Where Is Your Treasure

 

 

Isa 2:7 Their land is also full of silver and gold, And there is no end to their treasures; Their land is also full of horses, And there is no end to their chariots. 8 Their land is also full of idols; They worship the work of their own hands, That which their own fingers have made. 9 People bow down, And each man humbles himself; Therefore do not forgive them.

God’s testimony against Judah continues: Their wealth and material goods have become their god. And it’s not just the wealthy, it is EACH man “humbles” himself before the god of materialism. Please note the parallels here between Judah and the United States of America.

 

We are a wealthy land! There is no end to our treasures! We can’t even fit them into our houses and so we rent storage facilities to hold our overflow. We are like that rich farmer that Jesus talked about in Lu 12:18-20,  "So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' 20 "But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'

We may not have a land “full of horses” and chariots, but most houses built these days come with a three-car garage! And we have a tendency to worship, (put great worth) on the expensive toys parked in our yard. Wake up America! This might as well be us!

 

Then Isaiah adds these chilling words, “Therefore do not forgive them.” Whoa! What’s he getting at here? It’s not the wealth that stirs up the judgment of God, it is our love of it. It is putting the love of money above our love of God! Mt 6:24 says, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

 

And in 1Ti 6:10 we read, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

The love of money and material goods is a deadly trap that is difficult to escape from. (Ask the rich young ruler who walked away from Jesus when challenged to surrender his money) Remember how Jesus’ disciples reacted to this? “When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Mt 19:25,26)

 

So what can we do? Who then can be saved? How about asking God to help us put our priories in order as we read in 1Ti 6:17-19, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

 

Please note that this is not a suggestion, it is a command! Lord help us to be obedient children and rightly handle the material blessing You have given us.