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| SERMON #130 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also, MAT 6:19-21. The Sermon on the Mount teaches from beginning to end that the Lord is only pleased with a heart religion. What is your heart set upon? The heart is always set upon treasures, whether they are eternal treasures in heaven or ones that moth and rust can corrupt. We may not overlook the small connecting words; the word for is important, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Religion from the heart is so overlooked in our day. When the Lord Jesus says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you," He means He has said it before and will say it again and again; He wants to train our thinking around this point. He is saying it again in these verses that He wants to see the right posture of our hearts in these things. The entire central theme of the Sermon on the Mount is the posture of the heart. All Godly religion is centered on the posture of the heart. "My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways," PRO 23:26. The Lord does not want a church with a divided heart. He does not want a church with a double standard; we are not to serve God and mammon. The Lord wants our heart. The heart must be set on eternal treasures and not on the things of this earth for where the treasure is the heart will be also.. This does not make it unlawful for us to strive for the necessities of life and things of this world, but our heart may not be set upon them. The Lord said in paradise, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread...," GEN 3:19. It is by the sweat of our brow that we will have the necessities of life. The Lord provides these necessities, but He has His means whereby He does so. Satan wants to captivate our heart so our heart becomes set upon temporal things. Jesus is warning us not to lay up earthly treasures; don't make these necessities our treasure. These riches are of a fleeting nature; they are here today and gone tomorrow. We may pile them up ever so high, and we could be gone tomorrow. Then to whom do we leave them? Where is our heart? Jesus wants a heart religion; this is what He is teaching us in the Sermon on the Mount. When Jesus began to teach, He began with a heart religion. Take notice of MAT 5:2-3 where Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with such kingly authority, "And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." What does it mean to be poor in spirit? It is when our heart is spiritually poverty stricken as far as anything that comes from within ourselves. All of our riches, spiritual riches, are in Christ. That is the heart religion He is teaching; that is where Christ started teaching His gospel. As we observe each one of the beatitudes we will see that Jesus teaches a heart religion. MAT 5:4-9 says, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness [Jesus looks at the posture of the heart to pronounce His blessing.]: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." The right posture of the heart is the central theme of every beatitude. This is the heart religion Jesus is teaching, and He continues this teaching throughout His Sermon on the Mount. Volume I of this series contains a comprehensive study of the Beatitudes. Jesus uses six contrasts to show the distinction between the righteousness He requires and that of the scribes and Pharisees. Each time He points to the posture of the heart which He requires before we can acceptably serve the Lord. The righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, in every instance, points to the posture of the heart. "My Son, give me thine heart...," PRO 23:26. This is the teaching in our text, and it is in such beautiful harmony with all of His other teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. It is a heart religion. MAT 5:20 says, "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Jesus then follows in V:21-22 about calling a brother "Raca," which comes from the proud and hateful emotions of the heart. It means "Thou empty fellow," i.e., you exalt yourself above your fellow man. It is a heart matter. Jesus taught how God looks at the posture of the heart in our attitude toward our neighbour in MAT 5:43-44, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Jesus is dealing with a heart religion in those verses; it is the same thing that our text is telling us: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." In dealing with our earthly things, He is pointing out the danger of our heart being snared. Jesus is speaking about generosity of the heart when He cautions against the wrong posture of heart toward God in giving alms. Look at the blessed harmony that we have between our text and MAT 6:1. Both of these Scriptures deal with the posture of our heart in dealing with our earthly goods. What does the Lord want? He wants a heart religion where we can share our earthly goods with our neighbour, the poor, and to use them for His glory. MAT 6:1 says, "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven." Are we going to be a wise steward of the earthly goods God has given us? We must give an account of our stewardship over the earthly goods the Lord has trusted to our care. Do we use our earthly goods to heap up treasures for ourselves, or use these things for God's service and glory? Can we use these things to help and edify our neighbour? God wants a heart religion when we come before Him in prayer. We must be coming to the Lord in prayer with a forgiving spirit or we will not be forgiven. Without a forgiving spirit, our prayer becomes an abomination to the Lord. A selfish motive that seeks to build up treasures which will make us a rich or a renowned person will block off the ear of the Lord in prayer. MAT 6:6 tells us, "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." We are to use the temporal things God has given us for His glory. So, we see our success in prayer is also dependent upon the attitude and the motive of the heart toward God. Jesus is not telling us we cannot strive lawfully for our daily needs, but He is saying we are not to set our hearts upon earthly riches so they become our treasure. If they become that which we treasure, they become a snare for our soul. Jesus said, "And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful," MAR 4:18-19. When Job received word that all of his property was taken away, he said, "...Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly," JOB 1:21-22. Job had great riches, but he had not set his heart upon them. He owned his riches, but the riches did not own him. Watch what we see in MAR 10:23-25, "And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! [The rich, young ruler had just left so sorrowfully because Jesus had told him there was yet one thing which he lacked! He must sell all he had and give it to the poor.] And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! [If our trust is in our riches, it is impossible to come into the service of the Lord. Do you know why?] It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." We cannot serve two masters; we cannot serve God and mammon. The Lord Jesus had just told the rich, young ruler to sell all that he had and give everything to the poor, i.e., take up his cross and follow Him. That was impossible for the ruler, so he left sorrowfully. Jesus admonishes His disciples about the great difficulty for those who have these uncertain riches to enter into the kingdom of God; the disciples were astonished. They wanted to know how this could be because we all have this world's goods. Jesus qualified His statement with, "Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!" Our trust and confidence must be in the Lord. We could have savings put away in a savings account that would seem to be enough for us and for generations to follow. Then we would not feel a need for the Lord. Jesus is speaking of this principle; we must not build our trust on uncertain riches. Jesus said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." The eye of the needle referred to a gate to the city. It meant that a camel had to get down on his knees, unladen of everything, in order to get through the gate called the Needle's Eye to enter the city. How can a rich man get down on his knees and unladen himself of everything if he is trusting in his uncertain riches? Jesus gave an illustration of those who trust in riches in LUK 12:19-20, "And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. [His trust was in his riches.] But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" The Lord is teaching us that when our heart is set upon the things of this life, our treasure is not in heaven. One person may have only $10 and be so rich and secure that he feels like he is walking on air. Another man may have millions in the bank, and be the very man Jesus spoke of in MAT 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Our text is not referring to the quantity of earthly riches, but the posture of the heart toward them. Just because a person has this world's goods doesn't mean he is trusting in them. Many of God's dear children are very wealthy, but the wealth is not the place of their confidence. In PRO 18:11 we read, "The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit;" this points to the posture of heart, not the quantity of wealth. As I pointed out that rich man may have only a ten dollar bill, but his heart is set upon it. Riches can be received and possessed as a blessing from the Lord. God blessed Abraham with great riches; he was a very wealthy man. We read in GEN 13:2, "And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold." However, he was much richer in faith; he did not build his hope on the riches of cattle, silver, and gold. His strong city, his confidence, was his faith. He was the father of the faithful. That was his treasure; that is where his foundation was built. This does not mean it is a blessing to be a pauper; it means riches or possessions do not become our god. I have seen people living on welfare who talked like they were kings; the little they had made them feel so puffed up. I have known people like Abraham who had great wealth, and you would never know it because faith was their treasure and their conversation was in heaven. The Lord blessed Isaac with abundant riches. In GEN 26:13-14 we read, "And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him." Isaac was very rich, but it was not his confidence. Isaac had the God of Abraham as his foundation; he was a God-fearing man with the faith of Abraham, but he didn't count his riches as his treasure. Jesus tells us, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth..." In other words, we are not to treasure our earthly things, but we are to treasure spiritual things. Riches are a curse unto those who set their hearts upon them because they are most often obtained through unjust gain. Let's consider why this is true. We have all been in the world awhile, and we have had experience with the things I will point out; therefore, we can relate to them. The curse lays upon those who become rich in their heart, in the things of this world; they treasure the things of this world. Let's go through this one step at a time and see if we can relate to it. JAM 5:1-2 