“However, his sons did not follow his way of life; they turned off it to pursue riches, so that they would take bribes to distort justice.”-1 Samuel 8:3
So we’re told Samuel’s sons Yoel and Aviyah rejected their father’s godly way of life to pursue riches.
The King James Version says “they turned aside after lucre”.
The NIV says “they turned aside after dishonest gain”
Yet other translations will say “they profited from dishonesty” or “they were bent on gain”.
Depending on which Bible translation you read, you get the impression that Samuel’s sons acted more like cold and calculating businessmen rather than holy men who administrated God’s justice.
That’s not correct.
We need to go to the original Hebrew to grasp the proper nuance.
The original Hebrew word in this verse is BESA and it specifically means to gain wealth through dishonest means.
It isn’t just that Samuel’s sons were interested in getting money…
They attempted to get the money by bribing and bullying the people.
Isn’t it interesting this was almost a repeat of what happened with Eli and his two scoundrel sons?
Sons who were cursed by God because of their behavior I might add.
For whatever reason, the same fate seemed to have followed Samuel and his family.
So here’s your takeaway for today.
The Scriptures are not against one attaining wealth or even great wealth…
Abraham, Job, Solomon and Joseph of Arimathea were all wealthy and prominent men.
What the Scriptures are against is attaining wealth through dishonest and deceitful means...
Which usually seems to happen when we turn money into an idol.
I would say this is the biggest problem in the world today.
We automatically pay more respect and admiration to someone just because they’re rich…
Let’s not forget what the Torah says:
“You shall remember the LORD your God,
for it is he who gives you power to get wealth,
that he may confirm his covenant
that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
-Deuteronomy 8:18
Notice the 2 key points in that verse.
FIRST, it is the Lord our God who gives us the power to get wealth…
Not our MLM side hustle…
Not our New Age affirmations…
And not our own wits and business cunning.
SECOND, the purpose of wealth is to ultimately confirm the covenant God made with His people.
Not to buy 20 Lamborghinis…
Not to impress the opposite sex.
Not to fly off to Thailand and bang 20 whores in one night.
And NOT to retire with millions and millions of dollars in our bank accounts.
There is really no other reason.
The purpose of wealth IS TO ESTABLISH THE COVENANT GOD MADE WITH HIS PEOPLE.
Period.
Ya feel me?
I’ll leave that for the takeaway today.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“For the love of money
is the root of all evil:
which while some coveted after,
they have erred from the faith,
and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows.”
-1 Timothy 6:10
“Suppose a man comes into
your meeting wearing a gold
ring and fine clothes, and a
poor man in filthy old clothes
also comes in. If you show
special attention to the man
wearing fine clothes and say,
‘Here’s a good seat for you,’
but say to the poor man,
‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on
the floor by my feet,’ have
you not discriminated among
yourselves and become judges
with evil thoughts”
-James 2:1-4
“Command those who are rich
in this present world not to be
arrogant nor to put their hope
in wealth, which is so uncertain,
but to put their hope in God,
who richly provides us with
everything for our enjoyment.”
-1 Timothy 6:17
“And Yeshua told them this parable:
‘The ground of a certain rich man
yielded an abundant harvest.
He thought to himself,
‘What shall I do? I have no
place to store my crops.’
Then he said, ‘This is what
I’ll do. I will tear down my
barns and build bigger ones,
and there I will store my surplus
grain. And I’ll say to myself, ‘
You have plenty of grain laid
up for many years. Take life easy;
eat, drink and be merry.’
But God said to him, ‘You fool!
This very night your life will be
demanded from you. Then who
will get what you have prepared
for yourself?”‘ This is how it will
be with whoever stores up things
for themselves but is not rich
toward God.'”
-Luke 12:16-21
Leave a Reply