Exodus 28:15-30 And you shall make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, of blue… I want to find out what this jewel stands for or represents. Well, when I come to read about the sapphire, I find that in old times people used to think that if you carried one of these jewels on your heart, or in your bosom, it would have the effect of making you strong. And then we have only to ask ourselves which of the Bible jewels, or Christian graces, is it which has the greatest power to make people strong? We see in a moment that it is faith. And so we feel safe in saying that the sapphire stands for faith or trust in God; Faith may be compared to the sapphire because it makes us strong. I wish to speak of two things for which faith makes us strong. I. In the first place, faith makes us STRONG TO SUFFER. II. The second reason why faith may be compared to the sapphire is because it makes us STRONG TO SERVE. Now, my dear children, if you want to have this Bible jewel, you must ask Jesus to give it to you. You can't find it. You can't buy it. Your parents, or teachers, or friends, can't get it for you, or give it to you. Nobody but Jesus can give it to you. It is only His grace that can put it in your hearts. If you pray earnestly to Jesus to give you a believing, trusting heart, He will give it to you. This precious jewel, trust in Jesus, is all we need to make us comfortable and happy here, and all we need to save our souls and take us to heaven at last. It is faith, simple faith, or trust in Jesus, that saves us. (R. Newton, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. |
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