30 July 2014 - more precious than silver

30 July 2014 - more precious than silver

“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.

Jeremiah experiences the joy of finding this treasure.

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.

And he experiences the necessity of selling all that he has to possess it.  He can't join in the merrymaking of the world any longer.  Just as the LORD told him he is now set apart in order to be the prophet he is meant to be.

Under the weight of your hand I sat alone
because you filled me with indignation.

Selfishness in Jeremiah results in him bringing forth "the vile" when he ought to speak for God.  He must repent and be emptied of selfishness in order to be truly filled with God's word.  Then he can be God's mouthpiece.

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.

Is it even worth it?  Trading everything to fulfill a role that isn't even his idea?  Absolutely it is. The LORD knows Jeremiah before he even forms him in the womb.  His plans for Jeremiah mean more than Jeremiah's plans for himself.  When he lives in accord with this purpose he finds fulfillment.

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.

When our treasure is really in God, when he is our pearl of greatest price, we find that we are invincible.  He is our refuge on the day of distress.  When he is not our treasure we find ourselves out in the storms, swept away, as we try to protect the houses we build on sand.  But with our treasure in him the world can no longer take our treasure from us.  This is why we shouldn't get too distracted storing up treasures for ourselves on earth.  They are subject to moth, decay, and thieves.  Let us store treasure in heaven.  Let our treasure be in God himself.  Is our treasure in the world?  Let's be honest.  Of course it is, to some degree.  Let's look at ourselves. To what treasure besides God himself do we cling?  The power of his word today is to supplant those empty treasures and false idols of the world.  Let's pray: "LORD, as I find your words I devour them.  They are my joy, and the happiness of my heart."  This grace isn't just for Jeremiah.  It is for us.  When we experience it we sing with the psalmist:

But I will sing of your strength
and revel at dawn in your mercy;
You have been my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of distress.