2 Kings 20:13
“And Hezekiah was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.”
INSIGHT
-Treasure in Hebrew is written as segullah which means precious metals, gems, or other valuable items.
-King Hezekiah proudly exposed the treasures of Israel to Babylonians which symbolised their financial & military power. When asked about these events by prophet Isaiah, king Hezekiah showed no concern in the future of Israel but only peace during his reign. Despite Berodach-Baladan son of king Baladan of Babylon presenting gifts & letters to king Hezekiah when he was ill, Babylonians still proved to be their enemies by taking all their treasures & capturing them as prisoners during the time of king Nebuchanezzar. Sometimes we expose our secrets or weaknesses to the wrong people/ enemy who most often cause harm in our lives & those of others. Samson revealed the secret of his strength to Delilah who brought much harm to him & to the nation of Israel. Secrets of the family, marriage, relationships, business, nation etc may sometimes be maintained as classified despite peer pressure, political, financial & other forms of influence to enhance personal security, safety of those around us & national heritage.
PRAYER
God our Father; You are our refuge & strength, our fortress & very present help even in times of trouble, we thank You for protecting us & ask You to continue shielding us from the snares of the enemy. Remove all pride, ignorance, anxiety & anything that displeases You from our hearts; & grant us the gift of wisdom that we may always keep still & act with understanding for our safety & that of others. Grant our leaders wisdom so that they may refrain from corruption & offer us good leadership for the benefit of all. We thank You Lord for taking us through the first half of the year & humbly ask You to grant us favor & blessings during the other half according to Your everlasting mercy & grace. All glory, honor, riches, power & praise belong to You Lord. Amen
Isaiah 45:2-3
“I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.
INSIGHT
-God was making a promise to the Israelites that He would break the gates of bronze & cut the bars of iron which were most probably used by Babylonians during their captivity, who made huge solid bronze or brass gates fastened by horizontal iron bars. Further, a promise to restore their wealth probably those taken by king Nebuchanezzar from the house of God to the house of their gods (Dan 1:2) and many other treasures of darkness hidden in secret places, for the wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous (Prov 13:22). John the Baptist spoke the same message saying; “Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God (Lk 3:5-6)”. Christ is our Salvation & ever present Help for when we call on Him, He removes all obstacles from our lives, gives us treasures hidden in secret places, makes every crooked path straight, levels all the mountains & smoothens all rough paths in our lives. He redeemed us from every york or slavery & through His blood saved us from all bondage & calls us to believe in Him that His power may take effect in our lives.
PRAYER
We love You Lord our Father & exult Your name on high. We thank You for we have seen this beautiful day full of health & humbly ask You to heal all those who are sick for by Your stripes we were healed. You are all powerful Lord Almighty Father; we seek Your face every time & pled Your precious blood over our lives, families & nation. Many are the challenges, barriers, obstacles, rough & crooked paths that we face in our lives Lord, we humbly ask You to deliver us from them all, give us the treasures hidden in secret places & answer all our prayers for You died so that we may have life & life in abundance. We cast all our burdens & cares unto You Jesus believing that You have already answered us according to the riches of Your grace & salvation for us all. We praise & glorify You Father; now & forever. Amen
Proverbs 2:1-4
“My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;”
INSIGHT
-The Word of the Lord which is God Himself Who became flesh & dwelt among us is more valuable than all treasures of this world. We read that wisdom is more valuable than rubies & nothing can be compared to her, instructions more valuable than silver & knowledge than choice gold (Prov 8:10-11). In seeking first Gods’ kingdom & His righteousness, all other things are added unto us (Mat 6:33). Many seek after money & works of the flesh more than God & their hearts depart from Him. God calls us to treasure His word in our hearts & apply it in our lives for it is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge is comprehension of the word which comes by constantly reading the Bible, understanding comes by diligence in meditation, hearing & reading interpretations of truth & wisdom is application of the word, & whoever lacks this gift should ask of the Lord in prayer. God has hidden His word in our hearts that whoever seeks Him will find Him; as the Holy Spirit walks with us through every step.
PRAYER
Lord my Father I have hidden Your word in my heart that I may not depart from it, give me the grace Jehovah to remain steadfast in Your love. Many are the trials & temptations that I face everyday but You deliver me from them all, thank You Father. Guide me Lord & all the lost sheep when we go astray that we may find Your grace. Fill us with Your wisdom Father as we read & meditate on Your word that we may understand, keep & apply Your precepts with love for You & our neighbors. Amen
Hebrews 11:24-26
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
INSIGHT
-Moses demonstrated great faith in God by leaving his comfort zone (Pharaoh’s house) & moved ahead to lead the people out of captivity heeding to the voice of the Lord. Moses did not focus on the worldly treasures but looked to the reward of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus instructs us to lay up our treasures in heaven where moth & rust cannot destroy or thieves cannot break in & steal, for where ones treasure is so will the heart be also (Mat 6:19-21). Jesus then explained that one can either love Him or money (Mat 6:24). This He demonstrated using the parable of a young man who followed all His commandments but his heart was inclined to money. When he asked Jesus what he needed to do to get eternal life, Jesus told him to sell everything & give to the poor then he would have treasures in heaven (Mat 19:20-22). By this; Jesus revealed that the young man thought he had money but the money had him. We note that money is not bad, in-fact God wants us have it but let it not come before the love of God & one forgets to focus on the reward of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.
