wood, hay and straw

Originally posted on April 03, 2008 – by Andre Piet

During the study I gave last Sunday in Zoetermeer about “the bēma,” 1 Corinthians 3:12 came up, among other things. In that verse Paul speaks of various building materials as a metaphor for the building of the assembly of God. On the one hand he speaks of fire-resistant materials: gold, silver and precious stones, and on the other hand of materials that clearly are not: wood, hay and straw.

gold, silver and precious stones

I pointed out that gold speaks of the glory of God as GOD (the One Who has everything in His hand). Silver is a means of payment in Scripture and thus refers to the ransom that Christ Jesus paid, for the deliverance of all (1 Timothy 2:6). Precious stones are a type of the precious truths of the manifold wisdom of God.

All these building materials are each in their own way precious and fireproof, because they refer to God and the work that He does. Wood, hay and straw are the opposite and therefore speak of the works of man.

wood

If we zoom in a bit more on wood, hay and straw, then we can (comparing Scripture with Scripture) fill in the distinct meanings more precisely.
The word for “wood” in 1 Corinthians 3:12 is actually a plural and should be rendered as “wooden parts” (or similar). In the context of a building we then think of posts, beams or planks. Wood primarily serves for the construction of a building. In the context of 1 Corinthians 3 it is not difficult to see a link to the “reasonings of the wise” mentioned there, of which the Lord says that they are vain (1 Corinthians 3:20). Wooden parts typify the clever, human constructions (philosophies) which, however, cannot withstand the test of fire.

hay and straw

Straw (or hay) is tellingly mentioned in Exodus 5, where the slavery of Israel in Egypt is at issue. From then on the Israelites not only had to bake heavy bricks, but also had to provide the straw themselves as a necessary ingredient of the bricks.

We encounter bricks in Scripture for the first time in Genesis 11:3, in connection with the building of the tower of Babel. They are an emblem par excellence of what man bakes himself. In Isaiah 65:3 we read that the people openly provoked their God by sacrificing “on the bricks” (cf. Ex. 20:25,26). Hay (dried grass) and straw (remaining stalks after the harvest) are the characteristic ingredients of such human baked goods. Scripture associates this material with slavery and heavy labor. Hay and straw speak of the heavy, frustrating burdens that people impose either on themselves or on others. In both cases we are then speaking of bales…

In short, “hay and straw” are serviceable to the many religious and philosophical constructions in this world. It is all human work, destined to disappear.

Only what GOD does (gold, silver and precious stones) has real value and withstands time.

Delen: