Chapter 16
YOU CAN NOT SERVE TWO MASTERS
(Matthew 6:19-24)
Before we begin our study let us pray,
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the Name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Holy Father we ask that You would please bless our study of Your Word. Cause us to better understand and live in the manner in which You are teaching us. Help us to yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit so He can put to death our sinful nature and bring forth His fruits in our lives.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
We begin our study by reading the following teaching our Lord Jesus Christ once gave concerning financial wealth.
Matthew 6:19-24
""[19] Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. [20] But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. [22] "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. [23] But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! [24] "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
As we reflect upon Jesus' discourse with respect to wealth, we discover that our Lord is teaching us at least the following two major principles.
1. Our heart is where our treasure is.
2. Our eye is the lamp of our body.
With this introduction let us now proceed with our study by first expanding upon the principle that,
OUR HEART IS WHERE OUR TREASURE IS
We begin by rereading the following Scripture,
Matthew 6:19-21
""[19] Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. [20] But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Is Jesus teaching us that we should not work? (or) We should not plan for a rainy day? No! This is not what Jesus is teaching us. We know this because throughout the Bible we are instructed to: (1) work so as to be able to provide for our own physical needs, (2) we are to work so as to provide for the physical needs of our families and (3) we are to plan for a rainy day, that is for the winter or time of need.
To see that the Bible instructs us to order our lives in accordance with these principles, let us first explore the fact that,
WE ARE TO WORK
To see this let us consider the following instruction the Apostle Paul to the church in Thessalonica.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-12
"[6] In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. [7] For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, [8] nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. [9] We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. [10] For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." [11] We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. [12] Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat."
Let us notice the following verses,
7-8 … Even the Apostle Paul and those who were with him worked. They did this so they could provide for their own physical needs.
9 … The Apostle Paul is telling us that as an Apostle he had the right to expect the church to provide him the finances for his food, clothing and shelter. However, to be an example of how the born again believer in Jesus Christ should live Paul did not exercise this right. Instead the Paul worked as we should. To expand upon this we go to what he wrote to the church in Corinth.
1 Corinthians 9:1-12
[1] Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? [2] If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. [3] My defense to those who examine me is this: [4] Do we have no right to eat and drink? [5] Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? [6] Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? [7] Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock? [8] Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about? [10] Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. [11] If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? [12] If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.
Let return and notice the following verses from Chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians,
10 … Notice the command: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
12(a) … To gain a little more insight into what the Holy Spirit is teaching us in this portion of verse 12, let us read how it is written in the New King James Version of the Bible:
"Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness …"
In other words we are to quietly go about doing the job that God has put before us. God does not want us to be idle or busy bodies and He does not want us to mumble or grumble about the fact that we have to labor for our physical needs. In fact, the Bible teaches us that we are to work as if we are working for Jesus Christ. To see this, let us consider the following passage in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. To bring these Scriptures more relevant for today's work place let us substitute the word employer for master and employee for slave.
Ephesians 6:5-9
"[5] Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. [6] Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. [7] Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, [8] because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. [9] And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him."
Let return and notice the following verse from Chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians,
12(b) … We are to eat our own bread. In other words, whenever we are able, we are to work to supply our own physical needs and the physical needs of our families. Naturally, there may be times of illness, disaster and loss of a job. During these times it is perfectly fine to receive help from others. However, if at all possible we should do our best to be self sufficient.
The second major principle is that,
WE ARE TO PROVIDE FOR THE NEEDS OF OUR FAMILIES
To better understand this principle let us read what Jesus teaches about using our finances to support what is called "God's work.” The issue Jesus used for His teaching was the case where the people of Israel were taught to set aside a fixed amount of their finances for the support of the Temple and its services. For some to do this not enough was left over to provide for the needs of their parents. Let us now read what Jesus said about this practice as recorded in,
Mark 7:9-13
"[9] And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! [10] For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' [11] But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban' (that is, a gift devoted to God), [12] then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. [13] Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.""
Let us notice the following verses,
9-10 … For some, to give the fixed amount of their finances not enough was left to provide for the needs of their parents. Thus, rather than obeying God's command to honor their father and mother they were obeying a manmade tradition.
11-12 … The consequence of observing this manmade tradition of Corban, would cause the people to say to their patents that: “Because I have given the required finances to the priests for support of God's ministry I cannot help you.”
