Deuteronomy 30:1 “When the time arrives that all these things have come upon you, both the blessing and the curse which I have presented to you; and you are there among the nations to which YHVH your God has driven you; then, at last, you will start thinking about what has happened to you; 2 and you will return to YHVH your God and pay attention to what he has said, which will be exactly what I am ordering you to do today — you and your children, with all your heart and all your being. 3 At that point, YHVH your God will reverse your exile and show you mercy; he will return and gather you from all the peoples to which YHVH your God scattered you. 4 If one of yours was scattered to the far end of the sky, YHVH your God will gather you even from there; he will go there and get you. 5 YHVH your God will bring you back into the land your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; he will make you prosper there, and you will become even more numerous than your ancestors. 6 Then YHVH your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your children, so that you will love YHVH your God with all your heart and all your being, and thus you will live. 7 YHVH your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hated and persecuted you; 8 but you will return and pay attention to what YHVH says and obey all his mitzvot which I am giving you today. 9 Then YHVH your God will give you more than enough in everything you set out to do — the fruit of your body, the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your land will all do well; for YHVH will once again rejoice to see you do well, just as he rejoiced in your ancestors.
What is the key to prosperity? I think we often migrate in our minds to things like money, wealth, health, etc.
But those that are mature would be quick to go above these things and perhaps say it’s relationships, honor, gratitude, etc that make you truly prosperous. And they wouldn't be wrong -- necessarily.
For most of us, we are seeking prosperity. In fact we tend to seek it above all else. We labor, we miss things that are happening around us, and we desire just a moment to ourselves. We have committed ourselves to nurturing our lifestyle above nearly everything else that is set before us.
Of course, when confronted with this challenge, we seek far and wide counter-examples to prove that we are not slaves to our lives. And we find them. That salve then covers over the wounds we have created and we then enter into a peaceful sleep. But it isn’t that peaceful, is it?
So what can we do? It seems Abba wants us to be prosperous, but is it supposed to be at the expense of such tremendous stress? I mean, how else can you secure the blessing He has for you unless you labor and prove yourself worthy.
Fast-forward to that fateful day in the Valley of Shechem. What do you think God will be most impressed with on the day you stand face-to-face with Him?
I think we can all agree it will not be your investment portfolio, your professional status, or your illustrious career. All things He gave us, right?
As we read these 9 verses in Deuteronomy, we see there is something nestled in there that defines what it actually means to be prosperous. Before we get there though, let’s walk through the progression outlined for us:
1 “When the time arrives that all these things have come upon you, both the blessing and the curse which I have presented to you; and you are there among the nations to which YHVH your God has driven you; then, at last, you will start thinking about what has happened to you;
We begin in exile. Seemingly random good and bad things seem to be happening to us. We eventually start to question our lives and begin considering what could be. We know there has to be more.
2 and you will return to YHVH your God and pay attention to what he has said, which will be exactly what I am ordering you to do today — you and your children, with all your heart and all your being.
Repentance comes. We want to know what He says life is like and how to live in His ways. Us and our children alike. We want Him with all of our heart.
3 At that point, YHVH your God will reverse your exile and show you mercy; he will return and gather you from all the peoples to which YHVH your God scattered you. 4 If one of yours was scattered to the far end of the sky, YHVH your God will gather you even from there; he will go there and get you.
So you enter into salvation. No matter how far away from Him you were, He’s welcoming you home. Your repentance is so dear to His heart, He comes and rescues from that place you have created for yourself. Instead of destroying you for how you lived, He shows you mercy.
5 YHVH your God will bring you back into the land your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; he will make you prosper there, and you will become even more numerous than your ancestors.
You will then be restored to your people. You will grow and become numerous in the place where you belong.
6 Then YHVH your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your children, so that you will love YHVH your God with all your heart and all your being, and thus you will live.
Covenant is established. The cutting of your stony heart and the hearts of your children will allow that covered and protected seat of love to open up and love Abba in the way you were initially created to do. Your gratitude overflows because you now see what all He has done for you and fountains of true love spring forth for your Beloved. Intimacy is established.
