S) "15 The captain of the guard also took away the firepans and the basins, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. 16 The two pillars, the one sea, and the stands which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight."
2 Kings 25:15-16 (NASB)
O) This was the final siege of the temple of Solomon, in the city of Jerusalem, in the nation of Judah. This was not, even close, to the first. In fact, more to the point, some of the ransacking of the temple was actually done by unrighteous kings of Judah, looking to buy favor from other nations. From David's initial preparation and funding, into Solomon's great success and wealth, there was a steady decline in what the temple of the LORD had as loot, as a matter of fact. Some of Solomon's original design had a lot of bronze, to be sure. However, when you read about the original details of the temple (even back to Moses in the wilderness), we see that gold and silver were featured prominently. In fact, the bronze that was used, was comparatively pedestrian. When we fast-forward to the above exile, the bronze seems to have become the most valuable part. The pedestrian had become exceptional, because the exceptional had disappeared.
A) There are not a lot of possessions that I have, that are significantly valuable. Maybe not even remotely valuable. In fact, someone broke into my car once, and left every single thing in it. But, the New Testament speaks a lot about the insignificance of earthly valuables. The above passage is not about preserving earthly treasure, it is about preserving spiritual treasure. The successes that God brings, and the things I value, are not temporal but eternal. Now, the question is this, since satan is a thief, when he comes to ransack my life, will he find anything worth taking? Is my spiritual stock rising or falling? Am I upgrading, or downgrading, the "metal" in my life? I think a lot of that is determined by my mettle, and that is answered in Christ Jesus. As I commit myself more and more to Him, to following His example and obeying His commands, committing my life to His will, the more and more my mettle is found to be the same as His. I want a target on my back, because I have something worth stealing.
P) Father, open my eyes to clearly see my life. Help me to view my heart's desires, and the things I value, correctly. Increase my wisdom, to see when I am placing too much value on insignificant things, losing the value of what You hold in high regard. Teach me to pursue what You value, and dismiss what You don't. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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