God's Jewels
Introduction
They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts,
“On the day that I make them My jewels.
And I will spare them
As a man spares his own son who serves him.”
When we come to this part of Malachi, we are looking at God’s promise to save those who trust Him and the fact that the Lord will have servants who are faithful in spite of worldly evidence indicating that serving the Lord is in vain. In Malachi we discover two types of people. The first type is found at the beginning of the Book of Malachi. When God said that He loved them, they asked, “How have you loved us?” We see that clearly in Malachi 1:2.
Why did some of the people think that God did not love them? It is simple to see their errant reasoning by looking at Malachi 2:17:
You have wearied the LORD with your words;
Yet you say,
“In what way have we wearied Him?”
In that you say,
“Everyone who does evil
Is good in the sight of the LORD,
And He delights in them,”
Or, “Where is the God of justice?”
As you read this you will note that the people felt that God was blessing the wicked and not treating those who called upon Him fairly. In other words, they stated that God was blessing the evil people and was delighted in them. They questioned God, “Where is the God of justice?”
We need to get something straight in this message, you cannot judge God by who has the most money, whose children are the best looking, or who gets the biggest promotion at work. In spite of what some television evangelists say, God does not immediately pour His wrath upon the wicked, nor does He always give those who love Him wonderful health, perfect children, straight teeth, plenty of money, the newest digital gadget, an easy path in life, or favor with everyone! Just reading the Bible reveals how many of God’s greatest and most faithful servants suffered miserably while wicked kings sat on the throne and lived evil and lavish lives.
So, what is the issue in God’s statement in Malachi 3:17, the basis for our message today? God knows those who belong to Him, and they are jewels – precious jewels – to Him. No matter how the world treats them, and He has a plan to spare them from the coming judgment that will fall upon the earth.
If you are serving the Lord in order to have everything go just the way you want it to in life, you have chosen a fool’s path. Accepting Christ requires faith, and so does living for Him. You must believe that He is at work behind the scenes in every circumstance and that He will reveal that to you when you are with Him in your eternal home.
Now let me state clearly that living for God is the best life there is on this earth, and there are many reasons why I can, without equivocation, say this, but making that point is not the purpose of this message. It might be one in the near future. I would love to preach a sermon on why it pays to serve Jesus; however, today I want us to think on the idea of being God’s jewels.
Let me ask you something, why does God refer to us as Jewels? What exactly does that mean? Here the Lord is speaking of those who have trusted Him, and who serve Him in spite of all the outward appearances of hardship and trial, as being precious to Him. I want to share why faithful servants are jewels in the eyes and heart of the Lord.
I. The Price Paid for Them
Everyone knows that precious jewels are extremely expensive to own. When I proposed to my wife, some fifty-six years ago, I offered her a diamond. It was so small that I thought about bringing a magnifying glass to help her see it. Yet, when she saw it, her heart leaped and she immediately said, “Yes!” Years later I bought diamonds to place around that tiny little stone to make it look presentable. But, still, right there in the middle of those other diamonds is that little, wee stone I gave her all those years ago. If she lost that middle stone, a small as it is, from her ring, her world would stand still. Why? You see, even though it was small, she knew that for me as an eighteen year old it cost me all I had!
When God saved me from my sin and placed me in His jewel box, He gave all heaven had to give. He didn’t send a prophet to save me, or a beautiful angel – no! – He sent His one and only Son to pay the price for my sin at the cross. He paid with the blood of Son. Jesus literally and actually suffered in my place in order that I might become a diamond in God’s jewel box.
We see this in a parable from our Lord in Matthew 13:46-47, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” The parable here is one often referred to as the soul of man seeking the thing that matters most. Thus, it pictures a man giving up everything in this world for the Pearl of Great Price, which is Jesus. However, it may be pictured another way. Think of Jesus going out to find you, and then paying all that He had to purchase you. You are a pearl of great price in His jewel box. Such grace one cannot fully understand – that the Son of God would pay such a price for something taken up out of the ugly insides of an oyster or out of the dirt of the ground – like a diamond. Yet, that is what He has done for us!
II. The Passion Portrayed for Them
It wasn’t the price I paid for that little diamond that thrilled my wife, it was rather the love and passion behind it. You and I can never understand it fully but God placed all His love in the work of making you one of His jewels. We have read John 3:16 so many times that, if we are not careful, it can fulfill the adage that “familiarity breeds contempt.” Think upon it for a moment: “God so loved…” What a powerful statement. It doesn’t say that God loved, but states that God SO loved! When he saved me, He had to reach down to the bottom of the well of His love to accomplish it. Yet, that is what He did. What love it took for Him to redeem me, and to redeem you.
The Word “jewels” in Malachi 3:17 is from a Hebrew word meaning “treasure.” It is the Hebrew word segullah, and we find it also in 1 Chronicles 29:3. There David uses the word when he is willing to take from his own personal “treasure” (segullah) gold and silver to place among the gifts set aside to build the Temple of the Lord. One might freely say that the segullah is the most precious treasure a person can own. You are called God’s segullah, God’s treasures or God’s jewels. You are that for which God paid the most that heaven had! What passion it required for God to send His Son to purchase you for His treasure chest – His jewel box. How amazing, indeed, is the grace of God toward us who are redeemed.
