Tag Archives: Treasured possession

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS…GOD’S TREASURE – 3

Bible Study,

“The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness. He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭33‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Not only are God’s people His treasure, belonging to Him because Jesus bought them with His own blood, but He also is our treasure, providing for us during our time on earth. 

Unlike ungodly people who belong to and live by the standards and practices of this world system, God’s people live in two opposing realms simultaneously. We live in earth, a fallen planet, but our citizenship is in heaven. 

Paul explains this distinction. 

“For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

People who live only in this world live for self and for now. God’s people, on the other hand, live for Jesus now and for the future. 

Jesus, in His  high-priestly prayer, made this distinction clear….

“I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.”

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The problem that God’s children face in our life in this world is that we have two natures in us. The remnants of our old nature that agrees with the world remain in us. We have a strong pull to live for ourselves now. However, we also live in God’s kingdom. He has given us His nature with its desire to live in obedience to Him and under the influence and power of His Spirit in us. 

These two natures are in constant conflict, the desires of our flesh and of our spirit pulling us in opposite directions. 

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Isaiah provides an answer to this dilemma. God has prepared a deposit for us, a treasure of stability (salvation), contained in the wisdom and knowledge of His realm, Zion, where His seat of government on earth rules in justice and righteousness. 

He has given us access to this treasure by a key…

“The fear is the Lord is the key to this treasure.”

The fear of the Lord is a big subject but, for our understanding here, let me simplify it. The core of  the fear of the Lord is to hold Him in such awe, reverence, and respect that we take His Word seriously and obey Him implicitly.  

This application has many spinoffs but, for us in this context, when we obey the Lord because we honour Him, the door opens to the wisdom and knowledge we need to live under His authority despite the darkness all around us…as Solomon said…

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭9‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Now let me summarise…

When we honour God and obey His Word, He opens the door to His treasure store of wisdom and knowledge. These enable us, empowered by His Spirit, to live under His rule 

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS…ISRAEL, GOD’S TREASURE – 1

Bible Study, ,

The Bible is full of treasures, both God’s treasures and ours. If we mine for these treasures, we will surely find them. 

Israel was God’s treasure. 

“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭19‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Before time began, God chose one nation out of all the nations on earth to be His own possession.  

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession”, that is, His “segulah”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭7‬:‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

After He had created the nations, He assigned to each nation a governor, a member of His “divine counsel”,  

“When the Most High assigned lands to the nations, when he divided up the human race, he established the boundaries of the peoples according to the number in his heavenly court.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭32‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

…but He chose Israel to be His personal responsibility. 

So close and intimate would this relationship be that God entered into a marriage covenant with Israel. In the language and cultural protocol of the children of Israel, He betrothed them to Himself to live within the boundaries of His covenant relationship. 

In Hebrew culture, when a young man sought a bride, he would choose a young woman out of all the maidens in Israel, get to know her, and then make his intentions known to her. 

Using the first appropriate word in this process of courtship, “lachah”, which can mean “I want to take you,” she would know that he intended to marry her. After a period of time, when he was sure of his choice, he would seal his intention with the next accepted word, “segulah”. 

“The Hebrew word “segulah”means a “treasured possession” or “special, peculiar treasure”. It refers to something of great value, a beloved and carefully guarded possession, such as a king’s prized trophies or the nation of Israel as God’s special people. The term can also refer to segulot (plural), which are small items or practices intended to bring good fortune or a blessing, like a bride’s jewelry used by a single woman to attract a spouse.” (Sourced from Google) 

At Sinai, God entered into a betrothal pact with His people. It was in this covenant commitment, embodied in the word, “chesed”, the strongest Hebrew word used to express God’s love and loyalty to His people, that God remained  faithful to Israel regardless of their unfaithfulness to Him. This love kept Him from utterly destroying them for their rebellious defiance of His covenant. 

In the worst moments of their disobedience, exemplified in their persistent disregard for His first requirement…

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

…He resolved not to destroy the completely. His indictment and judgment against them was heartbreaking. 

“Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent? A sword will flash in their cities; it will devour their false prophets and put an end to their plans. My people are determined to turn from me. Even though they call me God Most High, I will by no means exalt them.”

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭11‬:‭5‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

However, God’s covenant love for Israel prevented Him for turning them into another Sodom and Gomorrah. As He agonised over His decision to destroy them, He cried out…

““How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man— the Holy One among you. I will not come against their cities.”

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭11‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV

Israel has always been and always will be God’s treasured possession. He has never abandoned them and He never will. He has promised that, in His predetermined purpose for all people, He will fulfil His will for His “treasured possession. “

This is the conclusion of the matter…

“I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin….Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious….If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬, ‭11‬, ‭16‬, ‭25‬-‭29‬, ‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, God’s faithful love for Israel and His covenant commitment always to do good to them will culminate in and combine His purpose for them with His purpose for the whole human race…in one united family through Jesus.

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility….Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬-‭16‬, ‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