When I was a child I kept a secret box. At least I thought it was secret. I’m sure Mom knew about it though. In my box were things I’d found or had attached a memory to. It was a child’s treasure chest.

Solomon was a King of Israel during Old Testament times. God had promised him wealth, even though Solomon had not prayed for it; he received it, unlike no other king had received wealth. (1Kings 3:6-13)

Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots and 12,000 horsemen. (1Kings 4:26)

Each year Solomon received 666 talents of gold. He used it to make shields and a great throne of ivory overlaid with refined gold. Six steps went up to the throne with two lions standing beside each of its arms. 12 lions stood on the six steps on each side, “nothing like it was made for any other kingdom.”

All of King Solomon’s cups were gold. Every three years his ships brought gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks from across the sea to King Solomon. He became greater than all the kings of the earth. (1Kings 10:23)

King Solomon Dedicates the Temple, J. Tissot, The Jewish Museum of New York, PD-US, Wikipedia

King Solomon used his wealth for good: He built the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.

The heart or soul of a person is like a treasure box; for believers, it is a Holy Temple to the Lord, containing many treasures. (1Corinthians 6:19)

The words in our hearts are treasures. But they must be used for good, just as King Solomon used his wealth for good.

Lord Jesus said, “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.” (Matthew 12:35) What we say comes out of our hearts and reveals our character. The evil man will speak a curse. The good man will speak blessing, edification, exhortation and peace.

By our words we will be justified. Have you said, “Lord Jesus, I repent of my sin, please forgive me. I take you as my Lord and Savior,” ? And did you mean it in your heart?

By our words we will be condemned. Have you said, “Jesus is not the Son of God. I don’t believe in Him. He was just a prophet. Etc…” Condemnation equals death or Hell.

Every careless word spoken will be accounted for on the day of judgment. The Words we say that we repented of were washed away by the Blood of Jesus. But those unrepented of must be accounted for. (Matthew 12:33-37)

Believer, are you gossiping? Preaching fear?

The power of life and death is in the tongue. (Proverbs 18:21)

Believer, are you using your treasure, the Word of God within you, to bless, bind, rebuke, cast out, heal, pray, and worship? Speak life during these dark times. Perfect love (God), casts out fear. (1John 4:8)

Today I still like boxes. Prayer boxes. I create them as gifts or sell them. Then I take my treasure and intercede in prayer for others in need, teaching them too to take their words and give them to God, Who will make all things work together for good.

The summer of sixth grade in 1976, right after the Bicentennial celebration, I went away to a two-week Girl Scout camp in Lapeer, Michigan. I would be gone during my younger sister’s 7th birthday. Preparing ahead, I wrote a letter and mailed it to her from camp. Inside was a treasure map. I had secretly buried a birthday present, properly wrapped to preserve it, in the backyard, down by the garden. After receiving the letter, my little sister opened it on her birthday. With her friends, they excitedly followed the map from location to location around our property until finally digging up the hidden treasure. Today, my sister still has that letter. She treasures it!

The Word of God states that in the heart or soul, there are two types of treasure.

Good treasure or evil treasure.

Lord Jesus said, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. (Luke 6:45)

We know what is in a person’s heart, good or evil, by what comes out of his mouth. It is a type of identification as to whether he is a good man or an evil man. And, it is vitally important to know the difference.

During the time of King Hezekiah’s reign in ancient Judah, Assyria came against the nation and its capital, Jerusalem. The king of Assyria, Sennacherib, sent his spokesmen with a large army to speak to King Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem. Hezekiah did not go outside the reinforced walls of the city, but instead sent out his own men.

Citizens of Jerusalem stood on the top of the city’s wall listening to the conversation which was in Judean, their native tongue. Assyria’s head negotiator, Rabshakeh spoke from his heart, evil, and used persuasive techniques to sway the people of Jerusalem against their king and his holdout against Assyria. His purpose was to cause terrifying fear by destroying their trust in God. Rabshakeh stated that God was displeased with Jerusalem and would let them be destroyed if they did not surrender. Neither would God help them, he added.

Rabshakeh stated that he himself is God’s man, Who supposedly said to him, “Go up against this land and destroy it.” (Isaiah 36:10)

Speaking directly to the Jews, Rabshakeh implored them not to listen to their king, but to give up. His speech glorified King Sennacherib of Assyria, as if he too was a god, insisting that the gods of other nations were the same as The Lord. This was intended to make God’s people doubt in God’s protection and build unbelief. (2Chronicles 32:9-10)

Surrender was made to seem attractive, but was really meant to be ethnic cleansing and resettlement, away from Jerusalem, making the Judeans powerless.

Rabshakeh spoke with pride, malice, lies and blasphemy of God. (2Kings 18:17-37)

This was Rabshakeh’s treasure. Deception.

The good man, however, brings out the fear of the Lord, which is the respect of the true and living God, and His Son, Lord Jesus. It is his treasure.

He will not blasphemy God, nor Lord Jesus.

This treasure gives a man salvation (life after death), wisdom (Job 28:18) and knowledge. It makes him stable, so that he is not blown back and forth with indecision and instability. (Isaiah 33:6)

While the evil man speaks curses and death, the good man speaks life. (Proverbs 18:21)

The good man guards his treasure and does not feed it to hogs. For it is life and it is valuable. (Matthew 7:6)

“Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” (2Timothy 1:14)

The evil man comes with deception, to hurt, kill and destroy, but he appears to be a friend, one who will show mercy, or give good gifts. But he twists the truth. He cares for no one but himself.

The good man protects, He does not brag nor boast. He does not bring up old wrongs, nor insist on his own way. He will not twist the truth, but speaks plainly and adheres to God’s ways—hope, faith, and love. (1Corinthians 13:4-8)

During such times as we are in, it is difficult to know truth from fiction, good man from evil man. We must remember that many evil men at first appeared to do good. Remember Hitler.

Are you listening carefully to what you hear come from another’s heart? Is it clean? Or is it full of blasphemy?

In the end, Rabshakeh’s blasphemy of God did him in. God will not be mocked. (Galatians 6:7)

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