Genesis 43:23 KJV
And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.
When the sons of Jacob returned home and found the bags of money in the food sacks the last thing they thought of it as was a treasure. In their minds
• They had barely escaped Egypt with their lives
• Their brother Simeon was still there as a prisoner, and
• They were strictly forbidden to return without Benjamin
The money in their sacks was just one more reason why returning to get Simeon, and more food, was an impossibility.
But when desperation overwhelmed them and it became essential that they return, one of their first priorities was to return this money. The money in their sacks was indeed a treasure, but not the sort we are prone to think. Their treasure was not that they possessed money; their treasure was that God had intervened in their sin and had preserved their brother and a means for Israel to grow up as a people separated from this world and wholly given to God.
We often mistake our real treasures for a curse. God's purpose in our lives is Christlikeness. That purpose can often appear to bring curses rather than blessings because we tend to believe blessing is always rewarded in real and earthly time.
The best rewards will always be heavenly ones.
And he said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.
When the sons of Jacob returned home and found the bags of money in the food sacks the last thing they thought of it as was a treasure. In their minds
• They had barely escaped Egypt with their lives
• Their brother Simeon was still there as a prisoner, and
• They were strictly forbidden to return without Benjamin
The money in their sacks was just one more reason why returning to get Simeon, and more food, was an impossibility.
But when desperation overwhelmed them and it became essential that they return, one of their first priorities was to return this money. The money in their sacks was indeed a treasure, but not the sort we are prone to think. Their treasure was not that they possessed money; their treasure was that God had intervened in their sin and had preserved their brother and a means for Israel to grow up as a people separated from this world and wholly given to God.
We often mistake our real treasures for a curse. God's purpose in our lives is Christlikeness. That purpose can often appear to bring curses rather than blessings because we tend to believe blessing is always rewarded in real and earthly time.
The best rewards will always be heavenly ones.
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