Thoughts on the Way: The Bundle of the Living

We are bound up with God's special and treasured possessions.

David and his men were in real trouble. King Saul and several thousand armed men were hunting him down with an eye to killing the man who might replace him as King of Israel (1 Samuel 24).1

Along with his companions and their families, David sought refuge in Ein-Gedi, a sunken garden in the wilderness, where there were caves in which to hide, fresh water, and some food. But they had to keep on the move, being careful about where they went and what they did. And to make it worse, when David sent messengers to the rich man Nabal to ask for some food for himself and his followers, Nabal had scoffed at the request:

Who is this David? … Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days… Why should I take my bread and my water, and the meat… and give it to men coming from who knows where? (1 Samuel 25:10,11).

When Nabal’s wife, Abigail, understood the situation, she acted without her husband’s consent, gathering abundant food and then delivering it to David and his men. She knew David was a righteous man who worshiped the LORD God, and she wanted to thank him for protecting Nabal’s flocks and to give him and his men what they rightly deserved. She also wanted to dissuade David from seeking vengeance. When she met David and his men, Abigail told the exiled king:

The rare Hebrew word that Abigail used, tzeror, was intended to encourage David. There was no need, really, for him to take out his anger on the selfish man who scorned him and his followers and refused to help them in any way. Abigail knew, seemingly more than David at that moment, that the God of Israel would preserve and protect this righteous man who worshiped him.

Abigail knew and believed that David was precious to the LORD, so she used a figure of speech that was well-known to her people. When a household moved from place to place, as the Bedouin shepherds often did, every possession was transported with them. But the most precious possessions, money, jewelry, keepsakes, spices, and perfumes, would be bound in a small bundle to be kept close at hand and guarded most carefully. Abigail perceived and appreciated that David’s life was bound up in a bundle of the precious things that belonged to the LORD and that He would protect David through all his trials and wanderings.

The ultimate and most beautiful picture illustrating this concept (i.e., the bundle of precious things) is found in the prophecy of Malachi. Although the same Hebrew word, tzeror, is not used here, the idea is very relevant: 

The NIV translates the Hebrew word, segullah, here as “treasured possession.” The KJV uses “jewels,” and the NET uses “my own property.” 

We are told that this Hebrew word referred to the private treasure of kings. In societies where kings were more or less absolute dictators, everything in their realm was considered legally their property. However, even a king could not control, spend, and enjoy all the properties in his kingdom. So he would possess certain properties that were set apart as his own “special treasure,” his “peculiar” or unique property, and no one else’s. 

Practically from the beginning, God spoke of the nation of Israel as His very own “treasured possession.” (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2; 26:18; Psalm 135:4). Such divine love and devotion called for a response, and King David recognized this. He also recognized, as Abigail had reminded him, that he himself was precious to the LORD. Consequently, he was willing as king to devote all of his own “personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of [his] God.” (1 Chronicles 29:1-3).

God Almighty is the great King, and all the universe belongs to Him. All men, and all they have, are all His. He says:

However, the Heavenly Father has condescended to choose a special few of all His subjects to be His own family, His own special possession, His own cherished riches. They stay close to His person; they recline in His bosom (cp. KJV in John 1:18). They hear His whispers of endearment. They feel the tender touch of His special love. They are dearer to Him than the stars in the heavens or the glorious snow-topped mountains. They are dearer to Him than the treasures of the richest mines or the harvests of the richest fields. They are the ones He has redeemed with the precious blood of His Son. “These special ones,” the LORD God says, “These—they are truly and altogether Mine. They belong to Me and to no one else!”

What a picture of redemption this is. To be taken by the loving hand of an Omnipotent Father and bound up in the bundle of His special and treasured possessions. To be kept safe and secure close by Him until the final destination is reached.

George Booker,
Austin Leander Ecclesia, TX