What's more precious than earthly gold & silver?

Having conducted a search through scriptures for references relating to gold and silver the following narrative came through in the verses I located – it is quite clear.

Psa 12:6 The words of YHUH are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Psa 18:30 As for YHUH, his way is perfect: the word of YHUH is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

Psa 19:7 The law of YHUH is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of YHUH is sure, making wise the simple.

Psa 19:8 The statutes of YHUH are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of YHUH is pure, enlightening the eyes.

Psa 19:9 The fear of YHUH is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of YHUH are true and righteous altogether.

Psa 19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Psa 66:10 For thou, O YHUH, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.

Psa 119:72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.

Psa 17:3 Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

Psa 26:2 Examine me, O YHUH, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

Pro 17:3 The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but YHUH trieth the hearts.

Pro 27:21 As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

Deu 8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which YHUH thy Elohim led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

Job 23:10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Isa 1:25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

Isa 1:26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

Isa 48:10 Behold, I have refined thee as truly as silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Eze 22:18 Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.

Eze 22:19 Therefore thus saith YHUH; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

Eze 22:20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.

Eze 22:21 Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof.

Eze 22:22 As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I, YHUH have poured out my fury upon you.

Eze 20:38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am YHUH.

Jer 9:7 Therefore thus saith YHUH of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?

Jer 17:10 I YHUH search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Mal 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:

Mal 3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto YHUH an offering in righteousness.

Zec 13:8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith YHUH, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

Zec 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, YHUH is my Elohim.

1Pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

Jas 1:12 Baruched (blessed) is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which YHUH hath promised to them that love him.

1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and splendour at the appearing of Yah'ushua Messiah:

Rev 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the assemblies shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

A word of caution: Isn't it ironic that the god of silver, gold and fortune was called Gad (pronounced Gawd), thought to be the origin of the title God used in the Bible, as opposed to YHUH, Yahuah, our living Elohim whose wisdom, knowledge and character far outweighs all riches on this earth.

Isa 65:11 But ye are they that forsake YHUH, that forget my q'odesh (holy) mountain, that prepare a table for that troop,(H1408) and that furnish the drink offering (H4469) unto that number (H4507).

Strong's H1408

גּד gad

A variation of H1409; Fortune, a Babylonian deity: - that troop.

Strong's H4469

ממסך mamsâk

mam-sawk'

From H4537; mixture, that is, (specifically) wine mixed (with water or spices): - drink-offering, mixed wine.

Strong's H4507

מני

men-ee'

From H4487; the Apportioner, that is, Fate (as an idol): - number.

Isa 65:12 Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

Let's continue:

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see.

Rev 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

Rev 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 

 Rev 18:11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

Rev 18:12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

Jas 2:2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;

Jas 2:3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

Jas 2:4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye q'odesh; for I am q'odesh.

1Pe 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Jas 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

Jas 5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten.

Jas 5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

Jas 5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Master of sabaoth (YHUH).

Let's make sure we are pleasing YHUH by seeking true riches, not worldly idolatrous lusts. That which is presented in the scripture of our salvation is entirely hidden, and invisible to the natural mind. No light of nature, of reason, science or philosophy, can see or search out that wisdom from shamayim (heaven) which is “hid from all living.” “It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof” Job, 28: 15, 21. It is unsearchable riches. 

Who can forget the scene in scriptures where Yahushua overturns the money-changers' tables in the temple as follows:

Mat 21:12 And Yahushua went into the temple of YHUH, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

Mat 21:13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

We are obviously not to make merchandise of the scriptures and all wisdom and knowledge given by YHUH.

 I'm sure most everyone has heard the worldly saying “the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow”. Firstly, the reason for the rainbow was a promise made by YHUH that he will never again flood the earth to rid the earth of sin which overwhelmed it. Sin came as a result of people missing the mark or goal which YHUH had set for our righteousness.

Rom 10:4 For Messiah is the end (G5056) of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Strong's G5056

τέλος

telos

tel'-os

From a primary word τέλλω tellō (to set out for a definite point or goal); properly the point aimed at as a limit, that is, result [immediate, ultimate or prophetic], purpose); Compare G5411.

Now, is worldly gold a righteous goal or a goal which satan has set up? The mark of the beast? The goal of the beast? 666 – ironically this number is mentioned here:

1Ki 10:14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold.

We all know that Solomon in the end was overcome by the lusts of the world, especially idolatrous women.

Speaking of the mark of the beast, 666, it's not necessarily a physical mark on the forehead or arm, it could mean our thoughts and actions, our loyalty and allegiance in following some leader.

Now, as opposed to the modern prosperity church teaching, where you are to have continuously in mind and action the earning of tithes and offerings which they extort, we are, in fact, supposed to rather have YHUH's laws in our hearts and minds and in our actions:

Deu 11:18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.

