Brass for Gold (1 Kings 14:25-27)

Each year, my family tries to get away on vacation and go to the eastern seashore.  There we try to relax, forget about all of the busyness of life and enjoy the ocean.  For just one week, all the cares of work, bills, house repairs, and everything else that is burdensome is put on the shelf.

However, for the Christian this type of escaping can never happen. For the Believer, each day is yet a continuation of the battle that was experienced the day before.  Regardless of where you go or what you try to do to escape it can never be accomplished.  There is a battle everyday.  The Christian life is not a life of ease, but it is definitely better than the life without God.

There are times when the believer does not experience victory.  This can happen because of yielding to sin or by the believer trying to fight the battle on his own.  When we are losing the battle, the enemy is able to gain an advantage and not completely take over.  They are just able to get a foothold into the Christian's life.  If their foothold is not recognized, more ground will be gained in future battles until the heart of the believer is completely turned against God.

The first ground taken or foothold gained occurs when the enemy steals away the treasures of the Christian.  For King Rehoboam, the treasures of the temple along with the shields of gold were taken away by Shishak of Egypt.  

And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: And he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house. (1 Kings 14:25-27)

For the believer, his treasures are joy, happiness, the blessings of God and the peace which passes all understanding.  Once these are taken, he lives the substitute life.  Rehoboam replaced the gold with brass.  It looked similar, but it wasn't.  It was just a substitute.  The believer who is beginning to lose the battle, struggles to put on the joy, happiness and peace that he once had.  At best his shows the substitutes.  His smile isn't real, his shout is weak and he stumbles in his walk.  All the while, his heart is deceiving him.

For this reason, we must continue to read God's word so that he can pierce our hearts, show us our condition, grant us repentance and restore us again with his blessings.  We must continually yield ourselves to him so that he can guides us back to himself.

If you would like to read more of these thoughts in a hard copy format, my new book is now available at the link below.

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