1 Chronicles 28 - 2 Chronicles 1

[wolfpurplemoon]

David has to let his son Solomon build God's house because he himself killed too many people.

Solomon makes silver and gold as plentiful as stones, which surely kills any value they have.

Comments

Silver and Gold losing their values

[(Anonymous)]

It's true, God Himself uses and accepts earthly "precious" stones and minerals as devices of construction. This shows God's own sovereignty and worth over all the things man holds dear and valuable. When the saints of God, Jesus's redeemed, walk upon the of streets New jerusalem, we will see how devalued gold has truly become when we put it beneath our feet.

Having too much silver and gold

[(Anonymous)]

Yep...having too much silver and gold is a real bummer. Just like having too much money today sucks! Actually....I have honestly thought how I would like to have 'soo much money' that it seems worthless to me. But, in a way, you are right....cause after Solomon ends up having it all...he writes Ecclsiastes which basically says that this life will end up being meaningless if you don't find the true value in it which is realizing what is coming next. It's like playing that monopoly game and winning big and then realizing it's just a game. But yeah...I'll take so much silver and gold that its worthless. Please.

Re: Having too much silver and gold

[wolfpurplemoon]

You've misunderstood me, we value silver and gold as highly as we do because of their relative rarity. If silver and gold became as plentiful as stones then their value would be the same as a stone and they'd therefore have no value. It's like using leaves as money, there would be plenty of it (it's growing on trees after all!) but then inflation would kick in and you'd have to buy stuff with a whole forest of leaves. But of course, silver and gold is prettier than leaves! :D

[(Anonymous)]

I think that even if this is not just literary hyperbole, the precious metals are only common in Jerusalem. Also, they are not lying around for anyone to pick up, like stones. To me, it sounds like Solomon spent lots of money buying metals and stones to use on public buildings in Jerusalem. In order for him to do this, it must have become a prosperous town, a bit like in boom times these days where city bankers or gangstas go in for conspicuous consumption: putting gold dust or diamonds in champagne, and using gold leaf as a garnish. There's still the same amount of gold in the world, but more of it is concentrated in Jerusalem. So perhaps it is devalued in relation to goods and services inside Jerusalem - there's probably a high cost if living.

[helen leckie (from livejournal.com)]

That last comment was me, but my phone crashed when logging my name

[wolfpurplemoon]

Thanks for your comment, I think you are probably right that the reference to the precious metals being as plentiful as stones did mean within Jerusalem, though it's been several months since I read this chapter now!