Since this is the time of the year when many people’s thoughts turn to the birth of Jesus Christ, it might be nice to look at how Jesus was born and lived.

Much of Christianity has depicted Christ, the Messiah, as a poor man, born to a poor family, lived life eking out a living as a poor carpenter, and died as a poor man on the cross.

Because of a lack of understanding of Eastern culture, religion (tradition) teaches that Jesus was a poor man.

Religion (tradition) says he was poor because he was born in a manger/barn, wrapped in rags, his father was a carpenter and he said of himself that he had not a permanent home. Therefore, they say at the end of his life he died a poor man on the cross.  And that if we are true disciples of this “poor man,” we should renounce all worldly possessions to follow him.

Here are a couple of quotes from some websites I found.

“The English word “swaddling” indicates that these were clothes in which a baby was wrapped.  But the Greek word translated “swaddling” indicates that these clothes were pieces of old castoff clothing which were cut up into strips and wrapped around a baby.  This surely was not the kind of clothing that a baby of rich parents would be wrapped in; he would be dressed in decent clothing.  But Jesus was wrapped in rags.  He was born poor; Joseph and Mary were poor.”

“Just as He was poor in respect of material things, so must we be ready to give up earthly riches to be His disciples.”

“This poverty of Jesus which was evident in His birth was an indication that He would be poor His whole life.  Jesus never was rich in material goods.”

A line from The Little Drummer Boy, “I am a poor boy too…”

I beg to differ!

To understand the topic of Jesus’s financial status in life one needs to start at and consider his birth.  From the book Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed, one can begin to understand Eastern customs regarding childbirth.  

“Whenever a son of a king, a prince, was born, that child was “salted” and “swaddled.”  To salt a child meant that soon after birth the newborn babe was gently washed with water having a small portion of salt in it.  Salt symbolized the qualities of truth and honesty.  Bathing a newborn in salt water indicated that the child would have these characteristics.  His words would be “salted”.”

(In other words, he would speak the truth.)

“After salting the newborn child, strips of fine linen cloth, about two inches wide, were then wrapped around his body.  These were called “swaddling clothes”.  The child was wrapped from head to foot, with only a part of his face being left uncovered so he could breathe.  The baby’s body and limbs were held very straight when wrapped in this fashion.  These linen strips were not rags and did not mean Joseph and Mary were poverty-stricken, but rather, this was a sign to God that these parents would raise the child to be upright before the Lord, and that he would be free from crookedness and waywardness. The babe (which now looked like a mummy) would normally be left in the swaddling clothes for only a brief period of time, (maybe 15 to 20 minutes) while the parent took time to meditate and make their commitment to God concerning the sacred trust which was given to them in having the child.”

“Salting and swaddling were recognizable as significant to an Eastern person.  In Biblical times, any child born to nobility or royalty would be salted and swaddled.  If this were not done, there would be doubt regarding the person’s integrity both in his youth and in his adulthood. …”
If the parents of a noble-born son had not salted and swaddled their son, the young man would always be suspected of being dishonest, unreliable and having no integrity.
But Joseph and Mary did bathe Jesus in salted water and then swaddled him because they knew he was the rightful heir of the throne of King David. If you knew a child was swaddled, you knew without saying that he had been salted.

Joseph and Mary had gone back to Bethlehem, their ancestral home, for the registration on the order of Caesar. Both were of the house of David, and Bethlehem was the home of King David.  Therefore, to Bethlehem they went.  So many people came there for the registration for the enrollment that the inn was full.  So, they bedded down in the manger which was a stone building behind the inn where the food and bedding for the animals were stored.  In our culture, it might be like a hayloft or a haymow.  They would have laid a sheet on the straw, and Mary and her newborn would have slept together as was the custom of mothers and newborns to sleep together in the lands and times of the Bible.

This bedding down in the manger was because the inn was full not because they were poor.  They were not poor, poverty-stricken people as we will see.

Sometime later the Bible says wise men, or Magi, came to see the young child. They brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  We have all seen pictures of three men, so-called “kings” coming with three small boxes.  The Bible does not refer to them as kings nor does it say there were three men.  It only names the three types of gifts the Magi brought.

In the lands and times of the Bible, there were three people you were required to bring a gift to if you were to visit them — kings, prophets and pregnant women.  In the record we are considering, these men came to see him who was born King of the Judeans, the Messiah.  They knew he was not just another king but the redeemer — the one prophesied about all through the Old Testament.

