A Biblical Theology of Gold and Glory

In Genesis 2, Havilah is a land rich in gold, with streams flowing eastward from Eden—the first temple—grazing its shores, a place blessed by the Creator, meant to reflect His glory. Thousands of years later, as we read in Matthew 2, wise men from the East, bringing gold and precious gifts, march toward a new temple. This time, the gold, once given to the earth, is returned to its Creator, serving its true purpose—not to adorn an earthly king, but to glorify the One from whom all treasures flow.

It was the fitting gift to the Lord of all creation. God has created the whole earth to ascribe glory unto Him (Psalm 19:1). God’s creations symbolize different aspects of God’s attributes and person. When the magi present gold at the feet of the newborn Christ, the scripture doesn’t want us to miss the loaded symbolism. Let’s examine Psalm 72, for instance — it explains the ideal king’s reign with perfect justice, peace, and righteousness. The kings from Sheba would gift their gold to Him, acknowledging Him as the greater King (Isaiah 60:6, Psalm 72:10-11). This prophecy was immediately, albeit partially, fulfilled in Solomon. The actual fulfillment was met in Christ Himself.

The gold particularly brings out the irony here. When gold returned to the Creator, it didn’t meet with radiant glory but a helpless newborn wrapped in two feet of linen in a manger in front of them. The gold was brought not into a palace but to a place surrounded by cattle and animal excreta. The One who would bring “peace on earth and mercy mild” lay unrecognized by His own people, only to be betrayed by them in a few decades. Yet it was a few pagan astrologers who saw the glory that was well masked by the forlorn surroundings.

This was the King of all creation. He did what no other king did. The King of kings humbled Himself by putting on the frailty and weakness of humankind (Philippians 2:7) in order to redeem His own.

More Precious Than Gold

The greater the stature of a person, the more precious the gift you give him. And to kings, you bring gold. Gold is the purest, most precious, and glorious gift you can give a king. When you bring gold to a king, you add to his possession. While the magi were right to bring gold, as it indeed was a fitting gift to recognize the glory of King Christ, all the gold (Haggai 2:8) and everything in this world (Acts 17:24-25) is already His. With this context, it is interesting to look at what God does to His children. Peter tells us that we are refined by fire to be made like pure gold (1 Peter 1:7). He takes earthen vessels and cleanses them (2 Timothy 2:21), and places the treasure of the Gospel in them (2 Corinthians 4:7). God richly blesses and molds the believer and makes him the fitting gift for Himself — “…a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God” (Ephesians 5:2).

We, unworthy sinners, were made worthy gifts because God sent us the most precious and “…indescribable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15) — Christ. The greater the stature of a person, the more precious the gift you give him. Yet look at God’s majestic plan. The lowly man received the priceless Christ as his gift. And the lowly man is exalted and made a priceless gift unto God in Christ, whom Christ will present to Him blameless in the last day (Jude 1:24).

A day will come when every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Christ is King (Philippians 2:10-11). On that day, every nation and tribe will honor Him and bring gifts unto Him (Revelation 21:24-26). In the New Jerusalem, made of gold, Christ will sit on His throne wearing His golden crown—not withholding but revealing His full glory (Revelation 22:1-5). And yet, we need not wait until that day to draw near to Him. We are already citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20), and He is always with us, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

We are the living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) Christ desires more than gold (1 Peter 2:5). As we, who are made gold, are being washed by the stream of Christ’s blood, let’s draw closer to Him to lay ourselves at the feet of the King of Kings.

Let’s honor and delight in our priceless gift more precious than gold, our King Christ: “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).