Seder 98: Matthew 13:44---The Treasure in the Field

 The thirteenth chapter of Matthew's Gospel records a number of parables of Jesus about the nature of God's kingdom.  One of them is in verse 44:

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.  Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."

As Kyle Kettering explained in a sermon at Church of the Messiah on January 10, 2026, the parable is about someone who comes to see that submitting to God's reign is the highest priority in life, coming ahead of everything else.  Following God opens up to us a world of freedom, including freedom from want and fear.  

Kyle also mentioned that some have worried about possible ethical problems in the scenario presented in the parable.  Is it such a great idea to search through someone else's field and bury the treasure that one finds there without telling the owner of the field?  But with parables, we can miss the point if we get bogged down in the incidental details.  Jesus wasn't proposing that we go looking for items worth lots of money on other people's property.  

Symbolic readings of parables are often not the best option.  As an example, Kyle mentioned an interpretation of the parables in Matthew 13:44-46 given by popular dispensationalist teacher Warren Wiersbe (see Be Loyal, his commentary on Matthew).  Wiersbe saw in the parable of the hidden treasure Jesus' work to save the people of Israel, God's treasured possession (Ex 19:5).  He viewed the parable of the pearl of great price as representing Jesus' work on behalf of the church.  This is an imaginative reading that carries some lessons, but probably isn't what Jesus was talking about.  

Seder 98: Isaiah 24-25---Eschatological Destruction, Then Restoration

 In the late eighth century BC, the kingdom of Judah was threatened by the powerful and cruel Assyrian Empire.  Isaiah urged the kings and people of Judah to place trust in God, rather than in political alliances with neighboring nations, to deal with this threat.

Isaiah also had messages to convey to these other nations---e.g., in chapters 13-23.  All of them were accountable to the God of Israel for their conduct and would one day face judgment.  The messages to the other nations also spoke indirectly to Israel:  If God rules all nations, in whom should Israel be relying?

Chapter 24 goes even further, showing that God does more than just respond to what Middle Eastern nations do.  As the creator of all things, he can "uncreate" if he chooses.  Isaiah 24 presents a picture of universal destruction.

The Hebrew word eretz appears repeatedly in Isaiah 24.  This word can refer either to the whole world or specifically to the land of Israel.  It might appear initially that verse 5, with its references to laws, statutes, and the everlasting covenant, is mainly about Israel.  But in this chapter, the thrust is universal. All nations are accountable for basic morality, as Romans 1:18-32 implies.  In this context, the "everlasting covenant" in view could be the Noahic covenant. 

Several things in Isaiah 24 point to an eschatological setting, including

• the reference to "on that day" in verse 21;
• the judgment of "the host of heaven"---rebellious heavenly beings---who are punished after being "shut up in a prison" for "many days" (vv 21-22);
• the reference to heavenly signs in verse 23.

Verses 14-16 picture rejoicing and praise to God for his justice.  On the other hand, the prophet mourns the suffering that will be involved (vv 16-18).  

The judgment described in chapter 24 will bring a number of people to repentance.  In Isaiah 25:1-5, God is praised not just by the righteous, but also by "strong peoples" and "ruthless nations" (verse 3). 

 Judgment in chapter 24 is followed by hope and restoration in chapter 25.  Isaiah 25:6-9 pictures a future messianic banquet for all nations, with the defeat of sin and death.  Those who repent and submit to God will celebrate, while those who remain in rebellion are described as swimming in liquid manure (vv 10-12).  

Some of the themes and imagery of Isaiah 25 are picked up in the final chapters of the book of Revelation, which describes the "marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev 19:7-9) as well as the contrasting fates of those who choose life and those who choose death (20:6, 14; 21:8; 22:11).  

Seder 98: Lev 25---Land Sabbaths and the Year of Jubilee

The sabbath and festivals wouild provide regular rhythms of rest and worship in Israel.  The land Sabbath--Ex 23:10-11; Lev 25:1-7---is also part of that picture.  Every seventh year the land was to receive a rest from cultivation, giving a break to both people and animals.  Today there are some in Israel who are keeping the sabbatical year again.  In general, those who follow this sabbatical principle experience blessing.  (By the way, 2021-2022 is a sabbatical year in Israel.)  

Leviticua 25 also describes the year of Jubilee, to be held either on every seventh sabbatical year or on the year after every seventh sabbatical year.  During a Jubilee year personal debts are forgiven and families regain ancestral lands that they have lost.  

In the ancient Near East kings sometimes declared times of debt forgiveness.  Interest rates were high (e.g., in Mesopotamia 1/60 of the principal of a loan was due every month, a 20% annual interest rate).  In these cultures, a lot of the debt being forgiven was owed to the king.  Kings drew their armies from landholders, and a landholder couldn't go out to battle if he was working to pay off a debt to someone else.  So this policy was in a king's best interest.  The Lev 25 Jubilee was intended to put this kind of clean slate on a regular schedule.  

The Bible does not tell us about any Israelite Jubilees.  That does not mean that none were held. Still, it seems likely that the Jubilee was too often a gift that remained unwrapped.  A Jubilee would have alleviated the economic oppression that led to the division of Israel into northern and southern kingdoms during the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12), for example.  Later prophets would call the elite of Israelite society to account for their lack of help for the poor.

In his Nazareth synagogue sermon (Luke 4), Jesus declared a kind of Jubilee in which good news would be announced to the poor and captives would be freed.  

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on April 2, 2022, Kyle Kettering called upon the congregation to practice the Jubilee principle.   

Seder 98: Psalm 44---A National Lament

 At the beginning of Psalm 44, the congregation of Israel acknowledges that the nation owes its existence to God, who had placed them in the Promised Land.  God was responsible for all of their military victories; they could not claim credit for any of them (vv 1-8).  

Recently, the nation had suffered defeat at enemy hands, and the sovereign God was also ultimately responsible for those events (vv 9-16).  

At this point the congregation asserts its loyalty to God (vv 17-22), making this psalm stand apart from others.  There are individual laments in which the psalmist states his loyalty (e.g., Psalm 17), but this is the only communal lament of this type.  Those who represent God sometimes suffer setbacks.  In a sinful world, bad things can happen to good nations.  

The congregation concludes by boldly petitioning God to come to its aid (vv 23-26).  They are confident in his loving faithfulness to his covenant.   

Paul quotes Psalm 44:22 in Romans 8:36.  Paul and his colleagues often suffered persecution in their efforts to spread the Gospel, but Paul confidently stated that nothing could separate them from the love of Christ (vv 35-39).  All things would work together for good (v 28).