Old Testament teaches that there is an intimate relationship between man and the ground. Adam/man is formed from the ground, the ground is cursed for his sake, he is set to cultivate the ground and returns to the ground at his death. Is this relationship a good or a bad thing? I think both. When man is too bound to the ground, he becomes like the serpent who crawls on it and eats dust. On the other hand, the ground provides the means to grow a tree that rises above it and produces fruit that man can eat instead of dust. I have written on this symbolism before here and here.

This series builds on those previous posts. Reading about adamah in these chapters just gave me new understanding of the way from ground to tree, from the earthly and carnal to the heavenly and divine. This is a process in several steps, and is often referred to as "the way" or associated with "walk" in the scriptures. In President Nelson's terms, it is the covenant path and is intimately connected to the temple. In fact, the Garden of Eden may be considered the first temple, or in other words, the temple is referring to and in many ways representing the Garden of Eden. I am not going into details on that but this link provides a good explanation. The "walk" on the "covenant path" is an ascension. It is fallen man's journey back to the garden into God's presence. It is a reversal of what happened in these early chapters of Genesis when man fell and was cast out. Consequently, that was a stepwise descension. We can identify three levels:

1. Garden of Eden. No cultivation needed because the ground brings forth "every tree" (Genesis 2:9)
2. Cursed ground outside the Garden of Eden. Needs cultivation by man to bring forth fruit.
3. Both ground and tiller of the ground (Cain) are cursed. The ground no longer yielding its strength.

I want to flesh out the symbolic journey that reverses these curses in future posts. It ties into several things that have been written on this blog before. For instance, Lord Wilmore has written a long series about what he calls the endowment narrative. This narrative is a reversal of the events listed above. It starts in the wilderness where the ground does not yield its strength. Through Christ's atoning blood and covenants we can make the wilderness blossom or reach the fertile promised land and finally partake of the tree of life. I will go into this in more detail in the next posts. This post is only meant as an introduction but the next post will discuss the possible symbolic significance of the blood of Abel swallowed by the ground. A third part will consider how this story of the ground relates to the Abrahamic covenant.  

"What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?"

As I study the Old Testament this year, I am going out of my way to study several different translations, and I'm frequently checking the underlying Hebrew text whenever a verse catches my attention.  The Old Testament is delightfully written, with so many layers of meaning and puns waiting to be discovered.

Here's an example from the familiar story in Genesis 37 where Joseph's brothers have just taken away his coat and cast him into a pit. Judah tries to persuade the brothers to reconsider their plan to kill him:

26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? (Genesis 37, KJV)

I can't help but think of Cain and Abel when I read that verse, so I looked into it further. The word translated to "profit" is:



betsa (בֶּצַע): gain made by violence, unjust gain, profit

This plot of the brothers is a secret combination, a plan to gain at the great expense of their little brother.

Here is the same verse in the Berean Study Bible, which does a better job emphasizing the connection to the story of Cain and Abel:

Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

Given that the name Cain means "to gain" I like how this translation carries some of that meaning into the English.

10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; (Genesis 4)

In both accounts, jealous older brothers kill (or plot to kill) their younger brother, which is a recurring theme in these stories as well as the story of Isaac and Jacob.. 

Symbolic connections to the Book of Mormon

As I ponder the significance of this account, I see how the story of Joseph mirrors the story of the arc of God's covenant people in some ways.  For example, many years after Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers only to later rescue them from a famine in the land, the descendants of Judah in Jerusalem would seek to kill Lehi, a descendant of Joseph, who would instead escape by the hand of the Lord.  His posterity would produce the Book of Mormon, which would be hidden in the ground for centuries until our day, when it has come forth in a time of spiritual famine to reunite and gather scattered Israel.

Gold and the Two Ways -- part 3

This is part 3 in a series.  Part 1. Part 2.

In this section we'll look at references to gold and treasure in the New Testament. I'll end with the teachings of Jesus from the Gospels, so let's begin with the other books.  This is not comprehensive, it is only meant to be a sample of the type of messages about treasure which relate to the doctrine of the Two Ways. To summarize a theme I see repeated throughout scriptures: the way of life values God's hidden wisdom over any earthly treasure, whereas the way of death causes one to be willing to enter into secret combinations in order to gain earthly treasures.

James 5

1 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. 2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. 4 Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. (James 5, NRSV)

This passage contains a really important details which I'll develop in more detail as we look at Book of Mormon passages about gold and riches. Notice how James describes the consequence of laying up earthly treasures at the expense of the poor: not only will your treasure rust, it will also stand as evidence against you (that you did not freely give it to the cause of Zion) and it will "eat your flesh like fire." This intense visual metaphor is really important in understanding Book of Mormon references to hell and damnation. 

Acts 3

3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. (Acts 3)

Acts 17

29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. (Acts 17)

Acts 20

32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
33 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.

34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. (Acts 20)

2 Timothy 2

20 In a large house there are utensils not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for special use, some for ordinary. 21 All who cleanse themselves of the things I have mentioned will become special utensils, dedicated and useful to the owner of the house, ready for every good work. (2 Timothy 2, NRSV)

I have one additional reference to gold from the epistles of Paul which I'll save for the end of this post, because it builds on some ideas I'll develop in more detail in future parts of this series.

The Gospels

Jesus teaches about the potential perils of riches many times and in a variety of contexts:

In Matthew 2, the wise men give the Christ child a gift including gold.

Matthew 10: 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.

 

Matthew 23: 16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? (NRSV)

 

Mark 10: 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. 23 ¶ And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! (See also Matthew 19:21-23.)

Luke 6: 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. (See also Matthew 12:35.)

Matthew 6: 19 ¶ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Luke 12: 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Conclusion and final example

It really strikes me how often Jesus' words about treasure directly connect to the doctrine of the two ways. It is clear that James 5:4 (quoted above) is a direct reference to Genesis 4:10, in which Abel's blood cries from the ground to the Lord as a testament of Cain's evil.

This connection to such an ancient, foundational Old Testament passage has me pondering about riches and treasure.  I'm starting to see these ideas in new and interesting ways. For example, in the next part we'll look at the curse described in the Book of Mormon where treasure becomes slippery.

But I think it goes even deeper than that. Part of the test of mortality involves a choice between valuing gold above God and our fellow man, thereby becoming as dross. Alternatively, we can humble ourselves and seek the things of a better world, thereby becoming as dross (cast out by the wealthy of the world), which process refines us as gold in God's eyes.  This connects pretty directly to a variety of scriptural symbols: the gulf in Lehi's dream, the lake of fire and brimstone, and the smoke that "ascendeth up forever and ever." We also see some similar teachings in the apocryphal Books of Enoch.  

Let's conclude this post with one last passage from the New Testament:

1 Corinthians 3: 10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. 14 If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire. 16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (NRSV)

The day of judgment brings fire to test what kind of temple each of us has built on the foundation which has been laid. Will it be burned up or will it stand?

I'll develop this idea in the final two parts of this series.