Luke 12:14-38

14 See Exo_2:14.

15 Compare 1Ti_6:6-10.

15 A telling truth which would do more to ameliorate the ills of humanity than all government, were it heeded, is embodied in the phrase, "the superfluity of his possessions". Life does not consist in having, but in being. The moment that our possessions exceed our needs they become a burden. The only place that treasure can be safely and sanely deposited is in the heavens. This is illustrated in the following parable.

18 In Palestine it was customary to store grain and other products in sealed, air tight, cisternlike pits, dug on a hill side or in a field, where the ground was sufficiently dry. In these food was kept unspoiled for long periods, safe from marauders and mice and ants. It would be difficult to preserve grain or food stuffs for many years in barns such as are used in the West.

19 Compare Pro_18:11.

19 This is an excellent passage to teach us the significance of the soul. It is now spoken of as though it were the spirit. The soul craves food and drink and merriment. It expresses itself in the appetite and physical desires. The rich man had made no provision for his spirit. His hoard was of grain and wine and oil, good only for the life that now is. The soul is satisfied by the senses. Taste, smell, hearing, sight, and touch are the means of its exercise.

20 See Job_27:16-22.

21 Compare 29-34; Jam_2:5.

22-26 Compare Mat_6:25-27.

22 From the world's standpoint this man was most prudent, for he provided for the future. But his death turned his prudence into folly.

22 Man has become the slave of his desires. Instead of eating and drinking to live, he spends his life in laboring for the means of living according to his lilting.

24 The lower ranks of creation are a daily display of God's care and provision. No one can study the marvels of nature without some sense of the overseeing providence of God. They are better provided for than men.

27-28 Compare Mat_6:28-30.

27 There are many beautiful flowers in Palestine but the scriptures do not mention any varieties, hence it is difficult to fix upon the one specially alluded to. Some have thought that He referred to a beautiful species of iris, colored dark purple and white. There are also brilliant hued tulips. But these flowers are not abundant enough to warrant the general allusion made by our Lord. There are other flowers, more numerous and quite as glorious, which carpet the fields of Palestine. Among these the most gorgeous and conspicuous in the Spring is the Anemane caronaria, usually a brilliant scarlet, which is found in all parts of the land. It abounds in the plains and on the mountains, along the shores of Galilee and on the bare hills of Judea. The richness of its tints and the profusion with which it appears everywhere combine to give point to our Lord's comparison. Though the commonest of flowers, it is also among the loveliest. The Arabs include it among the flowers called susan, which is equivalent to the Hebrew shushan and the Greek krinon, the word here used. This is, however, the common name for any brilliantly colored flower like a lily or tulip, or ranunculus or anemone.

29 Compare Mat_6:31-34.

32-34 Compare Mat_6:19-21.

33 See Hag_1:6.

33 This advice must be understood in the light of the property laws in Israel and the imminence of the kingdom. Each one had his allotment, on which his living depended. Our Lord was not asking them to sell this. It was property over and above this which He advised them to sell, as it would be worthless to them in the redistribution of the land in the kingdom. Their only way of securing it was to use its price in helping the poor in Israel. Thus they would transfer their interests into the coming kingdom.

36 Compare Mat_22:1-14.

38 The Lord's return is always left indefinite as to time so that it may be continually imminent to the hearts of His people. We should remember that our next conscious moment may be in His presence. There is nothing to compare with this to give joy and power in service.