For today’s meditation we will look at Matthew 13:10-11, “The disciples asked him, "Why do you use stories as illustrations when you speak to people?" Jesus answered, "Knowledge about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you. But it has not been given to the crowd.” (GW)
When Jesus lived on the earth, He taught many things. As a profound teacher, his teachings were simple, but deep. Generally when Jesus taught the multitudes, He often taught them in parables. The disciples of Jesus would ask Jesus to explain these parables to them when they were alone with Him. The question that was raised by the disciples was as to why Jesus chose to speak to the crowds in parables, to which Jesus replied that the knowledge about the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven were given to them.
Even today there are many who are simply satisfied with getting to know things pertaining to God in a very superficial level. However, God chooses to reveal the mysteries of God, and the Kingdom of heaven to those who have a deep desire to understand the same.
God had a huge plan of salvation to save and redeem sinful man from sin, and the dominion of Satan. Even before God executed this plan of salvation, God revealed many of these plans in the Old Testament itself, and the cities of refuge were one of them. When the people of Israel entered the land of Canaan the Lord instructed Joshua to allot six of the cities to be cities of refuge. This command was also give to Moses who preceded Joshua. If a man accidentally killed another it was possible that he would be killed by someone who sought revenge. In order to protect such a person and to give him a fair chance to explain his action, these cities of refuge were assigned.
These cities of refuge were a fore shadow to the Lord Jesus Christ. We see this is so because of the extensive details that were given to the design, and functioning of these cities of refuge. The real purpose of these cities of refuge were fulfilled in Jesus who is the true city of refuge for all who believe.
We have looked so far at four of these cities of refuge, and in this study we will look at the fifth and sixth cities of refuge. Every one of these cities which have a Hebrew name also have a specific meaning.
We read about these cities of refuge in Joshua 20:7-8, “So, on the west side of the Jordan they set aside Kedesh in Galilee, in the hill country of Naphtali; Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim; and Hebron, in the hill country of Judah. East of the Jordan, on the desert plateau east of Jericho, they chose Bezerin the territory of Reuben; Ramothin Gilead, in the territory of Gad; and Golan in Bashan, in the territory of Manasseh.” (GNB)
As we study the name and meaning of each of these cities, we will realize that they also represent the character and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ as revealed in the New Testament.
• The name of the first city is ‘Kedesh’ which means ‘Holy.’ Only the Lord Jesus was worthy to be called holy.
• The name of the second city is ‘Shechem’ which means ‘shoulder.’ Jesus came down to the earth as a man and took upon His shoulder the cross. As Jesus hung on the cross, He took upon Himself the sins of all mankind. The sinless Jesus became sin for us.
• The name of the third city is ‘Hebron’ which means ‘friendship or fellowship.’ Since Jesus took our sins on Himself, He made it possible for us to have friendship and fellowship with God the Father.
• The name of the fourth city is ‘Bezer’ which means ‘security.’ Anyone who accepts the Lord Jesus as their Saviour are assured that the Lord Jesus will be their security. We read in the bible that the wages of sin is death, but Jesus alone can deliver us from that eternal death and that’s the reason He was revealed.
We will now study the names of the fifth and sixth cities namely Ramoth and Golan. Ramoth means ‘heights’ and Golan means ‘circle’ depicting an endless eternity.
If we observe people these days a majority live as though they are going to live in this world forever. There is no fear of God, no thought about God’s judgement, and a majority live as though their lives on earth is permanent. When Jesus was here on earth much of His teachings was about the kingdom of heaven. This kingdom of heaven represent the heights and also the eternal life that is to come. Once our life on earth is over we can be in either of two places; in hell, where there will be eternal torment, or in heaven, where we will have eternal peace and God’s presence. Sadly, many have forgotten this truth.
God’s word came to John the Baptist
Let me share a few thoughts about John the Baptist who came as a forerunner to Jesus.
We read in Luke 3:1-2, “It was the fifteenth year in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea. Herod ruled Galilee, and his brother Philip ruled Iturea and Trachonitis. Lysanias was the ruler of Abilene. It was at the time when Annas and Caiaphas were chief priests that God spoke to John, son of Zechariah, in the desert.” (GW)
There are two groups of people mentioned in this verse. One is the rulers of the world who had no time to think about matters pertaining to God. Their minds were consumed about their rule, and about wars they could wage to conquer more lands. The other group of people were the religious leaders in the temple, who also had no mind to ponder on things of God. Remember that God sends His word only to those who are ready to receive it and honor it.
These rulers were grand and pompous, but God’s word did not come to them. The temple was grand too, and the chief priests Annas and Caiaphas were serving there, but the word of God did not come to them as well. However, the word of God came to John the Baptist the son of Zechariah who was in the wilderness. As soon as John the Baptist heard the word of God this is what he did.
We read in Matthew 3:1-2,Later, John the Baptizer appeared in the desert of Judea. His message was, "Turn to God and change the way you think and act, because the kingdom of heaven is near." (GW)
This was a message that was new and alien to them because their thoughts were only on the kingdoms of this world. John the Baptist preached that the kingdom of heaven was near because up until then the sins of mankind had not been atoned for, and the coming of Jesus was going to make this a reality. No wonder then that he admonished the people to repent and to turn to God. This was a call for them to turn their attention away from the things of this world, and to focus on heavenly things, and things that matter for eternity.
How are we living today?
