(Isaiah 53:12: Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.)
While the primary purpose of the Bible is to reveal God to His creation and give us a “manual” for living life with Him and for Him, the Holy Scriptures include great stories of drama and action. There are many battles, and it was customary that the victor would take from the loser its prized possessions – often referred to as plunder, booty, treasure, or spoil. The spoil would include jewelry, cattle, and even people.
Has anyone told you that you are valuable lately? That you are a treasure? That you’re precious in someone’s eyes? If you haven’t, you should read your Bible! Please follow along by listening to how God feels about the Nation of Israel 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.” Now the Nation of Israel got its name from a man named Israel whose original name was Jacob. Israel was the name given to Jacob by God. Jacob’s grandfather was Abraham.
In Genesis 22, Abraham received the following promise as a result of his willingness to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, “because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” In this last sentence, the seed that will bless all the nations of the earth is Jesus Christ. The first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew confirms Jesus’ genealogy tracing back to Abraham.
For those who come to faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they get the same promise as that of Abraham. Galatians 3:29 validates this, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” That also means that the LORD sees all who believe in Jesus as a special treasure. The key, though, is that we need to believe in Jesus before we can lay claim to this.
Prior to coming to faith in Christ, we are lost sinners. Every human since Adam’s sin was born into sin – with one exception – Jesus. That means we have been Satan’s possession. There’s been a war for our souls since Adam’s sin, and that war was won at Calvary – when Jesus died on a cross for our sins. 1 Corinthians 15:57 makes this glorious statement, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
As we said earlier, the key is we need to believe in Jesus – be born again. Then we can claim what 1 John 5:4 says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” The Bible is full of battles, but the greatest battle has already been won, and Jesus is the victor. If you are a confessed follower of Jesus Christ, that makes you a spoil of war – a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.