Amethyst - The Ninth Stone in Aaron's Breastplate
Amethyst
Amethyst is one of the few stones in Aaron's Breastplate that are not contested by any other stone. Amethyst is the 12th stone in the foundations of the New Jerusalem. So many of the stones have been so widely contested that its nice to settle on just one for a change.
Amethyst is a member of the quartz family and shows up in the wild in the form of quartz crystal geodes. Amethyst can still be found in Africa, and was widely used by Egyptians in their jewelry. On the Mohs hardness scale, it ranks a 7, which gemologists says is good for jewelry creation. This gem has long been associated with royalty, and the greek name from which it comes, means "not drunk" which some scholars take to mean it was used as an amulet, while other scholars say it refers to the deep rich wine-like purple in many of the gem's naturally found iterations.
Sources and Research
- The Tribe of Naphtali
Naphtali was the sixth son of Jacob. The tribe was one of great warriors. They took part in some of the greatest battles fought in the Old Testament. - Was Matthias or Paul God's choice to replace Judas as the 12th apostle?
Was Matthias or Paul God's choice to replace Judas as the 12th apostle?
Naphtali and Mattias - Associations with the Stone
Naphtali's name means "wrestler". It is interesting to note that Naphtali, along with Asher and Dan, brought up the rear whenever Israel was on the move in the desert. Remember we learned that Dan was to be a leader among his brethren, and the Tribe of Dan commands this last quarter of the nation. Reviewing Jacob's blessings over his sons, reveals that Naphtali was referred to as having "beautiful words", or as other scholars say, having eloquent speech. Eloquence is indeed one of the things commonly attributed to royalty.
Today's stone would not be complete without some controversy attached to it. This time, that controversy isn't in the stone itself, as it is in the concept of the 12th disciple. While some have said it was Paul, and indeed there is enough concensus as to agree with some in the Early Church who granted Paul a name on the 12 foundations of the New Jerusalem, others feel it is instead, Matthias, who was voted into position in the book of Acts.
Matthias, in the book of Acts, replaced Judas, who, as we know from the Scriptures, had committed suicide after betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Not much is known about Matthias, other than that he was present not merely during John the Baptist's preaching, but apparently followed Christ's teachings as well. His name in Hebrew, means "Gift of God".
In this discussion we have a few things of note.
a) The royal colour purple present in the stone called Amethyst.
b) Eloquent speech said of one whose name means "wrestle" or "wrestler"
c) Contention between man's election or God's appointment.
d) The Hebrew version of Matthias meaning "Gift of God".
So what does this mean for the Bride of Christ?
The Bride of Christ is destined for royalty one day. One day, Scripture says we will rule and reign with Him when He returns for the 1000 year reign on the earth. In order for this destiny to be fulfilled, there is some wrestling that has to take place in the life of the Christian. We cannot be complacent about how we live our lives every day. We must be constantly aware that there is an enemy out there who wants nothing more than to strip our royal heritage from us and drive us into hell. Secondly, we must be mindful of our speech. Scripture offers many admonissions on this issue, the books of Proverbs and James being foremost in this author's mind. Scripture says that it isn't the words of the wordly wise that will win souls, but the foolishness of preaching that will rescue souls from the grasp of the enemy camp. Thirdly, we must be mindful of seeking God's wisdom in all that we set about to do. As the Scriptures say, it shouldn't be "tomorrow we will do this or that" but "Lord-willing, and with His blessing, we shall do this or that" and seek God in the major and minor decisions of life. God wants to be included in everyday life! Even simple things, if God's allowed to have a say, can turn out quite different than originally planned. Lastly, we must remember that our salvation is God's gift to us through Jesus Christ our Lord. We will never realize the royalty set out for us if we do not accept Him as Lord and Saviour of our lives and seek to live out that gift in everyday life.
Today we covered the Ninth Stone
Hebrew
| Greek
| Septuagint
| King James
| Breastplate Stone
| Foundation Stone
| Color
| Tribe
| Apostle
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Odem
| sardius/Carnelian
| Sardius
| Sardius
| Ruby
| Sard
| Red
| Reuben
| Philip
|
Pitdah
| Topaz
| Topaz
| Topaz
| Topaz
| Topaz
| Tan
| Simeon
| Matthew
|
Bareketh
| Emerald
| Emerald
| Carbuncle (Garnet)
| Peridot
| Chrysoprase
| Yellow green (Golden)
| Levi
| Thaddaeus
|
Jophek
| Anthrax
| Anthrax(Garnet)
| Emerald
| Garnet
| Jacinth
| Reddish black
| Judah
| Simon
|
Sappir
| Sapphire
| Sapphire
| Sapphire
| Aqua-marine
| Chalcedony
| Light Blue
| Issachar
| Paul
|
Yahalom
| Jasper
| Jasper
| Diamond
| Fire Opal
| Jasper
| Orange
| Zebulun
| Peter
|
Leshem
| Ligure
| Ligure
| Ligure
| Sapphire
| Lapis Lazuli
| Royal Blue
| Dan
| Andrew
|
Shebo
| Agate
| Agate
| Agate
| Emerald
| Emerald
| Green
| Gad
| John
|
Ahlamah
| Amethyst
| Amethyst
| Amethyst
| Amethyst
| Amethyst
| Purple
| Naphtali
| Matthias
|
© 2013 Marilynn Dawson