GOD’S BLESSING BRINGS RICHES.
“The blessing
of Jehovah it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”-Prov. 10:22.
HOW REASONABLE it
seems that those who become God’s friends, and especially those who are adopted
into his family as children, should be blessed of him in multitudinous ways, in
which others of mankind, who are aliens, strangers, and foreigners to him
through wicked works (Col. 1:21), should not be blessed. We look back into the
past and see father Adam, while in divine favor, very rich,-the possessor of
the whole world, filled with bounties. We read of father Abraham, “the friend
of God,” very rich in cattle and goods; and Jacob, altho losing all inheritance
in his father’s estate, was blessed of the Lord, so that he became very rich in
flocks and in herds. So Israel was promised that if as a nation they would be
obedient to the Lord they should be blessed in all of their temporal affairs;
their land would bring forth bountifully; they would not be afflicted with
drought or pests; their flocks and herds should prosper and multiply
exceedingly, and even their physical health was provided for, so that God
guaranteed them that abiding in his favor as a people they should not be subject
to pestilences, diseases, etc., for the Lord himself would be their physician
to preserve to them health and every prosperity.
However, with the introduction of the new age, the Gospel age, came a
great change-not in the divine plan, but in the divine dealings; and henceforth
the favored of the Lord were not promised earthly blessings and good things,
nor immunity from sickness and pain and persecution; but to the contrary of
this, they were assured that whoever would be received into God’s family on the
high plane of sonship, begotten of the spirit, and, prospectively, heirs of God
and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ their Lord, would be required to pass through
experiences of suffering more than others; of trials of faith and of patience
and of character to which others would not be subjected; and they were
instructed that these adversities should be accepted by them as marks of divine
favor, as evidences that God was dealing with them as with sons, and by
these experiences fitting and preparing them for positions of honor, and
untellable blessings in the future. (Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12; Heb. 12:6-8.) “Eye
hath not seen, neither hath ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart
of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him; but God hath
revealed them unto us by his spirit.”-1 Cor. 2:9,10.
In harmony with this change of dispensation, we find the New Testament
declaration to be to the effect that those accepted to this high honor of
sonship (John 1:12) should not expect earthly riches or temporal blessings or
marks of divine favor, but that, quite to the contrary, the Apostle says,
“Harken my beloved brethren: hath not God [as a rule] chosen the poor of this
world, rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he hath promised to them
that love him?” (James 2:5.) And again he assures us that not many great, not
many rich, not many mighty, not many wise, according to the course of this
world, are to be found amongst the called and sanctified sons of God. -1 Cor.
1:26-29.
From the foregoing Scriptures and many others we see, not only that those
who become the Lord’s sons are very rarely blessed with temporal riches, but we
see also that the principle extends still further, and that very few who
possess earthly riches in advance of hearing of the truth are very likely to
attain the high calling of this Gospel age. This is not because God is opposed
to riches, for he himself is rich above all others. It is rather, we might
say, the outworking of a natural law or principle which has its force in the
fact that all mankind, by reason of the fall, are selfish. The possession of
wealth in combination with selfishness leads to a measure of satisfaction with
present circumstances and conditions unfavorable to faith in God’s heavenly promises.
The wealthy, selfish, satisfied soul says to itself, Eat, drink and be merry;
enjoy your advantages; take your pleasure out of these, rather than speculate
respecting future advantages and future riches, which are intangible, and which
must be accepted by faith. It is in harmony with this that our Lord declared,
“How hardly [with what difficulty] shall they that have riches enter into the
Kingdom of God!”-Mark 10:23.
By this term, the Kingdom of God, our Lord evidently did not refer to the
earthly nominal church, for we are all aware that the rich men find very little
difficulty in getting into it. Evidently he referred to the real Kingdom, the
glorified Kingdom which shall be established in the end of this age, the
Millennial Kingdom. It will be difficult for a rich man to obtain membership
in this glorified body of Christ, to which the Kingdom work will be entrusted.
But why is this so?
