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Plundered Treasures The tables turned on Egypt when God freed the Israelites from bondage. When God sent Moses to confront Pharaoh, not even a world superpower could prevent Israel's liberation. From the burning bush, the Lord told Moses that Egypt would be so humbled that the former slaves would take as plunder the treasures of their former...

Do Not Trust in Material Treasures In J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novels, a silver metal called mithril is highly prized for its strength and beauty. The dwarfs mined and worked it, always desiring more. But as one character explained: "Even as mithril was the foundation of their wealth, so also it was their destruction." When we covet...

Do Not Pursue Material Treasures We often hear people talk about the American Dream. What they mean is that America is a land of opportunity and that anyone can succeed or better their life through hard work and determination. This dream may be achieved when we own a home, do well in our professional career, achieve a respectable job, or...

What Do You Treasure? The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery explains treasure as follows: "Given the natural human tendency to desire, pursue and hoard material wealth, treasure comes to symbolize what people consider truly valuable, worth possessing and pursuing. As a symbol then of value and significance, the kind of treasure a person seeks...

The Kingdom Is Like a Hidden Treasure Some Filipino fishermen found a huge, irregularly-shaped pearl inside a giant clam that stuck to their boat's anchor. With no idea of its value, they kept it for good luck and stashed it under a bed for ten years. When in 2016 they left it at their city' tourism office for safekeeping, they were stunned...

A Treasure in Jars of Clay In 2005 a Bach Archive researcher in Weimar, Germany, discovered a treasure. In a shoebox filled with birthday greetings for a duke, he found a previously unknown aria by Johann Sebastian Bach. The piece was written for the duke's birthday in 1713. The lyrics centered around the theme, "Everything with God and nothing...

In Christ Are Hidden All Treasures During Passion Week, Jesus arrived in Bethany and stayed at the home of his friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. At a dinner given in Jesus' honor, Mary took a pint of expensive perfume and anointed His head and feet. In response to objections, Jesus said her extravagant gesture foreshadowed His burial and...

The Family of God A little girl was doing her best to carry her baby brother. Watching her struggle, someone asked if she wasn’t tired. The girl gave her now famous reply, “No, he’s not heavy; he’s my brother.” Like that little girl, we are often willing to go the extra mile to care for our family. While in prison, the apostle Paul penned...

God’s Measuring Line The Weights and Measures Division of the US government works to promote uniformity and accuracy. It is easy to see how important weights and measures are to commerce, but accurate measurements are also important for builders. A common proverb among carpenters advises, "Measure twice and cut once." Zechariah’s third of...

Cleansed by God Some people (often single males), rely on the "sniff test" to ascertain whether their clothes are clean enough to wear. According to Reader's Digest, 70 percent of the soil on your clothing is invisible. Your clothes may look clean, but they still need to be washed. Even if they pass the sniff test! Zechariah’s fourth vision...