T is for... Treasure

I was looking through pictures a couple weeks ago, and scrolled by my pictures from our trip to the Franklin Institute in the fall to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit.  The Scripture that came to my mind to describe the exhibit is from II Corinthians 4:7 - But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  Paul's reference here isn't specifically to God's Word, but to the glory of the knowledge of God and the gospel.  But one of the surest ways we have to know God is through his Word.

We couldn't take pictures of the fragments of the scrolls, but could take pictures in other parts of the exhibit.  I took a few pictures of the examples of ancient pottery jars of many kinds that came from Israel.  Some were for water, some for oil; some were common use and some bore seals indicating they were from royal households.  There were some jars that were specifically for holding scrolls. (In the third picture, the cylindrical jar near the top right is a scroll jar - I think.  I'm going by memory!)

I don't know exactly what kinds of jars held the Dead Sea Scrolls, or if any of those particular jars were displayed, but I do know that they were simple earthenware jars.  Jars of clay that contained a great treasure - a collection of texts of the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents that have been a great help in showing the accuracy of Biblical manuscripts and translations, and in shedding light on the culture and religious practices during Second Temple Judaism.

Both in the Old and New Testament, God and his kingdom are referred to in various ways as treasure.

I rejoice at your word as one who finds great treasure. ~Psalm 119:162

He [the LORD] will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. ~Isaiah 33:6

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and went and bought that field. ~Matthew 13:44

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ~Luke 12:33-34

As I said in my original post, I hope someday the kids appreciate how awesomely cool it is that we took them to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. Right now they probably don't care very much.  I know that they do care about hiding God's Word in their hearts though, and that's more important than having seen the Dead Sea Scrolls.  At church we were challenged at the beginning of 2013 to commit to reading through the whole Bible this year. DH and I, and the boys have all been taking that challenge, and while Kennady isn't reading through the whole Bible, she does read every day. Including God's Word as an integral part of our daily schoolwork is something I consider a treasure as well.  

(You can see pictures of the exhibit as it appeared at Discovery Times Square here - check out the Photo Gallery)

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