Viking Treasure

Knowing my interest in archaeology, Ginny rushed home from work Friday excited to show me newspaper articles announcing the discover of a Viking treasure buried in a field near Harrogate in Yorkshire, England.

The treasure had been buried for over a thousand years.

David and Andrew Whelan located a silver pot filled with ancient coins which date to the year 927. A.D.

The father/son team asked a farmer’s permission to explore his field with metal detectors. They’d searched this same field before finding only buttons.

This time, the pair recovered over 600 coins and dozens of other objects. A gold arm band, silver ingots and fragments of silver were found in and around the silver pot. Some ancient artist carved the sides of the silver vessel with vines and leaves along with six hunting scenes showing lions, stags and a horse.

David Whelan said, “We went to a field that we'd got permission on to detect. We were there about 10 minutes, and I got this signal. I dug down and got a stronger signal, so I kept going. And I started getting lead out, bits of lead. And I kept going, pulling lead out. Big signal, and then this round thing fell into the hole. And I thought, "Oh, it's a bulk-up from an old lead system."

“So I put my glasses on, lifted it out. Put my glasses on, and I could see it was a bowl with all bits of silver in the top, and the coins stuck in the top, and a lovely bowl. So I went over and brought Andrew back. Told him we'd found a hoard”.

British Museum officials value that hoard at $1,500,000. The Viking treasure went on display at the museum yesterday.

Wow! That’s the stuff dreams are made of!

A treasure buried in a field!

Once, near the Port of Jacksonville, using a metal detector, I found a single coin from Bahrain.

It was about ten years old.

Probably dropped by some foreign sailor.

Not a Viking.

Drat!

Reading about this treasure in a field, I couldn’t help but think I’ve read something like that somewhere before.

Oh, Yes. It was one of the stories Jesus told.

“The Kingdom of Heaven,” He said, “Is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field”.

The verse reference is Matthew 13:44.

I’ve heard preachers apply that verse to say that salvation is so valuable we should sell out everything in order to gain it.

That’s perfectly valid idea. Jim Elliot, a missionary martyred by the Auca Indians, said, “He is no fool who gives up what he can not hope to keep in order to gain that which he can never lose”.

Give up everything for Jesus?

Many people think that’s what it takes.

Personally, I have never given up anything for Jesus; for me, it’s been all gain.

When I look at what Jesus said —

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field”. —

I also look at the Bible verses around that saying.

You know, the ones about the pearl, the net, the leaven, etc.

I see that just six verses before the one about the buried treasure, Jesus said, “The field is the world” (v.38) That’s in a story about sowing seed.

In that same story (v.37), Jesus said, “He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man”.

So then, if the field is the world.

And if the one walking in the field, the one who gave up everything, is Jesus, then …

What did Jesus give up every thing for? Why did God become man? Why leave the glory of Heaven, the company of angels, the splendor of eternity to be born in a stable and die on a cross?

If the field is the world…

And if the one who gave up all is Jesus…

Then what is the treasure?

You are.