FINDING TREASURE By Jeannette Haley

“He cutteth out rivers among the rocks;
And his eye seeth every precious thing.” – Job 28:10

In 1883 a book was published that captivated the minds and stirred the imaginations of thousands of children from that time to this. The name of that book is “Treasure Island,” written by Scottish author, Robert Louis Stevenson. The story line is pure fiction, of course, but that doesn’t negate the fact that many pirates sailing the high seas, especially between 1650 and 1730, did manage to hide or bury a great deal of treasure, not to mention all the lost ships loaded with tons of gold, silver, gemstones and other valuable items that lie on the bottom of the sea. I was shocked to read that it is estimated there are over a million sunken treasure ships. The bottom line is, whether in the sea or on the land, the lure of seeking and finding treasure can be tantalizing for many, hard to resist for some, and impossible to ignore by others who are determined to find it.

Since my colorful imagination, boundless curiosity and genuine interest in the possibility of great stashes of hidden treasure is restricted to the physical and financial boundaries of my current life situation, you won’t find me poking around your backyard in the middle of the night with a flashlight and a shovel. Besides, I do my “search” for lost treasure from the comfort of my easy chair whenever a serious hunt for treasure or any archeological discoveries is featured on TV, such as the well-known “The Curse of Oak Island” series. It’s amazing how much history you can learn, and how much ground you can cover in such a short amount of time the easy way, while occasionally you might even come up with some ideas of your own that you wish you could point out to the searchers. It’s just downright disappointing that only those present and the dog can hear your clever tips and suggestions of where to dig.

Every treasure hunt usually gives rise to more questions than answers making it even more intriguing. For example, you can’t help but begin to think of the long-departed people who were part of the story, and sometimes that can weigh heavy on your mind. Who were they, where did they come from, what brought them to places so far from their friends, or families, and homeland? Even more importantly, what were their spiritual beliefs, and where did they end up for eternity? Only God knows.

In Exodus 19:3-6 we read of God telling Moses about His special treasure. God said, “And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” [Underlining added.] That should cause us to stop and take some personal inventory and ask ourselves if we are a “special treasure” to God in our present situation, attitude and mind-set.

The Bible is clear that all the treasure of, on and in the earth belongs to God, but the treasure He desires is the hearts of His people—hearts that love and obey Him above all else. It’s easy to flip your lips and glibly say, “Oh yes, I love God” while your heart is secretly yearning for some sort of treasure that guarantees pleasure. Our Lord, knowing the hearts of all men said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” Matthew 6:21. People don’t need to draw out a treasure map with an “X” marks the spot for others to perceive where their “treasure” is. Eventually a person’s tongue will give them away as to what is the most important aspect of their life, and thus treasure can be equivalent to whatever a person values the most. When a person’s heart is set on the kingdoms of this world and their glory, then that is what their heart will pursue. The systems, fashions and ways of the world captivate their affections, pride, motives, agendas, and goals. Their “treasure” can become a personal pursuit of fame and fortune, pride in a certain profession or an impressive amount of education. One of the “treasures” that captures many a foolish heart is the singular goal of gaining a lavish lifestyle that corresponds with the rich and famous such things as mansions, world travel, expensive vehicles, yachts, and a life of partying, extreme sports and so forth. One’s heart can easily become so fixated on goals that please the flesh that love for and obedience to God is no longer a priority yet many claim to be “Christians” as they merely tack God on to somehow give the impression that all’s well spiritually. What hypocrisy! It may be refined hypocrisy, but it’s still hypocrisy.

Why? Because the Word of God declares “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” 1 John 2:15-17. It’s hard for an unsaved person, who thinks they’re saved, to convince themselves that they love God and keep His commandments, at least outwardly. But the heart of such a person is where their treasure is, and, whether they want to honestly admit it or not, their treasure is the world. God knows it, everybody else knows it, and the only person who doesn’t know it is the one that has deluded himself.

The truth is, only a truly born-again, Spirit-filled believer can consistently live a life of love and obedience to the Lord. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” John 14:15. “We love him, because he first loved us” 1 John 4:19. It all comes back to love. Jesus stated the greatest commandment in Matthew 22:37, “…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” Matthew 22:37-39. (That means caring for them in practical ways as you do for yourself.) Jesus said, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” Matthew 7:12.

While God did call the children of Israel to be a special treasure unto Him by obeying His voice and keeping His covenant, for those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, we are given this priceless treasure: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” 2 Corinthians 4:6-7. What earthly treasure could possibly be greater, more excellent, priceless, satisfying, or life-imparting than this?

Concerning treasure, A. W. Tozer said, “The man who has God for his treasure has all things in one. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately, and forever.”

Everyone may not be a treasure hunter, but everyone is seeking something, whether it’s physical, mental, or spiritual. But what Jesus told us to seek after has not changed. He said in Matthew 6:13, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” In other words, if we get our priorities right and in line with God, then He will provide for our needs. He also said, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” Again, the kingdom of heaven is very real, but hidden until one seeks for it and values it with their whole heart.

Concerning hoarding worldly treasure, Jesus said, “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” Matthew 6:19. Years ago I had hoarded a couple wool sweaters I bought at a thrift store to wear in the winter because money was so tight, but in a year or two, moths had eaten holes in them. As for my little stash of silver dollars I had saved from childhood, somehow a thief stole those too. How true are the words of Jesus! What mankind values in this life is temporary and the cause of many sorrows of heart, but the treasure we lay up in heaven, those times of obedience, prayer, worship, giving, helping others, witnessing and working for the Lord, those are eternal treasures.

Concerning the subject of laying up treasure in heaven, Tozer preached, “I read this text years ago in Isaiah 33:6, the fear of the Lord is his treasure. For days, and I think as I recall, weeks, that kept coming back to me as a wonderful illumination. To fear God is your treasure, to fear God. My brethren, the fear of God, the love of God, the worship of God, the desire to help humanity, that’s the treasure we lay up above. And though we may die poor as a church mouse, we’ll take our treasure with us above.”

To me, the real value of gold, silver and precious gemstones is the representation found in the Tabernacle. The deity of Christ (gold), His redemption (silver) and the precious gemstones representing the 12 tribes of Israel in the breastplate of the High Priest.

The bottom line is that the fascination, mystery, lure and intrigue of great treasure to be found is normal. Nevertheless, the intensity of that desire can range from interest, to fantasy, family fun, or a spare-time hobby to serious business that is often dangerous, disastrous and deadly. For the man or woman of God, however, all things related to this temporary, earthly life must be put into proper perspective according to the Word of God, His ways, and His will and on that day when the LORD of hosts “makes up His jewels” (see Malachi 3:17), I want to be there.

Do you?