It is he that giveth thee power to get wealth

[WalterandDebbie]

Deuteronomy 8:18
But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

Wealth, success, and prosperity are the signs of being in covenant with God.

 

[Knotical]

Be careful. This is the beginning of the prosperity gospel, which is a fallacy. God does bless us, but He also tests us from time to time, through trials. To just say God will provide power and wealth to those who love him and keep is commandments is misleading. He also puts us through trials to test our faith and resolve.

 

[Willie T]

Wealth, success, and prosperity are the signs of being in covenant with God.

Why is this statement in conflict with the parable of Lazarus and the rich man? Not to mention the one about the Rich Young Ruler. And the comment about the camel trying to go through the eye of a needle. Then, of course, the Sermon on the Mt....

 

[Jesse]

There are many unbelievers in the world who are millionaires and there are many believers who are poor.

I would add to Willie T's post, all the apostles who left all behind and Christ Himself. There are too many ways rich people can fall into the trap of love of money and begin to rely on their wealth and not God, it seems that is much of what has happened in the west. We have people who dress a certain way depending on which church you attend, you can drive by a church parking lot any given Sunday and see the line-up of certain types of cars. We very much do like to keep up with our neighbors in this way.

IMO, we have placed man's view of success (wealth,power,money) and now say this is also the way God sees man's success (and I am not saying that believers are never blessed by God this way - Abraham, Solomon, etc.), and this is not true. God is much more concerned about our character and integrity then he is about how much wealth we have - thankfully.

1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

 

[Jethro Bodine]

Why is this statement in conflict with the parable of Lazarus and the rich man? Not to mention the one about the Rich Young Ruler. And the comment about the camel trying to go through the eye of a needle. Then, of course, the Sermon on the Mt....

...and other scriptures.

As Jesse is getting at, wealth, success, and prosperity that signify being in covenant with God is not necessarily the wealth, success, and prosperity that we humans instantly think of when those are mentioned.

In a word, it is our fruitfulness that signifies our covenant relationship with God. That is why we are exhorted to purposely make that fruitfulness apparent. So we can know without a shadow of a doubt that we are indeed in covenant with and at peace with God through Jesus Christ.

The wealth of our 'fields', and the covenant overflow of our abundance is seen in the crop of our righteousness--love, joy, peace, patience, long suffering, kindness, meekness, forgiveness, etc. The field of the heart that has these growing and flourishing in them is the field that has the blessing of God on it. That is the wealth that establishes the covenant between God and his people as real and manifest.

 

[WIP]

I think when we are blessed with wealth we should be asking "Why?" "What do You want me to do with this wealth?"

 

[for_his_glory]

God does want us to prosper in health and wealth, but not in wealth the way the common man sees it, but the wealth of meeting our needs and having enough that we can also bless others who are in need. Thus the saying, "spread the wealth". God opens the doors of opportunity, but it's up to us to walk through that door and give Him first place in all things. Nothing wrong with being rich, but remember it's not the money, but the love of the money that becomes our idol if we give first place to it above that of God.

Deu 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

Php 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

 

[WalterandDebbie]

After keeping his/Jesus commandments, and loving him as well, I was thinking of the scripture of Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

 

[Malachi]

I think when we are blessed with wealth we should be asking "Why?" "What do You want me to do with this wealth?"

Absolutely. The reason God has left His people on earth is so that "all men should be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4). If wealth is invested properly and judiciously in the furtherance of the Gospel, then God's will for wealth has been fulfilled.

Something else that Christians easily forget is that the primary use of Christian giving in apostolic times was to bring relief to poorer brethren and sisters. Paul took up collections twice for the needy believers in Judea. There are multitudes of Christians today who need a hand up, and wealth can again be invested properly in these believers worldwide. Some do not even have the very basic necessities for existence. Many churches in North America simply ignore their poorer members, so that they have to run to the state for help.

Many of the so-called "Christian" charities are using a large portion of Christian donations for administration and for lavish salaries for their employees, and neglecting the actual needs of the genuine recipients. Almost all "foreign aid" goes into the hands of the corrupt ones at the top -- a total waste of money. Welfare in the USA has proven to be detrimental to the poor because bureacracies are involved to create a "welfare state". So this is an area where direct giving to deserving Christians would be doing the work of the Lord.

 

[jasonc]

After keeping his/Jesus commandments, and loving him as well, I was thinking of the scripture of Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

shalom.