So many are caught up with the world and worldly things that they never stop to think that there is a life after death and therefore never stop to ponder on where they would end up. There is a primary purpose that God has for each one of us and that is that none should perish or go to hell, but that everyone should be found in the kingdom of heaven in the presence of God. As children of God it is true that while we live on this earth we have certain responsibilities to fulfill and we have needs that need to be met. However, let us for a while turn our thoughts toward the heights, towards that heavenly kingdom which is our permanent dwelling place. Let us ponder as to what we are doing for the cause of that heavenly kingdom.
The disciples responded to this heavenly call
Peter was a fisherman who was fully into his profession. When Peter heard the teachings of Jesus about the kingdom of heaven, he willingly left his boats, his nets and his profession to follow Jesus. Fishermen were a tough lot, but it was such a man who when called by Jesus willingly surrendered it all for that heavenly call. Some may argue that Peter was an uneducated man, and so he followed after Jesus willingly.
Think about the Apostle Paul, a man of great learning who was a renowned Pharisee. The day that Paul had an encounter with Jesus, he realized that all of his accomplishments were rubbish in the sight of God. The only thing that mattered to Paul was to know Christ, and with this in mind he pursued this call. Paul’s life was transformed, and the Lord made his life become a great blessing to many.
The other disciple was Matthew. One of the dream jobs in those days for the Jews was to be a tax collector for the Roman government. Matthew as in such a position, but when he heard the teachings of Jesus, and things pertaining to the kingdom of heaven, he realized that if he gained all the wealth, but lost the heavenly kingdom it would be worth nothing. No wonder then that Matthew left it all to follow Jesus.
As children of God we must ask ourselves if our mind is only on earthly things or if our hearts are set on the kingdom of heaven that we are all heading towards. What are we doing for the cause of God’s kingdom while here on earth?
The major theme of both Jesus and John the Baptist as they preached on this earth was about the kingdom of heaven.
What are the things that distract us from the things of God?
1. Our mind is only on earthly things and not on heavenly things
Jesus told a parable in Luke 12:16-21, And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”(ESV)
The man mentioned in this parable was wealthy, and his land produced a bountiful crop. This man had barns that were so full that he had no place to store the excess produce. However, his only thought was to keep everything for himself. The man was now in a dilemma as to what he should do with the bountiful harvest. When one has nothing they have various problems, but here was a man who had too much, and he too had a problem; a problem of not knowing what to do with the abundance he had.
The man now had a plan to break down his barns and to build them bigger. There are many who are poor and don’t have a square meal a day. However, this man’s thought was on no one, but himself alone.
He now had a soliloquy with his soul, and felt elated with the thought that he had laid up enough to live a long happy and comfortable life.Inside of each one of us is a soul which will depart from our body one day. It was to this soul that he was in conversation with. He had saved a lot, but all of it was for the earth only. This man was telling his soul that since he had accumulated enough for many years he could eat, drink, relax and be merry.
Many entertain such thoughts in their hearts, but do not mention this openly. There are many who make meticulous plans for many years to come and most of these are with regard to their life on earth only. We must bear one thing in mind, the fact that we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it. In this in between period we must remember that all that we have has been given to us by God. Therefore it is necessary that we don’t just keep everything for ourselves but help those who are poor and needy. The bible teaches us in Proverbs 19:17, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.” (ESV)
The thoughts of this man were perceived by God. As humans people only go by what we say but we have a God who knows our thoughts. As this man pondered these things in his heart, God knew it all and called him a fool. This might seem like a harsh word to use, but the reason for this was that God thinks one foolish who only thinks of himself and not about anyone else. Here was a man who was wealthy, and had more than enough all of which were actually God’s favor on him. Instead of sharing this with those who were in need, his heart was bent on keeping it all for himself.
This was the question that God asked this man, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ God had to remind that man that if his soul were to depart from him, everything that he had worked for and stored would be absolutely of no value to him.
Jesus concluded this parable with a very important statement in verse 21 which goes like this, “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”There is an important principle we learn that one can either store up treasures all for oneself, on earth or we can also store up treasures for ourselves in heaven. The former person is considered a fool because he has invested only on the earth. We are reminded that our minds must turn their focus to the presence of God and towards eternity. Yes it is true that while we live on the earth we have responsibilities towards our family, society and our work place which we should fulfill dutifully. However, if our minds are only set on these things, and we have no thought towards the kingdom of God we are to be pitied.
2. We don’t understand the value of the kingdom of heaven
Jesus spoke another parable in Matthew 13:45-46, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (ESV)
In this parable the kingdom of heaven is compared to a merchant who finds one pearl of great value and in order to obtain it he sells off everything he has. So also, even if we were to lose everything on this earth,our only goal should we gain the kingdom of heaven.
As children of God we should examine ourselves to see how much of our mind is occupied with things pertaining to God and the kingdom of heaven. Let us thank God for all that He has bestowed on us, and instead of using all of it for ourselves, let us use them to store treasures in heaven by giving to those who are poor and destitute.
3. When we use spiritual positions for earthly purposes
Jesus said in Matthew 23:13-14, “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.” (ESV)
These religious leaders shut up the kingdom of heaven so that others could not enter it. The reason was that these leaders who were supposed to teach the word were also caught up with things of the world and did not set their minds on heavenly things.
Many leaders have become busy building their own kingdom, and even their prayers are only to please men. By so doing many have lost their testimony.
Let us ask God to forgive us if we have only been earthly minded, and pray that God will help us to discern His will, and may our thoughts be turned heavenward towards things of God, and the kingdom of heaven. Remember that we are going to live in that heavenly kingdom forever, and we can store treasures there that will last for eternity. The last two cities signify those heights and the eternity that is ahead of us, and Jesus is the only way for us to attain them.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by Sis. Esther Collins