PRAYER
God Almighty Father we thank You for giving us the gift of Your beloved Son Jesus Christ through Whom we believe & have life everlasting. Help us to maintain unwavering faith, detachment to the love of money, meekness in prosperity, attention to prayer, purity of heart, diligence in fulfilling our purpose, resignation to Your will, burning love for You & those who need us most, perseverance in faith unto grace to overcome temptations & to be worthy to stand before You through Your sanctification now until the end of time. Amen
Matthew 12:35
”A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.”
INSIGHT
-Out of the abundance of a man’s heart the mouth speaks. From a man’s speech much of his heart content is revealed, a righteous man edifies with good speech but a wicked/corrupt man brings forth evil talk. Just like king Hezekiah proudly revealed the treasures of Israel to the enemy, our mouth’s have the ability to impart curses or blessings upon our lives & that of others; in the natural & spiritual realm. It is therefore better to speak of Gods’ goodness & give thanks in everything for this is the will of God through Christ Jesus.
SUMMARY
-Treasure in Hebrew is written as segullah which means precious metals, gems, or things with value.
-After God blessed King Hezekiah with fifteen more years, he proudly exposed the treasures of Israel to Babylonians which symbolised their financial & military power (2 Kin 20:13). Despite Berodach-Baladan son of king Baladan of Babylon presenting gifts & letters to king Hezekiah when he was ill, Babylonians still proved to be their enemies by taking all their treasures & capturing them as prisoners during the time of king Nebuchanezzar. Afterwards, God promised the Israelites restoration by breaking the gates of bronze & cutting the bars of iron which were most probably used by Babylonians during their captivity, for they made huge solid bronze or brass gates fastened by horizontal iron bars (Isa 45:2-3). God promised to restore their wealth probably those taken by king Nebuchanezzar from the house of God to the house of their gods (Dan 1:2) & many other treasures of darkness hidden in secret places, for the wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous (Prov 13:22). John the Baptist spoke the same message saying; “Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God (Lk 3:5-6)”. Sometimes we expose our secrets or weaknesses to the wrong people/ enemies in the natural or spiritual realms who most often cause harm to our lives & that of others. Samson revealed the secret of his strength to Delilah who brought about his destruction & much harm to the Israelites. God calls whoever lacks wisdom to ask from Him. His Word is God Himself for He became flesh & dwelt among us, & it is more valuable than all treasures of this world. Wisdom from Him is more valuable than rubies & nothing can be compared to her, instructions more valuable than silver & knowledge than choice gold (Prov 8:10-11). In seeking first Gods’ kingdom & His righteousness, all other things are added unto us (Mat 6:33). Many seek after money & works of the flesh more than God & their hearts depart from Him. Knowledge is comprehension of the word which comes by constantly reading the Bible, understanding comes by diligence in meditation, hearing & reading interpretations of truth & wisdom is application of the word, & whoever lacks this gift should ask of the Lord in prayer. God has hidden His word in our hearts that whoever has faith in Him may find Him; as the Holy Spirit walks with us through every step. Moses demonstrated great faith in God by leaving his comfort zone; that is Pharaoh’s house & moved ahead to lead the people out of captivity heeding to Gods’ instructions. Moses did not focus on the worldly treasures but looked to the reward of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ (Heb 11:24-26). Jesus instructs us to lay up our treasures in heaven where moth & rust cannot destroy or thieves cannot break in & steal, for where ones treasure is so will the heart be (Mat 6:19-21). Jesus also tells us that one can either love Him or money (Mat 6:24). He demonstrates this using the parable of a young man who followed all His commandments but his heart was inclined to money. When he asked Jesus what he needed to do to get eternal life, Jesus told him to sell everything & give to the poor then he would have treasures in heaven (Mat 19:20-22). By this Jesus revealed that the young man thought he had money but the money got him. We note that money is not bad, in-fact God wants us have it but let it not come before the love of God & one forgets to focus on the reward of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. God calls us to treasure His word in our hearts & apply it in our lives for it is the foundation of wisdom. Christ our Salvation gives us wisdom & cleanses us by His precious blood from all obstacles that we face in our lives. He gives us treasures hidden in secret places, makes every crooked path straight, levels all the mountains & smoothens all rough paths in our lives. He redeems us from every york of slavery & through His blood saves us from all bondages that we may believe in Him & be saved.
PRAYER
Lord our Father full of goodness & justice we exult You for the graces You have bestowed upon our lives, families & nation. Purify our hearts by Your precious blood Jesus we call on You; that we may always harbor good treasures & intentions within us. Cleanse our tongues Father from evil speech, murmuring, back biting, coarse jesting & other profanities that our mouth may always be a blessing to us & all those around us. Deliver us Jesus from all accusations against us & our families in the courts of heavens by Your precious blood that we have caused ourselves or brought upon us by others for You are our righteous Judge & Intercessor. All glory & praise belongs to You Jesus now & forever. Amen