As a young girl, I can vividly remember watching my dad, a state trooper, polishing his uniform buttons. To me, they looked like gold, so shiny and yellow. Only they weren’t made of gold—they were brass.

That image came to mind one day as I was reading 2 Chronicles.

Solomon’s Shields of Gold

King Solomon was very wealthy. The Bible tells us “the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year” was 666 talents of gold. By modern-day estimates that is over $2 billion—in one year!

In 2 Chronicles 9, as well as 1 Kings 10, we’re told that Solomon had three hundred shields made of beaten gold, stored “in the house of the forest of Lebanon.” These shields, made of three hundred shekels of gold each, would be valued today at about $240,000 each—totaling around $72 million!

I don’t know if these shields were ever used in battle, or if they were just symbolic of King Solomon’s glory, representative of God’s blessing and the king’s wealth.

But by Chapter 12, they’re gone.

Rebellious Rehoboam

After King Solomon died, his son Rehoboam came to power. He wasn’t a good king. You may recall, he was the one who rejected the counsel of his elders and consulted with the young men instead—those friends who advised him to tell the people “my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.”

Once Rehoboam had established his kingdom and strengthened himself, he “forsook the law of the Lord” and judgment came.

Shisak, King of Egypt, “came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.” (2 Chronicles 12:9)

Agh, poor Solomon. I would cringe to know what our ancestors might think of what happened to their priceless treasures. Maybe a great-great-grandmothers hand-made quilt being used as a moving blanket… or Grandmas crystal bowl serving as Fido’s water dish?

But the lesson I see here isn’t about preserving family heirlooms. It’s about what Rehoboam did next.

2 Chronicles 12:10 says “Instead of which [the gold shields] king Rehoboam made shields of brass...”

Brass vs. Gold

(In my Bible margin I have scribbled—symbolism, brass vs. gold. I’ve told you most of these reflections start as scribbles!)

So I began to study— what is the difference between gold and brass?

Brass is “molten out of the stone” according to Job 28. It is an alloy—a man made mixture, usually copper and zinc. Bronze is another example— you won’t find these on the periodic table because they’re not naturally occurring metals. Brass has to be manufactured, and is poured into molds. You could easily mass-produce several brass objects quickly, making them all alike.

Gold, on the other hand, is a naturally occurring, pure metal. Even a raw gold nugget is beautiful, but through the refinement process it can be purified and even more radiant. Pure gold is soft, malleable, and can be beaten into shape. Creating gold objects takes time and care, and each unique piece would bear the fingerprints of the Maker.

Brass tarnishes easily but it can be polished and shined to look like gold, just as I thought my dad’s brass buttons were.

But brass will never be gold. Brass is a cheap substitute.

Superficial Shine or Intrinsic Value?

The glory of Solomon’s shields was that they were made of beaten gold—unique, handcrafted, radiant.

Rehoboam settled for brass shields. He settled for appearances over substance.

I’m reminded of a costume jewelry ring I wore as a little girl. It looked like real gold, but after a short while, my finger turned green. Despite appearances, it wasn’t gold at all—it was brass or some other cheap imitation. Rehoboam’s shields were like that—shiny enough to impress from a distance. But up close, they lacked true value.

Our Shield of Faith

As Ephesians 6:16 instructs, we are to raise our shield of faith—not a cheap imitation shield.

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. —Ephesians 6:16

As Satan hurls his fiery darts at us: grief, fear, lies or disappointments, he would love for us to carry a brass shield. Impressively shiny but manufactured and lacking value. Something that just looks like faith from the outside.

When trials come, I don’t want a polished, impressively shiny substitute. I want a shield of gold — a valuable faith shaped out of the hammering of trials, purified by fire. I want a faith that is rich, pure, and priceless.

Rehoboam replaced gold with brass. But God’s promise in Isaiah is the opposite:

For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver… —Isaiah 60:17a

I’m so thankful that God can take what is weak, tarnished, or man-made and exchange it for something pure, refined and valuable.

Don’t settle for a faith that will tarnish.Don’t settle for substitutes or appearances.Let God refine your faith into something lasting, rich, and pure.

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