Part 4 - The Kingdom Parables: The Hidden Treasure

✦ ✦ ✦ A New Teaching Series The Parables and the Lost Tribes of Israel Proving the Singular Mission of YAHSHUA Through Every Parable He Taught ✦ ✦ ✦ PART FOUR THE HID TREASURE The Lost House of Israel Buried in the Field of the World And the Blood Price Paid to Recover Them Matthew 13:44 Rev. John Shane Vaughn First Harvest Ministries International The Text Before Us Matthew 13:44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” One verse. One parable. And every word of it is a Two-House prophecy. For two thousand years preachers have stood over this parable and given us interpretations that the text itself rejects. Some say the treasure is Christ Himself. But Christ is the most known Person in the world — He is not hidden. He was lifted up on a cross for all mankind to see. Some say the treasure is the Gospel. But the Gospel is the best-selling message in human history. It is not hidden either. Some say the treasure is the sinner saved by grace, and the field is the man's heart. But YAHSHUA Himself explained the field in the previous parable: the field is the world. Every popular interpretation collapses under the weight of the text. The treasure is something else entirely. I. The Peculiar Treasure of YAHWEH Long Ago, YAHWEH Already Named the Treasure. Exodus 19:5 “If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be A PECULIAR TREASURE unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.” The Hebrew word is am segulah — a private possession personally acquired and carefully preserved by the King. It was the word ancient kings used for the special spoil that belonged to the conqueror alone — not divided with anyone else, not shared with any general, the King's personal treasure. And YAHWEH Did Not Say It Once. He Said It Six Times. Deuteronomy 7:6 “The LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be A SPECIAL PEOPLE unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.” Deuteronomy 14:2 “Thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be A PECULIAR PEOPLE unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.” Deuteronomy 26:18 “And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his PECULIAR PEOPLE, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments.” Psalm 135:4 “For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his PECULIAR TREASURE.” Malachi 3:17 “And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my JEWELS.” Six times across both testaments YAHWEH calls one specific people His Treasure. And He never gives that title to anyone else. So when YAHSHUA opens His mouth and speaks of treasure hid in a field, every Hebrew ear in that crowd knew immediately who the treasure was. The Treasure Is Israel. II. The Treasure Was Hidden — On Purpose But Notice — In the Parable, the Treasure Is Hidden. It is buried in the field. It is invisible to the casual passerby. It has been removed from public view. Who hid it? When? Why? The history of the Bible tells us plainly. The Northern Kingdom — The House of Israel — Was Taken Into Captivity. 2 Kings 17:6 “In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and CARRIED ISRAEL AWAY INTO ASSYRIA, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.” In 722 BC, ten of the twelve tribes were ripped out of the Promised Land and scattered into the regions north of the Black Sea, then west across the steppes of Asia, then up into the Caucasus, and finally into the isles and lands of Europe and beyond. They were sent into captivity. They were scattered among the nations. They were hidden — nationally and spiritually. But the King Knew Where They Were. Listen carefully, beloved. The treasure looked lost — but the One who buried it knew exactly where it lay. YAHWEH followed them. He guarded them. He guided them. He disciplined them. He taught them. He led them all the way — and in the fullness of time He sent YAHSHUA to find them. Matthew 15:24 “I am not sent but unto THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.” He did not say the lost sheep of Judah. He said the lost sheep of the House of Israel — the ten tribes carried away by Assyria — the treasure that had been hidden in the field of the world for seven hundred years. YAHSHUA came to find that buried treasure. III. He Found It — and Then Hid It Again Now Read the Parable Slowly. Matthew 13:44 “The which when a man hath found, HE HIDETH, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” Notice the strange sequence. The man finds the treasure — and the very next thing He does is hide it again. Why would He do that? Why find it only to bury it back in the field? Because the Time of the Recovery Was Not Yet. YAHSHUA found the treasure in the first century. He found Andrew, He found Peter, He found John, He found Matthew, He found the twelve. He found the seventy. He found the upper-room remnant. He found the firstfruits of the scattered tribes coming up to Jerusalem from the diaspora. But the full recovery of the ten-tribed treasure was not appointed for the first century. It was appointed for the time of the end. So He hid it. He pressed it back down into the field of the world. And it remained hidden — for almost two thousand years. Daniel 12:9 “Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” The treasure was found in the first century, hidden again until the end, and now in our generation it is being unearthed. IV. And For Joy Thereof Matthew 13:44 “And FOR JOY THEREOF goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” Stop on the Word JOY. YAHSHUA did not go to the cross reluctantly. He did not go grudgingly. He did not go as a victim. He went with joy. Hebrews 12:2 “Who for the JOY that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” What was the joy set before Him? What was the joy that made the cross bearable? The joy was the recovery of the buried treasure. Look at the pattern of joy across the parables of the Lost Things: The shepherd who finds the lost sheep — “Rejoice with me!” The woman who finds the lost coin — “Rejoice with me!” The father who recovers the lost son — the music, the dancing, the feast. The Man who finds the buried treasure — He sells all He has with joy and buys the field. Every parable of the Lost Things is a parable of the same joy: the recovery of scattered Israel by the One who has always known where they were. V. He Sold All He Had — and Bought the Field Now the Cross Comes Into Sharp Focus. What did YAHSHUA sell to buy the field? He sold His own life. He paid in His own blood. 