bronze

September 21, 2017

Bel eats and drinks (Dan 14:6-14:7)

“The king said to Daniel.

‘Do you not think

That Bel

Is a living God?

Do you not see

How much he eats,

How much he drinks,

Every day?’

Then Daniel laughed.

He said.

‘Do not be deceived!

O king!

This thing is

Only clay inside,

With bronze,

On the outside.

It never ate

Or drank anything.’”

King Cyrus got into a conversation with Daniel about Bel and his living God. The king maintained that Bel was also a living god, since he was able to eat and drink every day. Then Daniel laughed at him. He told the king not to be deceived. Bel was only made of clay and bronze, so that it was not capable of eating or drinking.

August 30, 2017

Why was the fourth beast different? (Dan 7:19-7:19)

“Then I desired to know

The truth concerning

The fourth beast.

It was different

From all the rest.

It was exceedingly terrifying.

It had teeth

Of iron.

It had claws

Of bronze.

It devoured.

It broke in pieces.

It stamped

The residue

With its feet.”

Daniel wanted to know the truth about why the 4th beast was so different. It was more terrifying. It had great iron teeth that devoured and tore to pieces anything it wanted to. It also had claws of bronze, which was not mentioned in the earlier description. It even stamped on whatever was left over with its feet.

August 22, 2017

The unhumble king (Dan 5:22-5:23)

“‘You!

His son!

King Belshazzar!

Have not humbled

Your heart,

Even though

You knew all this!

You have exalted yourself

Against the Lord of heaven!

The vessels

Of his temple

Have been brought in

Before you.

You,

Your lords,

Your wives,

Your concubines,

Have been drinking wine

From them.

You have praised

The gods

Of silver

Of gold,

Of bronze,

Of iron,

Of wood,

Of stone.

They do not

See,

Hear,

Or know.

You have not honored

The God

In whose power

Is your very breath,

To whom belong

All your ways.’”

Daniel then turned to King Belshazzar himself, because he had not humbled his heart, even though he knew all about his father or grandfather. He too exalted himself against the Lord of heaven. He even took the vessels from his holy temple for his feast or party to drink wine with his lords, wives, and concubines. He even praised the false idol gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone who could not see, hear, or know anything. He did not honor the true God, who controls his life and his actions.

August 20, 2017

They drank wine from the sacred vessels (Dan 5:3-5:4)

“So,

They brought in

The vessels

Of gold,

The vessels

Of silver,

That had been taken

Out of the temple,

The house of God,

In Jerusalem.

The king,

His lords,

His wives,

His concubines,

Drank from them.

They drank

The wine.

They praised

The gods

Of gold,

The gods

Of silver,

The gods

Of bronze,

The gods

Of iron,

The gods

Of wood,

The gods

Of stone.”

So, the feast or party rolled on. The servants brought in these silver and gold vessels from the Temple of God in Jerusalem. Then the king, his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank wine from them. They praised the various idols or pagan gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone that were common in Babylon.

August 4, 2017

The destruction of the statue (Dan 2:34-2:35)

“As you looked on,

A stone was cut out,

Not by human hands.

It struck the statue

On its feet

Of iron and clay.

It broke them

Into pieces.

Then the iron,

The clay,

The bronze,

The silver,

The gold,

Were all broken

Into pieces.

They became

Like the chaff

Of the summer threshing floors.

The wind

Carried them away.

Thus,

Not a trace of them

Could be found.

But the stone

That struck the statue

Became a great mountain.

It filled

The whole earth.”

Daniel explained that the statue of the king’s dream was destroyed. Somehow, a stone was cut out of a mountain. Then, this cut rock struck the iron and clay feet of this statue, but with no one with hands directing this rock. Thus, the feet of this statue were broken into pieces. Then the rest of the statue with its iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold also broke into pieces. These small pieces of the statue became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, blowing in the wind. No one would ever be able to find them. However, the cut rock that struck the feet of the statue became like a big mountain covering the whole earth.

August 4, 2017

A description of the statue in the kings ‘s dream (Dan 2:32-2:33)

“The head

Of that statue

Was of fine gold.

Its breast,

With its arms,

Were of silver.

It middle,

With its thighs,

Were of bronze.

Its legs

Were of iron.

Its feet

Were partly of iron,

Partly of clay.”

Next, Daniel described this great big brilliant scary statue in the king’s dream. The head was made of fine gold, while its arms and breast were made of silver. His middle and thighs were bronze, while his legs were made of iron. However, his feet were part iron and part clay. This was an imposing figure made up of various different metals.

May 10, 2017

The melting in the furnace of Jerusalem (Ezek 22:19-22:22)

“Therefore,

Thus says Yahweh God!

‘Because you have all become

Worthless dross,

I will gather you

Into the midst of Jerusalem.

As one gathers

Silver,

Bronze,

Iron,

Lead,

Tin,

Into a smelter furnace,

To blow the fire

Upon them,

In order

To melt them.

So I will gather you

In my anger,

In my wrath.

I will put you in

The furnace of Jerusalem.

I will melt you.

I will gather you

I will blow upon you

With the fire

Of my wrath.

You shall be melted

Within it.

As silver is melted

In a smelter furnace,

So you shall be melted

In it.

You shall know

That I,

Yahweh,

Have poured out

My wrath

Upon you.’”

Yahweh said that they all had become worthless dross in Jerusalem. Just like one gathers silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin to put into a smelter furnace, so too the anger and wrath of Yahweh would gather them together. He would put them into Jerusalem to melt them with the fire of his wrath. He was going to blow fire on them, just like fire on metals in a smelter furnace. Thus they would know that Yahweh had poured out his fiery wrath upon them.

May 10, 2017

They have become worthless dross metals (Ezek 22:17-22:18)

“The word of Yahweh

Came to me.

‘Son of man!

The house of Israel

Has become

Worthless dross

To me.

All of them,

Silver,

Bronze,

Tin,

Iron,

Lead,

Are worthless dross.

In the smelter,

They have become

Worthless dross.’”

Yahweh once again came to Ezekiel, the son of man. This time he proclaimed that the house of Israel had become worthless dross, the left over elements after smelting in a furnace. Thus silver, bronze, tine, iron, and lead were all worthless, as if they were the remains of a refining process in a smelting furnace.

March 25, 2017

The four living creatures (Ezek 1:5-1:7)

“In the middle of it

Was something

Like four living creatures.

This was their appearance.

They were of human form.

Each had four faces.

Each of them had four wings.

Their legs were straight.

The soles of their feet were

Like the sole of a calf’s foot.

They sparkled

Like burnished bronze.”

Ezekiel had this colorful vision of 4 living creatures in the middle of this cloud. They appeared to have human forms. However, each of them had 4 faces and 4 wings. They had straight legs, but the soles of their feet were like that of a calf’s foot. They seemed to sparkle like bronze. Thus they were human like, but had wings and strange feet, perhaps like an angel of some kind.

November 14, 2016

The response of Yahweh (Jer 15:11-15:12)

“Yahweh said.

‘Surely I have intervened

In your life for good.

Surely I imposed enemies on you!

I intervened with you

In a time of trouble.

I intervened with you

In a time of distress.

Can iron with bronze

Break iron from the north?’”

Yahweh reminds Jeremiah that he has had a good life. However, Yahweh has given him enemies, yet he was there in his times of trouble and distress. Then Yahweh returned to the theme of how to defeat the invaders from the north. Would a combination of iron and bronze be enough to break the coming iron from the north? Only time will tell.