Treasures hid in the sand

Deuteronomy 33:19

They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.

Within this great list of blessings conveyed by Moses on each of the tribes of Israel, we find numerous statements of great interest. Our verse today is within the context of Zebulun and Issachar. We may not fully understand each of these blessings, and some may be enshrouded in an element of mystery, but there are many blessings that can be understood. Sacrifices of righteousness! Much could be researched and written on this topic! The abundance of the seas! What unfathomable depth can be explored there! But I do not intend to deal with either of these subjects, but only with this: treasures hid in the sand.

Treasures hid in the sand! One hobby of mine has been to search out and explore beaches and shorelines for just that—treasures hid in the sand. For you see, underneath the cover of sand there may be shells, creatures, and the like that you may not see readily. There may only be a semblance of their appearance poking through the sand, but they are underneath the sand. They lie latent unless we discover them. There can be many treasures below the surface. And how true this is for all of life! How tremendously accurate a statement this is! For notice the truth here! Most treasures are not readily visible! Most are elusive. Most are clandestine, secret, beyond the reach of our sight. We must mine them out! We must look for them! We must search, dig, and uncover them. For they do not expose themselves freely. Their value is of too great a cost to be snatched up by any explorer chancing by them. They must not reveal themselves! It is better to be under cover. For then, the purposeful miner will find them. Then the man who is searching for them will be the obtainer of their eminent value and glittering beauty. It is not for everyone! It is only for those who are willing to search under the surface. It is only for those who are willing to find the treasures hid in the sand!

Therefore, my friend, we must be willing to search deeply below the earth to find the greatest treasures. We must search the Scriptures. Most will only see the surface and will peruse them as if they were glancing over a newspaper. But no! No! We must search for the treasures hid in the sand! We must go deeper than that! For God’s Word is an inexhaustible source of unending value and precious truth. And then, let us look at our lives. We tend to see the things that are at the top. We see things by how they look. But no! This is not right! The value of our lives is determined by what is beneath—our hearts. And many times, oh, so many times, the trials and troubles of life are the very treasures under the sand that bring the greatest honor to our lives. It may look like a hideous and unnecessary hardship. It, on the surface, may seem like a circumstance that has no value, no good, no purpose, and no ultimate meaning. But my friend, have you dug under the sand? Maybe there is great value in it. It may be much more precious than of gold that perisheth! It may bring great good to your life! It may have definite purpose and deep meaning! Search below, dig underneath! You may be surprised to see what is actually there. Let us thank God this day for the treasures which are hid in the sand.

“Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for Thy great love and care for us. We thank you for the great value that can be found as we explore the unsearchable riches of Christ. We thank you that you have wondrous gems, and beautiful specimens for us of inestimable value below the surface. Help us to search beyond what we see to that which you alone can reveal through your Word and through your Spirit. Help us to see that there are many things for us hidden and unrevealed if we will only search them out. Please, if it would please Thee, show us some of those truths today. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”