SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/15/2024 10:52 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-6 “The Reckoning We Face”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
25:19-27
Message of the verses: “19 "Now after
a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.
20 "The one who had received the
five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you
entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 “His
master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with
a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of
your master.’ 22 "Also the one who had received the two talents
came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained
two more talents.’ 23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful
slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many
things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 “And the one also who had
received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man,
reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.
25 ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you
have what is yours.’ 26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked,
lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I
scattered no seed. 27 ‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank,
and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.”
I mentioned that when we started this section six days
ago that it would take us a while to get through it, and I suppose that we will
have two more Spiritual Diaries on this rather long section of Scripture.
Here
is the response that the master gave to this unfaithful slave as found in
verses 26b-27 “‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that
I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27
‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would
have received my money back with interest.”
I
have to admit that when I first looked at this parable that I did not come up
with this conclusion, but after thinking about it for some time, and after
listening to MacArthur’s sermon I
understand that because it was the Lord who said this to this slave that it is
true, as the slave was wicked in that he unjustly corrupted the character of
his master. You also see that he was
lazy in that he did nothing with the talents that were entrusted to him. Notice that the master repeated the slave’s
charges against him, the master did not acknowledge what he was saying was true,
but he rather said, in effect: “You
think I am a hard man, do you, harvesting crops that do not belong to me? If you really thought that, why did you not
take the talent and put it in the bank where at least I would have got some interest?”
To
understand this I will quote a paragraph from MacArthur’s commentary. “The ancient Roman Empire had a banking
system that was in many respects like those of modern times. The maximum loan rate was 12 percent simple
interest, and the interest earned on deposits was probably about half that
rate. The slave with the one talent
therefore could have reaped at least a 6 percent return by making virtually no
effort at all. The fact that he did not
attempt even to earn simple interest on the money confirmed his total
irresponsibility and his indifference to the master.”
It
is like the master saying to his slave about what his slave said to him about
being a hard man: “If you thought I
demanded a return even on that which does not belong to me did you think I
would not require a return on that which does belong to me?” Of course the answer is no and it seems that
the slave used his own rope to hang himself.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: Once again I have to go back to what I said
about taking the time to study the Word of God in order to understand who God
is.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: Learn more about who God is by thinking and
studying about him.
3/15/2024 11:11 AM
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