16 And he told them a parable, saying, (AF)“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, (AG)‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my (AH)barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up (AI)for many years; relax, (AJ)eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, (AK)‘Fool! (AL)This night (AM)your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, (AN)whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one (AO)who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
If there’s an opposite to ‘cliff notes’ this post is certainly it!
This parable had so many Old Testament (cross reference) letters I couldn’t ignore them. They were an insistent interruption to an easy read. The Old Words are compiled together in order of appearance below. Read in that way they verify there’s continuity of truth in the Bible that matters.
Jesus spoke the truth He knew about what turns a “rich man” into a rich “Fool.”
All the references are footnoted at the bottom.
THE OLD WORDS
1 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish. 2 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 3 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. 4 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God,
5 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. 6 Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch, so is he who gets riches but not by justice; in the midst of his days they will leave him, and at his end he will be a fool. 7 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. 8 For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life? 9 Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
10 He may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver. He builds his house like a moth’s, like a booth that a watchman makes. He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more; he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone. Terrors overtake him like a flood; in the night a whirlwind carries him off. The east wind lifts him up and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. It hurls at him without pity; he flees from its power in headlong flight.
1 Psalm 49:16-20, 2 Ecclesiastes 5:10, 3 Proverbs 27:1, 4 Ecclesiastes 2:24,
5 Ecclesiastes 11:9, 6 Jeremiah 17:11, 7 Proverbs 27:1, 8 Job 27:8,”
9 Psalm 39:6, 10 Job 27:17-22
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