Many Christians are led to believe these verses refer to a Christmas tree. Many are being led to believe the Christmas tree comes from pagan roots. All idols in the Old Testament were basically carved and made from a tree. Many things are made from a tree. However, it is verse 4 that opens the eyes of many. Verse four states the idol was decked with silver and gold and fasten with nails and hammer so it would not fall apart or move around. Many people believe it is ornaments on a Christmas tree and the bottom support stand.
Verse three states tree is cut by the hands of a craftsman. We do not need a craftsman to cut down a tree, especially a Christmas tree. You can hire any laborer or slave at that time to cut their trees down. But to carve out a idol, pagans would use skilled workmen to search out specific trees to cut that would fit their needs. Do only pagans use silver and gold? Does not an idol need to be fasten down with some support built around it so it will not move or fall. A Christmas Tree does not need to be carved out.
Isaiah 40:19-20 The graven image! A workman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains for it.20 He who is so impoverished that he has no offering or oblation or rich gift to give [to his god is constrained to make a wooden offering, an idol; so he] CHOOSES A TREE THAT WILL NOT ROT; HE SEEKS OUT A SKILLFUL CRAFTMAN TO CARVE AND SET UP AN IMAGE THAT WILL NOT TOTTER OR DETERIORATE.
In the bible, what does silver and gold represent? How is silver and gold represented in the bible So if I do deck my house or Christmas tree with silver and gold, am I represent what the pagans believed or am I representing what the bible says it represents? There are many references in the bible in regards to silver and gold.
Silver in the bible represents redemption and truth.
Exodus 13:12-14 You shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All the firstlings of your livestock that are males shall be the Lord’s.13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem by [substituting for it] a lamb, or if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn among your sons shall you redeem.14 And when, in time to come, your son asks you, What does this mean? You shall say to him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage and bondmen. (The redemption price is stated in the Torah as five Sheqalim of silver)
Psalm 12:6 (AMP) The words and promises of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times over.
Gold in the bible represents. Gold are gifts worthy for kings. The items in the Most Holy Place were to be made of gold. Gold is associated with that which is Holy to God.
Exodus 28:36 (AMP) And you shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, holy to the lord.
Gold can symbolize your faith.
Lamentations 4:1-2 How the gold has become dim! How the most pure gold has changed! The hallowed stones [of the temple] are poured out at the head of every street.2 The noble and precious sons of Zion, [once] worth their weight in fine gold—how they are esteemed [merely] as earthen pots or pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!
1 Peter 1:7 (AMP) So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is reveale
Zechariah 13:9 (AMP) And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined and will test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will hear and answer them. I will say, It is My people; and they will say, The Lord is my God.
Just because the heathens or pagans are using what God intended for good does not make them bad anymore. Any good thing or gift from God can become corrupted and used for bad purposes. If there are many corrupted preachers and churches, do we now generalize all churches and preachers as working for the enemy and are we to make a choice not to go to church anymore or listen to preachers?
Deuteronomy 29:17 And you have seen their abominations and their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them.
Psalm 135:15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
Let us now talk about the Cross! The cross by itself is nothing but a symbol of horrendous torture and death used by the Romans. It is said the origins of crucifixion goes back to the Persians. The origins are not very clear but they estimate as early as 550 BC. The cross originated from heathens and pagans representing a form of torture which was an expression of their power.Today, the Cross represents the work of Jesus Christ who died on it to save the world.
Galatians 3:13 (AMP) Christ purchased our freedom [redeeming us] from the curse (doom) of the Law [and its condemnation] by [Himself] becoming a curse for us, for it is written [in the Scriptures], Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified);
Without Jesus Christ, the cross is nothing. Without Jesus, the cross is but a tree used for torture to hang people. Without Jesus, Christmas is nothing but what the world creates for commercialization and for its own glory. Without Jesus Christ, the Cross, Resurrection Day, and Christmas are nothing.
Trees are significant representations in the bible. In Genesis, there is a mention of the Tree of Life. But after the fall of man, Adam and Eve are no longer to partake from the Tree of Life. Abraham had planted a tree and called upon the Name of the Lord. Was he worshiping the tree? Moses and God's people come to Marah where the water was bitter. God was showing the bitterness of their hearts. What is the remedy? God tells Moses to throw a three in the water. It becomes sweet after the tree is thrown in the water.We are described as trees to bear fruit. Any tree that does not bear fruit will be cut down and thrown in the fire. They Crucified Jesus Christ on a Tree. And now through the work of the Cross and the Blood of the Lamb, we are now able to approach the Tree of Life again.
Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight or to be desired—good (suitable, pleasant) for food; the tree of life also in the center of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of [the difference between] good and evil and blessing and calamity.
Genesis 3:24 So [God] drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep and guard the way to the tree of life.
Genesis 21:33 (AMP) Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the Lord, the Eternal God.
Exodus 15:25 And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree which he cast into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There [the Lord] made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He proved them,
Matthew 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire.
Acts 5:30 The God of our forefathers raised up Jesus, Whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree (cross).
1 Peter 2:24 He personally bore our sins in His [own] body on the tree [as on an altar and offered Himself on it], that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.
Revelation 22:14 Blessed (happy and to be envied) are those who cleanse their garments, that they may have the authority and right to [approach] the tree of life and to enter through the gates into the city.
I personally do not know the origin of who came up with the Christmas tree. But I will celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!! The Tree is the Cross in which our Lord laid down His life to become a curse to bore our sins in His Body that we might die to our sin and live to righteousness. HONOR HIM!!! For a virgin had given birth to a Savior and His Name is Immanuel!!
Deception will become more rampant in the coming dark days. Many people attempt to teach out of their pride and their own understanding. I ask those who teach to be more cautious for you will be judge with greater condemnation. Have you been given authority to teach? For not all of you should become teachers scripture says. Unless you teach with the Fear of God, how will you teach with wisdom?
Merry Christmas and ALL THE GLORY TO JESUS IN THE HIGHEST. WE GIVE HIM THE HIGHEST PRAISE!!!!
http://fireofgodservants.blogspot.com/2012/11/to-christmas-or-not-to-christmas.html
FIRE OF GOD MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL
Pst Steve Yong Kim
December 3, 2012
In Jeremiah 10, it speaks about the craftsman. We can go to Isaiah 40 to expound on this.
ReplyDeleteIsaiah 40:19-20
The graven image! A workman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts silver chains for it.20 He who is so impoverished that he has no offering or oblation or rich gift to give [to his god is constrained to make a wooden offering, an idol; so he] CHOOSES A TREE THAT WILL NOT ROT; HE SEEKS OUT A SKILLFUL CRAFTMAN TO CARVE AND SET UP AN IMAGE THAT WILL NOT TOTTER OR DETERIORATE.