The Power to make Wealth!

What kind of 'wealth' do you seek?

“…you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth…” (Deut. 8:18)

These words were spoken by Moses to the generation of Israel who would enter the land promised to them. These words were God’s admonition for them to remember something of grave importance. 

On the surface, one might conclude that God was promising them wealth in the form of material riches and abundance of material things. Not only was this not the case; it was the very opposite of material wealth that God was speaking of.

The same mistake is made today by those who proclaim that Christianity equates to physical wealth; that the ‘proof’ of God’s favor upon one, is by the “abundance of the things he possesses”. This is why a closer study of any singular statement is needful. It will reveal the true meaning of God’s words, which are in keeping with His eternal purpose for man.

In v. 18 of this chapter, we read, "But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."

Notice that this “power to make wealth” is connected with the covenant God had made with Israel, years earlier, at Mt. Sinai. It had to do with confirming something in that covenant.

The next two verses reveal a clue as to the meaning of “power to make wealth”.

"It shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God." (vss. 19-20)

The ‘wealth’ is seen from previous statements made to this generation’s parents by Moses; statements that were not heeded by their parents, and for which this generation was told to REMEMBER!

Two questions are in order:

~ What was it that qualified as the “power” for them to make wealth?

~ What was the nature of the “wealth” that was in keeping with God’s confirming the covenant, and with His oath to Abraham?

The following passages provide us the answer to both questions:

First, notice from the context of this chapter, verse 16, we read, “In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end."

Earlier, Moses had said, "You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord." (Deut. 8:2-3)

The ‘power’ to make wealth was in the words of the covenant. Those words were for their good; their righteousness as stated in Deut. 6:

1-3 – “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey."

10-12 – “Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."

17-18 – "You should diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you. You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Lord swore to give your fathers,"

20-25 – “When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which the Lord our God commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us from Egypt with a mighty hand. Moreover, the Lord showed great and distressing signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household; He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.’ So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today. It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all this commandment before the Lord our God, just as He commanded us."

Yet they must REMEMBER these words, for apart from their remembrance of them, the words were powerless. Their wealth’s “source” (i.e. ‘power’) was in the covenant terms. Those terms existed in the statutes, commands, ordinances, and laws of the Law. But apart from their obedience, their 'power' to be wealthy as God intended would never materialize.

Their ‘wealth’ was not physical, but spiritual. As such, their control of the land of Canaan with its resources would be at their disposal, but their knowledge of God’s law would enable them to use these resources to promote justice and mercy. Without such power (knowledge), these vast resources would be used selflessly and ultimately be their ruin. Sadly, this is exactly what happened.

That this is true, is evidenced from Deut. 28, wherein the blessings were dependent upon their obedience to the covenant, while consequences connected with their disobedience.

Verses 1-14 – “Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God..........The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”

Verses 15-45 – “But it shall come about, if you do not obey the LORD your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you..............The alien who is among you shall rise above you higher and higher, but you will go down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you will be the tail. “So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the LORD your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.”

LESSON: Such will happen to any generation of people who fails to learn from their errors. Material riches are not what God promises for giving your life to Christ. Your given a cross to bear. The wealth is in the next life—HEAVEN. This life is that of living for a Savior who gave His life for you, willingly. That was His purpose in coming to earth.

The words we sing reflect this:

“Sweet are the promises, kind is the word;

Sweeter far than any message man ever heard.

Pure was the mind of Christ, sinless is He;

He the great example is an pattern for me; 

Where He leads, I’ll follow.”

copyright 2018

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