Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word.
This week's question:

Jesus did not come into this world to a family of great monetary wealth and even comments "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." (Matthew 8:20), to emphasize His poverty to the young scribe who said he would follow Him anywhere,probably to gain some worldly advantage.

When the rich young man asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life, Jesus tells him,

Luke 18:22-27 "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you

shall have treasure in heaven; And come and follow Me." But when he heard these things, he became

very sad, for he was extremely rich. And Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who are

wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than

for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." They who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But He

said, "The things that are impossible with people are possible with God."

Jesus reminds us that riches are deceitful, (Matthew 13:22) and that we should put our trust in the riches of heaven. "Where neither moth nor rust destroy, …for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:20-21)

That brings us to the question at hand, Who did lay at the gate of the rich man? To Luke chapter sixteen we go to find our answer. As we can see this man lived the extremely good life each day as he was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in splendor each day. But at this rich man's gate was a beggar who was full of sores and desired even the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table and the dogs licked his sores. This beggars name was none other than "Lazarus" (Luke 16:20)! And although that is our answer to our question, the story is much deeper than that. When Lazarus dies and is carried by angels to "Abraham's bosom", or paradise, and then the rich man also dies but he is taken to the place of torments in Hades. Interestingly enough the rich man can see into Paradise and the good things that the beggar at the gate now receives and as he can recognize Lazarus, he asks Abraham,

Luke 16:24-31 "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so

that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.' But

Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received the good things, and likewise Lazarus

the bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between

us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be

able, andthat none may cross over from there to us.' And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send

him to may father's house- for I have five brothers-in order that he may warn them, so that they will not

also come to this place of torment.' But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear

them.' But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!'

But he said to him, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if

someone rises from the dead.' "

The rich man is reminded of the good life he had upon this earth and Lazarus the evil things, but now Lazarus is comforted and a chasm is fixed between the two places in the Hadean realm so neither side can pass over. Then the rich man's concern is for who is left behind, namely his five brother's in his father's house and that they must be warned to repent and not come into this place of torment. The rich man now fully understands the deceit of riches and that they too, would fall into the same trap and continue in a life of pleasing self with no concern for others and neither any concern for the hereafter. He is told that they have the written word in the Old Testament Law to study and to recognize good from evil according to the word of God. But the rich man did not heed it and look where he is. And so he again appeals to Abraham to send Lazarus back to them to warn them, so that someone from the dead would give them a reality shock about life everlasting and the troubles that may lie ahead. But Abraham answers that if they did not listen to the prophets, neither would they listen to someone from the dead.

What about us? Have we drifted away from the word to the point of following the road of the rich man? Or maybe you have not heeded the call of our Lord? As Jesus told His brothers, "…your time is always opportune." (John 7:6)

His desire is the salvation of all mankind, but we must overcome the worldly ways that tempt us so.

Proverbs 30:7-9 Two things I ask of You, do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from

me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and

deny You And say, "Who is the Lord?" Or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my

God.