The reason is that God, desiring to select in this Gospel age a peculiar
people to be the kings and priests and judges of the world in the next age,
desires to select for the rulers and teachers only such as will come up to
certain tests or requirements of character and obedience. One of these
requirements is sacrifice -self-sacrifice-and hence all of this class now being
selected are Scripturally designated a priesthood-“a royal priesthood,” because
royalty eventually is to be added to their office, partly as a reward for their
faithfulness as priests in sacrificing the present life, and partly to enable them
as priests in the future the better to serve and bless all the families of the
earth.
The beginning of these terms or conditions of this age was with the great
Head of the Church, our Lord Jesus-he must sacrifice ere he could be made the
King, and have the power and authority to bless. His sacrifice, as is well
known, was a comprehensive one; it began with the sacrifice of his riches, and
ended with the sacrifice of his life. “He was rich, yet for our sakes became
poor, that we through his poverty might [eventually, in the Millennial Kingdom]
be made rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9.) His wealth, consisting of heavenly glory and,
subsequently, of human talents, and every kind of good possessions, was all
sacrificed, including even his reputation, so that the Apostle declares, “He
made himself of no reputation.” His will also was sacrificed,-the strongest
individual thing that any being can possess; as he himself declared, he sought
not his own will, but the will of the Father who sent him. His life, the most
precious thing to any intelligent creature, was freely laid down, a sacrifice,
a sin-offering, in harmony with the divine plan, on our behalf.-Phil. 2:5-8-Diaglott.
But all these sacrifices led, under divine providence and promise, to
still greater riches, greater honors and greater powers, as the Apostle, after
reciting how our Lord humbled himself and became obedient to death, even the
death of the cross, declares,-“Wherefore, [as a reward for this sacrifice] God
hath highly exalted him, and hath given him a name that is above every name;”
he has been exalted “far above angels, principalities and powers, and every
name that is named.” He has been given a name more excellent than all others,
that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. (Phil.
2:9-11.) It is by virtue of his sacrifice of riches and honors and will and
life itself that our dear Redeemer is now the great and glorious Royal High
Priest, with all power in heaven and in earth, which he soon will take to
himself. (Rev. 11:17.) Soon he will exercise it in accomplishing the wonderful
work which he already has begun, and which it is the Father’s good pleasure
that he shall complete; viz., of subduing all things, and bringing all sin and
rebellion against divine authority into subjection, rescuing so many as desire
to return to harmony with their Creator and his laws, and destroying with an
everlasting destruction all who love and practise sin knowingly and wilfully.
These, our dear Redeemer’s experiences, are set before believers as an
example; and so many as desire during this Gospel age, and under its high
calling, are permitted to become his followers, and to walk in his footsteps-to
have fellowship in his sufferings, sharing in his sacrifice, that ultimately
they may be sharers with him in the glorious rewards. As a matter of fact,
none of these followers have anything of value to sacrifice. It cannot be said
of them, as of their Redeemer, that they were rich and became poor; on the
contrary, they are all poor as respects everything that could be considered
true riches. Even their own righteousness was as filthy rags, which needed to
be replaced with the imputed robe of the Savior’s righteousness
(justification), ere they could be invited to be his followers.
But while none called to the under-priesthood possess any real riches,
each one possesses something of some value in his own estimation; some possess
a little honor amongst men; some possess a little of this world’s goods,
bringing measurable comforts; some possess talents capable of exercise and
development; each one possesses a will, more or less weak and imperfect; and
each one possesses a little fragment of life which has not yet flickered out.
The invitation to each would-be royal priest is, that being justified by faith
through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, he should sacrifice his all,
and thus be reckoned a joint-sacrificer with the great Redeemer, as having
fellowship with him in his sufferings, that he might also share in his glory.
(Rom. 8:17.) This is the particular feature of this Gospel age: it is the age
of sacrifice and self-denial as respects all earthly blessings
and privileges and advantages. And the object or hope inspiring to such
sacrifices of present things is, that all such shall be made partakers of far
greater riches of glory, honor, immortality and eternal life, in the Kingdom.
Thus we have the key to the difference between God’s dealings with his faithful
ones in this present age, and his dealings with some of his faithful ones in a
preceding age.
