We are usually referring to individuals or a group of people who are not present or to whom we are assigning blame or responsibility for actions and decisions which result in circumstances that relate to our situation. Sometimes we don’t specifically know who ‘They’ are.
In Luke 12 Yeshua spoke a parable which included a reference
13A man from that crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”14But Yeshua said to him, “Man, who has set me as a judge and a divider over you?”15And he said to his disciples, “Beware of all greed, because life is not in the abundance of riches.”16And he told a parable to them: “A certain rich man’s land brought him many crops.”17“And he thought to himself and said, ‘What shall I do, for there is no place for me to gather my crops?’ “18“And he said, ‘I shall do this: I shall pull down my barns, and I shall build and enlarge them, and I shall gather all my produce and my goods.’ “19“And I shall say to my soul, ‘My soul, you have many goods laid up for many years, be contented, eat, drink and be merry.’ “20“Then God said to him, ‘Fool, in this night your soul will be required from you, and whose will these things be which you have prepared?’ “21“Thus is whoever lays down a treasure for himself and is not rich in God.” Primarily Yeshua/Jesus was warning the listeners about the temptations of greed. We assume the requiring of the mans soul was that he died.
Aramaic Bible in Plain English
“Then God said to him, ‘Fool, in this night your soul will be required from you, and whose will these things be which you have prepared?’ “
Mace New Testament
but God said to him, thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee: who then shall enjoy what thou hast provided?
Worrell New Testament
But God said to him, ‘Senseless one! this night they require your soul of you; and the things you prepared, whose shall they be?’
Lamsa Bible
But God said to him, O you shortsighted, this very night your life will be demanded of you; and these things which you have prepared, to whom will they he left?
The word in Aramaic was from a semetic root word which means
to seek satisfaction or to avenge,
so did he die by their hand? Who are they in these verses?
this night they require your soul and
the things you prepared, whose shall they be?
To give a little more understanding of this question we have to look at the culture and customs practiced in the ancient Middle East.
Reading in Leviticus 25 and specifically verse 11 In this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to their own property.
Hebrews did not own property in the sense that we understand it today. Instead every year by a type of lottery, land was given out to individuals and families.
Families or an individual had a good chance of reaping a good harvest and even one that produced in abundance, if they drew a lot that was good ground.
A harvest would be sparse and obviously not so plentiful, if the lot given was poor or rocky ground; and there was a real chance of starvation. There were no supermarkets to go and get supplies from. This type of ‘lottery’ made sure that everyone had an equal chance and no one got the best ground every year and got richer, nor did they continually receive the poor ground and get progressively poorer and starve to death; hence the system of Jubilee instigated by our Heavenly Father.
Interestingly today, we still refer to a piece or portion of property as a lot.
Another idiom we use is when we are speaking of a person’s ‘lot in life’, particularly if we are referring to someone who has had an easy life, or someone who has gone through many hard times.
In the ancient Biblical times, those who had drawn a lot with poor soil, were often dependent upon a neighbor who had been blessed with a good lot. These neighbors were willing and able to help them by sharing their crops until the next years’ drawing, and probably because the next year, the one with the good lot may very easily be assigned a poor lot and would have to look to his neighbor for help.
Being agoodneighbor is a reflection of our Heavenly Father’s love and grace in our lives. These parables should inspire us to be better friends, family members, and help others less fortunate in our community.
Here we are reminded of the verses in Proverbs 3:28 Donotsay to your neighbor, Go, and come again; and tomorrowIwillgive it—when you have it with you. and
Provers 27:10 Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for betterisaneighbour that is near than a brother far off.
Also Luke 6:38
Give, andit will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me… we do all these things as unto the Lord Himself.
Acts 20:35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is moreblessed to give than to receive.’
Hebrews 13:16. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others…
In this story, the man Messiah is describing obviously had been blessed with a good lot, but instead of offering all his extra harvest to those in need who had received the poor lot; he decided to be greedy and keep it for himself. This could have been out of fear, in case the next year he drew a poor lot, or fearful that there was a water shortage; and he may have worried that even if he received a good lot, it wouldn’t yield a good harvest. Obviously we understand from these thoughts the man was not trusting the Lord either.
It would seem that the, they, in this story would be the people who had not been able to raise a healthy crop and therefore had no harvest; which meant they were starving and who would probably kill this neighbor for his food if he wasn’t willing to share. They would require his soul, as in seeking satisfaction or avenging themselves because of his greed and reluctance to share his blessings. Messiah was teaching an important point after the young man in the previous verse had wanted his part of an inheritance from his brother. It is truly more blessed to give than to receive and better to live as a community, helping one another, than to not share your good harvest of many blessings.
These days our lives are the good ground, and by His work in us we are suitable for producing a harvest. As we feed on the Word of God, we become more fertile soil that is prepared to receive a new implantation, and we will yield much fruit and in turn a harvest for the kingdom of our Heavenly Father.
Spiritually, beneath the surface, our roots are stretching deep into the soil, His Word and this ensures a strong foundation making sure we are able to withstand the tests and trials of life’s storms.
We can persevere and produce much fruit; and out of this harvest we give to those who drew a lot that did not produce this season.
As we plant the seed from our yield into others lives, we will not be subject to ‘them’, those individuals who are requiring or seeking to avenge or seek satisfaction from our souls because we are being stingy, greedy and reluctant to share our blessings with others.
Shalom, shalom mishpachah/family
and cheverim/friends!
It’s all about Life and Relationship,
NOT Religion.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen
