Bible Studies

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GOLD, FRANKINCENSE, & MYRRH

�And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshipped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh� (Matthew 2:11). What is many times skimmed over when reading this story is the gifts that were given to Jesus by the Wise Men. If asked the majority of people would likely know what gifts were given to Him, but not why it was these three particular gifts. One may think that what the Wise Men gave Jesus had no special importance or value, that the gold, frankincense, and myrrh just happened to be what they had available to them. However, such reasoning is a little shallow. Gifts given to loved ones or those deeply cared about are not gifts acquired haphazardly because it is the thought that counts. These Wise Men were bringing gifts to a King, someone they found worthy of worship. Is it reasonable to assume that the gifts they brought were an afterthought, an insignificant gesture with no meaning? No! They are highly significant. And not just highly significant for Jesus, but for us also because the gifts He received from the Wise Men we, in turn, receive from Him.

Gold, in the Bible, has always stood for divinity, that which is like God. Therefore, it should not be surprising then to learn that gold is mentioned from beginning to end in the Bible. Gold appears at the beginning of the Creation in the Garden of Eden. �The name of the first (river) is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good� (Genesis 2:11-12). The Bible also says gold is what the New Jerusalem is made of at the end of this Creation. �And the material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass� (Revelation 21:18, 21). It is interesting to note that the name �Pishon�, the river mentioned above, means �spreading�. It is almost as if the Lord were hinting, even then, that a time would come when His Spirit � the Gold � would spread throughout His creation; and so it will. �And it will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind� (Joel 2:28).

As Israel sojourned in the Wilderness, before they reached the Promise Land, God instructed Moses to build a tabernacle as a meeting place between the Israelites and Himself. He was further told to construct the Ark of the Covenant, a box that was to be made of acacia wood (symbolic of humanity) and overlaid with gold. Additionally, the lid for the Ark of the Covenant, called the Mercy Seat, was to be made out of pure gold. These were to be placed in the Holy of Holies (Exodus 25:10-21).

The Holy of Holies was the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle. It was a place so holy that only the High Priest could enter there, and even then only once a year. He did so to offer sacrifices to God for himself and the people of Israel for the cleansing of sins.

It becomes obvious when reading the instructions God gave to Moses concerning the furnishings of the tabernacle that everything associated with the presence of the Lord, the Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy Seat, the Golden Altar of Incense, the lamp stands, and the utensils, were either made of pure gold or acacia wood overlaid with gold. That is no accident. It strongly implies gold as being identified with God.

Job, as he was going through his intense trials, not being able to sense the presence of the Lord, nevertheless said, �But He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold� (Job 23:10). Job was looking forward to the day when he would share the Lord�s divine nature. �For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature� (2 Peter 1:4). This divine nature is the gift of salvation.

The gift of gold was given to Jesus to symbolize that He was God in the flesh. It is no accident that the idols described in the Old Testament were frequently made of gold. It reveals the deception that clouded man�s thinking. They desired divine life, just as people do today, but they wanted to control it, to shape it. Fallen man does not want to believe that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, the only way to come to the heavenly Father. They want to believe that their own goodness (fool�s gold!) will be acceptable to God. The Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, and even false Christians do not want to believe Jesus when He says, �I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me� (John 14:6). They may accept Jesus as a good man or a moral teacher, but not divine, not God. They have rejected the true treasure of gold and chosen an idol instead � the idol of Good Works. To such Paul says, �Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh� (Galatians 3:3)?

The second gift was frankincense. This is a word of Hebrew origin that means �white�. It speaks of holiness. It is first used in Exodus 30:34-36. �Then the LORD said to Moses, �Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, spices with pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each. And with it you shall make incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I shall meet with you; it shall be most holy to you.�� This incense was placed upon the golden Altar of Incense by the High Priest to be burned before the Lord. It was to be a sweet odor unto Him.

Frankincense was the resin from a tree. It was obtained by cutting the bark of the tree and letting the resin harden. It was then �harvested� and ground into a powder. It was known for how freely and completely it burned; it left nothing behind. (Thus, the name frankincense.) This is symbolic of a life of holiness. After receiving salvation (Gold) we are told that, �You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy� (Leviticus 19:2). This is more than a command. It is a promise. Because the Lord is holy and because we have received the gift of salvation, we shall be holy. Though we are sinful creatures, by accepting the gift of salvation, we will be holy. ��Come now, and let us reason together,� says the LORD, �Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool�� (Isaiah 1:18). The child of God is to be holy for only holiness can survive the presence of God, a God who describes Himself as �a consuming fire, a jealous God� (Deuteronomy 4:24).

For the child of God this gift of holiness becomes the cry of his heart even though he knows a life of holiness is a life of self-sacrifice. This is symbolized by the fact that frankincense was burned in worship to the Lord. This is part of what Paul meant when he said, �I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship� (Romans 12:1). Are we willing to �burn out� in service to our Lord? Loving God and loving people are the two greatest commandments (Matthew 22:35-40). Only a �holy one� can fulfill such commandments because it requires dying to self � a requirement the unholy mock and ridicule.

