Rust & Nanoparticles: Corroding our Faith

It really is time for me to get ur going, but I got on a rabbit trail this morning that I thought I would share.  In Matthew 6 we see reference to rust.  I wondered to myself.  What is the significance of rust in the Bible?  And so I began..

it appears that significant changes occur when new metals come on the scene and others fade in importance.  I think of the hybrid Statue in the Book of Daniel and this passage in Matthew, where it indicates that we can either put our treasure in the Living God Jesus or be corroded down to the molecular level for destruction.  I see this with the new nano technology, which is quite frankly based upon new metals designed to corrode our bodies and faith.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.  Matthew 6 

Biblical Relevance 

Iron Age I was the era of Israel’s formation and emergence, while Iron Age II was the age of classical Israelite culture. The Historical Books of the Bible, along with many of the Prophets, are set during the Iron Age. The foundational core of the Old Testament may have been composed during the Iron Age. 

The Davidic covenant was initiated during the Iron Age. The fluid sociopolitical nature of this period made it a time of reflection as the community sought to understand its relationship with the Lord. This was also the period in which many theological lessons arose, including the errors of misguided politics, religion, and society.  

Iron Production 

During the Iron Age, societies developed the means to create objects made from iron. Although iron ore is available to varying degrees in most regions of the world, it is difficult to process due to its high smelting temperature. Ancient metallurgists often alloyed metals together to create stronger products for warfare, agriculture, and daily life. 

The reliability of iron vaulted civilizations into a period of increased population growth. Although bronze is more dense than iron on a molecular level, iron keeps a better edge, making it ideal for weapons and agricultural equipment (Healy, Mining and Metallurgy, 38–39). Thus, iron technology increased the productivity of crop cultivation and animal husbandry in the Levant (Hopkins, “Agriculture,” 128).   

The region of Israel and Judah saw an increase in population in the Iron Age. This influx of people is typically attributed to the Israelite settlement of Canaan. The Iron Age is the period of the judges, the kingdoms of Saul, David, and Solomon, and the period of the divided kingdom with a separate northern kingdom of Israel and a southern kingdom of Judah. The events of this period are recounted in the biblical books of Joshua, Judges, 1–2 Samuel, and 1–2 Kings (also known as the Deuteronomistic History).  

Premonarchic Israel (ca. 1200–1050 BC; Iron Age I). From the death of Joshua until the anointing of Saul as king of Israel (1 Sam 8), the tribes of Israel appear to have had no central authority. In this period, the tribes seemed to function almost autonomously with only a loose affiliation with each other. The book of Judges describes this period and how particular leaders called judges arose to aid various tribes during times of severe oppression. From the account in Judges and 1 Sam 1–8, the period was characterized by anarchy and chaos. During this time, the tribes of Israel were engaged in almost constant conflict with their neighbors: the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, and other Canaanite city-states that they had not conquered.

Monarchic Period (ca. 1050–586 BC; Iron Age II). This period is the main historical backdrop for much of the Old Testament. Most of the Historical Books and the Prophetic Books relate to this time frame. Much of the literary activity that produced the Old Testament also likely began in this period. The history can be further broken down into two parts: the united monarchy, when all the tribes were united under one king, and the divided kingdom, when the tribes were split into separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah. 

 

United Monarchy  (1050–925 BC; Iron Age IIA). The story of Israel’s transition to monarchy and the reigns of its first three kings is covered in the books of 1–2 Samuel and in 1 Kings 1–11. The judge and prophet Samuel anointed Saul as Israel’s first king (1 Sam 8). David succeeded Saul as king, and David’s son Solomon reigned after him. This period is referred to as the united monarchy because these three kings are depicted as ruling over all the tribes of Israel. 

How to rust iron 

Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. ... Rusting is the common term for corrosion of elemental iron and its alloys such as steel. 

Cultural symbolism 

Rust is a commonly used metaphor for slow decay due to neglect, since it gradually converts robust iron and steel metal into a soft crumbling powder. A wide section of the industrialized American Midwest and American Northeast, once dominated by steel foundries, the automotive industry, and other manufacturers, has experienced harsh economic cutbacks that have caused the region to be dubbed the "Rust Belt".  

In music, literature, and art, rust is associated with images of faded glory, neglect, decay, and ruin. 

(From Forerunner Commentary)  

Matthew 6:19-20  

"Rust" represents anything that "eats into" and destroys things more durable than clothing. In this parable, it has a wider application than mere iron oxide. Rusting or oxidation will eventually corrode all metal, including silver and gold; all of our physical treasure will deteriorate in time (Proverbs 23:4-5; James 5:3). Once moths and rust settle on an object, they gradually eat their way from the exterior to the interior. Thus, beyond their ability to destroy physical objects, moths and rust represent the decay of a person's life. 

   

Matthew 6:19-20  

Houses in the ancient Middle East were frequently made of sun-baked clay or loose stones. Because of this, thieves found it comparatively easy to dig through the wall to enter and steal. Thieves represent the ungodly world that continually seeks to take everything we have and return to us nothing but trouble (Isaiah 56:10-12; John 10:10). Moths and rust attack consumable things, but thieves look to steal enduring treasures for themselves. 

All three metaphors, moth, rust and thieves, merge into one lesson: the futility of an earth-centered life. Taken together, these three stealthy destroyers demonstrate the folly of amassing earthly goods for their own sake. If no other destroyers come against us, old age is like a moth that ruins our beauty and wholeness, disease is like rust that corrodes our bodies, and death is like a thief that breaks in and steals everything we possess. A grim Spanish proverb says, "There are no pockets in a shroud." We can take nothing with us but the character we have built (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Job 32:8). 

Matthew 6:19-20

Houses in the ancient Middle East were frequently made of sun-baked clay or loose stones. Because of this, thieves found it comparatively easy to dig through the wall to enter and steal. Thieves represent the ungodly world that continually seeks to take everything we have and return to us nothing but trouble (Isaiah 56:10-12; John 10:10). Moths and rust attack consumable things, but thieves look to steal enduring treasures for themselves.

All three metaphors, moth, rust and thieves, merge into one lesson: the futility of an earth-centered life. Taken together, these three stealthy destroyers demonstrate the folly of amassing earthly goods for their own sake. If no other destroyers come against us, old age is like a moth that ruins our beauty and wholeness, disease is like rust that corrodes our bodies, and death is like a thief that breaks in and steals everything we possess. A grim Spanish proverb says, "There are no pockets in a shroud." We can take nothing with us but the character we have built (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Job 32:8).

Martin G. Collins, Parable of the Treasure

Will you trust Jesus, man and technology with every part of your life?