From this point of view earthly riches of every kind, opulence of money,
of influence, of talent, should not be despised by the Lord’s people, but, on
the contrary, should be appreciated-not after the worldly manner of
appreciation, for selfish interests and purposes, but because those who possess
riches of any kind, have that much more than they otherwise would have to offer
upon the Lord’s altar as a sacrifice in his service, to glorify his name, to
advance his truth, to bless his people. But the consecrated should keep ever
in mind that this is the only value of any kind of riches to them: they are not
to seek to keep these riches, but to seek opportunities for using them wisely,
-spending them all to the very last farthing.
There are some who are rich in talents, and who could, if they would, turn
those talents into the service of the Lord and the Truth; and they make a great
mistake and lose a precious opportunity if they hold them for themselves in any
selfish manner or degree. There are those who have more or less of the money
talent, earthly riches, and they make a great mistake if they hoard these; for
their only value as respects the Kingdom, its glories, its riches and its
honors, is in using them, now. If they hold and hoard their earthly riches
they are burying their talent, their opportunity, instead of using it; and such
will demonstrate to themselves eventually the meaning of our Lord’s words, “It
is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter
into the Kingdom.” (Luke 18:25.) He cannot get into the Kingdom at all except
as he strips himself of his riches,-sacrifices them, devotes them to the Lord.
However, the stripping of oneself of riches, sacrificing riches, does not
signify the reckless and wasteful disposition of them; rather, all riches of
every kind should be considered consecrated to the Lord at the time their
possessor consecrates himself and his all to God’s service; and thenceforth
those riches should be used, not as his own, but as the Lord’s riches, the
Lord’s talents, to be used according to the steward’s understanding of the
divine will. But certainly no steward is faithful who hoards and accumulates
to hand down selfishly to his own posterity. We are not here opposing a
reasonable provision being made for the steward’s household, as the Apostle
enjoins (1 Tim. 5:8; Rom. 12:17), but we are opposing the thought that God has
ever authorized his stewards to avoid using their stewardship, and to attempt
to pass that stewardship onward at their death, to others.
This is one of the fallacies with which many deceive themselves, for, as
the Scriptures declare, the natural mind (heart) is exceedingly deceitful and
at times misleads the new creature, the new will, the new heart. (Jer. 17:9.)
It is for this reason that God in his Word gives us in so many ways line upon
line, precept upon precept, that we may know the terms of our calling, that
they are terms of sacrifice and not of acquisitiveness as
respects earthly things,-that knowing this we may make our calling and our
election sure by conformity thereto,-by becoming copies of God’s dear Son, “who
was rich [in every sense of the word, far beyond our comprehension], but who
for our sakes became poor [sacrificing it all].”
The Apostle speaks of the deceitfulness of riches; and on every hand we
may witness this deceitfulness: we see how often earthly wealth deceives and
misleads and corrupts the reasoning powers, and turns aside the force of God’s
Word to those who possess it. We see the same in respect to the wealth of
influence, how those who possess this wealth frequently deceive themselves, and
hoard it, and refuse to sacrifice it for the truth, for the Lord, for his
cause. We see the same deception operating powerfully in those who possess a
wealth of talent in any direction; they feel like keeping all of it for self,
and if not all, the larger and choicer parts; they are deceived into thinking
this is the right course, notwithstanding the Scriptures so plainly declare
that our privileges in connection with these is that of sacrifice. As a
whole, then, we daily witness, as the Scriptures declare, that those who
possess any kind of riches, wealth, talent or influence, are rarely amongst the
sacrificers. We might almost say, Blessed are those who are poor in this
world’s goods, and in talents and in influence, for they having practically
nothing to sacrifice to the Lord but their wills, find it easier to comply with
the conditions, and we presume that the larger proportion of those who will
through faith inherit the Kingdom will consequently be of this poor class, rich
in faith only.-Jas. 2:5.
