1 Kings 7:13-14
“King Solomon then asked for a man named Huram to come from Tyre. He was half Israelite, since his mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been a craftsman in bronze from Tyre. Huram was extremely skillful and talented in any work in bronze, and he came to do all the metal work for King Solomon.”
This is a beautiful prophetic picture that God uses, in the midst of the construction of the Temple of the Lord, during the reign of King Solomon.
The wise and extravagant King Solomon, conscripts Huram half Gentile, half Jew. Huram whose name translates to “Noble born”. Huram the son of a craftsman, who himself was an expert in bronze work. Bronze, a valuable alloy at the time the Temple was built, is made from two different metals being refined together by fire. Tin, which at the time was rare and valuable, and copper which was common and cheap. This refined blend would produce bronze, a shiny and reflective material. It would be purposed to literally reflect the Glory of God from the temple into the world around it.
Huram’s work was not arbitrary. It paints a very important New Testament type in shadow to the work and ministry of Jesus that should be applied to our hearts today.
Jesus, who was born of the highest nobility, was fully God and fully man. Jesus, who’s earthly father, Joseph, was also a craftsman. Jesus, the Son, who also was commissioned by a wise and extravagant King (Father God) for a very specific work. Jesus, who was tasked with building and finishing the New Testament temple (you and me) to reflect and shine God’s glory into the world around us.
Jesus did this work in a similar fashion to the way that was prophetically illustrated by Huram, who produced bronze with the purpose to reflect and shine Glory from the temple. Jesus, who is the most divine, precious and rare, gave Himself on the cross. In doing this, He prepared himself so that He could then enter into the New Covenant temple which is yielded humanity on earth. A humanity which is common and oftentimes given away to many lovers and idols cheaply, but when yielded to Jesus prepares itself to be merged to Him spirit to Spirit. Where then, we are refined and created into the image of Jesus by His holy fire. Thus producing a new product, or better yet, a new creation with the sole purpose of shining God’s Glory through us into the earth around us. What a beautiful picture. What a glorious God.
This should give us great hope and confidence in who we are and what we are called to do. Jesus in you, through the refining work of His spirit and fire, has redefined our common human state to reflect His divine beauty. Not because of our ability, but because of His glory and wisdom. The perfect blend of His divinity in our yielded humanity is what creates the alloy so that we may shine vibrantly into the world. It’s the same picture of the nativity in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. A perfect, beautiful, and divine God enters into a very common and messy world through our Savior, Jesus. In that moment He was born, God’s Glory began to manifest. A star that led wise men, and heavenly host that sang glory in the highest before shepherds. It's a simple but yet extraordinary heavenly equation. God’s power and divinity + common but yielded humanity = God’s Glory being revealed to the earth.
It’s important that we understand who we are before God so that we can then understand the impact of Him within us. When we yield to His will, He transforms our weak and common human frame into a vessel that shines His glory into the world around us. Yieldedness is the only way to walk in your divine purpose. It is through submission not only to who He is, but also what He is doing within us that causes us to shine brightly in the world. There is a vast difference between knowing about someone as opposed to becoming like someone. Jesus does not call us to simply know who He is. He calls us to walk-in our divine purpose. He calls us to lay down our lives in exchange for His. Doing more for Jesus and simply learning more about Him without a yielded spirit that is willing to be refined, will do no good for you. That only reflects a tarnished religious spirit into the world. A laid down lover, a true follower of Jesus is fully submitted to be molded like clay in the hands of the Potter. Lord help me to do so.
Love,
Pastor John
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