Northern California is gold country.

It was here in 1848 in Coloma…

…about 45 miles northeast of Sacramento, that James Marshall discovered gold in the tailrace of a sawmill. He had been tasked by John Sutter, who had been given a large land grant from the Mexican government, with building a lumber mill to provide a continuing supply of wood for the fort, located in what would later become the capital of California. Word of the discovery spread faster than gossip all the way to Washington, and thus began the gold rush of 1849. The 49ers, as they came to be called, made a beeline to California, either on the dangerous overland route, which took six months, or made the 200-day, 17,000 mile journey by sailing ship around the dangerous waters between Cape Horn and Antarctica. To them, it would be worth it to come back with a “pocket full of rocks” or possibly find the mythical El Dorado.

By the time a year of the gold rush had passed, more people were leaving California than entering it. To be sure, there were plenty of people who found gold and got rich, but the hardware store owner, who sold picks, axes, shovels, and gold pans to the miners was more likely to get rich than the miners. Even the women who cooked for the gold camps often made more money than the miners.

Ironically, wealth even eluded John Sutter and James Marshall, too, as they both ended up dead broke at the end of their lives. Alas, the myth of El Dorado was just that – a myth.

No such promises, however, are made to the gold seeker. The majority of the 49ers who survived the journey and the sicknesses soon found that out, much to their chagrin. But to the one who seeks the understanding of Scripture like someone searching for gold, God promises He will give it to you. That’s a guarantee.

Finally, there is a “wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3)

Why is gold so valuable? Gold is beautiful. Gold is incorruptible. Unlike silver, gold cannot oxidize or tarnish. Gold is actually heavier than lead. A king’s glory was considered to be measured by the weight of the gold worn around his neck.

By comparison, Scripture is even more valuable than gold. Gold will pass away one day when the elements are all melted with intense heat, but the word of God lasts forever. The wisdom gained from Scripture is able to keep one from paths that lead to death. The knowledge and understanding of God is something that will last forever. And Scripture is more beautiful than gold because God is more beautiful than gold. His word is incorruptible; He is unchangeable.

Therefore, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Prov 1:7) In fact, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10)

One doesn’t have to spend too much time visiting historic sites in the gold country before finding out that there are two categories of gold: placer gold and lode gold. Placer gold is found on the surface of the ground and is mined by such methods as panning or even larger scale operations like water monitors, which used to wash complete mountains down into sluice boxes and separate the gold. But it turns out that’s not the only place to find the gold, and they subsequently began hard rock mining deep underground for veins of gold found in quartz. But there are not two types of gold. They’re just two different names for where the gold is found.

Likewise, with scripture, there is meaning on the surface and there is yet more meaning to be found underneath. “The Bible is an amazing source of truth and an amazing tool when wielded by God’s Spirit for God’s glory and our good. It is a bottomless well of living water, a treasure-house of endless proportions. Like an ancient tell, exciting discoveries can be made on the surface, but even more exciting are those to be found by digging.”

— The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology by Jason C. Meyer (New American Commentary Studies in Bible & Theology, Book 6

What was dug out by the miners deep in the hard rock mines, the lode gold, was the same element found on the surface – gold. It was simply a different place to find the same gold.

What you will find here is not new truth. It’s a new understanding of old truths.

“Study the Word, and work out its meaning. Go deep into the spirit of inspiration. He gets most gold who digs the deepest in this mine. They used to say of certain mines in Cornwall that the deeper you went the richer was the ore; assuredly is it so with the mines of inspired Scripture. The deeper you go under the Spirit’s guidance the larger is the reward for your toil.”

C.H. Spurgeon, Sermon (No. 2201) Delivered April 19th, 1891

So that’s what this blog is about. It’s about knowledge, wisdom, and understanding that can be gleaned from the study of the Scriptures. Most of the time it will be the lode gold from deep in the mines. Sometimes it will be a few nuggets found in the stream. But it will always be gold.

In closing, I pray “that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God”

(Colossians 1:9-10)