Bible Questions Answered:
“In Luke 12 a man asks Jesus to help
him, because his brother has stolen his part of their inheritance,
and Jesus, refuses. Why doesn't this sound like Jesus?”
Kent/ Los Angeles U.S.A.
Bible Answer:
Bible Text:
Luke 12:13-21 KJV
13 And one of the company said unto
Him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with
me.
14 And He said unto him, Man, who
made Me a judge or a divider over you?
15 And He said unto them, Take heed,
and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the
abundance of the things which he possesseth.
(Jesus' parable
of the self centered, Rich Fool.)
16 And He spake a parable unto them,
saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where
to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do:
I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I
bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul,
Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease,
eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those
things be, which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure
for himself, and is not rich toward God.
(Jesus' warning
against worry over earthly possessions.)
22 And He said unto His disciples,
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye
shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
23 The life is more than meat, and
the body is more than raiment.
24 Consider the ravens: for they
neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God
feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
25 And which of you with taking
thought can add to his stature one cubit?
26 If ye then be not able to do that
thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
27 Consider the lilies how they
grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothe the grass,
which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven;
how much more will He clothe you, O ye of little faith?
29 And seek not ye what ye shall
eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
30 For all these things do the
nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have
need of these things.
31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of
God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
32 Fear not, little flock; for it is
your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell that ye have, and give alms;
provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens
that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth
corrupteth.
34 For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also.
Companion scripture
by Jesus...
(Jesus' teaching
concerning earthly possessions.)
Matthew 6:19-34
KJV
19 Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and
where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also.
22 The light of the body is the eye:
if therefore thine eye be single (pure),
thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy
whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is
in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 No man can serve two masters: for
either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold
to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no
thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor
yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than
meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for
they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought
can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for
raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil
not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the
grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the
oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought,
saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal
shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do
the Gentiles seek:) for your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have
need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of
God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall
take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof.
In Luke 12:13-15
NLT Jesus had been teaching concerning the hypocrisy of the
Pharisees, when a man in the crown spoke up with a question.
Luke 12:13 NLT
“...Master,
speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.”
Normally Rabbis
would arbitrate between such issues.
(Firstborn, rights)
Deuteronomy
21:15-17 NLT
15 “Suppose a man has two wives,
but he loves one and not the other, and both have given him sons. And
suppose the firstborn son is the son of the wife he does not love.
16 When the man divides his
inheritance, he may not give the larger inheritance to his younger
son, the son of the wife he loves, as if he were the firstborn son.
17 He must
recognize the rights of his oldest son, the son of the wife he does
not love, by giving him a double portion. He is the first son
of his father’s virility, and the rights of the firstborn belong to
him.
But, Jesus
maintained...
Luke 12:14 NLT
And He said unto him, Man, who
made Me a judge or a divider over you?
Jesus had not been appointed an arbiter (Someone who settles a
dispute.) nor a judge, to enforce a settlement.
Our Lord could easily see, that what was of most importance to this
man, even though God's Son, was standing before him, was only earthly
wealth, with no care of his spiritual possessions.
And so our Lord, tells the stories of the rich fool, and earthly wealth
versus God's, all seeing and knowing care.
I Peter 5:7 KJV
Casting all
your care upon Him; for He careth for you.
I Timothy 6:6-11
KJV
6 But Godliness
with contentment is great gain.
7 For we
brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out.
8 And having
food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that
will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish
and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love
of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after,
they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with
many sorrows.
11 But thou, O
man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness,
Godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
Be sure to read the blog posting..... Riches
