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ETERNAL
makes our way prosper
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The Tanakh definition of prosperity is for us to have food to eat, the right weather, the right opportunities, things to work at, right relationships. It is a blessed life but not a self-indulgent one. The
covenant promises about the ‘Promised Land’ say it is a good land to
farm in or work in. We can have the land but we have to work in it. When
the next Temple is built and the priesthood is restored. The sacrificial
system will be available for us to make offerings from the produce of
our working. The
story of Joseph, read it in chapter 39 of Deuteronomy, shows us a man
who, although sold into slavery by his bothers, is so obviously being
blessed by ETERNAL that his ‘owner’ and later jailer give him
positions of authority and respect. Joseph is prospering but he is not
yet free. Later
Joseph is made second-in-command of the kingdom of Egypt and is in
exactly the right place to save his family from famine. ETERNAL made his
way prosper. When
ETERNAL commissioned Joshua to lead the people, after the death of
Moses, the key to a successful life was spelled out. Joshua
1:7,8. But you must be very
strong and resolute to observe faithfully all the Teaching that My
servant Moses enjoined upon you. Do not deviate from it to the right or
to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Let not this
Book of the Teaching cease from your lips, but recite it day and night,
so that you may observe faithfully all that is written in it. Only then
will you prosper in your undertakings and only then will you be
successful. This
is very clear cut. The Teaching, [Torah], contains the information we
need to have our way prosper. This is way beyond a blind, unthinking
obedience to bring us to a point where we love, and seek to understand,
the Creator of the Universe. We seek to do His will, knowing that He
loves us and calls us to Him. There is no better way to live. King
David, in his dying words to Solomon, makes this point again: 1
Kings 2:3 Keep the charge of ETERNAL your Creator, walking in His ways
and following His laws, His commandments, His rules and His admonitions
as recorded in the Teaching of Moses, in order that you may succeed in
whatever you undertake and wherever you turn. While
Solomon was obedient he was blessed abundantly – his later
disobedience led to his son losing most of the kingdom. It is better for
us to learn from other peoples’ mistakes than to insist that we make
all the same mistakes for ourselves. Isaiah
joins in the chorus of great advice that will help us prosper: Isaiah
48:17,18. Thus said ETERNAL
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; “I ETERNAL am your Sovereign,
instructing you for your own benefit, guiding you in the way you should
go. If only you would heed My commands! Then your prosperity would be
like a river, your triumph like the waves of the sea” This
seems an ‘offer too good to refuse’. The Creator of the Universe,
who wants you to prosper, is offering you instructions, guidance and
abundance. Take it in and act upon it, He will make your way prosper.
This is one of the many times that ETERNAL makes it clear that He is the
Redeemer, no one else can do that. King
Uzziah, read about him in 2 Chronicles, chapter 26, was renowned, and
very successful, while he was worshipping ETERNAL. Not only was he a
good king but ETERNAL gave him many ideas for new defences for Jerusalem
and for organizing the army. However he became arrogant and died a
leper. ETERNAL
will make our way prosper, as we give Him the opportunity. He will not
make you succeed against your will! We have to immerse ourselves into
the Teachings of the Torah. Turn
first to ETERNAL, it is He who truly loves you, will guide you and give
you a framework for your life as you follow in His ways, judgments and
commandments. He will make your way prosper. |