This happened earlier this year and GOD keeps bringing it up in my mind to discuss, so I can no longer put this off…..I was reading my Bible and something I probably skipped over many times before as a trivial thing jumped out at me at that reading. I was in 1 Chronicles reading about the Holy implements created for Solomon’s temple and one item especially caught my attention, in a major way. I came to the following section of the Bible about David’s charge from GOD for Solomon to build the Temple:
1 Chronicles 28:11: Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, 12And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: 13Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD. 14He gave of gold by weight for things of gold, for all instruments of all manner of service; silver also for all instruments of silver by weight, for all instruments of every kind of service: 15Even the weight for the candlesticks of gold, and for their lamps of gold, by weight for every candlestick, and for the lamps thereof: and for the candlesticks of silver by weight, both for the candlestick, and also for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick. 16And by weight he gave gold for the tables of shewbread, for every table; and likewise silver for the tables of silver: 17Also pure gold for the fleshhooks, and the bowls, and the cups: and for the golden basons he gave gold by weight for every bason; and likewise silver by weight for every bason of silver: 18And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
But it was this section that GOD brought my eyes to:
“Also pure gold for the fleshhooks,”
And I thought about how the hooks for the meat animal offering in the temple were of pure gold. And these were for the priests to handle and in ancient times back during the Prophet Samuel the fleshhooks had three prongs. And then GOD brought it to my attention that JESUS was the replacement for the former system of animal sacrifice for atonement of sin once and for all on the cross and those three-pronged “fleshhooks” of gold represented the nails—the three nails in JESUS’ hands and feet. And I was stunned because of the importance of this detail to GOD to bring this to my attention regarding the price JESUS paid on the cross to save us all.
So later, THAT SAME DAY, I stopped in my in-laws assisted living and I went into their facility’s library. I wasn’t there very long and I went to a book on the shelf about the city of Boston. And I decided to look at it and I opened the book up and the first page I came to was about a butcher who was putting meat up on a hook and I realized that this was a message for me, about how JESUS had taken on the role of the sacrificial lamb and literally took the place of animal sacrifice HIMSELF. And as hard as this is to contemplate it was GOD ALMIGHTY dying like an animal to save us all from the enemy and hell. And no this isn’t a pretty subject but it’s the price for sin and it’s our very life restored by that single act of love. It is ugly and beautiful all at the same time. And GOD gave David the instructions to make the fleshhooks of pure gold even before David knew that JESUS would come and do what HE did because GOD knew that the nails would replace the fleshhooks someday….
