The point being made here is this: God did not quibble about prosperity. He said what he meant: that he wants his children to prosper materially. The Bible clearly states that he indeed delights in the prosperity of His people. And indeed He did not just say it; He acted it all through biblical history. Indeed, God is so particular about the material wellbeing of His people that right from the onset, and all through biblical history, the Bible records how material prosperity was one of the distinguishing marks of His people. Perhaps some authentication will help here.
I was saying that a disproportionate concentration on the abuses of prosperity teaching is responsible for the kind of conclusion that many commentators reach about the subject. And I boldly declare, because I know it to be true, that far from been corruptive in its influence, wholesome prosperity teaching is indeed purifying.
But first, what is prosperity teaching or prosperity theology as Tony Nyiam put it in his three-part newspaper serial, The Corrupting Influence of Prosperity Theology, which is my inspiration for this contribution. The simplest way to answer this is by defining the word or concept “prosperity” as used in the Bible.
This is necessary because of a popular notion among opponents of “prosperity theology”, which Tony Nyiam strongly asserted in his write-up in these words: “It is often forgotten that the word 'prosper', in the spiritual sense, and the way it is used in the Scripture, means to excel in the totality of one's being - body, soul and Spirit. The biblical idea of prosperity is not the 'material prosperity' which many of our men of God mistake for the objective of prosperity theology. If that was not so, the Spirit of God, speaking through Zechariah, would not have questioned the already materially-rich King Joash and his people: "Why transgress the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper?" (2 Chronicles 24:20). It is not just about money, riches and other material wealth. Thus, in the Third Letter of John we are each wished ‘above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth’ (3 John 1:2).”
My study of the scriptures has shown that at its most basic, prosperity simply means success. And I wish to state that, no matter how much we try to spiritualise things, the word is used more in relation to the material, the earthly, the here and now, rather than in relation to the spiritual. Even in the famous 3 John 1:2, the beloved apostle had to make a distinction between the spiritual and the physical.
As for the King Joash example quoted above, it must be pointed out that Zechariah was simply doing what prophets do – prophesy, foretell or forth-tell. He was telling Joash what will become of him and his people, not describing their current state. And what he prophesied came to pass; their “prosperity” soon became somebody else’s spoil: “And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus (2 Chronicles 24:23).
Without turning this into a Bible study session, let’s check out a few of the Hebrew root words translated into prosper, prosperity, and prosperous in English.
One of the more commonly used is “tsalach,” which according to Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary means, “to push forward”. Literally or figuratively, it also means “break out, come (mightily), go over, be good, be meet, be profitable and prosper. Another one is “tobe” which simply means good, but which also translates, among others to, among others, favour, pleasant, pleasure, precious, prosperity, wealth and welfare. Another well-known one is “shalom”. Strong says this popular word literally means safe or safety. Figuratively and abstractly however, it is also rendered as well, happy, friendly; and welfare, that is, wholeness, health, prosperity and peace. You may know that it is used as a greeting among the Jews and some Christians. There is also “shelve” and it means security and prosperity.
The New Testament, incidentally, mentioned the word only thrice using the Greek root word “euodoo” which Strong’s dictionary says means contextually, “help on the road”, that is, “succeed in reaching” and figuratively, “to succeed in business affairs”. One can go on and on. No matter the context, you won’t find anywhere in the Bible where the word, prosper or prosperity was used to mean anything but the physical. Name the root word: is it sawkal, or halak; tselakh or shalah; shalev or kasher, none, absolutely none has any spiritual connotation.
The point being made here is this: God did not quibble about prosperity. He said what He meant: that he wants his children to prosper materially. The Bible clearly states that He indeed delights in the prosperity of His people. And He did not just say it, He acted it all through biblical history. Indeed, God is so particular about the material wellbeing of His people that right from the onset, and all through biblical history, the Bible records how material prosperity was one of the distinguishing marks of His people. Perhaps some authentication will help here.
The Bible records in chapter one of the book of Genesis how God created the heaven and the earth, the animals, birds and all else climaxing it with the making of man in his image and after his likeness. Verses 28-30 records what followed like this: “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
For the avoidance of any doubts, the word “bless” here takes its root from the Hebrew word “barak” which contextually means to confer benefit upon abundantly. In order words, God prospered man from Day One!
If that is not convincing enough, of God’s material prosperity agenda, let’s see the environment God placed his first man, as described in the Bible: “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2: 10-15).
Even when man fell and God eventually decided to begin again, as it were, through Noah, His prosperity plan did not change. Right after the first rain had ceased and the flood ended, what did he do? He blessed the new first family in these words: “ And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things” (Genesis 9:1-3).
Anyone faintly acquainted with the Bible knows about Abraham, the Abrahamic covenant and the great material prosperity that accrued from it. That he “…was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold (Genesis 13:2), even as Abram did not hinder his destiny as “father of many nations” Such was his material state that the Bible said of him towards the end of his earthly sojourn: “And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things (Genesis 24:1). And if you thought that was vague, listen to this testimony of his servant: “And he said, I am Abraham's servant. And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses (Genesis 24:34-35). (Continues Next Week)
PIX: Lt col Tony Nyiam(rtd)...inspired this serial
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