There is an enticing element about hiding and finding treasures; many are captivated by this allurement. This concept is not unknown to God, and He has hidden treasures for us to find. “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter” (Prov. 25:2). “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me” (Matt. 19:21).
In the days of Jeremiah when the kingdom of Judah was breaking up, there were ten men that used hidden treasures in their fields to preserve their lives from death by those who were greedy of power and riches. These ten had hidden treasures in their fields; perhaps it was to keep them from the impending threat of Nebuchadnezzar. However it may have been, when Ishmael had slain Gedaliah and was going to slay these ten also for submitting to the Babylonians, they said, “Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren” (Jer. 41:8). These men were prudent in making provision for the judgment of Judah pronounced by Jeremiah. They accepted the fact that God would not at that time raise up a king who would deliver them from Nebuchadnezzar, the Gentile king. They hid wealth from the impending judgment of God upon the nation of Israel, for God was going to take the rule of the earth from Israel and give it to the Gentiles. It is unlikely that they suspected that some from their own nation would greedily take it from them, yet having the treasures led to the preservation of their lives.
The Kingdom of Heaven
Turning now to the time when the Lord Jesus came to reestablish the kingdom to Israel, we find how He was rejected by His own people. This led Him to disclose another part of the kingdom of God. In Matthew we find 10 parables that are similitudes of the “kingdom of heaven”. They give us a view of how the Lord, while in heaven, is forming a kingdom during the present time. This kingdom is distinct from the kingdom that was promised to Israel in the Old Testament, which we know will be set up when the Lord comes to reign in righteousness. The early disciples did not understand this until after the Lord returned to heaven.
The following quotation from William Kelly explains how the early disciples came to understand the transition of their hope from the earthly kingdom to the heavenly:
The hope of Israel was the kingdom in power when Messiah should reign, and all classes were familiar with it. Thus, with the Messiah in the Person of Jesus at last really on earth, the appearance of God’s kingdom was looked for as close at hand. To correct this mistake, the Lord spoke the parable of the “pounds” (Luke 19:11). Yet how deeply engraven this thought was on the hearts of the Jews is evidenced by the question addressed to Him by the disciples in their last moments with Him on earth (Acts 1:6-9). Joseph of Arimathaea, who buried the Lord, waited for the kingdom of God, and the two disciples on their journey to Emmaus confided to the stranger (as they thought!) the once cherished hopes of their heart, now dashed to the ground by His death (Luke 23:51; Luke 24:21). His answer confirmed the correctness of their hopes and revived the anticipations of the nation’s future blessing. “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?” His death, then, however startling and stumbling to His disciples, is no bar to the accomplishment of the prophecies recorded in the Scriptures, for, as Paul taught the assembled multitude in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia, the mercies of David would be made sure through the King reigning in resurrection (Acts 13:34).
All this, however, is yet future, though the kingdom exists on earth now. What then would characterize the epoch while this anomalous condition of matters should last — the kingdom in existence without the king’s power being everywhere really owned? The prophets can tell us nothing about it, so the Lord gave these parables, which are called similitudes of the kingdom to explain it, and they supply the link in the chain. Found in Matthew 13, 18, 20, 22 and 25, they appear only after His rejection by the nation has been unequivocally declared. “Therefore,” said the Lord, “every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.” “Old things,” because he can speak of what the prophets predicted; “new,” because he can teach what the Lord revealed.
W. Kelly (adapted)
The following paragraphs relate how the kingdom of heaven involves “hidden treasures” that may be found and how they apply to us. The time is imminent when the Lord will transition from forming His heavenly kingdom to His earthly kingdom. We are to be faithful and prudent servants, watching for His coming, that is, discerning the time. (See Matthew 24:45-51.)
The Tares and Wheat
(Matthew 13:24-30,36-43)
The first likeness of the kingdom of heaven concerns the sowing and harvesting of wheat in a field. The sower sows good seed, but the enemy sows tares (weeds). The purpose of the enemy is to hinder and destroy, but God allows the guise of weeds to hide the true treasure — the wheat. There is a separating process at the end of the age that gathers the wheat into the barn and burns the tares. The wheat represents the children of the kingdom, while the tares are false professors. The Lord emphasizes the importance of understanding this parable in Mark 4:13 when He says, “Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?” Understanding this first of the ten parables is necessary to live and work intelligently. The parable reveals how God is gathering a people on earth for heaven. When the Lord comes and the saints are raptured up with Him, the wheat is gathered into the barn, and afterward “the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (vs. 43).
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
(Matthew 13:31-33)
The next two parables present how the kingdom of heaven develops in the hands of men. The mustard seed, which is the least of seeds, becomes a great tree for the birds of the air. The purpose and usefulness of the mustard herb is not to become a great tree, but men have made Christendom into a great system on earth. The real greatness of heaven is hidden from those who make Christendom a human system of earthly living.
The woman who hides the leaven in the three measures of meal corrupts the whole mass until it is useless. This pictures the internal evils within Christendom. They are hidden, but corrupt the whole public testimony. But out of the present ruin of Christendom the Lord will gather a purified people at His coming.
The Treasure Hid in the Field and the Pearl
(Matthew 13:44-46)
The next parable reveals what God sees hidden in the field. He loves and values His saints. They are the treasure He sees, and in order to get this treasure without others knowing of it, He buys the whole field (the world). So in John 17:9, the Lord prays for them: “I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine.”
The parable of the pearl that was discovered shows how the value of the pearl was specially known to the merchant man and which motivated him to sell all to obtain it. So “Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (Eph. 5:25).
The Last Parables
While the first parables deal more with the hidden things of the kingdom of heaven, the last parables bring before us what can be seen. They also speak of the separating process at the end of the dispensation of the kingdom of heaven. That which is of great value is separated from the worthless. The net cast into the sea gathers fish of all kinds, both good and bad. So the preaching of the gospel gathers professors of the Christian faith as well as real believers. It is angels who separate the good from the bad at the end of the age.
The parable of the forgiven servant (Matt. 18:23-35) is an illustration of the use and abuse of those who find forgiveness in the kingdom of heaven. The parable of the householder hiring workers (Matt. 20:1-16) has to do with the difference between obtaining things by “works” in contrast to receiving God’s grace. In the kingdom of heaven, all is of grace. The parable of wedding feast of the king’s son (Matt. 22:14) illustrates how after the nation of Israel rejected the invitation of God, He would give an unconditional invitation to all. He would have heaven full. The last parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13) is a description of how there will be a separation of real believers from mere professors when the Lord comes. Only those who have oil in their lamps will go into the wedding; the false professors will be left for judgment.
We find, then, that as the ten men in Judah had hidden treasures in their fields, which preserved their lives, so the Lord has a hidden treasure in the “kingdom of heaven.” We are that treasure to Him; as we “hear, and understand,” He becomes our treasure. The parables reveal what is about to take place when the Lord comes. May He help us lay hold of our true portion with Him as participants in His heavenly kingdom. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21).
D. C. Buchanan