Isaiah 15:7 Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. The picture is a striking one. In the national fright, the people are seen picking up what they can of their treasures, and escaping for life to the border districts; learning the lesson that "riches take to themselves wings, and flee away." The word "abundance," in the text, should be replaced by the word "remainder;" and the most probable meaning of the verse is that the Moabites shall carry what they can save of their possessions into the land of Edom. The picture suggests two topics. I. THE INSECURITY OF THE MAN WHO IS RICH IN WHAT HE HAS. Illustrate from riches (1) in land; (2) in money; (3) in houses; (4) in goods. How dependent he is on a thousand things for the retention and use of all! The lesson of Job is that no form of earthly possession can possibly be secure. Land is unlet; money cannot be profitably exchanged; houses get out of repair, and eat up rentals; and goods deteriorate in the warehouses. When ordinary forces leave our property alone, the heavens can send fire; the earth can heave and quake; and by mysterious influences we can be made to learn our lesson, that "this is not our rest." II. THE SECURITY OF THE MAN WHO IS RICH IN WHAT HE IS. No human and no supernatural forces, here or hereafter, can deprive a man of his possessions in what he is. Character, piety, are beyond reach of moth, or worm, or rust, or storm, or earthquake, or death. It is said of knowledge that a man "only possesses what he understands." It might be said of a man's wealth that he "only has what he is." When calamities come, the man of character never has to gather his treasures hurriedly together and make off for the border-land. Wherever he is, he has his riches with him. Stripped of all his so-called wealth, he is not deprived of one grain. He holds it all, and his riches none can take away. The Lord Jesus men called poor. He was the only truly and perfectly rich man that ever lived; and such as he was we would desire to be. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. |
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