Regard Not Your Stuff!

 

Regard not your stuff, for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.

—Genesis 45:20 KJV

Through miraculous circumstances, Jacob learned that his lost son, Joseph, was actually alive and had become a highly influential official in Egypt. He eagerly looked forward to his reunion with Joseph and set out for Egypt, taking his family to settle there.

When Pharaoh learned that Joseph, his second in command, had discovered his family, and that they were going to travel to Egypt, he said to Joseph, as recorded in Genesis 45:17-23 KJV:

Say unto thy brethren, “This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan; And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.”

Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is your’s.

And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.

Certainly, we can see echoes of Jacob’s experience occurring in the New Testament. Jesus spoke several times in the Gospels about the stuff of life, and the dangers of regarding it too highly. Can you see the parallels to Joseph’s story recorded in the text of the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 6:19-21 KJV?

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

As our lives on this earth come to an end, we will take a journey to God our Father. He knows we will have no need for the stuff of this life because all the good of Heaven will be ours. In fact, as stated in the Scripture passage quoted above from Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus admonished us to lay up treasures in Heaven.

As I pondered these words of Jesus, I wondered what the actual treasures were to which Jesus referred. The Psalmist, writing in Psalm 119:89-91 ESV, states these words:

Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants.

These are the kind of treasures that endure in heaven. They cannot be destroyed by moths or by vermin. Thieves cannot break in an steal these treasurers. Therefore, these treasures are the ones we must lay up in heaven: the word of God, the recognition that God remains always faithful, the reality that God created the heavens, the earth, and all things. The enduring truth that God is above all things and He alone is worthy of all glory, honor, and praise.

The people whom we have had the opportunity to introduce to the mysteries of God and have influenced for Christ also belong to the treasury of Heaven. Some may have directly come to know Christ’s salvation through our witness. Others drew more closely to Him through our lively participation in their lives, through our teaching, our preaching, and our sharing with them what God means to us and what He has done to transform our lives.

Like the Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12:13-21, we read a story from Jesus about a person who lived for treasures on earth and worked for a padded, comfortable, enjoyable retirement, rather than serving others with his wealth. In telling this parable, Jesus reminded us that God controls the length of life, and that all of those treasures we store up to give us the future on earth that we think we control constitute a lie.

Let us consider how we might put away the importance of our stuff in exchange for the eternal riches of God’s grace. That is a most appropriate eternal exchange!