Ezekiel 28:13
13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius,d topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
The Emerald
The emerald. Ezekiel 28:13.
May brings us green woods and green fields, but it brings us something greener than these the greenest green in nature the emerald.
Somebody has called the emerald God's favorite stone, because green seems to be God's favorite color. Did you ever think what a lot of green God has put into the world? You see God knows that green is the best color for our eyes to rest on, so He has made it the prevailing shade. Imagine how dreadful it would be if everything now green were red! We should go mad with the glare. Or blue! We should all have the blues in a week. Or white! Our eyes would be so dazzled that they would lose their sight.
The emerald has a name not its own. Emerald means “the torn rock,” and the original owner of the name was a massive green marble veined as if it had been torn asunder. In the Bible it is doubtful if the word translated emerald means exactly the same stone as our emerald. It may be rather a piece of rock crystal.
But the emerald was known in Bible days all the same, for, as long ago as one thousand six hundred and fifty years before Christ came that is to say, about three thousand six hundred years ago emeralds were being mined by the Egyptians on the west coast of the Red Sea. In the beginning of last century a French explorer discovered these mines, and found there the very tools which had been used by the Egyptian workmen so many years ago. Ethiopia, too, was a country from which the emerald came in ancient times.
Today our finest emeralds come from South America. Muzo, in Columbia, on the slopes of the Andes, is the name of the place. Some emeralds are found also in the Ural Mountains in Siberia, but they do not compare with their South American brothers.
When the Spaniards conquered Mexico and Peru they found an immense quantity of magnificent emeralds in the possession of the natives. These they took as spoil, and sent them home over the seas to Spain. No doubt many of these stones are being worn in Spain at this very minute.
The Mexicans called the emerald “quetzalitzali,” that is to say, “the stone of the quetzal.” The quetzal is a Mexican bird with plumage of a brilliant green resembling the stone. Its plumes were worn as a sign of royalty by the rulers of Mexico and Central America, and because of the resemblance of color the emerald was considered a royal stone.
There are tales of huge emeralds the size of a hen's egg, but these tales are fables, for the emerald is not a large stone. At the same time, it is a very rare gem, and a specimen without a flaw is practically priceless. The emerald does not sparkle with hidden fire like the diamond. It owes its beauty to its cool depth of color.
History tells us of some remarkable stones. In 1488 the Sultan of Turkey sent to the reigning Pope a beautiful emerald engraved with the head of Christ. Legend says that this emerald was engraved in the time of Christ by order of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius Caesar. But that sounds too good to be true. Unfortunately all trace of this gem has been lost.
Nero the cruel had an eyeglass made out of an emerald, and through it he watched the gladiators fight in the arena at Pome.
Our own King Henry the Second had an emerald ring which was presented to him along with Ireland. That is really why Ireland is known as “the Emerald Isle,” though it deserves the name on account of its fresh greenness.
Then Napoleon wore an emerald at the Battle of Austerlitz. Perhaps he hoped it would bring him success, for that is said to be the gift which the emerald brings to its wearer.
There are other beliefs attached to it. It is supposed to help the memory. Does it keep it green? I wonder. To the Eastern it is a symbol of unchanging faithfulness. That is perhaps why the apostle John in the Book of Revelation tells us that round the throne which he saw in heaven was a rainbow like an emerald. It was there to show that God is faithful to all His promises. Strangely enough, the emerald was chosen by the Church as the apostle John's special stone. It was supposed to represent his youth and gentleness.
Now I want you to get back to the success idea, and take as the message of the emerald, “ Make a success of your life.”
Honestly, we do not believe that merely wearing an emerald will make anybody successful. And if the emerald could speak, it would be the first to say, “Wear me if you like. I'll do my best, but you must do your best as well.” Yes, that's it. Success does not come to you if you sit down and wait for it to arrive. You have to get up and hustle around and search for it. You have to work downright hard to find it. The royal road to success is not paved with emeralds. It is paved with the stones called “Go ahead” and “Stick in” and “Hold on” especially the last; for the most successful people are those who refuse to acknowledge that they are beaten, and hold on doggedly long after others have lost heart and given in.
There you have the recipe for worldly success, boys and girls. Take it if you want it. But remember that worldly success is not the most important success. It is other-worldly success that matters. The most successful man is not the man who heaps up the greatest wealth and owns the costliest possessions. The most successful man is the man who succeeds in growing most like Christ, the man who is bravest, and purest, and strongest, and gentlest, and most tender, and loving, and unselfish. His pockets may be pretty empty, and he may be a failure from the millionaire's point of view; but from God's point of view he is rich indeed, and he alone is the truly successful man.
Mr. Choate, who for some years was American ambassador in London, was once interviewed by a reporter who asked him the secret of his success. “What do you call success?” asked Mr. Choate. “Oh! wealth, and ease, and comfort, and reputation,” said the reporter. “That is not my idea of success,” replied the ambassador. “Many men succeed without winning any one of these. Character is the vital thing after all.”
That was a fine answer. And that is the kind of success the emerald wishes you to win. (The texts of the other sermons in this series are Genesis 2:12; Job 28:19; Proverbs 3:15; Jeremiah 17:1; Ezekiel 1:26; Ezekiel 27:16 (2); Matthew 13:45; Revelation 21:19-20 (2).)