The Divine Proprietor and his peculiar treasure.
We adopt, as a more accurate translation, the rendering, "And they shall be to me, saith Jehovah, in the day that I am preparing, a peculiar treasure," etc; and thus learn—
I. THAT THE SERVANTS OF GOD ARE HIS PECULIAR TREASURE. It is a joy to know that in such a world as this there is anything which God can regard as his own peculiar treasure. For sin is here. The serpent's trail is found in every earthly paradise. "The works of the devil" have done much to dim the glory and mar the beauty of the works of God. True, his material works are as attractive as ever (Psalms 104:31). But a moral Being cannot find his peculiar treasure in material works. Of what value are the precious metals and the rare gems of earth to God? If they cannot satisfy the hunger of the created spirit, how can they be a special treasure to the Spirit that created all (Job 36:19)? It was a man who was first called "the friend of God" (James 2:23). It was to a nation that the promise was first given, "ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine" (Exodus 19:5). Though the heavens are not pure in his sight, and he charges the angels with folly, yet he can find a peculiar treasure in sinful souls that fear and love him, that think upon his Name, and nurture in one another's hearts the elements of, Divine life. While the whole Church of God is his treasure, every individual is an object of special regard and value. God says, "I know thee by name, and thou hast found grace in my sight." Every believer may appropriate the love and sacrifice of Christ, "who loved me, and gave himself for me." So that each individual in the universal Church may be regarded as a jewel in the Divine treasury. They are God's "hidden ones," but not overlooked; scattered, but not lost; the world knoweth them not, but "the Lord knoweth them that are his." Apply to different classes; e.g. godly children; the obscure poor; uneducated saints ("rough diamonds"); the donors of widow's mites to the Master's service; an Abijah in the house of Jeroboam;—all are jewels in God's treasury of redeemed souls.
II. THAT THEY SHALL BE TREATED WITH PECULIAR CARE. "The day" which Jehovah was preparing may represent all the various troubles and dangers which may await both the righteous and the ungodly. We may apply the term:
1. To days of trial in this life. We do not expect exemption from all trials. But we may expect two things.
2. To the day of death. But "death is yours;" and cannot "separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." The day of death is the day of promotion, when, in an especial sense, we become a peculiar treasure because redeemed from all iniquity and purified for all eternity unto all good works (Titus 2:14).
3. The day of judgment. (Matthew 13:41-43; Matthew 25:34.) Who will not claim his offered place among the peculiar treasures of God? Who can bear the thought of hearing from the Judge in that day, "I never knew you; that is no part of my treasure; take it away"?