When we would see a noble example, like that of our Lord, who was rich in
everything, and who gave all, we rejoice in it, and realize that as his
sacrifice was so great his reward also is proportionately great. When we see
the noble example of the Apostle Paul, who possessing some considerable wealth
of ability, talent and influence, and possibly of financial means also, laid
these all, a willing, a glad sacrifice, at the feet of the Lord, laying them
all down with joy in God’s service, in the service of the truth, in the service
of the brethren, it causes our hearts to rejoice, and we feel sure that one so
rich, and who spent his riches so faithfully, will be one to shine very
brightly in the Kingdom, when it is set up and manifested. And so, undoubtedly,
it will be with all the royal priesthood,-in proportion as they have sacrificed
their possessions. Those who joyfully endure for the
Lord’s sake, the truth’s sake, the greatest shame, the greatest ignominy,
the greatest trials, the greatest persecutions in this
present life, and thus have experiences most like those of the Master and
Pattern, we may be sure will in proportion to their faithfulness manifested in
such sacrifices, have a future great reward;-as the Apostle has declared, “star
differeth from star in glory.”-1 Cor. 15:40-44.
HEAVENLY VERSUS EARTHLY RICHES.
We have said that the heavenly riches are to be attained in the
resurrection, when the Millennial Kingdom shall be inaugurated, and the
faithful overcomers, by their resurrection change, shall be richly endowed with
all the good things which God hath in reservation for them that love him, and
who prove their love by present-time devotions, sacrifices, etc. But, we
should notice that there is a foretaste of these heavenly blessings granted to
the faithful in this present life; these heavenly riches granted us now the
Apostle speaks of as “riches of grace” (Eph. 1:7,18), and these grace-riches
include faith, hope, and joy in the holy spirit and an ability to see and
appreciate with the eye of faith things actually not seen as yet. The Apostle
declares that these treasures of wisdom and grace-knowledge of divine good
things in reservation, and the fellowship with God which permits us to
anticipate and enjoy those blessings in a measure now, are all hidden in
Christ, “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Col.
2:3.) We must come into Christ, as members of his body, the true Church, by
sacrifice,-before we can have the opportunity of even searching for these
hidden treasures, or of finding any of them. And then, as we progress
faithfully in our sacrificial service, as priests, walking in the footsteps of
the great High Priest, we find more and more of these true “riches of grace”
day by day, and year by year, as we progress.
Moreover, another kind of riches comes to the royal priesthood, faithful
in performing their self-sacrifices. These are riches of the holy spirit. They
find as they sacrifice the selfish interests, earthly aims, earthly projects,
etc., in the service of the Lord and the Truth, that they grow more and more in
likeness to their heavenly Father and to their Lord, and that the fruits of the
holy spirit abound in them more and more-meekness, patience, gentleness,
brotherly kindness, love.
Furthermore, they find a peace and a joy to which formerly they were
strangers, and which the world can neither give nor take away. This peace and
joy come through a realization that having given their all to the Lord, all of
his exceeding great and precious promises belong to them. Now their
faith can firmly grasp these promises as their own; they can realize that as
their justification and call were not of themselves, but of the Lord, so all
their course of sacrifice, in harmony with that call, is under divine
supervision and care, and sure to work out blessings; and that to whatever
extent they shall work out earthly hardships, trials and sufferings, God will
proportionately make them to work out a far more exceeding and an eternal
weight of glory in the Kingdom.-2 Cor. 4:17.
With this peace of God and confidence in his leading and care, they can
apply to themselves the prophetic statement, “All the steps of a righteous man
are ordered of the Lord, and he [the righteous man] delighteth in his way.”
(Psa. 37:23.) They can delight in this way, be it ever so thorny and narrow
and rugged, because of their confidence in God’s love and wisdom, and that he
who began a good work in them is thus completing it and blessing them with
experiences which divine wisdom sees will be to their profit eventually. Thus
the Lord’s blessing is upon this class; and they realize indeed that, “The blessing
of the Lord it maketh rich.” How rich it makes their hearts in the present
time-rich in noble sentiments, rich in faith, rich in love, rich in good works
to all men as they have opportunity, especially toward the household of faith;
and very rich in God’s blessing and under his providential care, which, if
rightly accepted, will ultimately make these members of the Royal Priesthood
heirs of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ their Lord, in an inheritance
incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for
them.-1 Pet. 1:4.
LAODICEA’S COUNTERFEIT RICHES.
