The pouch of the living

“If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the LORD your God.” 1 Samuel 25:29

The Lexham English Bible has it, the pouch of the living. The NET calls it, the bag. It means that the Lord has a stash. What does someone keep in their pouch, but their valuables? Too precious to be left at home, these must be kept on hand at all times. I think Bilbo Baggins would have given more than a fourteenth share of his treasure to acquire a secret pouch fitted for the One Ring!

When Joseph’s brothers journeyed to Egypt in search of bread, they kept their money in this kind of pouch. It’s a moneybag. Riches, treasure, currency—a mini dragon’s hoard carried about one’s person. And the Lord’s got one, and we’re in it. He paid a mighty price for us. We are his secret treasure, snuggled safely in his care. No devil is getting at that bag!

And the day of our great opening approaches. “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession” (Malachi 3:17). Then the children of the living God will stand forth with Christ, revealed with him in glory.