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In the book of Genesis, when Adam and Eve were kicked out of Eden, God said to them in Genesis 3:17-19 (New Living Translation): “…the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made…”
When God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt, God reversed that Genesis curse. God led Israel to a good land, on condition that they worship him – we read about this in Deuteronomy 8:6-9. The good land for Israel was a place with abundant resources, a place where they were sure to have a good harvest for their labor, and a good reward for their industriousness. However, God did not end there.
Deuteronomy 8:18 (King James Version) says: “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.”
Deuteronomy 8:18 (New Living Translation) says: “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.”
God brought Israel to a good land, and gave them the ‘power’ or ‘ability’ to produce wealth from the resources. Bible scholars note that this verse refers to both physical strength and mental capacity (wisdom, intelligence, leadership) to create wealth.
Today, we can pray for this power, ability, capacity to create wealth. We are not citizens of the nation of Israel, however, as Christians, we worship the God that blessed Israel, and has extended the same grace to followers of Jesus. In 2023, wherever we find ourselves, may the Lord bless us and give us the “power to get wealth”.
To God be the glory, Amen!
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