Phylacterie which the Orthodox Jews wear are an outward show of the above command but without reaching their very hearts and souls. We are not to be just ritualistic in our following of YHUH's ways.

Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

With the busy people of the prosperity churches forever striving for more riches they surely do not have time to meditate on and study YHUH's laws and scriptures. The people in these churches must forever climb the worldly corporate ladders to bring more money into the church as commanded by the church leaders. The church leaders are not looking out for the well-being of their flock, they don't care about their overworked, burnt out sheep, their goal is nothing more than worldly success at all costs. Again:

Jas 5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

Jas 5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Master of sabaoth (YHUH).

YHUH sees how the church leaders are not allowing their congregations the full Sabbath as YHUH intended. Instead the church tells their congregation that every day is now Sabbath as we have Yah'ushua and He is our rest. Really? No, a true leader will allow the people to follow the fourth commandment properly if he cares for his flock, as it says very clearly:

Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it q'odesh.

Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of YHUH thy Elohim: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Exo 20:11 For in six days YHUH made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the YHUH baruched the sabbath day, and purified it.

Sabbath, the seventh day – look it up in any encyclopaedia – it is sunset Shiy'shiy (Friday) to sunset Shabbat (Saturday) as originally observed, a full 24 hours of rest from earning an income, scrabbling for worldly material gain, and scrabbling after our worldly lusts (like TV, worldly movies, paying to watch live sports events where people exert themselves for money, no different to paying church leaders to exert themselves and entertain the congregation for a couple of hours with energetic music and over the top energetic charismatic rantings to earn their tithes and offerings, shopping and having others serve us expensive unhealthy, often unclean foods in restaurants and take-aways. As you can see above – we are to allow others around us to have their Sabbath rest as well, we are not to burden them to work so it's best to not do commercialised activities. The list goes on.)

Now, what advice did Yah'ushua give to a successful rich man regarding the pot of gold he had always striven for?

Luk 18:18-30  And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

And Yah'ushua said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, YHUH.

 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

Now when Yah'ushua heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

And when Yah'ushua saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of YHUH!

For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of YHUH.

And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with YHUH.

Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.

And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of YHUH's sake,

Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

What more can be said – Yah'ushua followed His Father's commandments and did not go after worldly wealth and lusts, what makes us any different if we are to follow Him as our example?

**UPDATE 28/01/2023: I came across this teaching the other day, and I found it very powerful, concerning the value of the Ten Commandments.

It starts with how we should all view the law of YHUH, the 10 Commandments:

Psalms 119:72  The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.

Now, to expand on that. Over time man has corrupted his understanding and some parts of the Ten Commandments are willfully ignored by many. Ironically, it's mostly the Sabbath command, the 4th Commandment, which begins with, Remember...

I cover this Sabbath command more in-depth in my other article: https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6861572145062256538/6996861399654707599

But for purposes of this article I am focusing more on the value that these commandments should hold in our hearts and minds. It should be of the utmost importance for us to always be aware if all is well with our souls, are we still keeping all ten? Are we still in line with what our Creator commanded? If not, our response should be as follows:

Luke 15:8-10  What woman, having ten pieces of silver, if she loses one piece, does not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? 

And when she hath found it, she calls her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.

Likewise, I say unto you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the Malakim of YHUH over one sinner that repents.

Note: By losing one commandment, you have become a sinner! When you find that one missing piece again you've repented, which becomes rejoicing thereafter as you are once again whole/perfect!

Gen 17:1  ...YHUH appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty Elohim; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

Deu 18:13  Thou shalt be perfect with YHUH thy Elohim.

1Ki 8:61  Let your heart therefore be perfect with YHUH thy Elohim, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

Psalms 101:6  Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walks in a perfect way, he shall serve me.

Matthew 5:48  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in shamayim is perfect.

John 17:23  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of YHUH.

Phillip 3:15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, YHUH shall reveal even this unto you.

2Titus 3:17  That the man of YHUH may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Heb 13:21  Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Yahushua; to whom be splendor forever and ever. Amein.

James 1:25  But whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Remember, we are to "light a candle, and sweep the house" 

Psalms 18:28  For thou wilt light my candle: YHUH my Elohim will enlighten my darkness.

Psalms 27:1  YHUH is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? YHUH is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalms 119:105  Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Prov 4:18  But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day.

Prov 6:23  For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

Yes, to get back on the right path we are to read Scripture and search out the truth we seek (we can pray to YHUH that He points out for us through His spirit what we lack in the Scripture to aid us). We continue keeping the commandments and we follow others whom we know to be just and righteous as they can be shining examples to us in our times of darkness - they may also be able to point out to us which of the commandments we've lost.