Luke 12:20

But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? BUT GOD SAID UNTO HIM, FOOL, THIS NIGHT THY SOUL SHALL BE REQUIRED OF THEE. This sudden cutting short of his career is designed to express not only the folly of building securely upon the future, but of throwing one's whole soul into what may at any moment be gone. "His soul being required of him" is put in opposition to his own treatment of it - "I will say to my soul, Soul," etc. THEN WHOSE SHALL THOSE THINGS BE WHICH THOU HAST PROVIDED? Compare , "He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them....

20._Fool, this night they will demand thy soul from thee. _The word _soul _carries an allusion. Formerly, the _rich man _addressed his _soul _as the seat of all the affections: but now, he speaks of the life itself, or the vital spirit. The words, _they will demand, ( _ ἀπαιτοῦσιν _) _though in the plural number, are used indefinitely, and mean nothing more than that the _life _of the _rich man, _which he imagined to be in his own power, was at the disposal of another. I advert to this, because some take occasion from them to make unfounded speculations about angels. The design of Christ is simply to show that the life of men, which they imagine to be strongly protected by the fortress of their riches, is every moment (272) taken away. The _rich man _is thus convicted of folly, in not knowing that his life depended on another....

13-21 Christ's kingdom is spiritual, and not of this world. Christianity does not meddle with politics; it obliges all to do justly, but wordly dominion is not founded in grace. It does not encourage expectations of worldly advantages by religion. The rewards of Christ's disciples are of another nature. Covetousness is a sin we need constantly to be warned against; for happiness and comfort do not depend on the wealth of this world. The things of the world will not satisfy the desires of a soul. Here is a parable, which shows the folly of carnal worldling while they live, and their misery when they die. The character drawn is exactly that of a prudent, worldly man, who has no grateful regard to the providence of God, nor any right thought of the uncertainty of human affairs, the worth of his soul, or the importance of eternity. How many, even among professed Christians, point out simila...

Verse Luke 12:20. THOU _FOOL!_] To imagine that a man's comfort and peace can depend upon _temporal_ things; or to suppose that these can satisfy the wishes of an immortal spirit! _THIS NIGHT_] How awful was this saying! He had just made the necessary arrangements for the gratification of his sensual appetites; and, in the very night in which he had finally settled all his plans, his soul was called into the eternal world! What a dreadful awakening of a soul, long asleep in sin! He is now hurried into the presence of his Maker; none of his worldly goods can accompany him, and he has not a particle of heavenly treasure! There is a passage much like this in the book of Ecclesiasticus, 11:18, 19. _There is that waxeth rich by his wariness and pinching,_ _and this is the portion of his reward: Whereas he saith, I have_ found rest, and now w

THOU FOOL - If there is any supreme folly, it is this. As though riches could prolong life, or avert for a moment the approach of pain and death. THIS NIGHT ... - What an awful sentence to a man who, as he thought, had got just ready to live and enjoy himself! In a single moment all his hopes were blasted, and his soul summoned to the bar of his long-forgotten God. So, many are surprised as suddenly and as unprepared. They are snatched from their pleasures, and hurried to a world where there is no pleasure, and where all their wealth cannot purchase one moment’s ease from the gnawings of the worm that never dies. SHALL BE REQUIRED OF THEE - Thou shalt be required to die, to go to God, and to give up your account. THEN WHOSE ... - Whose they may be is of little consequence to the man that lost his soul to gain them; b

EXPOSITION LUKE 12:1 _The Lord_,_ after leaving the Pharisee_'_s house_,_ speaks at great length to a numerous crowd waiting for him_,_ addressing his words principally to his own disciples. _The foregoing scene (Luke 11:1.), when the Master addressed his bitter reproaches to the learned and cultivated of the great Pharisee party, took place in a private house belonging to an apparently wealthy member of this, the dominant class. The name of the large village or provincial town where all this happened is unknown. The crowd who had been listening to the great Teacher before he accepted the Pharisee's invitation still lingered around the house. Many from the adjoining villages, hearing that Jesus was in this place and was publicly teaching, had

BUT GOD SAID UNTO HIM,.... He determined within himself he should die that night; for the time of a man's death, as well as of his birth, is fixed by God; or he sent the messenger of death, some disease or another, the language of which was, immediate death, or death in a very short time; or spoke to his conscience, and impressed it on his mind, that he should die that night, and not live: THOU FOOL: as he appeared to be, throughout the whole of his conduct: THIS NIGHT THY SOUL SHALL BE REQUIRED OF THEE: which is of God's immediate formation, is immortal, of more worth than a world, and its loss is irreparable; and for which a man is accountable to God, the Father of spirits; and which he requires at a man's hands at death, which is here designed; and shows, that a man has no power over it to retain it, but must give it up when it is called for, even that very instant, "this night" whi...

The teaching of our Lord, in this chapter, has very much to do with Christianity in connection with this present life, and its cares and troubles. God has nowhere promised us exemption from affliction and trial. Indeed, it has been said, with much truth, that the Old Testament promise was one of prosperity, but that the New Testament promise is one of tribulation. You may rest assured that, if it had been best for us to be taken away to heaven directly we were converted, the Lord would have done it, and that, as he has not done so, there are wise reasons why he keeps his people here for a while. The gold must go through the fire ere it has its place in the king's crown, and the wheat must be exposed to the winnowing fan ere it can be taken into the heavenly garner. Luke 12:1. In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode...

CHAPTER 12 _ 1. Warning Against Hypocrisy. (Luke 12:1)_ 2. Encouragements. (Luke 12:4) 3. Warning Against Covetousness. (Luke 12:15) 4. Warning Against Anxiety. (Luke 12:22) 5. The Disciples Comfort and Hope. (Luke 12:32) 6. The Parable of the Steward. (Luke 12:41) 7. The Purpose of God and the Resulting Division. (Luke 12:49) 8. Concerning signs.

PARABLE OF THE RICH FOOL. Lk. only. LUKE 12:13_. _ The crowd of Luke 12:1 reappears here. Luke 12:14. Jesus declines to usurp the functions of the civil judge. Luke 12:15 is an editorial link between the incident (in which there is no allusion to covetousness, unless indeed that term be taken to cover the claiming of one's rights) and the parable. Tr. a man's life is not part of his possessions because he has ample wealth (Moffatt). Luke 12:20. this night: apparently just when he has carried his plans through. thy so