"Peculiar Treasure"

 "I gathered me also silver and gold, and peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts." (Ecclesiastes 2:8 KJV)

  ""Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!"" (Matthew 13:45-46 NLT)

 Just so you know, much of this stuff, treasures and servants and animals and buildings and gardens, they were really already addressed in the "Making Stuff" blog; all of these last four verses were just listing all of the stuff, all of which is currently not important! So, there you have it, whether or not to makes any sense, it still makes for good conversation! 

 Hopefully you have some indication what the number '8' represents, Biblically, it is a number that is used to represent New Beginnings. Not that it matters much to the verse we have today, because this is pretty much the end of Solomon's list, but within this verse we see things that might actually matter: Souls! Before you judge, you need to know that Solomon built one spectacular Temple! 

 These singers and musical instruments were not just part of his pleasure, there were some that were worshipping in the Temple and singing praises to God. I know that Solomon had gone off the path, it is only obvious that he did; but the end result, is the fact that he belonged to God; and anyone who belongs to God does not get thrown away or abandoned! 

 As far as the passage from Matthew, there a couple of different ways to look at this; but there is really only one way that shows the truth: God is the One that finds you! Yes you! If you were the only person on this earth, He would still die on the cross for you! Each and every one of us are His treasure; whether we know it or not, His heart is for us: to make the right choice, to love Him, to obey His commands, and to be His precious child! 

 That is what He sent His Son for; giving all that He had to pay the price for us, each and every one! But that was not the end: it was the New Beginning...

"But tell me this - since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would be lying about God - for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can't be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died." (1 Corinthians 15:12-20 NLT)