Money Bags with Holes

1. Money Bags with Holes “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33

2. The Facts, Please! • In the earliest of Bible times, trade was done through barter (the exchange of one article for another without the use of money). If an article is exchanged for money, then you aren’t bartering, but selling.

3. More Facts, Please! • A medium of exchange became necessary when ancient people stopped being nomadic hunters and began to settle down in an agricultural system. Then they would trade something they owned for something they needed or wanted. For instance, King Solomon traded wheat and olive oil for the cypress trees he used in building the temple.

4. More! • The use of money in exchange for items began when some authority decided that gold, silver, or other metals would stand for the value of goods. When metals were first used for exchange, they were just weighted quantities of metal. These could be in the shape of discs, bars, or rings.

5. The earliest know coin was used about 700 B. C. The earliest coins mentioned in the Bible are gold ones called drams. The shaped metals or coins were often carried in money bags. A girdle (a waistband of leather) sometimes had a slit into which money or other valuables were put. Other times a person carried a small bag for this purpose. More Facts, Please!

6. Coded Message: Mending the Holey BagsTo find the answer to each question, fill in each blank with the letter that comes after the letter found below each line. A will follow Z. Why did the Israelites’ money seem to disappear as though it were in a bag with holes? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ s g d x a t h k s e h m d _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ g n l d r a t s c h c m n s a t h k c _ _ _’ _ _ _ _ _ _. f n c r g n t r d

7. Another Question: What did they do to cause God to “mend” their holey bags and begin to bless them? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ s g d x a d f z m s n a t h k c _ _ _’ _ _ _ _ _ _. f n c r g n t r d