says, "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten." Verse 3 continues to tell us what has happened, "Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days." Now let's see how the rich people amassed their treasures for the last days. The next verse tells us, "Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. [Now see where their treasure was] Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter." The snare of those who treasure earthly riches is dishonesty. They connive, steal, and become rich unjustly by holding back the wages of their laborers. They kept back the wages of those who had earned them through honest labour and used them for wanton living; for pleasure, i.e., the sin of Sodom. Verse 6 continues, "Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you." They became rich and their goods increased by fraud; now these riches cry against them. Thereby they treasure up destruction to themselves for their last days. Jesus is telling us that when things of this world become our treasures, we become dishonest. We could come to the point where our top priority is the gaining of wealth; conniving and holding back are a natural means to accomplish the end. Then we do not minister to the poor, widowed, and fatherless. Such riches become a curse. This is an exact opposite, a contrast, of how Jesus wants us to use our earthly possessions. We are to use them to feed the poor, help the needy, and minister to the fatherless and the widow. Riches and possessions in this world which are obtained lawfully are God's blessing, and they are to be willingly used for His glory. Let's turn to 1TI 6:17-19, "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." We need to think about our attitudes. The proper distribution of the temporal blessings the Lord gives us becomes a foundation upon which we lay hold on eternal life. We are to admonish those who have this world's goods in abundance that they have received them from the Lord, and therefore, they are not to trust in these riches. Our trust is to be in the Giver, not the gift; our trust is to be in the living God who gives those things for us to enjoy and to do good works. We are not to be bound to the things of this earth; we are to be able to distribute them and give God the glory. I was talking to a person last week about lawfully obtaining goods. It was about a bankruptcy case in which the person was asking for legal advice. His goal was to withhold certain possessions, and he wanted my help to do so. How could he accomplish his goal? I answered that we must stand before two courts: one is the court of law. In the court of law for bankruptcy we swear an oath, calling God to witness, that in fact everything we own has been declared. That is one court. In the court of our conscience we must also know that when we call God to witness, and if we lie about a concealed asset which we are not disclosing, we are now asking God to witness to our lie. The word lawfully is important. Do we put the same value on our assets with the assessor as we do at the bank with a financial statement? If we tell the bank how much we made last year, is it the same set of figures we gave the Internal Revenue? Do we have a double standard? We must strive honestly and lawfully: that will lay up in store a good foundation. People who become rich in themselves treasure up to themselves destruction by the wrong handling of their earthly goods. Beloved, this is powerful; see the contrast between JAM 5:3 and 1TI 6:19. Unto those who have obtained their wealth by fraud God's Word says, "Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days," but those who have laboured honestly for God's glory are "Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." Let's expand on this a little. The treasures that are eternal sometimes have a direct connection to the treasures that other people have as a curse. Distributing to the poor is laying up treasure in heaven. See what Jesus says He will judge by on the judgment day; may the Lord open our eyes to understand this. We do not distribute to the poor to merit eternal life, but distributing to the poor from a motive of love is laying up treasure in heaven. Let's see how Jesus will judge us on the day of judgment in MAT 25: 34-40. "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world [Now watch how Jesus qualified this and directly connected it to our distribution to the poor.]: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. [This is being ready to distribute and willing to communicate. What did they do? They distributed this world's goods. It is also giving alms not to be seen of men, not for merit, but out of a motive of love.] Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?" Jesus tells of the people who gave help when and where it was needed; they didn't feel they merited anything by giving to others. They had love for their fellow man, and they lived in the Spirit of Christ. They distributed and communicated this world's goods; they loved God and Christ and their fellow man, but they didn't love money. Money was a tool or an instrument to help others. Their treasures were in heaven. "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me," MAT 25:40. Now let's go back to V: 34-35. "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For [There is the connection] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in," i.e., you distributed and communicated your worldly goods to the poor. See how Jesus taught this as laying up treasure in heaven! "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For..." and then He goes on to speak of how they had ministered to the poor. Now let's look at the other side of