III. The Protection Provided for Them
Note that we are in God’s jewel box. Everyone who owns precious jewels ensures that they are protected from thieves, as much as that is possible. God keeps us in His jewel box and I wonder who has the power to assault heaven and rip the jewels from His storehouse.
Here is what God says about our security in Christ as found in John 10:27-29, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” Now, listen to John 10:7-10, “Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Well, now, how about that! Thieves try to rob and steal, but the Good Shepherd – the Great Shepherd – Jesus Christ – laid down His life for His sheep and no one can ever take them out of His hand. In God’s jewel box, you are safe forever. In fact, salvation in Christ is the only true thing that cannot be taken from you in this world. You may lose your health, your wealth (if you have any), your home, your most beloved family, and everything else, but the world and the devil cannot touch your soul in the hand of Christ.
You are a precious jewel in the hands of the Lord. He protects you and keeps you safe by His own power! An expensive stone does not keep itself save from thieves – no, the owner keeps it safe, and that is what God does for us. I did not save myself and I cannot keep myself saved, but the Lord who paid for me will never allow me to be taken from His jewel box of safety.
Note in Malachi 3:17 that it is the “Lord of hosts” who promises our protection in the jewel box of His own hand. Our protection is not carried out by human guards or steel doors. It is the Lord who holds us and keeps us. And, we are a “host” – meaning, that He has many jewels in his box of safety. Picture the rich man in his private place, running through his hands hundreds of diamonds, pearls and jewels. The number of the saved we do not know, but we are a might host redeemed through the blood of the Lamb and not one of them will be lost. In John 18:9 we read, “…that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.” Yes, you are secure in Jesus, if in fact you have turned to Him in repentance of sin and faith in His Lordship. He will never lose even ONE who is a jewel in his jewel box – not one that is among his treasure!
IV. The Perfection Planned for Them
We read in Deuteronomy 7:6, “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.” Yes, God was speaking here of the Hebrew people, however, we know that these words spoke of those He planned to redeem. They were not perfect in themselves, but through the blood of the Lamb, He was going to make them perfect.
When a jewel is found in the earth, it is not beautiful to the untrained eye. You or I might even pass over a precious stone, since they can look rather unattractive in their original state. Yet, once the wise hand has chosen the stone, and the elite hand has begun his work, the stone glistens with every ray of light that touches it. When the Lord found you, there was nothing beautiful about you at all. Yet, He saw in you the jewel He could make of you. His plan was to rescue you from the dirt, wash you clean, and then to cut and facet you till you are a jewel. You are His, now that you are saved, but He is still working on you. He is cutting and polishing you and me for a great day of presentation in the future. He will hold you up one day and show what He has made of you.
One thing is for sure, you and we have no loveliness in us that we are worthy of God’s attention, much less His redemption. I was reading again the other day the story of the first atomic bomb. When that bomb was exploded in New Mexico, it did something that none of those working on it imaged would happen. When they went to the site of the actually explosion, they noticed that the sand all around the explosion site had been turned into green, glistening glass. What was moments before simply plain, ordinary sand, was glittering in the sunlight of that early morning in the desert. God found us an ordinary dirt – the same thing Adam and all of us were made of – but the explosion of His love has turned us into something so beautiful that we are told that one day we will shine like the stars forever! (see Daniel 12:3, Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.) He is working on us – polishing and perfecting us into the image of His dear son:
“He’s still working on me to make me what I ought to be.
It took Him just a week to make the moon and stars,
The Sun and the Earth and Jupiter and Mars.
How loving and patient He must be, He’s still working on me.
“There really ought to be a sign upon my heart,
Don’t judge me yet, there’s an unfinished part.
But I’ll be perfect just according to His plan
Fashioned by the Master’s loving hands.”
He will make us like unto His Son and present us as jewels in his treasure chest before the angels in glory!
Conclusion
John Denver wrote the words to song as follows:
“Some days are diamonds some days are stones
Sometimes the hard times won't leave me alone
Sometimes a cold wind blows a chill in my bones
Some days are diamonds some days are stones.”
God has confirmed that in His eyes all those who are saved are His jewels, secure in His hands and loved in His heart. Do you sometimes feel like a stone? Perhaps you need to come to the real Stone – the Solid Rock – Jesus Christ – and trust Him to forgive you and grant you eternal life. When that is accomplished in your life, you can be sure that you are a diamond in God’s jewel box, not because of who you are, but because of the person and work of Jesus on the cross.
Even those of us who know the Christ as Lord and Savior, find ourselves at times feeling more like a clump of dirt rather than a jewel. Every Christian at times needs to be cleansed and polished a bit. You may be in that position right now.
Whether you need to trust Jesus for the first time, or you need to renew your commitment to Him, now is the time to respond. As we sing, come to Him. The people in Malachi’s day refused to respond to His love, and the results were so sad. We will not be like those people. We will answer His love with the commitment of our hearts to Him. Now, let us sing. Now, let us come to the Lord!