Matthew 22:34-38 “But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”
Text Exodus 20:3 & 5 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me . . . Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God.”
In consideration of the subject of treasure and its relationship to God, there are two principles that I want to magnify. The first is exemplified in two different Old Testament passages; God is becoming of our treasure. In the first passage, the king of Babylon has besieged Jerusalem and taken all the vessels of the house of God. What does this heathen king do with the treasure; “he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god” (Daniel 1:2). In the case where the Philistines have taken the ark of God; “the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon” (I Samuel 5:2). In these two cases, a hostile force has taken away a portion of wealth; this has been accomplished by means of conquest. Value has been placed upon these things or they wouldn’t have been taken. While these hostile forces may not know the person of worship; they are indeed correct about the principle of worship. If He is God, He is becoming of all our treasure; worthy of anything of value!
The second thought is found in the New Testament; in an admonishment of Christ to His followers; treasure is becoming our God. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). There are two words that we need to consider. The word “treasure” means a deposit of wealth and comes from a word meaning to place in a passive or horizontal posture, to appoint, bow, kneel down, ordain, or set forth. The word “heart” means the heart as ones thoughts, feelings, or mind. Jesus is saying that when anything becomes of worth or is assigned a place of worth, it is deposited in a place so as to assume a horizontal posture so as to be ordained, appointed position, bowed or knelt down to by one’s mind, feelings, or thoughts. Sounds to me like Jesus described a place God is to be given in one’s heart.
Concerning the subject of treasure and God; the scriptural principle is; either God is becoming of our treasure or treasure is becoming our God!