Holiness is a gift that burns and it would destroy the unsaved if he possessed it just as fire destroys wood. (This is why the acacia wood used in the tabernacle is overlaid with gold � to, essence, fireproof it from the Lord�s holiness.) The Bible teaches that �each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire� (1 Corinthians 3:13-15). Everything the child of God thinks, says, and does is to be refined by (a fiery process) the holiness that is imparted to him when he is saved (accepts the gift of gold offered to him by Jesus). If it does not accept the gift of gold (salvation), he and his works are nothing more than bare acacia wood, and the holy consuming fire (which is what God is) will destroy them.

This gift of frankincense, this holiness, this whiteness, becomes ours at the same time we receive the gift of gold. �For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ� (Galatians 3:27). Christians are told to �put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God�s image, (Godlike) in true righteousness and holiness� (Ephesians 4:24 AMP). The promise given to the true Christians in Sardis, a church where the majority �talked the talked�, but did not �walk the walk�, was this gift of frankincense, this whiteness. �But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white; for they are worthy� (Revelation 3:4). As we experientially become one with Jesus Christ we will express more and more of this precious gift of holiness. �Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure� (1 John 3:2-3 ESV).

First, Jesus was given gold, symbolizing His Divinity. Next, he was given frankincense, symbolizing His holiness. Lastly, he was given myrrh. Myrrh means �bitterness�. It was used in perfumes, for embalming the dead, and as an anesthesia. It is highly significant that of the three gifts given to Jesus only myrrh is mentioned at the beginning of His life when the Wise Men gave it to Him and then at the end of His life at the cross. After Jesus had been crucified Joseph of Arimathea took His body. �And Nicodemus came also, who had first come to Him by night; bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. And so they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews� (John 19:39-40).

Why is gold and frankincense mentioned only at the beginning of Jesus� life, but myrrh at both the beginning and the end? It is because gold (salvation) is a one-time gift; once given it is never revoked. �For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable� (Romans 11:29). Frankincense (holiness) is also a gift that, though it grows and expands as we experientially clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ, is given to us all at once at the beginning of our walk with Him. From the Lord�s point of view once the gift of salvation is accepted we are as holy as we will ever be. We do not become more holy, from God�s viewpoint, as time goes by. We are instantly called �saints� (Greek - hagios - same word for holy) regardless of how carnal we are.

But the myrrh is different. It symbolizes suffering, trials, tribulations, persecutions, and afflictions and it is not given all at once, but is apportioned over a lifetime. Jesus hinted at this truth when He said, �Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof� (Matthew 6:34 KJV). Myrrh is given to keep pride in check. It is to remind us of our humanity and our dependence upon God. Paul recognized the need for �myrrh� in his life after having received extraordinary revelations from the Lord. �Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself� (2 Corinthians 12:7 HCSB). In man�s fallen state, without the gift of myrrh, he would be irredeemable. As difficult as it may be to accept, suffering and evil serve a divine purpose (a golden purpose, if you will). �The Lord has made everything [to accommodate itself and contribute] to its own end and His own purpose � even the wicked [are fitted for their role] for the day of calamity and evil� (Proverbs 16:4 AMP). Myrrh is comparable to a foul tasting medicine given to a dying man to save him. It is unpleasant, but his life depends upon it and he is thankful to the one who provides it.

Notably, it was wise men that gave Jesus the gift of myrrh. Equally notable, it is a Wise Man who gives us the gift of myrrh (suffering), along with the gold (salvation) and the frankincense (holiness). Suffering, trials, tribulations, persecutions, and afflictions are a natural and necessary part of this life. �And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted� (2 Timothy 3:12). Suffering (myrrh) will play a major role in the life of every saint.

How should this truth be received? Are we to accept the gold and frankincense from the Lord and not the myrrh? Job faced this question after having lost everything. He was not only bankrupt, he lost the most precious thing in his life � his children � all of them. These catastrophic circumstances were too much for his wife. She encouraged him to curse God turn away from Him. (We condemn Mrs. Job, but truthfully now, what would you do?) �But he said to her, �You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?� In all this Job did not sin with his lips� (Job 2:10 ESV). That is faith. Job recognized the sovereignty of God and willingly received not only the good (gold and frankincense), but also what appeared to be evil (myrrh).

The gift of myrrh is not given to destroy, but to purify. �For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison� (2 Corinthians 4:17). �Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little� (1 Peter 5:10 HCSB). Therefore, let us accept from the hand of our Lord all the gifts He desires to give us � the gifts He was given � the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. When we do we will discover that we have become one with Jesus as He is one with the Father (John 17:21).

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise marked are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Copyright Terry L. Brown (2004)
Email [email protected]
www.whispersofthespirit.com

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