We read in Luke 16:19-31: “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.  And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.  But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.  Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.  Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

Jesus told this story of the rich man and Lazarus to some who defended their covetousness under a cloak of spirituality.  He proved that the Hebrew Bible (that is, Old Testament) already taught that being very rich does not mean that one is in God’s favor and that being very poor does not mean that one is not in God’s favor.  The Law of Moses itself testifies that those who are covetous, and those who neglect the needy whom they could help, are wicked and on course to go to hell’s eternal fire.  

Jesus saying blatantly that no man can serve God faithfully while serving mammon was only echoing what the Law of Moses already taught.

A person in the 3rd world can become wealthy compared to how they were raised- and yet still be not as well materially well off materially as many who are poor by first world standards.  

It is possible for two people who are talking about becoming materially prosperous to not even have compatible definitions of that due to how one might be dealing with first world problems (like a broken hot water tank or the ability to afford to eat an optimal diet) while the other might be dealing with third world problems (like the ability to eat daily, to drink clean water, and to have basic sanitation).  

The difference might even be much greater yet due to how there are things which the wealthy by first world standards might call problems which it would be evil to even regard as problems at all (such as not being able to afford a luxury car or membership to some exclusive country club)- while there are things which are extreme problems even by third world standards (such as not being able to eat anything at all for many days and a lot of other issues which many in the first world would have a hard time even imagining).  

I mention these things not only to illustrate how differently some define material blessing and prosperity, but also to warn of reading our own definitions of prosperity into the Bible in an unwarranted way.  

If you are in the first world, you are probably already beyond materially prosperous in most ways or in every way according to how the Bible defines that.  

It is also necessary to understand that there is also a vast variety of places and circumstances which the people in the Bible found themselves in as well.  And as with the world today and throughout history, the material prosperity of the people in the Bible was often determined by the condition of the society around them more than anything else and/or particularly exalted or abased circumstances which they would have been in anyways whether they were righteous or wicked. 

Just because there are some notable exceptions, those are still exceptions.  And sometimes with those exceptions, being righteous actually caused a person to be cast down (at least for a time) rather than lifted up.

Joseph would not have endured as a faithful man if he had been tainted by the Prosperity Gospel- and he is an exception whose faithfulness eventually led him to great material prosperity.  The Prosperity Gospel would have destroyed him if he had let it affect him.

Moses’ faithfulness actually caused him to lose out on the exceptional material prosperity which he had been raised in.  He never fully gained that prosperity back either.  The Prosperity Gospel would have destroyed him if he had let it affect him.

Like Abraham, Job was likely born into great riches.  He did not equate his great wealth with godliness.  Job would have cursed God on the day he lost everything if he had been tainted by the Prosperity Gospel.  It was Job’s misguided friends who tried to persuade him to acquire a Prosperity Gospel mentality.  They attempted to extract a false confession out of him that sinning had caused him to lose his wealth and his health after his calamities hit.  Job was misguided some in answering his friends and said some things which he shouldn’t have said- but he surely would have done much worse and been a blatant liar if he had complied with the Prosperity Gospel mentality and given the confession which his friends were trying to get him to make.

David was another exception who was eventually led into great prosperity- but the Prosperity Gospel would have also destroyed him spiritually and prevented him from ever becoming Israel’s king if he had believed it.  He was willing to suffer to do right when he was homeless as he fled from King Saul’s attempts to murder him.  He had to be willing to die in doing right in God’s eyes- and he could not realistically expect better circumstances to come at any defined moment.  

David’s son Solomon was born into riches.  He didn’t get rich by seeking God.  He was rich anyways.  Solomon’s downfall actually came because he did not discipline and restrict his personal surplus like the Law of God prescribed when Israel’s material prosperity was magnified under his reign.  

The following passage is directly related to the story of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke chapter 16 which this study began with.  The Law of Moses even put restrictions on Israel’s king in times of great prosperity.  

Being tainted with the Prosperity Gospel would even destroy a king who was prospering as greatly as a man might ever prosper in God’s will.

The fact that Solomon didn’t heed the following instructions set him up for much greater sin yet.  He even sinned to the point of blatant idolatry to accommodate the numerous heathen wives which he took.

The Law of God says in Deuteronomy 17:14-17: “When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.  But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.  Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.”

Solomon didn’t heed this- and that is why he fell away from the Lord.

The following things from the Biblical account of Solomon’s reign are actually describing a man in the process of losing his own soul.

1 King 10:14-15: “Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold (that is, 666 talents of gold- and I wonder if there is even symbolism in that number), Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country.”

1 Kings 10:26-28: “And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.  And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.  And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.”

It is no wonder then that things came to what they ended up coming to for Solomon.  

1 Kings 11:1-10: “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites: Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.  And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.  For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.  And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.  Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.  And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.  And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.”

In Abraham’s case, for all we know he was already rich before God ever called him to go out of his native country to the land of Canaan.  He had to make several decisions where he disregarded material gain in order to walk by faith and remain faithful to the Lord.  

The principle of Luke 16:13 has always been true- even with the extremely small percentage of people who have been righteous and rich at the same time.  

Luke 16:13: “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.  Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

After Abraham passed the very difficult trial which he was given and proved his willingness to offer up his son Isaac, he was already materially rich when the following words were spoken to him.

Genesis 22:15-18: “And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

Abraham had just passed a test which required him to surrender the multiplication of his descendants to the Lord- and the promise given him now was a blessing in relation to how he had passed the test and made that surrender.  That blessing ultimately pointed to the Messiah coming through Abraham’s lineage and all the families of earth being potentially blessed through the call of His Gospel (that is a gospel of redemption from sin leading to eternal life- not a gospel of guaranteed material prosperity in this life).  Abraham’s other descendants themselves would be blessed or cursed based upon their reception of the Messiah which came through Abraham according to the flesh (and that is a fact which the Zionists don’t want to face yet they can’t deny it- God disinherited Abraham’s natural descendants of the land promised to Abraham’s seed after Israel as a nation rejected Jesus as a testimony that they are not partakers of God’s covenant with Abraham as long as they continue to reject Jesus- Christ’s people will inherit the land during Christ’s millennial reign to complete the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham concerning the land of Canaan).

When the Bible talks about how wealth and riches shall be in the house of the righteous like it does in Psalm 112:3, it has to be considered that ultimately the true riches represent wisdom from God’s Word.  Those lead to eternal treasure in heaven when applied faithfully and consistently to life.

Psalm 19:9-10: “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.”

Proverbs 4:5-9: “Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.  Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.  Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.  Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.  She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.”

Proverbs 8:1-11: “Doth not wisdom cry?  and understanding put forth her voice?  She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.  She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.  Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.  O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.  Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.  For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.  All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.  They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.  Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.  For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.”

Aaron’s email is: gospeltruth768@yahoo.com

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