3-8-21

The other day I was talking with a beautiful new friend of mine. We were discussing how there is so much to learn in the Bible, so many wonderful things, and how we both are not the best at retaining it all. She made the comment that she wished she could just download it all to her brain sometimes, but that would just take all the fun out of it. She is most definitely correct! I agreed with her and told her that when we go and search the Word out for ourselves, it’s like a treasure hunt for the kind of treasure that could never be taken away! Oh, that was just the most beautiful thought!

After our conversation, my mind was just reeling about searching for treasure. Have you ever thought about treasure hunting? When I think of it, my mind automatically goes to a scroungy pirate type character. He is covered in scars, wears an eye patch, and limps heavily on an old wooden stump of a leg. His breath reeks of rum and he stumbles around yelling, “Argh…Ahoy, me hearties!” This unsightly fellow is on the hunt for a buried treasure chest filled with gold and precious stones, that as luck would have it, is strategically located on an old map with a gigantic X that marks the spot. (As you can tell, I have watched way too much television in my 40 years on this earth, lol.) So…how about you? Does your mind play out the same chain of events?

Thinking about this whole scene made me wonder, what exactly is the definition of a treasure? I decided to look it up. Miriam-Webster defines treasure as wealth (such as money, jewels, or precious metals) stored up or hoarded; something of great worth or value; a collection of precious things. Argh…now that sounds exactly what my little eye patched buddy above would have been hunting for. Precious metals, gold and silver, the gem stones of kings and rulers of this earth, these are the bounties of a pirate’s hidden treasure. But, is this the only definition of treasure? Are the world’s fortunes the only things of value to search for?

I wanted to find out how the Bible defines the word treasure. I did a word search in the Blue Letter Bible app. (Ya’ll this is a free and awesome tool, you should get it! There is a link to their website on my Miscellaneous page under My Favorite Tools and Video Teachings.) Any who, back to the word study. In the NASB translation, the word treasure is used 32 times in 30 verses. Something else that is pretty cool, there are 17 different words in the Hebrew and Greek combined that are translated into the word treasure. Some of the words are nearly the same, for instance, the Hebrew words maṭmôn (H4301) and miḵman (H4362) both mean hidden treasure, treasure, hidden stores. There is also the Greek word gaza (G1047) that means royal treasury, treasure, riches. I searched through all 17 of these words and the context of the way that they were used. By far my favorite word that was translated into treasure is the Greek word thēsauros (G2344). Listen to it’s definition…the place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up. Isn’t that beautiful? If you don’t see the beauty in it yet, you surely will when you see the verse that this word is used in.

Matthew 13:44, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid [again;] and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Our Messiah said these words. He likens the kingdom of heaven to a treasure! Now lets go and read that verse with the definition for the word thēsauros put into it.

Matthew 13:44, “The kingdom of heaven is like a place in which good and precious things are collected and laid up hidden in the field, which a man found and hid [again;] and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Oh, my heart just gets overwhelmed reading that! Good and precious things are stored up in the kingdom of heaven. I just became flooded with all that this entails. It makes me think about how the Spirit drew me in, and showed me that Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of YHWH, died to pay the debt for my sins (John 3:16). By the blood of my Savior, I became grafted into the family of the Father. I now have access to enter into this kingdom written in the Word, a place where good and precious things are laid up! Does this mean that the Father considers me precious? Oh, I am so unworthy of that statement in this flesh! My heart longs to be with Him as a little child (Matthew 18:3), and to always do the will of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21). I want to follow the instructions that YHWH laid out in His Word, because His Words are true and righteous precepts, the just statutes for a holy kingdom! This is a kingdom I am now a part of, His treasure!

The more I think about it, the more I kind of feel like I am not too far off from that pirate character I mentioned back at the first. I spent so many years only understanding the world’s definition of treasure. The pirate’s scars and wounds are a testimony of his battles, they are the physical reminder of his quest for treasure. I don’t know about you, but I have some of those scars. I have the wounds of the trials of this life while searching for the beautiful bounty, only to find it to be fools gold. I drank all the “rum” to my heart’s desire, because you know, that’s what pirates do. All I found at the bottom of that bottle was an empty hole, void of any treasure. This world gave me a map with a big ole X that marked the spot and I dug and dug only to find a wealth of decay and sorrow. Vile and detestable things are all the treasures this world has to offer, but praise Yah, these are no longer the riches I am after! The Spirit handed me a map to the only treasure worth hunting for, the Father’s kingdom! I will never be the same! HalleluYah!!

If you have been feeling a nudge in your heart that what this world is offering is a counterfeit, then praise Yah, this is the Spirit gathering you in! This is a time of rejoicing! You are a precious and valuable gemstone that the Father wants to bring into His kingdom. I hope that you accept His call, and lay down all those heavy burdens at His feet, then turn to walk in the Ways written down in His wonderful Word. Oh, friend, it was the best decision I have ever made in my life, a decision I know you if you make, you will not regret! Come and see the great treasure He has in store for you!