The Bible gives us a couple of examples of the types of gifts brought to a king or prophet.

2 Kings 5:5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he (Naaman) departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. (Raiment was so valuable at that time it was treated as money)

2 Chronicles 9:1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

This should give you an idea of the gifts brought to a king.  Much more than would fit into three small boxes!

Also because of the bandits that preyed on travelers in the lands and times of the Bible, most travelers traveled in very great caravans.

NOVA did a documentary many years ago called Searching for The Lost City of Ubar. Ubar was an instrumental city involved in the frankincense trade.  The large caravans of merchants came through it.  The searches found the old caravan routes, and the ruts were still there in the hard-packed ground.  The ruts were 70 camels wide with no indications of how deep the lines went.  This is how they traveled safely with their wealth in that day and time.  

So, when these Magi came to pay their respects to the heir of the throne of King David, most likely they came with a great caravan and a great number of presents.  It has been said that kings in the Eastern world many times had multiple sons because of the great wealth they were presented with at the time of their birth.  They became very wealthy men.

Now after the visit from these Magi, God spoke to Joseph:

Matthew 2:13-14 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

In today’s money, how much would it cost you to leave your home on an hour’s notice and move to another country? You not only have the expenses of travel, car rental, airline tickets, food, etc., but now you need to buy or rent a new home, furnish it and set yourself up in business again.  That would be expensive.  But Jesus’s father, God, just gave Joseph plenty of wealth to carry out what God asked him to do.  Joseph must have been a wise man that knew how to handle money and not waste it as the prodigal son did with riotous living.  That is interesting.

Then a few years later God came to Joseph again and told him it was time to return home, and he moved his family all over again.  Once again God had provided Joseph and Mary with all the funds they need to take care of God’s only begotten son. They moved back, got a new home and set their business up over again.  

From reading the parables in the Gospels one gets the impression that Jesus was raised in a home where there were servants because many parables deal with the goodman of the house and his servants.  He must have understood firsthand how a lord worked with servants.  Example:

Matthew 25:14-15 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

This understanding is not something a young poor man working at minimum wage would know about.

Luke 12:42-44 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.

Jesus well understood what it was like to live in a home with servants.

This teaching that Jesus was born poor, lived poor and died poor and that we are to renounce all worldly possessions to be a true follower of him falls into the category of doctrines of devils.  It has served to keep God’s children in bondage financially for centuries.

Another verse that is used to show Jesus was poor is in Matthew.

Matthew 8:19-20 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

They use these verses to say Jesus was a poor man.  This is an idiom or Eastern expression.  Foxes dig a hole when they have a mate and are ready to raise a family, and birds build a nest when they are ready to lay eggs.  Jesus was saying in an Eastern way, an idiom, “I am not married, I have no permanent place to stay and entertain you.”

The people loved Jesus and knew who he was.  Every home was open to him.  This was true of every holy man in Eastern culture.  He was not poverty-stricken, but he was simply not married and had no permanent resting place.  The man in the above verse was looking to be taken care of and not have to work.  Jesus knew this and thus his response.  

He wore a seamless tunic or robe.  

John 19:23 NIV When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

This seamless garment was very costly and was usually worn under the outer garment.  Mostly, only the wealthy and royalty owned them.  Most robes or tunics were made of two pieces of cloth sewn together.  However, his was woven from top to bottom as one continuous garment.  

Therefore, they cast lots for the tunic when he was crucified to see who would get it.  He was not a poor man.

I am not presenting this to encourage people to strive after riches, but my purpose here in writing about this is to show that Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten son, was well taken care of by his Father.  We have the same Father he did.  Jesus Christ is our brother.  There are a great many promises of prosperity God has put in His word for us, His children, to believe.

Born a poor man and died a poor man on a cross?   I beg to differ!

There are promises of prosperity to those who seek after God. This is an important principle to understand.  As long as God comes first in your life, as long as you trust in Him, He (God) has many blessings, promises in store for you. There are also warnings from God about having too great a desire to be wealthy.  So first we will look at the Promises.

Promises!

Deu 8:18  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.

