And there shall be stability in your times, an abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the reverent fear and worship of the Lord is your treasure and His. – Isaiah 33:6, Amplified Bible (AMP)

When I was a teenager I LOVED reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I have also thoroughly enjoyed Peter Jackson’s movie versions of the tales, although they deviate quite a bit from the books.

One movie storyline that was pretty true to its written counterpart was the “treasure room” segment near the end of The Desolation of Smaug (2013). In this segment, Bilbo Baggins enters a HUGE throne room filled with mountains of gold and jewels. His mission is to find and to reclaim the greatest treasure in the room – called the Arkenstone – but standing between him and his prize is the evil, murderous, and powerful dragon named Smaug. His only hope of survival is to quietly steal the Arkenstone without Smaug noticing, for inviting the dragon’s attention would mean certain death.

What was so important about the Arkenstone that it was worth risking life and limb over? The Arkenstone was the largest and most brilliant jewel ever discovered. It was the greatest single source of wealth and authority on the planet, and he who possessed it had the power to re-unite the scattered dwarf kingdoms of Middle Earth into a mighty nation once more. With the ability to bring back peace and prosperity to a poor, beaten-down people, reclaiming the Arkenstone was a quest of paramount importance – even one worth dying for.

Although Tolkien’s tale is one of pure fantasy, it, like any good tale, has real life truths woven into it. For example, there is a real life “Arkenstone,” and this treasure is the greatest, most brilliant jewel on Earth. It is the reverential fear and worship of the Lord, and those who possess it own a treasure-house filled with God’s promises and blessings.

The word “treasure” in Isaiah 33:6 is the Hebrew word “owtsar,” which means:

1. a depository [such as an] armory
2. cellar
3. to garner [to deposit as if in a granary]
4. store(-house)
5. treasure(-house)

The mental picture here is tremendous. It’s as if God uses our reverence and worship as a warehouse in which to deposit His peace, salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. As long as we are faithful to Him, the mountains of blessings stored in our warehouses grow. When we fall away from Him, our warehouses become unsecure, allowing sin, the flesh, and the devil to break in and steal away some of our treasure.

Not only is our reverential trust and worship of God our greatest treasure; it is also God’s. While we gain the greatest gifts that God has to offer in return for our dedication to Him, He gains the greatest desire of His heart – rich fellowship with His children – at the same time. God created mankind for the purpose of fellowship, and when we lay aside our sin so that we can commune with Him, He is tremendously blessed.

Don’t put God on the back burner. Make sure you revere and worship Him, as you were created to do. If you do, He will put the greatest blessings of Creation into your treasure house, and you will have no problem fulfilling Jesus’ admonition to lay up treasures in Heaven.