Treasure Keepers
My recent article entitled “Guardians of the Gate” was taken from Verses 13 through 19 of I Chronicles Chapter 26 and dealt with what was to be kept out of the Temple (evil). This month’s article deals with what should be protected and guarded inside the Temple.
I Chronicles 26:20-27 – “And of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of the House of God, and over the treasures of the dedicated things."
“As concerning the sons of Laadan; the sons of the Gershonite Laadan, chief fathers, even of Laadan the Gershonite, were Jehieli. “The sons of Jehieli; Zetham, and Joel his brother, which were over the treasures of the House of the LORD. “Of the Amramites, and the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites:
“And Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was ruler of the treasures."
“And his brethren by Eliezer; Rehabiah his son, and Jeshaiah his son, and Joram his son, and Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son. “Which Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasures of the dedicated things, which David the king, and the chief fathers, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the host, had dedicated."
“Out of the spoils won in battles did they dedicate to maintain the House of the LORD.”
RECAP
David is growing old and Solomon will soon be king. Prior to his death, the Lord has given the plans of the Temple to David to be passed down to Solomon for its building. As stated last month, no part of the Temple design was left to David or Solomon. It was all of God and none of man.
THE TEMPLE: GOD’S PRIORITY
One must understand that the most important work of the Lord at this time was the building of the Temple, the residence of the presence of God, which was Israel’s greatest strength. Likewise, the presence of the Lord is still the most important thing in the church today. As a believer, you must understand and know what God’s priority is today for the church. If you don’t know God’s priority for today, let me tell you: it is “evangelism” (Mark 16:15-18).
SPOILS WON IN BATTLE
I want to begin with Verse 27: “Out of the spoils won in battle did they dedicate to maintain the house of the Lord.” The spoils won in battle refer to the treasure (gold, silver, brass, precious jewels) from heathen kings and nations. Most of the treasure referred to was that which David took in battle in his many conquests of pagan nations.(See I Chronicles 18:1-11)
The idea is that all these treasures, which in many cases were in the form of idol gods, were melted down to be used for the Temple of God. This tells us for today, in the spiritual realm, that there are going to be battles in our lives. Sometimes we lose spiritual battles, but remember, you can lose a battle but still win the war. When we lose a battle, faith is weakened; however, when we win a battle, the spoils are great. Faith is increased, with greater confidence in the Lord, greater liberty in prayer, a greater understanding of the Word of God, divine healing, and material blessing. Simply stated, our spiritual Temple must be built with “spoils won in battle.”
TREASURE KEEPERS
Four times in the Text, the word “treasure” is used, so by the repetition, we see the importance the Lord places not only on the treasure but also the importance of the “treasure keepers.” These treasure keepers were Levites, just as the “guardians of the gate” were Levites. Their sole responsibility was to watch over the treasures dedicated for the building of the Temple.
MEANING FOR TODAY
As the treasures for the Temple had to have individuals to guard them and to keep watch over them, so today there are treasures that must be guarded. In fact, every single believer, and especially every minister, is called to be a treasure keeper. What are the treasures we are to keep watch over today?
Those treasures are the great doctrines of the Bible.
Jude, Verse 3, commands us to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”
Jude, Verse 4, tells us why we are to do this: “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to the condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
DOCTRINE
In too many so-called church circles, “doctrine” is a dirty word. Doctrine is mocked, lampooned, ridiculed, and called “divisive.” If you are in a church that Bible doctrine is not stressed, you are “spiritually and scripturally illiterate.”
Understand this: everything in life and word is guided by a doctrine. In math, there is a mathematical doctrine that must be adhered to. In architecture, there is a doctrine of building that must be obeyed, or the building will fall down. In science, there are doctrines that are absolute, such as the law of gravity: what goes up must come down.
WHAT IS DOCTRINE?
The word “doctrine” means literally “teaching” or “instruction.” As it regards the Bible, doctrine may be defined as the “fundamental truths of the Bible arranged in systematic form,” or one can define “doctrine” as “God’s Revelation of a truth as found in the Scriptures.”*
Let me put it this way: there is no salvation without the doctrine of salvation, the doctrine of sin, or the doctrine of man being preached.
There can be no healing without the doctrine of divine healing being preached.
There can be no infilling of the Holy Spirit without the doctrine of the Holy Spirit being preached.
One can go down all the great doctrines of the Bible, and the same is true of all; without these great truths being preached, the laity becomes spiritually illiterate.
DOCTRINE IS DIVISIVE?
The mantra of the church today is “unity” and “community.” The modern church growth movement teaches that Scripture is divisive. It separates and stops “unity” and is not appealing to “community” because doctrine demands action.
However, there is no true unity without truth, and the foundation of truth is the Cross of Christ and the Word of God. Doctrine is divisive to those who don’t want truth. Truth exposes the false, and it also exposes those who are enemies of truth.
WHAT ARE THE TREASURES WE MUST KEEP GUARD AND WATCH OVER?
As a believer, you must know the Bible and the doctrine it proclaims. This is what I believe; this is my treasure that I must keep and protect. I believe:
The Bible is the inspired and only infallible and authoritative written Word of God (Ps. 119; Mat. 4:4, Lk. 24:27);
There is one God, eternally co-existent in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (I Jn. 5:7);
In the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, in His personal future return to this earth in power and glory to rule one thousand years (Jn. 1:1-4; Eph. 2:13-18; Rev., Chpts. 19-20);
In the Blessed Hope – the Rapture of the Church at Christ’s coming (I Thess. 4:13-18);
The only means of being cleansed from sin is through repentance and faith in the precious Blood of Christ (Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:8-9, 13-18); Regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for personal salvation (Jn. 3:5-8; Titus 3:5);
The redemptive work of Christ on the Cross provides healing of the human body in answer to believing prayer (Ex. 15:25-26; James 5:14-15; I Pet. 2:24);
The Baptism with the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 2:4, is given to believers who ask for it (Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; 19:1-7);
In the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit by Whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a holy life (Rom. 6:3-14; 8:1-2, 11); and,
In the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, the one to everlasting life and the other to everlasting damnation (Rev. 20:5-6, 11-15).
In closing, are you a “treasure keeper”? Do you love and cherish the doctrines of the Bible? That question is for you to ponder and ask of yourself. I pray the answer is “Yes.”
- “Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible,” Myer Pearlman.
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