Moth and Rust

Jesus instructs His disciples to store treasure where moth and rust cannot corrupt, that is, in heaven.

Hosea 5:12 sheds some light on that.  Yahweh is in the midst of condemning priests and kings for their harlotry.  Priests don’t teach Torah and the kings move landmarks, so Yahweh is coming against Ephraim and Judah like a lion (5:15).

Verse 12 contains more unusual animal imagery: Yahweh is coming “like a moth” and “like rottenness” against the two kingdoms.  The treasures they’ve amassed in their harlotry will not escape; they will be consumed by Yahweh the moth, Yahweh the corrupter, Yahweh the rust.

Throughout the gospel, Jesus warns His disciples that judgment is coming on Israel, and when that judgment comes the treasures stored here will be consumed.  Those who follow Jesus, walk in a righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, will have secure treasures.

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Restoring Man at Notre Dame

Carl R. Trueman

It is fascinating to be an outsider on the inside of an institution going through times of…

Deliver Us from Evil

Kari Jenson Gold

In a recent New York Times article entitled “Freedom With a Side of Guilt: How Food Delivery…

Natural Law Needs Revelation

Peter J. Leithart

Natural law theory teaches that God embedded a teleological moral order in the world, such that things…