A Treasure Hunt ( Day 3 from Cleansing Thoughts)

    As I sat there, the Lord gave me a vision of a bank vault packed from floor to ceiling with large bags stuffed with money. I could see a man walking in to gather up an armload of bags to carry them out, but when he got home, they were empty, so he returned and did the same thing all over again. In the end, he had nothing to show for all his work. The vault was empty, the money was gone. Puzzled, I asked the Lord if this was going to be the outcome of the two men I saw earlier in the park. Then I remembered a scripture in Haggai, “And he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes” (Haggai 1:6, NKJV). As I turned to read to read the text, I realized this to was about a person whose loyalty was in question. They were more concerned in building their own homes while the temple of God lay in ruins. The word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai saying, “‘You look for much but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?’ says the Lord of host. ‘Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house’” (Haggai 1:9, NKJV). In this text, the Lord asked the people to consider their ways, and unlike the rich fool whose soul was required of him, in this parable, Jesus told, they repented of their ways and obeyed the voice of the Lord before it was too late.

   I left the park that day feeling as if the Lord had given me new insight into not only His Word, but human nature as well. You see, from Old Testament times to the days when Jesus walked the earth, until now, people have not changed much. Age does not discriminate, nor does our bank books balance, or even the amount of our possessions. We all seek treasures of one kind or another. And sadly enough, we are rarely satisfied with what we have. As I gathered up my things, I smiled inwardly to the Lord, put all the earthly treasure I desired, my Bible, into my book bag, and returned to work knowing the wages I earned was not put into a bag with holes. You see, I treasure God’s Word in my life, and I guard it close to my heart that I do not sin against Him. I cannot count the number of times He has proven to me His promises are true and what He sends His word to do it will accomplish. I have never felt richer than I do right now, and I have no desire for worldly gain for, I have learned that where my treasure is, my heart is there also.

      The eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews is known as the “Bible’s Hall of Faith.” I would like to quote to you from verse 24 through 26 (NKJV), “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the rewards.” Was he tempted by all the riches of Egypt? Of course he was. Moses had the world and its riches at his fingertips, yet he chose eternal rewards over earthly gain.

   If you will bear with me for just a minute, I would like to break this down for a better understanding. The scriptures are full of types and symbols that must be interpreted in order to gain the full knowledge of the text. A type is a prophetic representation of one thing that represents another. In the Scriptures, Egypt is a type of the world. Now there is one other place I want us to take a look at; in the Greek, the word used for look in verse 26 is a combination of two words. This combined meaning literally means “to look away from everything else in order to look intently on one object.” (The combined meaning of the word look was taken from the notes in the Spirit Filled Life Bible in Hebrews 11:12). Now if we read the text with this new insight , we see that by faith Moses looked intently to the eternal rewards in Christ Jesus. The Word tells us that God is no respecter of person’s; therefore, this is the same faith you and I possess!