Notice right in the verse, the first thing mentioned is that we are to remember the Lord our God; THEN He gives the promise that it is He that gives us the power to get wealth that He may establish His covenant. This puts to bed the idea that only the poor can be followers of Christ.

Here is another promise:

Deu 28:2-8   And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.  Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.  Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Again, we see the instruction to keep God first by the words “if thou shalt harken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.”

These are promises to those who seek God first.  Seek Him first, and He will prosper you tremendously.

Notice also the phrase “the Lord shall command the blessing upon thee…”

Leviticus 25:18-22  Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.  And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.  And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:  Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.  And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.

Notice once again the instruction to keep God first and then the phrase I will “command my blessing upon you.”

“Command the blessing upon” is a rare phrase, and here it is used referring to prosperity!

It is interesting that God could have said He would command the blessing upon many other things: their health, their country, and their children.  These things are blessed by Him, but God reserved this phrase for commanding the blessing upon their storehouses, their prosperity.  Reminds one of our opening verse in the book Poverty vs Wealth:  Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. The soul prospering and the keeping God first are very similar, and both are spoken of in conjunction with prosperity.  They are both part of learning how to walk with Him day by day.

Deuteronomy 28:11-13  And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.  The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.  And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

Here, the admonition to keep God first comes at the end of the section.  Look also at what else God says.

God will open to you His good treasure. God has many things stored up in abundance for His children.  God is a God of abundance.  He is not poverty-stricken Himself.   He does not need to stay up at night making a new source of energy because we are about to run out.  At the dawn of the industrial age, when abundant supplies of energy were going to be required to fuel it, whales were not sufficient to supply the growing need.  God showed man there was oil in the ground and how to get it out.  He has great storehouses or treasuries to draw from.

God promises us prosperity, that He will command His blessing upon our treasuries or storehouses.  Remember, prosperity or wealth is built over time.  It does not just fall out of the sky like gold coins showering down upon us.  (Not to say that God could not do that.)  Generally, prosperity is built like a house, one small piece at a time, like you might lay one brick on another to build a brick house. It says that through wisdom is a house built.  The house we build is a house for our families. The house we build will keep God first, will trust in Him, and will see the promises of His word come to pass because we believe what He said is true and faithful.

Jeremiah 17:5-8  Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.  For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful (anxious) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

Here, we are cautioned against having our hearts depart from God. God shows us the consequences if our heart does depart, but He also gives us His will and promise.  What a great promise it is!  We won’t even know when the droughts come because we shall still be growing and prospering.  It ought to be that way because, as His sons and daughters, we have a commitment to keep our Father first at all times.  Therefore, His hand is upon everything we do to see it prosper.  We are not alone in this process.

So, these promises we are looking at are for those who trust in and seek after God and his promises.

I would like to note here also that there are many principles regarding prosperity in the Bible.  It would make sense that to violate all but one and expect to see great results would not be wise.  For instance, let’s say I was a giver but I was not diligent to pay attention to my business.  Or I rarely thought about God, or I was excessively greedy or envious, or I never saved any money.  Things over the long haul will not work out well.  That is part of what this book is about:  to learn the principles, rightly, that God has placed in His word about prosperity and incorporate them into our lives.  They should be just like breathing.  We learn these principles just as we learn any other subject and change our minds accordingly.  Then we will have simply refined our walk with our Father.

What is a storehouse?   “I will command my blessing upon your storehouses.” Storehouses held the harvest of the fields. They are the places where you stored the abundance that you received back from having planted a good crop. Today, we have savings accounts. Droughts don’t affect us as much as economic cycles do.

2 Samuel 6:11-12  And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the LORD blessed Obededom, and all his household.   And it was told king David, saying, The LORD hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness.

The presence of God was in the ark so that the man had the presence of God in his house.  The Bible says we are God’s dwelling place now.  The reason this was written about the blessing that came upon Obededom when the presence of God was in his house was to show us what to expect in our lives as God’s sons and daughters.

Proverbs 28:20   A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

A faithful man, one who faithfully keeps God first and is faithful to work, will abound with blessings.  Do not be hasty.  Prosperity is built slowly over time.  Be patient.

Proverbs 8:21   That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.

Proverbs 6:6-8   Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:  Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

The food the ant gathers is put into her storehouse.  She saves it up.

Proverbs 10:3-4  The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.  He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

Very interesting!  It makes one wonder about those who beg along the streets.  The Word tells us clearly that the hand of the diligent maketh rich.  Go to work!!!

