Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death. The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
- Proverbs 10:2-3
Here, the Lord is talking about what survives the grave.
He is also talking about the folly of chasing the things that won't.
He commences telling us that the treasures of wickedness profit nothing. Nothing is a lot different to a percentage, a lot different to a quarter or half, a lot different to a smaller profit.
One reason why?
There is no crossover (to life eternal) for the treasures sought by the wicked. The wicked only seek temporal riches. It is as far as they can see — this life only! They do not look for treasures that transcend the life/death/life eternal barrier.
We contemplate this verse and think of bank robbers, thieves, house-breakers and prison inmates. However, when we look at the word, 'Wickedness' in the Strong's Concordance Hebrew H7562, we see it quite differently. It is rendered as morally wrong and iniquity. It doesn't take a bank robber to come under that heading. Before Christ, we all came under it!
Once we come to Christ, God gives us the ability, with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, to follow righteousness through our heart's desire. It is this righteousness He wants us to seek, understand, and live by!
The Lord also says He casts away the substance of the wicked. The substance is the accumulation of the treasures; what they have in their investments, such as in the bank or in stocks and bonds or property.
Why?
That substance cannot pass the life/death barrier/life eternal barrier, either. It must, by reason of its temporal use, be cast away. We see, though, that the righteous survive that barrier.
The righteous are delivered, by Christ, from the death which separates this life's kingdom from the next. God has written that the treasures the righteous seek are eternal. We choose to establish that our substance is inclusive of eternal riches.
When we come to Christ, we get a new heart, new mind and fresh eyes; eyes which allow a vision of the spiritual kingdom awaiting us; eyes which see this world's riches for what they are — temporary — fashioned to get us through this life only, then cease while we live on.
By design, those treasures cannot travel into the next kingdom. The future kingdom runs on a different economy with different treasures and goals. We are all called to seek that vision, those treasures and those goals.
Today's Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for the treasures that transcend the two kingdoms. Thank you that I can use the substance I have here to get me through this part of my life and thank you for the spiritual treasures which bring me closer to you and help me make right choices for this world and the next.
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