The blessing of the Lord brings wealth,
without painful toil for it.
Summary: Looking for Jesus is sometimes like looking for Easter eggs. We have to be in the right position to see what God has hidden from the world.
Oh, yes!! Wealth without toil!! Woo Hoo!! All we need is the Lord’s blessing and we can be rich!
I am reminded of the saying Jesus gave to his disciples:
He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand’.” (Luke 8: 10)
The “knowledge of secrets” are given to some, and others get the parables. Is God trying to make it difficult for us to understand him? Then there is the whole “God is Spirit” thing (John 4:24). What does it mean to be a spirit?
Then there is this passage from Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus:
“Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.” (John 3: 11-13)
Why is Jesus speaking of himself in the third person plural? Where is this place called “heaven” that no one besides himself has ever visited? What is going on here?
The Bible is full of parallels. The parallel worlds of this life we know and the spiritual world we cannot know. The dual realms of knowledge and parables. And we haven’t even touched on the topic of the physical life we know and the spiritual life the Bible talks about.
Understanding what God is telling us through Solomon requires that we look at the Bible a certain way. It is a bit like an Easter egg hunt. (Bear with me here…)
This Easter our youngest son helped me “hide” Easter eggs for his older brother’s four kids. While I was “hiding” them in places like the middle of the lawn or on a chair on the deck, my son was really hiding them. When the kids came, all of grandpa’s eggs were found within five minutes. The rest of the eggs hidden by their uncle took longer to find. Much longer.
The reason it took longer, in addition to quite a bit of coaching from the person who hid them, was that they were well hidden. My son claimed that the eggs were “in plain sight.” Technically, this was true, but only if your head happened to be in a certain spot and you were looking in a certain direction and you patiently examined every nook and cranny in your field of view.
Once you saw the egg, yes, it could be seen. You didn’t have to lift a rock or a leaf to “see” it as long as you looked at it from that certain point of view. The Bible is a bit like that. God has hidden his Word in plain sight, but you have to be looking at it from a certain point of view to see it.
What is that point of view?
The prophet Micah sums it up quite nicely:
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
So what kind of “wealth” does God offer us that we can get without toil? In Luke 16:11 Jesus distinguishes between worldly wealth and “true riches.” Hmmm… Could it be that Solomon is talking about wealth that is not worldly?
Yes. That is exactly the point.
Paul, in his letters, is continually referring to the riches of knowing God. Be it God’s grace (Ephesians 1:7), his wisdom and knowledge (Romans 11:33), or his glory (Philippians 4:19).
If you don’t see it yet, you are not looking at it the right way. When you do see it, you won’t ever want to leave.
Application: Do a quick vision check: Do you see the wealth that the Lord brings?
Food for Thought: What does the “wealth” that the Lord brings look like to you?
As I read your blog this morning, and your Easter egg story, I thought about how finding your son’s eggs required the looker to really clear their mind, diligently search, and focus on a specific task verses skipping along waiting for the eggs to appear near their feet or in their line of sight. To me that seems less “toilsome.” (lol) Also, I find that scripture talks about slowing down, being open to the Holy Spirit’s leading, and thinking things through. Just some thoughts.
What does the “wealth” that the Lord brings look like to you?
I used to be very concerned about money, I had really given it power over me. If someone owed me money, I had a hard time not thinking about it. I also would shore money away for “a rainy day” and put my sense of security in it. It took along time for the Lord to help me break out of that box, once He did though, I have less money but way more wealth. I believe God gives needs to one and excess to another, so that we can come together and help each other. I find this same idea correlates into other areas of my life. Time is really the only thing I can give someone else, and it is something I can neither store up, or know how much I really have. When I can share my testimony, give my time, use my recourses to help others, then I feel truly wealthy. And it is very “non toilsome.”
Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Chris,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts this morning. Personally, I think seeing the true meaning of God’s Word is a lot easier than finding Easter eggs my son has hidden! As to wealth, I appreciate your thoughts on money and true riches. My experience has been similar.
What does the “wealth” that the Lord brings look like to you?
The girl that I love reading scripture to me.
Sorry I answered. Before I read the blog.
Awww… 🙂
⭐
It’s hard to explain what is intangible. The wealth the Lord brings is the blessing you receive when you go to serve someone and you feel like somehow you got more than you gave. The wealth the Lord brings is the moment of pure joy in the middle of turmoil. The wealth the Lord brings is the endurance to go through a difficult situation again if it means someone else will be better for it. The wealth the Lord brings is relationship.
A —
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. You remind me that sometimes it is easier to point to what isn’t than what is. Most of us live in a state of grace that is between heaven and hell. When we seek God we find heaven which is what you are describing. When we go the other direction we find loneliness and despair. The change in perspective can happen in an instant. Everything that seemed important suddenly turns to dust.
In our current world, the distance between God’s light and despair seems to be shrinking. People need to make a choice. I thank God that you and so many others who visit here are also sharing God’s light in the world.
Great message! Also, check out Malachi 3:10. God want you to test him and he will prove it to you! Thank you Lord!🙏
Thanks, Jim!
God does bless the faithful in many ways!
Hmm. Interesting question. Great thoughts.
I don’t have much to add so I will take a different angle. I do think the wealth God gives could be unique to each individual according to their gifts and talents. A speedy wide receiver has a wealth of speed with which they can glorify God. It reminds me of Olympic sprinter Eric Liddel who said, “God made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.” God May bless someone with material wealth who intend to give it all away toward eternal purposes. He has given something to all of us. The question is what we do with it and how we honor God with it. Like with the nation of Israel (Genesis 12: 1 – 3), perhaps He blesses us to be a blessing to others and glorify Him through what is given to us.
Thank you, Rich.
Great point! Blessings come in many forms. God is not a god of limitations, but of infinite good.
05-02-2022, Proverbs 10:22, What does the “wealth” that the Lord brings look like to you?
What cannot be bought or earned have been freely given to me by God’’s grace, through Jesus Christ. I have been set forever free of the burden of all my transgressions past, present and future, and the life I live today is ETERNAL LIFE. As an eternal being, I remain on earth, confined to this body which continues to function according to the will of God until His purposes have been accomplished through me. The very moment His last task is completed, this body will cease to function and I will be with Him.
Psalm 103:12, Romans 4:5, 6:23, John 3:15-16, Ephesians 2:5, 2:8, Titus 3:5-7
The guilt of 33 years of sin is a tremendous burden which is only fully realized and understood when it is instantly removed by God. In my case, I actually felt weightless for a period of time but the freedom of carrying a burden has become part of my life.
To receive sight, of God at work, hearing of His guidance, the ability to walk in humble obedience to His will, is given but will take the remainder of my physical life to develop and will only be complete when I am with Him. While I remain on earth I will be a child in the process of maturing.
There is an amazing since of freedom and confidence that comes with knowing I will never die. I fully understand this body is a temporary dwelling place, but I am merely in the process of being transformed into the person God knew I would become before creation.
God has made me a very wealthy man!
Sorry about that, hit post w/o my tag.
Ron,
You mention the knowledge of the gift of eternal life. What an amazing gift! Paid for by our Lord, Jesus. What a blessing.
I read an article today about the history of worldly man’s quest for eternal life. It is a quest tainted with desperation. From a physical perspective, a quest doomed to fail. Yet here we are, looking forward to eternal life with our Creator. Amen!