Proverbs 11:4 says: “Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.”

It is obvious right from the Hebrew Bible (that is, the Old Testament) that riches, to whatever extent they interfere with righteousness, ought to be shunned.  

As Jesus said in the Gospels that no one can faithfully serve God faithfully while serving mammon, and He emphasized that the writings of the Law of Moses and the prophets of the Old Testament make this abundantly clear, we can thus find countless examples right from the Old Testament that material gain does not equal godliness; and find abundant proof there that being driven by material gain and being faithful to the Lord are inconsistent with each other.

In spite of this, Prosperity Gospel preachers will often resort to the Old Testament to teach their demonic doctrine.  However, they have to twist Scripture to support their doctrine since they have no solid basis for this.  

Abraham, though rich, devalued riches in comparison to righteousness and was content to suffer loss in order to make righteous choices.  We also see in the following passage that Lot’s own path to spiritual destruction began because he insisted on choosing to dwell in the place where his eyes told him was the best prospect for increasing his wealth.  Huge mistake.

Genesis 13:1-13: “And Abram (who would become Abraham eventually) went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.  And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.  And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.  And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.  And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.  And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.  And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.  Is not the whole land before thee?  separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.  And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.  Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.  Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.  But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.”

Abraham also insisted on dealing with all people respectfully and honestly.  He even insisted on paying for land which the owners tried to give him for free.  He refused to defraud anyone nor did he even want to risk defrauding anyone.  That is seen in how he dealt with the children of Heth in Genesis 23 in obtaining a place to bury his deceased wife.  

The Prosperity Gospel preachers love to quote the following verse while their covetous hearers get their ears tickled by false hopes which this verse used out of context stirs up.

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.”

Is this a statement that God is out to make people rich?  It was actually spoken to Israel right before they were to be brought into Canaan under Joshua’s leadership.  Though it was God’s will to enrich the Israelites then compared to what their material state had been in the wilderness, Deuteronomy 8:18 in its context comes in relation to Israel being reminded of the sufficiency they had in spite of the hardship and limited resources available to them in the wilderness.  They were also being warned of the great spiritual danger of becoming materially wealthy; and they were being testified to of the certain judgment on those who forsake the true God- something which those who experience a notable increase in wealth are especially in danger of.  

Deuteronomy 8:18 is actually a severe warning not to forsake God by setting the heart on wealth and a reminder to be grateful for the wealth which comes in God’s will.  

We should keep His commandments as if our life depends on doing so with the same urgency that was pressed on the Israelites when they were in the wilderness- when they had to actually, literally depend on God to supernaturally work to sustain them day by day.  

Reading the whole of Deuteronomy chapter 8 presents a very different picture than the Prosperity Gospel snake is presenting when he selectively (and in his disgustingly smooth talk) quotes Deuteronomy 8:18 out of context.

Deuteronomy chapter 8: “All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers.  And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.  And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.  Thy raiment (clothing) waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.  Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee.  Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.  For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.  When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.  Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.  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.  And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.  As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.”

Could it be reasonably argued that God’s blessing upon His people in Old Testament times was demonstrated more by material prosperity than His blessing upon His people now?  I believe so.  At the same time, unlike now, God’s worship was entwined with a political nation in Old Testament times- and the Bible says the following things concerning nations in general at all times.

Proverbs 14:34: “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”

Jeremiah 18:7-10: “At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.  And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.”

Add into the equation as well that sometimes even material prosperity can be a curse.  The Old Testament makes it abundantly clear that God dealt with Israel in that way as well as a matter of judgment.

Psalm 106:9-18: “He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.  And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.  And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.  Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.  They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.  And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.  They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord.  The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram.  And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.”

The Old Testament even has much to say about people becoming rich through wicked deeds.  Such people are surely cursed rather than blessed.  All such people are also covetous.  

Psalm 10:2-3: “The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.  For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.”

Jeremiah 5:23-31: “But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.  Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.  Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.  For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.  As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.  They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.  Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?  A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?”

The Old Testament leaves no doubt that many rich people are children of the devil who should not be admired nor followed nor praised.

One obvious example of this is Nabal (see 1 Samuel 25:2-3).  Egypt’s Pharaoh when the Exodus occurred, Haman, and Ahab and Jezebel are a few more obvious examples.

Psalm 49:6-20: “They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.  For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.  Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.  Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.  This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings.  Selah.  Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.  But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me.  Selah.  Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.  Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.  He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.  Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.”

Psalm 73:1-20: “Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart (my note- that is proof right there also from the Old Testament that the faithful people of God whom He regards as His own are not, and were not,  synonymous with the natural Israelites- even when the political nation of Israel was God’s nation which He had set apart for Himself).  But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh (near) slipped.  For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm.  They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.  Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.  Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.  They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily.  They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.  Therefore his people return hither (here): and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them.  And they say, How doth God know?  and is there knowledge in the most High?  Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.  Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain (my note- this is what the Psalmist was saying before- he is now acknowledging his error), and washed my hands in innocency.  For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.  If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children.  When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.  Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.  How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!  they are utterly consumed with terrors.  As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.”

It has been talked about in previous studies (“Don’t be Tainted by the Prosperity Gospel- Not Even the Slightest Bit” and the “Rich Young Ruler” study) that people who are both rich and righteous at the same time are exceptions rather than the rule- and how this was even so in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament times.  

In the New Testament, we read in 1 Timothy 6:6-10: “But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and raiment (clothing) let us be therewith content.  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.  For the love of money is the root of all evil (or, all sorts of evil): which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

When the Apostle Paul wrote this he was not betraying his Hebrew background.  He was saying exactly what the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament already taught.

Proverbs 27:20: “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”

Ecclesiastes 5:9-17: “Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.  He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.  When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving (except) the beholding of them with their eyes?  The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.  There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.  But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.  As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.  And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath labored for the wind?  All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.”

Proverbs 23:4-5: “Labor not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.  Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?  for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.”

Proverbs 28:22: “He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.”

It has always been exceedingly hard for one to be rich and not make their confidence in their riches a rival to God.

Proverbs 18:10-11: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.  The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit (imagination).”

Job was an exceptional rich man in the Old Testament.  Look at several aspects of the consideration he had for the rights of others who were lower in social status than himself, how he actively aided the needy in their affliction, and how he really did not make his wealth  a refuge in his own imagination like the materially rich tend to do.

Job 31:13-25: “If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me; What then shall I do when God riseth up?  and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?  Did not he that made me in the womb make him?  and did not one fashion us in the womb?  If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb;) If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate: Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.  For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.  If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much…”

The rich man in Luke chapter 16 who went to hell, and was crying as he was tormented there, had already been told through what was already written in the Jews’ own Scriptures of the torment he was heading towards in neglecting the beggar who was laid outside his gate full of sores.  

Jeremiah 22:13-19: “Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbor’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.  Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar?  did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?  He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him (this is speaking of King Josiah): was not this to know me?  saith the Lord.  But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness (this is speaking of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim), and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.  Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!  He shall be buried with the burial of an ass (donkey), drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”

Proverbs 21:13: “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.”

The Old Testament doesn’t justify anyone’s covetousness.  The New Testament doesn’t either.  They were both inspired by the same God whose moral principles never change.  Covetous people who seek to honor the God of the Bible with their lips will resort to anything they can to justify themselves before men and to deceive themselves as well concerning their own hearts.  Yet nothing in the Bible, Old or New Testament, can rightfully be used to violate the principles and examples which the Bible uses to diagnose, rebuke, and correct covetousness without labeling evil as good and attacking the Lord’s own steadfast and unchanging character.

Aaron’s email is: gospeltruth768@yahoo.com

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