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I neither borrow nor lend, yet all curse me.
When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart,
Because I bore your name, O LORD, God of hosts.
I did not sit celebrating in the circle of merrymakers;
Under the weight of your hand I sat alone because you filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain continuous, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
You have indeed become for me a treacherous brook, whose waters do not abide!
Thus the LORD answered me:
If you repent, so that I restore you, in my presence you shall stand;
If you bring forth the precious without the vile, you shall be my mouthpiece.
Then it shall be they who turn to you, and you shall not turn to them;
And I will make you toward this people a solid wall of brass.
Though they fight against you, they shall not prevail,
For I am with you, to deliver and rescue you, says the LORD.
I will free you from the hand of the wicked, and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.
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"The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."
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What do you most treasure and how do you keep it secure? In a peasant community the best safe was often the earth. The man in the parable "went in his joy" to sell everything. Why? Because he found a treasure worth possessing above everything else he had. He did not, however, have enough to buy the treasure. Fortunately, he only needed enough money to buy the field. In a similar fashion, God offers his kingdom as incomparable treasure at a price we can afford! We can't pay the full price for the life which God gives us; but when we exchange our life for the life which God offers, we receive a treasure beyond compare. The pearl of great price also tells us a similar lesson. Pearls in the ancient world came to represent the supremely valuable. Jesus remarked that one should not cast pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). Why would a merchant sell everything for a peerless pearl? No doubt because he was attracted to what he thought was the greatest treasure he could possess.
Discovering God's kingdom is like stumbling across hidden treasure or finding the one pearl of great price. When we discover the kingdom of God we receive the greatest possible treasure – the Lord himself. Selling all that we have to obtain this incomparable treasure could mean many things – our friends, job, our "style of life", what we do with our free time. Treasure has a special connection to the heart, the place of desire and longing, the place of will and focus. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest treasure. In this parable what does the treasure of the kingdom refer to? It certainly refers to the kingdom of God in all its aspects. But in a special way, the Lord himself is the treasure we seek. If the Almighty is your gold and your precious silver, then you will delight yourself in the Almighty (Job 22:22-23). Is the Lord the treasure and delight of your heart?
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