13 … Thus, in order to comply with manmade traditions they were violating God's Word.
Expanding upon this principle a little further we also find that the Holy Spirit teaches us that if a born again believer in Jesus Christ does not provide for the needs of their family they are worse than a non believer. To see this let us consider the following passage from Paul's letter of instruction to Timothy,
1 Timothy 5:8
[8] But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
The third and last major Biblical principle with respect to providing for our needs is that,
WE ARE TO PLAN FOR A RAINY DAY
Perhaps the best way to see and appreciate this principle is by reading the following two Proverbs. By observing the work habit of ants, these Proverbs provide us with a good illustration of this principle. The first Proverb is,
Proverbs 6:6-8
"[6] Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! [7] It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, [8] yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest."
The second Proverb is,
Proverbs 30:24-25
"[24] Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: [25] Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;"
However, this gathering or setting aside some resources is not to be our treasure. To see this let us consider the following parable about the rich man.
Luke 12:16-21
"[16] And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. [17] He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' [18] "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. [19] And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' [20] "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' [21] "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.""
THE MESSAGE
Given the above principles, the question arises as to: "What is Jesus teaching us?" To find out let us begin by reading from,
1 Timothy 6:6-10
"[6] But godliness with contentment is great gain. [7] For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. [8] But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. [9] People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. [10] For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."
Does this mean that having money or being wealthy is sinful and against God's will? No! However, what it does mean is that we are not to place our trust or faith in riches or wealth. In other words our treasure, hope and love is to be our Lord Jesus Christ. To see this let us now read from,
1 Timothy 6:17-19
"[17] Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. [18] Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. [19] In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."
The second major principle for this study is that,
THE EYE IS THE LAMP OF OUR BODY
Perhaps the best way for us to better appreciate and understand what our Lord Jesus Christ is teaching us is by examining some examples of this principle. To accomplish this we will look at the examples of,
1. Adam and Eve
2. The Gadites, Reubenites and the half tribe of Manasseh
Our first example is,
THE EXAMPLE OF ADAM AND EVE
To begin our consideration of the example of Adam and Eve let us first read the temptation that was put before them. It is recorded for us in,
Genesis 3:1-7
"[1] Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" [2] The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, [3] but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" [4] "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. [5] "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." [6] When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. [7] Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves."
Let us notice the following verses.
1 … Satan questioned Eve about God's command to not eat from every tree. Satan lied. God only said they were not to eat from the tree in the middle.
2-3 … Eve knew God's command. In fact she corrected Satan’s question.
4-5 … Satan told Eve she would not die and the reason God did not want her to eat of the tree was because she would then be like God.
This is also a good illustration to reveal to us how Satan, to entice us to sin, will deliberately lie and tell us half truths concerning the commands of God. To expand upon this let us consider the following observations.
First, Satan lied by telling Eve they were not to eat from any tree. Then he lied by saying she would not die. Secondly, Satan told Eve the half truth that by eating the fruit her eyes would be opened so she could know the difference between good and evil. (Later on in this study, when we read from Genesis 3:22, will see that this was a half truth). In other words, he implied that for selfish reasons God lied to her.
6 … Eve looked to the fruit of the tree and saw that it was good for food, pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom. Instead of trusting in what God said about the fruit, Eve trusted her eyes and reasoning to dictate her course of action. Consequently, she bought Satan’s argument.
Let us now read the consequences of Adam and Eve's decision to eat or look to the forbidden fruit rather than God to provide them wisdom. The consequences that fell upon them are recorded in,
Genesis 3:16-19
"[16] To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." [17] To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. [18] It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. [19] By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.""
Additional consequences are depicted in,
Genesis 3:22-24
"[22] And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." [23] So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. [24] After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life."
The second example is,
THE EXAMPLE OF THE GADITES, REUBENITES & HALF TRIBE OF MANASSEH
The incident we are about to consider took place when the Israelites were close to the time for them to cross over the Jordan River and enter God's promised land.
