1 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.
Proverbs 18:1
…and here’s my reminder to go out and look for other sources of income, now.
I get it, the bills stay constant, with no care to the status of savings and finances. Sound judgment, in this case, is to go against isolation, to go against seeking our own desires (especially when it comes to a point that the desires outnumber the actions). Here I am further reminded that the mere presence of action is not enough – sure, these writings and the working out and the walking, all that adds some value… but right now I’m realizing there needs to be one more action to add more immediate, more practical (dare I say monetary and financial) value.
In light of the previous post regarding Psalm 18, I am thankful, because I believe that our Father not only blesses our hands for war and our fingers for battle, but, as He gave the Israelites the power to produce wealth / the ability to be successful, so I think we in the body of Christ have the same…
…or, well, let’s take a look at the context:
17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.Deuteronomy 8:17-18
Which covenant? The ESV then directs us to Psalm 105:8-11: “He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 9 the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, 10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”
The power to get wealth was given to the Israelites as a confirmation of God’s covenant to their forefathers, to the goal of their being given Canaan as their portion for an inheritance.
Am I, therefore, back to square one? Well, I’m reminded of another covenant more applicable to us, post-New Testament:
6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
8 For he finds fault with them when he says:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Hebrews 8:6-13
I remember that through our reading of the Old Testament, the Israelites, through the days of Kings and the Judges, were never really able to subdue the entire land of Canaan – the only backing I have to this claim is that they always had the Midianites, the Moabites, and so on, and then the threats only became bigger, with the kingdoms of Babylon, Assyria, etc.; I’m led to make the claim that they never really owned up to this covenant, meaning they weren’t able to really claim the land as their inheritance – does this therefore mean that the power He gives them to get wealth isn’t as pronounced, or even as valued, as intended?
And, in light of the New Covenant which Christ established and now mediates, we DO have much more, don’t we?
Our works do not impact our ‘continuing’ in this New Covenant, because it was Christ’s finished work that brought us in and keeps us.
More than the land of Canaan, or any land for that matter, for us to receive and inherit, it is God who ‘inherits’ us; more than our dwelling in, we are rather the ones in whom Christ dwells – By way, that is, of His laws in our minds and written in our hearts; Christ received us, inherited us, and His Father is also our Father, and as He is the Firstborn, so we are His children.
Finally, more than our receiving power to get wealth, look – we ‘shall all know Him’; More than our not having wealth and success primarily, and not receiving wealth and success but the mere power to get it, look: We ‘know’ God. We know the Lord – the wealthiest, the most powerful, and the most successful. He is the infinite, borderless God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and He is our Father.
All this, I suppose, for me to recalibrate my choice of words – well, I’d still like to have the power to get wealth, or the ability to be successful, sure – but my primary context shall be to call out, and to call upon my Father, Creator, Source of all wealth, power, and success – to sustain me, to prosper me, and to guide me.
2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.
Proverbs 18:2
I express my opinion… that I understand who we are now in the New Covenant. And it IS pleasurable.
10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
11 A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his imagination.
Proverbs 18:10-11
Am I to run to the throne of Grace – Am I to take refuge in the strong tower which is the name of the Lord, and make this my safety?
The rich man assumes that it is his wealth that insulates and protects him – but, as we just read, it is only a high wall ‘in his imagination‘.
Our money is not our security, but we are safe in Christ, the One who sustains us.
Should I ask for provision? Should I ask for a job? Should I ask for both? Should I ask for sustenance? Should I go ahead of myself and jump into Proverbs 30:8-9; Should I ask as Agur asks:
“give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?”
or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”
Should I take in the mindset of Philippians 4:11-13: “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need….
And should I pull off an Evander Holyfield: 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.“..?
Not as pleasurable as I thought.
But it reveals something about myself – I’m just as focused, if not more so, on what I can do, more than what God can do. And I think that’s okay – because it’s what Christ has done that matters more than anything else.
Not really sure how to end this, but I will just say that I am thankful that no matter what, I have Christ, and He has me… and that remains true no matter what.
Sounds like a cop-out, for sure – but, really, everything else will sound like a cop-out; it’s the actions that’ll make the words.
It’s the work that’ll make the words.
Christ’s finished work was proof of His words.
We work from His living Word.
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