From Trials to Usefulness in the Bible
. . . caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a stick. Grain must be ground to make bread. . . Isaiah 28: 27a, 28b.
This passage alludes to how spices and grain were prepared in ancient times so they could be put to their intended use. And a threshing technique is still used today to process grains and spices. To read this passage for context, click here.
Check out this video of how this process is done with wheat at a very basic, crude level.
The Connection Between Trials and Usefulness in the Bible
The spices and the grain may be perfect and flawless with no defect in them. And yet, until they are beaten and ground, they are of no use to the one who planted them.
They do not accomplish their purpose until they are beaten and ground. Wheat needs to be ground into flour before it can be used to make bread or cake or pasta.
But what does this symbolize for us? I believe this is a metaphor for the “trials that test our faith” (see James 1:2-4).
Beaten And Ground
We don’t accomplish our full purpose either until we are “beaten” and “ground”. And this is brought about as we endure the previously mentioned trials that test our faith.
One way this occurs, in practical terms, is when we resist temptation to sin. And to meet our own needs and take care of ourselves apart from God. It occurs as we resist the temptation to preserve our life (Mathew 10:39).
The good news is we can learn this through the everyday routine and hassles and annoyances and difficulties of daily life. In fact, if we submit ourselves to the trials that everyday life subjects us to, we won’t have to go through really hard and painful ones.
The Easy Way or the Hard Way
We get to choose to learn the easy (easier) way, or the hard way, but learn we must. God will not leave us alone, will not stop striving with us until we learn our lessons.
He wants us to be used for the full purpose for which we were created. “Remove the dross from the silver, and a silversmith can produce a vessel” Proverbs 25:4.
The alabaster jar of sweet perfume that Mary poured on Jesus’ feet had to be broken in order to accomplish its purpose (see John 12:1-7).
In this case, it was used to prepare Jesus for His burial. But the usual purpose was to be a sweet-smelling perfume to everyone around. And this couldn’t happen unless it was broken.
To check another post similar to From Trials to Usefulness in the Bible, see Yeast In the Bible: Mixing Process No Fun. This is about the connection between trials and the kneading process of dough. Or you may be interested in The Israelites In the Desert: How to Get Out Faster.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2022-2023 Anita Wood