Agate is the eighth gemstone in the breastplate and is a multicolored semiprecious stone that was highly valued by ancient civilizations. The agate gem is formed by water entering cavities in rock walls, evaporating, and depositing layers of material within the rock until the cavity is filled. Can you see the spiritual significance? This stone is all about the changing power of the Holy Spirit. Ancients believed it could heal the heart of emotional trauma so it’s not a stretch to see why God would use the agate as a metaphor for His transformation power.
Paul tells us in Romans “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will.” (12:2) An agate rock in the earth starts off looking like all the other rocks in the earth. Once the water enters the cavity, a change begins to happen. Paul expounds on this same theme in 1 Corinthians regarding us. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (5:17). Like the image of a caterpillar morphing into a beautiful butterfly, so is the agate gemstone. It shows us the same picture. The Holy Spirit who is represented by water in the scripture comes into our lives, it cleans us out, deposits itself in our hearts until we are filled, and becomes a gem of great worth.
Asher
Asher was the eighth son of Jacob and his name means happy and blessed. His blessing is as
follows:
“Blessed is Asher with children. May he be pleasing to his brothers and dip his foot in oil. Iron and copper are from your shoes and as your days so is your strength.”
Deut. 33:24-25.
I find this verse interesting in light of the agate gemstone because particular agates do contain copper and iron and result in an interesting play of colors and bands.
Cheshvan
(usually falls between 24 October – 22 November, however, in 2021 this month begins on October 8 and goes until November 4 )
The eighth month is called Cheshvan and it is the only month that does not have any holidays or special days. Historically, this is the month that is believed to have begun the great flood of Noah. Jews are taught that this month is reserved for the time of Messiah who will inaugurate the third Temple.
If you read the book of Revelation, the Third Temple will be rebuilt prior to the second coming of Christ, where Christ Himself will reign for 1,000 years here on earth. If you follow the storyline of the Revelation story, then a seven-year time of tribulation is to precede the second coming of Messiah. This tribulation can be viewed as a purging or clearing out of the evil in the world similar to that of the great flood. When speaking of this time in the book of Matthew, Jesus said that the days of the great tribulation would be likened to the days of Noah, meaning that there would be similarities to the circumstances ushering in the “cleansing” of the earth. Much like the water entering the cavity of the agate stone, leaving only what is deposited and changing the rock into a beautiful gem, so will it be when Jesus, the Son of Man returns.
Scorpio
The constellation associated with this stone is Scorpio which is a scorpion. The brightest star in this constellation is Antares and this star is actually inside the heart of the scorpion. Since all sin begins in the heart, it stands to reason that is where we need Jesus the most. Just as the water enters the cavity of the rock, washing out the dirt and depositing layers of minerals within the cavity, creating a beautiful gem, Jesus does exactly this in our lives. The stars declare in the heavens that Messiah will come. He will clean out the heart, defeating the scorpion who stings and bring healing and total transformation.
Our transformation begins and ends with the work of the cross. What Christ did for us is complete and covers everything. But the story doesn’t end there. God invites us every day to work with him in His kingdom. We do this by joining God, His plan, His word, and a decree. We take authority over the enemy by decree. As stated in an earlier chapter, Psalm 81:10 tells us that the one true God breaks our strongholds and raises us out of bondage. According to this verse, we must open our mouths with a mighty decree, a war cry of sorts. God promises to fulfill it. The decree must be the word of God, and His word will never return void or empty. God does not make empty promises. (Isaiah 55:11)
What all this means is that we can allow God’s promises to clean our hearts, renew our minds and transform us into a beautiful new creation.
For more information check out my book:
Dressing for the Battle, Armed to Win,
The Breastplate of Righteousness and learn how to Dress for the Battle!