7 YHVH your God will put all these curses on your enemies, on those who hated and persecuted you;
Justice finally comes to those that hurt you. All this time, you have harbored unforgiveness because you wanted the guilty party to pay for their crimes. But it took you repenting, receiving salvation, being restored to your people (the Bride), entering into covenant with God and growing in intimacy with Him. Now He is free to bring your enemies to the place of repentance so perhaps they can take the same path you’ve taken. So their enemies can begin the process.
(note: Your unforgiveness could be preventing a landslide of repentance and salvation for many, many others. Today is the day of forgiveness.)
8 but you will return and pay attention to what YHVH says and obey all his mitzvot which I am giving you today.
Obedience is the natural next step. You follow His ways simply because you love Him and you know He loves you. You aren’t doing it to be saved, that’s already come. You aren’t doing it to be righteous, that’s already come. You aren’t doing it for His protection and provision, that has already come. You love Him and that’s enough.
9 Then YHVH your God will give you more than enough in everything you set out to do — the fruit of your body, the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your land will all do well; for YHVH will once again rejoice to see you do well, just as he rejoiced in your ancestors.
Ah, the culmination. The stuff we want: more than enough. The ultimate purpose of our lives, based on our own selfishness. Everything you touch becomes pure gold. And you have more than enough of that also. The fascinating thing is that He does have this laid out for you but only when you don’t care about it. Only when you have diligently and genuinely repented, accepted salvation, become the Bride, enter covenant, grow in intimacy, rejoice over justice for the purpose of salvation (not revenge), then walked in obedience because you want nothing more -- only now will those things be added to you.
You realize the place of the fruit of your body (wealth), the fruit of your livestock (riches), the fruit of your land (money). These things are not for you but for absolutely everyone else.
While it seems we have found the definition of prosperity, there is one more thing tucked in the dead center of this narrative.
Look closely at verse 5:
5 YHVH your God will bring you back into the land your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; he will make you prosper there, and you will become even more numerous than your ancestors.
Can you see it?
When you are in the Land he will make you prosper there -- you will become more numerous. Having stuff isn’t the key. Having people is. What is true wealth in the Kingdom? People.
And in the Land we are to become numerous. Growing His Kingdom. And growing it some more.
How is this done?
Well, you can adopt foreigners. Or you can purchase slaves. Or? By having your own children. Now if you are evil, it’s not a bad idea to avoid children. The world will be better off.
But if you are part of the Bride? You should seek to fill Her with as many people as possible.
It seems we inherently know that growing His Kingdom is part of what we are called to do. We try to do this through evangelism but what better way to grow the Kingdom than through your own dedicated efforts over a 20 year period. Slowly and steadily investing in them so that they enter into fullness with their Creator. That fullness is the Bride.
So what is true prosperity? Children.
Sadly, most of us have sold our children (or never had them) in order to gain a counterfeit prosperity.
It’s commonly taught that children are expensive. False. Your lifestyle is expensive. We tend to place our children on the altar of prosperity never even realizing they are what makes us prosperous. A mother whose children rise up and call her blessed -- that’s prosperity. A father whose children seek to walk in his path because He’s walking in the path of the Almighty -- that’s prosperity.
Psalm 127 (0) A song of ascents. By Shlomo:
(1) Unless YHVH builds the house,
its builders work in vain.
Unless YHVH guards the city,
the guard keeps watch in vain.
2 In vain do you get up early
and put off going to bed,
working hard to earn a living;
for he provides for his beloved,
even when they sleep.
3 Children too are a gift from YHVH;
the fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 The children born when one is young.
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
5 How blessed is the man
who has filled his quiver with them;
he will not have to be embarrassed
when contending with foes at the city gate.
Want to be prosperous? Bring as many people into Abba’s House as you can. And even investing in them half as much as you invest in your job will yield a harvest the world has never seen. Adding without reservation to the voices of those crying out to their Husband and Deliverer, “Come!”
Children are not a burden and they are not a hassle. They aren’t expensive and they aren’t an inconvenience. They are worth more than rubies and far more than your personal goals.
Matthew 6:31 “So don’t be anxious, asking, ‘What will we eat?,’ ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘How will we be clothed?’ 32 For it is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. 33 But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.