The Householder

The Householder
Matthew 13:51-52

The last parable in Matthew 13 is
very brief and reads as follows:
“Jesus saith unto them, Have ye
understood all these things? They say
unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he
unto them, Therefore every scribe
which is instructed unto the kingdom
of heaven is like unto a man that is an
householder, which bringeth forth out
of his treasure things new and old.”

A scribe is a teacher, one who
instructs. Jesus is here stating that every
one who is instructed in the Kingdom of
heaven must bring forth and be familiar
with the treasure , the truth, in both the
New and Old Scriptures.

This parable strikes straight at the
heart of much of the popular instruction
relative to the Kingdom of God today
which completely ignores the truth pertaining
to the Kingdom of God in the Old
Scriptures.

The fact that Jesus spoke this brief
parable immediately after He had asked,
"Have ye understood all these things?"
and His disciples had answered, "Yea,
Lord" shows that the Lord was emphasizing
the fact that no one could be instructed
in the Kingdom of God who ignored the
Old Scriptures and who was unwilling to
receive new truth from the New
Scriptures.

The principal new treasure or truth
that was to come to the disciples after the
Lord's death and resurrection was the
mystery of the Church of Christ, which in
the plan of God is to rule over the
Kingdom after the resurrection of the
righteous dead.

When the Lord asked the disciples if
they had understood His kingdom parables
they said, “Yea, Lord.” And the Lord
was satisfied that they had, but in Luke
18:31-34: we read the following:
“Then he took unto him the twelve,
and said unto them, Behold, we go up
to Jerusalem, and all things that are
written by the prophets concerning
the Son of man shall be accomplished.
For he shall be delivered unto the
Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and
spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
And they shall scourge him, and put
him to death: and the third day he
shall rise again. And they understood
none of these things: and this saying
was hid from them, neither knew they
the things which were spoken.”

This shows, as we have stated before,
that the disciples did not understand the
truth and the mystery of the Church, the
body of Christ. Therefore the kingdom
parables are not Church parables; they
are kingdom parables based on the
covenants, prophecies, and the history
found in the Old Scriptures.

The scribes or teachers who are teaching
that the Church is the Kingdom of God
are defying and denying both the Old and
the New Scriptures.

The disciples understood, and correctly
so, that the Kingdom of God was to
become manifest here on earth, and it
would eventually cover the whole earth.
They also correctly understood the teaching
of the Old Scriptures and the Lord's
parables that the Isaac sons are
the kingdom people. But they did not
understand why Christ must die. They
thought, as we read in Luke 19:11: “that
the kingdom of God should immediately
appear.”

To correct this error Jesus gave
the parable recorded in Luke 19: 12-27.
When Christ went to the cross, instead
of exerting Himself and establishing a
throne, the disciples deserted Him, and
Peter even denied the Christ. Peter's confusion,
disappointment and despair was
so great that he returned to his trade.
After the disciples had found the treasure
or truth revealed in the New
Scriptures, they rallied to declare the
truth of the Lord's death and resurrection.

They showed from the Old Scriptures, the
only Scriptures they had, that Christ died
for the redemption of Israel as well as for
the personal salvation of “whosoever will.”
They never changed their stand or
teaching on the Kingdom of God on earth,
for the last question they asked the Lord
after His resurrection and glorification is
found in Acts 1:6,7,8, where we read,
“When they therefore were come
together, they asked of him, saying,
Lord, wilt thou at this time restore
again the kingdom to Israel? And he
said unto them, It is not for you to
know the times or the seasons, which
the Father hath put in his own power.
But ye shall receive power, after the
Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye
shall be w/messes unto me....”
This period of witnessing has now
practically run its course, and the restoration
of the Kingdom of God on earth has
begun.

Those who teach that Christ made null
and void the covenants and prophecies
given concerning the Isaac sons as found
in the Old Scriptures not only make the
writings of Moses and the prophets
untrue, they make the words of Christ
and the apostles untrue also.
In Romans 15:8 Paul wrote, “Now I
say that Jesus Christ was a minister
of the circumcision for the truth of
God, to confirm the promises made
unto the fathers.”

In Acts 15:13-18 the apostle James
sets forth God's purpose in the Church
Age and what would follow the closing of
the Church Age. Let us note here these
verses:

“And after they had held their peace,
James answered, saying, Men and
brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon
hath declared how God at first did
visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a
people for his name. And to this agree
the words of the prophets; as it is written,
After this I will return, and will
build again the tabernacle of David,
which is fallen down; and l will build
again the ruins thereof, and I will set
it up: That the residue of men might
seek after the Lord, and all the
Gentiles, upon whom my name is
called, saith the Lord, who doeth all
these things. Known unto God are all
his works from the beginning of the
world.”

Note that in verse 16 we read that
after the Church Age of witnessing and
taking out of a people from every tongue
and people, the Lord would build again
the tabernacle of David.

In 2 Chronicles 5:2 we read this
expression, “... the city of David, which
is Zion.” Nearly every one of the Old
Scripture prophets prophesied that in the
last day there would arise a great nation
patterning its civil administration and its
religious faith after that of King David.
The prophets called this nation “Zion.”
If you will read my book on “The
United States is Zion of Bible Prophecy” it
will help you to realize that “known unto
God are all his works from the beginning
of the world,” and that all of the promises
of God found in the Old Scriptures are
“Yea, and Amen in Christ,” whether they
be personal or national.

It is evident from the writings of the
prophets and the Lord's kingdom parables
that the Kingdom of God on earth does not
become a world-wide condition instantaneously,
but rather a gradual development
throughout the earth.

Apparently, God will use one nation as
an example to demonstrate His way of life
for all nations, and this will eventually
cause all nations to seek and adopt this
way of life.

In Isaiah 61:11 we read, “For as the
earth bringeth forth her bud, and as
the garden causeth the things that
are sown in it to spring forth; so the
Lord God will cause righteousness
and praise to spring forth before all
the nations.”

If God is going to cause national righteousness
and praise (freedom and happiness)
to spring forth before all the nations,
It would seem that it is His purpose to use
one nation to demonstrate the Christian
and scriptural way of life for all nations.
Also, it would have to be something other
nations could see.
P. A. del Valle, Lt. Gen. U.S.M.C.
Retired, wrote the following: “When the
Founding Fathers, under Divine inspiration,
framed the American Constitution,
they made history. For the first time in
this world a government was founded
upon the principles and concepts of
Christianity. They stated that our rights
were derived from God, and not from any
worldly king or government.”
These are true and tremendously significant
words, for they further identify
the North American Continent as the land
where God will cause national righteousness
and praise to spring forth for all
nations to see and copy.

The fact that Isaiah prophesied that
this would come forth “as the earth
bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden
causeth the things that are sown in it to
spring forth” refutes the idea that the
Kingdom of God is to come forth in a
moment or in the twinkling of an eye.
It also indicates, as we find in the kingdom
parables, that it would take time for
this kingdom nation to become manifest
and its significance realized. A garden,
before the flowers spring forth and before
the weeding is under way, looks like any
other plot of ground.