this principle. Jesus also speaks of those who not only robbed the poor by withholding their wages, but by closing their bowels of compassion toward them. Watch what He says in MAT 25:41-46, "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels [Why?]: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink [Their treasure was in this world's goods, and they would not share them with the poor.]: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?" You did not communicate, feed, or give them alms; you treasured your earthly belongings and kept them all to yourselves. You have your treasures in this world. How often do we realize we are building treasures in heaven by distributing to the poor, not out of merit, but out of love and a Christlike spirit? We can use the earthly goods the Lord has given us to actually build a foundation of treasures in heaven. The Lord is so pleased with things done in His favor. People who give to the poor without taking any credit for it or claiming any merit in it are pleasing the Lord. In my lifetime there have been several times the Lord has shown me He was pleased with something I had done in His favor. It was more humbling than if He comes to show me a grievous thing I'd done which would bring me flat on my face with shame. Now consider very carefully the concluding verses, MAT 25:45-46; "Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." I have spoken before about this word righteous. What does the Lord mean when He speaks about the righteous? It is people's right attitudes toward their fellow man. It ties in so perfectly here. The Lord Jesus has just set forth from the beginning to the end what their attitudes were toward their fellow man, to the needy, the sick, and how they ministered unto them. He said they are the righteous. Godliness is when we love God above all with all of our heart, soul, and mind, but righteousness is a right attitude towards our fellow man. In the Gospel of Luke Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all things necessary for this life will be added. Giving alms is storing treasure in the heavens. The Gospel of Luke is the counterpart of the same gospel in Matthew. Luke saw what Matthew didn't see, and Matthew saw things Luke didn't. There is a blessed harmony when you put the two together. Now let's look at LUK 12:31-34, "But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. [How is it applied?] Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old [How? It is by selling what we have and giving alms, i.e., by distributing to the poor, by opening our hearts and bowels of mercy, and by condescending to those who have less.], a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." When your treasure is in heaven, when Christ is your treasure, your heart is Christlike. What is that? Christ came down to save those who were lost. When Christ is in our heart, He is our treasure, and then our hearts go out to those who are poor and less privileged. We can go to them and minister to their needs. Abraham had great wealth that was a great blessing. Sometimes an individual is given such wealth to distribute to the poor; that wealth is a great blessing. People with great wealth look for secure investments so it will bring the best return and be the most durable. Let me show you what the Scripture teaches us about our investments of everything we own. The most secure investment we can make is recorded in REV 3:1 where Jesus says, "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." This gold, i.e., the exercise of saving faith, doing the will of our Saviour, is one of the choicest riches. Our greatest treasure is a saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The things of this world are fleeting away and passing by. We should not put our value on those, but on "gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich." The white raiment is the work of sanctification, i.e., the purification of the heart, a robe of righteousness, "that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear." What is the nakedness He is talking about? It is the nakedness that appeared in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve disobeyed and saw their sin was naked before God. Christ's bride is granted fine white linen to cover all of this nakedness, i.e., our disobedience. REV 19:8. If our eyes are anointed with His eyesalve, we see the wretchedness of our heart and the price Christ has paid. Then we can say with the Apostle Paul, "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ," PHI 3:8. Christ becomes our highest treasure; we become truly rich if we have that faith. JAM 2:5 says, "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?" To whom are the promises? To those who demonstrate their faith in Christ by distributing to the poor. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us," 1JO 4:10-12. It was by faith that Moses made his memorable choice. Think about how Moses was set in a kingly palace. He was in a position to inherit the throne of Egypt as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. HEB 11:24-26 tells us, "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season [Now watch this!]; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward." The greatest riches Moses could ever find, which exceeded a kingly throne, was the reproach of Christ. To suffer reproach with Christ's people was counted greater to him than to inherit the king's throne. His recompense of reward was to be able to spend eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ. Moses wasn't concerned for heaven or hell; he wanted to be in the presence of God. He would rather perish in the wilderness than have an angel of the Lord lead him into the promised land if the presence of God would not go up with him. Moses esteemed the recompence of reward to be spending eternity in the immediate presence of God. By faith, to see Christ glorified becomes our greatest desire and our greatest riches. The reproach of Christ, i.e., where He "...became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross," PHI 2:8, will become the theme of glory. It was for such obedience that we read, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father," V:9-11. In EPH 1:18 we read, "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints." Christ has a glory in His inheritance of the saints. Our greatest joy is for Christ to be glorified.
