Treasure In The Field

[Olde Tymer]

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"When the cat's away, the mice do play."

According to the old testament prophets, we today are residing on the premises of
the kingdom of heaven, and have been all our lives. However, until the king returns
to take the reins, it's to be expected we would be seeing something less than a
perfect world in the kingdom because it's mostly in the hands of men for now
instead of in the hands of God and his Messiah. For example:

● Matt 13:44 . . The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a
man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and
bought that field.

Had the man been honorable, he would've informed the landowner of the discovery
so that he would be aware of the true value of his property. But the man kept it a
secret so he could obtained the land at a price below it's real value.

The buyer's conduct was shrewd, but in reality it just goes to show how the king's
realm is currently prey to greed and dishonesty.
_

 

[Olde Tymer]

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Here's another shrewd guy, but him I kinda admire.

● Matt 13:45-46 . . Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man,
seeking goodly pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and
sold all that he had, and bought it.

This guy is very different than the first. To begin with: he wasn't out trespassing on
somebody's private property. This guy is a merchant, and his haunts were likely
flea markets.

A common problem with flea markets is that vendors can't always sell their goods at
true value because nobody in their right mind would pay it in that venue. So, in
order to move this high-end pearl of his, the vendor would've had to mark it down.
In other words; the pearl wasn't a steal, rather, it was a bargain; and the merchant
wasn't a scoundrel taking advantage of someone's ignorance.

So although the kingdom of heaven is for now prey to greed and dishonesty, not all
abroad are greedy and dishonest.
_