One of the greatest discoveries in Biblical archaeology was made in the Spring of 1947 by Bedouin goatherds. Three of them were driving their herd of sheep and goats toward their destination, but one was watching for something more than just the sheep; the youngest, a teenager, had for some time dreamt about finding hidden treasure, and would often explore the rocky area while caring for the flock. One day, he threw a rock into a hole in the cliff wall, and heard something break--what could it be? It was growing dark, and he couldn't check out what the sound was from at that time; but he later returned, and was disappointed to find only a few old scrolls.
At least, they could sell them; but that was easier said than done. The scrolls were in such good condition, that no one believed they could be ancient; instead, they thought they had been stolen! At last, there was a man who recognized that they might be worth something, and he bought them for $97.20. While trying to find out how much he could resell them for, he allowed them to be photographed in hopes that it would increase their value--not just a single photo, but snapshots of the words themselves. As it turned out, there was a buyer in the area that wanted them; but having found our what they were, he smuggled the scrolls into the US in 1949 looking for a buyer with deeper pockets. You see, these were a part of what would come to be known as the Dead Sea Scrolls; in fact, one of the scrolls that he had contained all of the book of Isaiah, and although it was in very good condition, it turned out to be about one thousand years older than the oldest copy we had at the time.
Unfortunately for him, by then, no one would buy them--and for several reasons. First, there was a dispute about who actually owned them: was it this fellow, or Israel? Second, because of the photographs, people already had access to what was in much of the scrolls. Third, he wanted as much money as possible, and those who might be interested (seminaries, etc) usually don't have a lot of money to spend.
Finally, several years later, in 1954, he became so desperate that he put an ad in the Wall Street Journal which read: "The Four Dead Sea Scrolls: Biblical manuscripts dating back to at least 200 BC are for sale. This would be an ideal gift to an educational or religious institution by an individual or group."
Eventually, they were purchased for a quarter-million dollars--on behalf of the state of Israel, by the son of the same man that wanted them back in 1949.
What makes this whole story of intrigue and greed so interesting to me, though, is that the man who wanted to get so much from the sale of these scrolls wasn't someone you would typically expect to behave this way--he was a high-level denominational priest; the equivalent of an archbishop! He was what some might call a "holy-man," yet in contrast, he appeared to be entirely motivated by greed.
Of course, this kind of individual can be found throughout time; for instance, Judah had serious problems with prophets-for-hire. In describing the pitiful state of the nation at the time, Jeremiah wrote (Jer 6:13), "...from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely." He lamented that everyone--including prophet and priest--was struck with greed.
In fact, Peter wrote that there would be men like that within the church as well, saying (2 Pet 2:1-3), "...false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep."
First, he points out that there were false prophets before, and there would come false teachers later; it's nothing new. He also notes that many would follow them, and that they would be exploited--and of course we've seen a lot of that; even fairly recently. Do you remember Jim Baker and the PTL network? Many well-meaning people lost a great deal of money because of faith in him. Or Robert Tilton: if you would just make a "vow of faith" to his "ministry," God would give a special blessing to you, whether healing, money, or whatever. His whole "ministry" was based on greed; both his own, and that of many of the people that would send money to him. And, just as Peter said, because of individuals like them, "the way of truth will be maligned."
Now, there have forever been those who would try to bilk another man out of his money; I believe it was P.T. Barnum that said, "There's a sucker born every minute." But, what makes these particular situations seem so much worse is that they involve supposed "holy-men," men who claim to be dedicated in service to God--and yet, are motivated by greed.
But before you sit back thinking to yourself how awful it is that such men could behave that way, how about you? Don't you know that all Christians are "holy-men"? Peter also wrote (1 Pet 2:1), "...you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION..." The word "holy" means to be set apart to God--and that certainly should include every Christian. Jesus said that (Mt 6:24), "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." Greed and covetousness can't have any part in the Christian's life.
In fact, Paul addressed the issue of how to deal with a covetous Christian within the congregation in 1 Cor 5:11: we are "...not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a one." And so he continues in v13, "REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES." We are to withdraw ourselves and have no social fellowship with the brother that stubbornly refuses to turn away from his greedy behavior.
Anyone that begins to get caught up in a desire for money finds himself in a very dangerous situation. Paul wrote that (1 Tim 6:8-10), "...those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." There is nothing wrong with either money or possessions in and of themselves; for instance, in Gen 13:2 we find that Abraham, "was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold," yet he was also called "the friend of God," in Isa 41:8.
Even so, they can cause us to trip and fall away from our God--because money can become our God. Paul warned (Eph 5:5), "...this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God." You see, to be covetous is to be an idolater--you are putting something else in the place of God, and worshiping it; and if you do that, you cannot enter in to Heaven. That is a high price to pay.
Now, you may think that none of this applies to you; you've never tried to sell smuggled Biblical manuscripts for hundreds of thousands of dollars! You may think yourself fortunate to earn a few thousand dollars over the course of a full year! The fact is, though, that you don't have to run a multi-million dollar company (like Enron) to have a problem with money; even the poorest of men can have a problem with greed. So how do we know if we or someone else might have that problem? What might be an indication?
The way that denominational priest behaved with the Dead Sea scrolls betrayed his greed, and it should surprise us; maybe even disgust us--but no more than it should in anyone that professes to serve God. He was what some would call a "holy-man"; but really, that is exactly what every true Christian is. We are dedicated to God; and so the writer of Hebrews exhorted (Heb 13:5,6), "Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, 'I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,' so that we confidently say, 'THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?'" If we have God on our side, we don't need to worry about anything else.