This may seem a little harsh.  In our culture, some people beg because they are ill or can’t find work for some reason and claim to be Christians and love God.   That may be true.  I don’t know every situation, but consider this:

Psalm 37:25   I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Proverbs 10:22   The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

One of the reasons for growing prosperity or wealth slowly over time is to give people the opportunity to learn the disciplines required to handle money.  If the disciplines are not present, then the money can destroy you.

On the radio one day, I was listening to a woman who had won the lottery. She shared how her family was all gone –  imprisoned, hooked on drugs, and now she was divorced.  She said “I had a nice family before we got all that money.  The money destroyed my family; I wish we had never had it.”  WOW!

I watched the documentary “Broke” in which one of the players said that the money will destroy your relationship with friends, your family and ultimately your life.

God provides wisdom in His word on how to deal with prosperity so that it is a blessing to our lives.

Warnings!

There are some who started out seeking after God and His Kingdom, but along the way, one of the things that got them off track was the deceitfulness of riches.

Mark 4:18-20  And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.  And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Being deceived by the money is a problem that God mentioned back in the last book of Moses.

Deuteronomy 8:11-18  Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:  Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;  And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;  Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;  Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.  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.

Deceived!

Once some people have seen the prosperity of God, they get distracted by the deceitfulness of riches, or their hearts get lifted up with pride. Then they think they did it all themselves.  So sad, but these are the people that the warnings are for.

As ones who seek after God first and foremost and trust in Him only, we need to be aware of the pitfalls so that we don’t allow ourselves to fall into those traps.

Some stayed on track and were not distracted by the prosperity.  Job comes to mind.

I listed for you in a previous chapter in the book Poverty vs Wealth,  many of the warnings that I learned growing up, and I am sure many of them are familiar to you.  Here they are again:

The love of money is the root of all evil.   … while some coveted after, they pierced themselves through with many sorrows.  Give what you have to the poor and follow me.  Those that love silver will not be satisfied with silver… Their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could wish. Not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre. Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

These are warnings or cautions to those who trust in their wealth and put money before God.

Proverbs 1:19  So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

Mark 10:24  And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

Psalm 73:3-9  For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.  Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish.  They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily.  They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.

Proverbs 28:20  A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

This is what we have been talking about.  Our life is our walk with God as His sons and daughters, doing His work to which He called us.  Prosperity is part of the icing on the cake, but it is not our life.

Luke 12:13-21 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.  And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.  And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:  And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?   And     he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.   And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many     years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?  So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

These verses are the cautions or warnings to those who put money, and their trust of money, before God.  If money, prosperity or wealth becomes that important to you, then you are just feeding on the wind.  In the end you have nothing.

In the following two places, the Greek word for silver is used.  In the first place, it is called the “love of money”.  In the second place, it is called “covetous,” which means having the love of silver or money.

1Timothy 6:9-11  But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 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.  But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

Luke 16:14  And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

These Pharisees, and those desiring to be rich referred to in these verses, loved silver more than God; they were covetous of silver.

These verses are some of the cautions or warnings against loving money more than God.  God wants us to love Him first, and then He wants to prosper us and bless our treasuries, but He also tells us that if we get out of bounds, we will only hurt ourselves.

The cautions or warnings are against allowing money to go to your head once you see prosperity in your life.

Most people start at the wrong end when looking for prosperity: their job, their business, some gold mine that will make them wealthy. I propose that you start on the fundamentals and build from there.

The church, because of wrong teaching, has not helped its members because the church has taught that to save is to not trust that God will meet your needs. So, those in authority in the church have spent most of their teaching time on the warnings and not on the promises.

If you are broke, you need to hear about the promises of God regarding His will for you to prosper and learn how He set life up for that to happen.

Many times it is the poorest of people who think the most about money because they don’t have any. This work is designed for you to sit down and rethink your finances, how you spend your money, what you spend it on, to line up your financial life more according to what God says in His Word.  Then, over a period of time, you can see a drastic change in your financial picture. Then, the money can lose its importance because you have the prosperity God wanted you to have. Then, it will be easier to attend upon the Lord without the distraction of money.

One of the great ways in which we can keep God first, whether we have little or an abundance, is to learn to give.

This, too, is all part of The Prosperous Life.