Treasure

"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place for gold that they refine. Iron is taken out of the earth, and copper is smelted from the ore. Man puts an end to darkness and searches out to the farthest limit the ore in gloom and deep darkness. He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives; they are forgotten by travelers; they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro. As for the earth, out of it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire. Its stones are the place of sapphires, and it has dust of gold. "That path no bird of prey knows, and the falcon's eye has not seen it. The proud beasts have not trodden it; the lion has not passed over it. "Man puts his hand to the flinty rock and overturns mountains by the roots. He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing. He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle, and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light. "But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living. The deep says, 'It is not in me,' and the sea says, 'It is not with me.' It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price. It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. Gold and glass cannot equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal; the price of wisdom is above pearls. The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor can it be valued in pure gold. "From where, then, does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of all living and concealed from the birds of the air. Abaddon and Death say, 'We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.' "God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. When he gave to the wind its weight and apportioned the waters by measure, when he made a decree for the rain and a way for the lightning of the thunder, then he saw it and declared it; he established it, and searched it out. And he said to man, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'"(Job 28:1-28)

Every then and again, we hear of people striking gold. There will be stories of men flocking in droves, willing to endure demanding living conditions to sift the earth in search of specs of metal. Men have toiled and killed to stake out claims where the lode is thought to be found. Job speaks of a mine that has something that surpasses all the gold and precious stones and ore known to man.

The Lord Jesus Christ had this to say;

He who has ears, let him hear." Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. (Mat 13:9-13)

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Mat 13:16-17)

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Mat 13:44)

We have been given the knowledge of the whereabouts of this mine. We have been blessed with eyes that see and ears that can hear. We are the people who would sell all that we have to purchase that treasure-filled field; mere cliché or blasé rhetoric. It would be wise, to remember that this gift can be withdrawn if we choose to despise.

When was the last we went down into the mine to sift through the earth in search of nuggets and precious stones? Do we still remember the joy of finding these precious gems? We know that there is a vast difference between sitting through a presentation of a friend’s travel video clip versus making the trip ourselves. There is some small measure of worth in a postcard, but no where in comparison to the physical experience.

And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."(Mat 13:52)

Our Lord has mandated that we bring out both “new and old”. I wonder what that really means, especially the “old”. The commandment that we should bring out the “new” is formidable; how do we find new nuggets from places already mined- over? But the mine is deep, perhaps we have to dig deeper! How often have we missed the treasure, only to discover them after several culls? Can this be the rationale for meditating?

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts. (Jer 15:16)

May the proclamation in Jeremiah be our own personal experience and confession also, as we continue to work in the mine of His Word.

God bless.




/ckh