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Literal and metaphorical references to stones, minerals, and rocks of all kinds color the Bible from beginning to end. That's because the stony ribs of the lands of the Bible have always stood out for all to see, even when trees clothed them much more thickly than today. The stones of the field define the Holy Land. Just as they give the landscape its shape, they have shaped the daily lives and history of its inhabitants from earliest times. The stones of the field inevitably colored the thoughts and writings of its people, accounting for the abundance of the Bible's references to rocks and stones.* The poetry of the Bible turns each allusion into a jewel to brighten your way and bring you closer, day by day, to the Rock who endures and towers above all evil.
Each reflection on the place of a subject in nature and its role in the biblical drama of creation and redemption the Bible will lead to a focus on its application in our lives today.
My premise throughout this series is that "The earth is the LordŐs and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein" (Psalm 24:1, RSV) and "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made" (John 1:2a). I write in the conviction that mining the treasury of biblical references to geological materials is one way that God can use to "raise up children to Abraham" who are the good and faithful servants He welcomes.
May I invite you to mine this lode with me by subscribing to my free monthly newsletter featuring meditations based on biblical stones, rocks, and minerals.
* Ruth V. Wright and Robert L. Chadbourne in Gems and Minerals of the Bible count 1704 specific references to 62 gems and minerals under 124 Hebrew and Greek names. The number of allusions to stones and rocks in general must be many times greater. Wright, Ruth V., & Robert L. Chadbourne, 1970. Gems and Minerals of the Bible. New York: Harper & Row.