1 Peter 1:18–19 “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold… but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Acts 20:28 “Feed the church of God, which he hath PURCHASED WITH HIS OWN BLOOD.” But Notice What He Bought. He did not just buy the treasure. He bought the whole field. The field is the world — the entire kosmos. He paid the price for the whole earth in order to recover the treasure buried inside it. This is why universal reconciliation is in the parable from the beginning. The price paid was so vast — so total — that it covered far more than the immediate object. He purchased the whole field. He paid for every inch of the kosmos. And one day every grain of dirt in that field will respond to the Owner who paid for it. Colossians 1:20 “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to RECONCILE ALL THINGS unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” The treasure was the immediate target. The field was the eventual scope. The blood paid for both. VI. Where Was the Treasure Hidden? Here Is the Question That Changes Everything. If the treasure is Israel, and the treasure was hidden in the field of the world for two thousand years — where exactly was it hidden? The Bible tells us. Listen to the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 49:1 “Listen, O ISLES, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.” Isaiah 24:15 “Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel IN THE ISLES OF THE SEA.” Jeremiah 31:10 “Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it IN THE ISLES AFAR OFF, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.” The prophets repeatedly identified the destination of the scattered tribes: the isles of the sea, the lands afar off, the islands at the ends of the earth. Look Where the Treasure Was Buried. The isles of the British Empire — Britain, Scotland, Ireland, the Commonwealth nations. The lands of Northwestern Europe — Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France. The continent across the sea — America, settled by the very peoples who fled European persecution to find a new promised land. The southern continents — Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa. The treasure was buried in the field of the Anglo nations of Europe, America, and the Isles — exactly the place promised to David and the seed of Israel. And this is the great revelation of our age: the richest, choicest, most valuable peoples in the world — the Israel nation and the assembly of the awakened — are together being discovered in the very nations the prophets pointed to. VII. The Dry Bones and the Treasure This Parable Is the Companion to Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel 37:11–12 “These bones are THE WHOLE HOUSE OF ISRAEL: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I WILL OPEN YOUR GRAVES, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.” Buried bones. Hidden in the field. Apparently dead. But the One who buried them knows exactly where every bone lies — and He is the One who opens the grave. The Hid Treasure of Matthew 13 and the Dry Bones of Ezekiel 37 are the same prophecy. Israel is in the ground. The world walks over it every day. The world has no idea what is buried beneath its feet. But the King who paid for the field is now sending forth His Spirit — and the bones are coming together. The treasure is coming up. FHMI is one of the places where the dirt is being lifted and the gold is starting to gleam through. VIII. The Potter Remodeling the Clay And Listen to Where YAHWEH Was the Whole Time. Jeremiah 18:4 “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again ANOTHER VESSEL, as seemed good to the potter to make it.” While the treasure was buried in the field of the world, the Potter was not absent. The Potter was remodeling the clay. Through two thousand years of scattering, the same hand that placed Israel in the ground was shaping them, refining them, reforming them, and preparing them for the day when the King would come a second time to reign. The Treasure Coming Out of the Ground Is Not the Same Treasure That Went Into the Ground. What went in — idolatrous, divided, broken Israel. What is coming out — an Israel that knows YAHWEH, knows YAHSHUA, keeps Torah, keeps Sabbath, keeps the feasts, and is being prepared to reign. The Potter remodels the clay while it lies buried — so that when it comes up, it comes up as a vessel of glory. IX. The Great Joy of the Redeemer This Parable Is a Window Into the Heart of Christ. The cross was not just an obligation. The cross was not just a duty. The cross was not just a price grudgingly paid. The cross was the action of a Man so in love with His buried treasure that He emptied Himself completely to recover it. Luke 15:6 “Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.” He went to Calvary for the joy of the treasure He was about to redeem. He saw the lost House of Israel scattered across the isles. He saw the dry bones in the valley. He saw what they would become in the day of recovery. And for joy thereof — He went and sold all that He had, and bought the field. Beloved — That Joy Is Still Operating. Every time a scattered saint finds his way home to the Sabbath, the King smiles. Every time another exile recognizes the Sacred Name, the King rejoices. Every time another buried piece of the treasure comes up out of the field of the world, the angels of heaven join the music — because the Man who bought the field is being repaid in the gold He came to recover. And the joy of the Redeemer is the music playing over every FHMI awakening. Reflection at the Pulpit Three Questions for Every Hearer Tonight: 1. If I am part of the buried treasure being recovered — what does that mean about the worth I carry in the eyes of the King who paid His own blood to dig me out? 2. If the Potter was remodeling Israel for two thousand years underground — what is He still remodeling in me right now before the final vessel is presented? 3. If the cross was joy because of the recovery — am I joining the Redeemer's joy, or am I still grieving as though I were unfound? Closing Word This parable was never about a man who got lucky in someone else's field. This parable was about a King who knew exactly where His treasure was buried — and who paid His own life to dig it back up. The treasure is Israel — the am segulah — the peculiar treasure of YAHWEH. The field is the world — the kosmos He bought with His blood. The hiding was the scattering — when ten tribes were buried in the isles, the Anglo nations, and the lands across the seas. The finding was the first coming — when YAHSHUA found the firstfruits of the scattered ones. The re-hiding was the long captivity — when the Kingdom remained a mystery for two thousand years. And the recovery is now — the awakening of Ephraim, the regathering of Judah, the lifting of the buried treasure out of the field of the world. And the Redeemer is rejoicing — because His joy has finally come. Next in the Series — Part Five: The Pearl of Great Price — and we will see how the same Merchant who bought the field returns for a second treasure: the Bride who comes out of the depths of the sea, formed by suffering and shining with eternal worth. ✦ ✦ ✦ Rev. John Shane Vaughn First Harvest Ministries International The Parables and the Lost Tribes — Part Four: The Hid Treasure