Once freed from their Egyptian captivity the people of Israel traveled and lived in the desert of Sinai for forty years. For their bread God provided them Manna. Each morning, for six days of each week, God miraculously provided the Manna for them to eat. Their thirst was quenched by water that God would miraculously provide through the hand of Moses. In the forty years of their journey their clothing and shoes did not wear out. Now, after fighting and winning several wars against nations that were hostel to them they were about to cross the Jordan River and enter into the land that God promised to give them. This land was described to be a land of milk and honey. In other words, the Promised Land was rich and fruitful. With this short background let us now read what happened just before the people of Israel were to enter into the Promised Land. To do this we go to,
Numbers 32:1-5
[1] The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock. [2] So they came to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community, and said, [3] "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon-- [4] the land the LORD subdued before the people of Israel--are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock. [5] If we have found favor in your eyes," they said, "let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.""
Let us notice the following verses,
1(a) … The people belonging to the tribes of Reuben and Gad had very large herds of livestock.
1(b) … The lands of Jazer and Gilead, which were not part of the promised land, looked perfect for providing for the needs of their families and livestock.
2-5 … Consequently, they asked Moses and the priest Eleazar for permission to stay and not enter into God's Promised Land. In other words they relied upon what they saw and reasoned that it would be best for them to dwell on this side of the Jordan River. Instead of trusting God and His promise to them, they trusted their own eyes and reasoning and wanted the land that was opposite the land of Canaan to provide for their needs.
Upon hearing their request Moses became quite upset. Unfortunately, the children of Gad and the Reubenites won out and a deal was made. To read what happened let us go to,
Numbers 32:16-22
"[16] Then they came up to him and said, "We would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children. [17] But we are ready to arm ourselves and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. Meanwhile our women and children will live in fortified cities, for protection from the inhabitants of the land. [18] We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has received his inheritance. [19] We will not receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan." [20] Then Moses said to them, "If you will do this--if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for battle, [21] and if all of you will go armed over the Jordan before the LORD until he has driven his enemies out before him-- [22] then when the land is subdued before the LORD, you may return and be free from your obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the LORD."
Let us notice the following verses,
16-18 … The people from the tribes of Gad and Reuben agreed to go with Moses to help the rest of their brethren to receive their inheritance. In other words, they agreed that the men would cross over the Jordan to help fight against those who were living in Canaan. Then, after their brethren received their inheritance, the men of Gad and Reuben would return to their families and livestock that were dwelling on the other side of the Jordan River.
19 … The people of Gad and Reuben agreed to not take any land in Canaan for their inheritance. In other words, rather than accepting the land that God promised them they were guided by what they saw on the other side of the Jordan. Consequently, they reasoned or rationalized that their inheritance were the lands of Jazer and Gilead. Not Canaan.
20-22 … Moses gave in to their wishes.
Later on we find that half of the tribe of Manasseh also wanted to dwell with the Gadites and Reubenites. To see this let us read the names of the land and cities they inherited outside of the promised land of Canaan. This listing is recorded for us in,
Numbers 32:33-42
"[33] Then Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan--the whole land with its cities and the territory around them. [34] The Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, [35] Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, [36] Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and built pens for their flocks. [37] And the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh and Kiriathaim, [38] as well as Nebo and Baal Meon (these names were changed) and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt. [39] The descendants of Makir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it and drove out the Amorites who were there. [40] So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, the descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there. [41] Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, captured their settlements and called them Havvoth Jair. [42] And Nobah captured Kenath and its surrounding settlements and called it Nobah after himself."
As a consequence of their action we discover that these tribes were the first tribes of Israel to fall away from God and be taken captive. To see this let us read from,
1 Chronicles 5:23-26
"[23] The people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were numerous; they settled in the land from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir (Mount Hermon). [24] These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families. [25] But they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. [26] So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day."
A historical account of this exile can be found in Thomas Robinson’s book titled; “The Bible Timeline.” The entries of interest are:
853 BC … Assyria’s first attack against Israel (this would be the tribes of the Northern Kingdom) outside of the land of Canaan.
680-627 BC … The Assyrian Empire, along with many other nations, covered Israel (the Northern Kingdom not including Judah or Jerusalem).
586 BC … King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon captured and entered Jerusalem.
THE MESSAGE
What is the point for this portion of our study? What is the message? Perhaps it is best given by the Apostle Paul in how he described his walk with God. It is recorded for us in,
2 Corinthians 5:7
"[7] We live by faith, not by sight."
CLOSING
Before we close, let us reread the following Scriptures,
Matthew 6:19-24
""Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. [20] But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. [22] "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. [23] But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! [24] "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
Blessed be the Lord Forever,
AMEN and Amen