After God had told Moses he had found grace in His sight, and promised that His presence would go with him, Moses' first request was that he might see God's glory. EXO 33:17-18 says, "And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. [And Moses' first answer was] And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory." The desire to see Christ glorified was the greatest treasure Moses could have; he esteemed the reproach of Christ to be greater than all the treasures of Egypt. Moses took it one step beyond that; he wanted to see the glory of the Lord. The Lord told Moses of several ways in which he should see His glory. We need to take notice of how we may see the glory of God. First, God's glory was seen in His goodness when Moses and Israel found grace in His sight. See how glorious it was for God the Father to make a covenant with His Son, to enter into a covenant to suffer, bleed, and die to take away the penalty of sin and provide His righteousness for His people. Watch what the Lord said in EXO 33:19, "And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy." The Lord is showing Moses how His goodness in showing grace and mercy would be wherein He would be glorified. Moses had just said, "that I might find grace in thy sight," and the Lord answered by saying, "[I] will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy." He was revealing unto Moses His free, sovereign, electing love. That becomes so glorious. Secondly, God's glory was to be seen in that God had prepared a place by Him, in His presence. EXO 33:21 tells us, "And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock." The Lord showed Moses how He had prepared a place for him right beside Him. It was the sure foundation, the Rock, i.e., the Lord Jesus Christ. Thirdly, God's glory was to be seen in that God had placed him in the clift of the Rock, and covered him with His hand while the destroying angel passed by. We have to understand that in the Passover the blood was to be put on the lintel and on the doorposts before the destroying angel passed by so he would not be destroyed. Now the Lord placed Moses in the clift of the rock. In other words, Moses was placed in the pierced side of His Son in His blessed atonement while the destroying angel passes by, while the wrath of God passes over. EXO 33:22 says, "And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by." When we are given faith to see we are covered with those crucified hands of Christ, then our greatest treasure is found in what is written in ISA 49:16, "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." He has covered us with His hands, and placed us in the clift of the rock, His pierced side. We are covered by His hands as His wrath passes by. Our name is written in His pierced hand, and we see the satisfaction of every sin while His wrath passes. The Son of God took God's wrath in our place. Do you see what a precious thing it was for Moses? HEB 11:24-26 tells us, "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward." Where is our treasure? It is the question the Lord Jesus Christ is raising in our text. Are our treasures in the things of this world? Do we have the mercy and grace to be able to distribute them to the poor or are we so tied to our treasures that we find it impossible to part with any of them? Moses esteemed the reproach of Christ to be a far greater treasure. He looked unto the recompence of reward. Watch what his reward was. The God of heaven spoke to him in EXO 33:21-22, "And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by." Our search for riches can be a great paradox. In PRO 13:7 we read, "There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches." This is the point I made earlier; even a ten dollar bill makes some people feel so rich, but Moses chose the reproach of Christ over the riches of Egypt. We must understand this in a spiritual sense. We can see our poverty and see the insignificance of all earthly goods but not yet have the faith to claim eternal riches. We can have great spiritual riches but make ourselves poor if we do not have the faith to take hold of them. We must understand that the Lord said He gives us His Words so we may know. We see the trials, the ebbing, and flowing which Moses went through to bring him to the place where he saw the glory of God. We will learn also as we grow in grace to see the nearness of God in daily deliverances in the wonder of grace where He leads us day by day. In GEN 32:30-31 we read of this in Jacob's life, "And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh." God makes the sinew shrink in our thigh so we halt upon our thigh, i.e., we are not able to set one foot ahead of the other without God's help. This is the riches of the reproach of Christ that is greater than the treasures of the earth. "There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches." Amen. |
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