We have been considering the true riches, present and future, provided for
the true Israel, the Church of the first-born, whose names are written in
heaven, and whose Head is Christ. But the Scriptures draw to our attention the
fact that the nominal church of this present time, symbolical Laodicea (Rev.
3:17,18), claims also to be very rich. “Thou sayest, I am rich and increased
in goods, and have need of nothing.” Alas! This seems to be the prevalent
condition of nominal churchianity on every hand. Only the few in her who are
Israelites indeed, and who have not yet heard and obeyed the voice speaking in
this harvest-time, and saying, “Come out of her my people, that ye be not
partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues”-only these very few
know of the true riches; the remainder are deceiving themselves with a
counterfeit wealth. They look with pride upon their numbers, and count them by
millions: they rejoice in this wealth of numbers, not realizing that nearly all
are “tares,” not begotten by the good Word of the Kingdom;-indeed very few of
them know anything about the Kingdom at all, not being begotten of the Truth,
but begotten of error.
Laodiceans look upon their material prosperity, and the numbers of wealthy
people associated with their confederating denominations, and count their money
and their donations by millions, and say, We are rich as never before. Alas!
that they do not realize that these are earthly riches of the kind which our
Lord declares are no evidence of his favor during this Gospel age, but rather
to the contrary. And they see not the true riches which the Lord admires, and
which are the foretaste of his favor and the coming Kingdom wealth.
And so the Lord declares to Laodicea, “Thou knowest not that thou art
wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” She is poor, in that she
has so little of the Master’s spirit, so little of the Truth and the spirit of
the Truth. The only riches which God can recognize are those which he promised
to, and bestows upon his people in this present time. Laodicea is blind, in
that the god of this world hath blinded her perceptions of God’s character and
plan and is leading her further and further away from confidence in his Word,
under the guidance of her chosen and well-paid lords and masters, the clergy,
who under the name of Higher Criticism and Evolution are rapidly taking away
from her every good possession and thing which would be estimable in the sight
of the Lord, and who are thus denuding her, making her naked, taking from her
the robe of Christ’s righteousness, and leading her to trust, not in the
precious blood of the redemption, the death of the Redeemer, but to trust in an
evolutionary process which needs no Savior, which denies an atonement for sin,
yea, denies that there is, or has been any sin to make atonement for; and
claims, on the contrary that humanity has ground for pride in its own progress,
which will be quite sufficient eventually to bring to them every desired
blessing, without any Savior and without his Kingdom, which God has promised as
the hope of the groaning creation.-Rom. 8:19-23.
Laodicea is indeed counseled to buy the true gold, the true riches of the
Lord, and to use eye-salve that she may see, and to put on the garment of
Christ’s righteousness, that she may not be put to shame; but we have no
intimation in the Scripture that she will give any heed to this counsel; on the
contrary, the intimation is that more and more she will become a Babel of
confusion, and that she will go down with the political and financial systems
of this present age, in the great time of trouble with which this age will
terminate, and which will fit and prepare mankind for the Kingdom of God’s dear
Son, and its reign of righteousness. “When the judgments of the Lord are abroad
in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”-Isa.
26:9.
Then, with the new Millennial age, will come a new order of things, and no
longer will the blessing of the Lord entail sacrifice and self-denials, as at
the present time; because the sacrificing priesthood will all have been found
and proven and glorified. Then the blessing of the Lord will come, as to the
Jews, in earthly favors and earthly blessings, in proportion as they shall be
obedient to the laws of the Kingdom and to the spirit of those laws. “In that
day the righteous shall flourish”-flourish in all temporal prosperity, and in
mental, physical and moral growth, upward and still upward in the highway of
holiness; in that day the evil-doer will receive the stripes, and be at the
disadvantage; and, if he continue in evil-doing, ultimately he will be cut off
from amongst the people, -in the Second Death.-Isa. 35:8; Psa. 37:9; Acts 3:23.
“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded,
nor trust in uncertain riches,-but in the living God who giveth us [all his
people] all things [needful] to their rich enjoyment; that they do good; that
they be rich in good works, liberal, ready to bestow; treasuring up for
themselves a good preparation for the real life.”-1 Tim. 6:17-19.