As Creator of the Universe, God has established the world using divine laws. There are moral/ ethical laws, relational/sexual laws, chemical/biological laws, laws of physics and justice, economic/financial laws, as well as other divine laws that God uses to providentially govern his creation.
“The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers” (Ps 24:1-2 ESV).
There is much wisdom to be found in the Bible for anyone seeking to build wealth, keep wealth, and use wealth in a manner that produces lasting and satisfying results. Theses six mini-studies are designed to be short and quick reads for people who want to honor God with their wealth.
First, let’s understand why the book of Proverbs in the Bible is an excellent source of wisdom in making money and handling money issues. Then we will discuss how to build wealth from a biblical perspective using biblical wisdom, primarily found in the book of Proverbs. And, lastly, we will interact with a number of proverbial sayings in the Bible that will help you discover God’s expectations on how we should spend our wealth.
1) What is a biblical proverb and why start here?
The book of Proverbs consists of seven collections of wise sayings. There are at least four authors with Solomon writing the most and being the most prominent of its authors (the wise, Agur, and King Lemuel (or his mother) are the other three). Hezekiah collected these sayings in the form we have them today. He did this during the Persian period (after 540 BC) and just before Alexander the Great conquered his known world. Around this time Hellenistic influences were developing among the Jews and thus an interest in “Sophia” or wisdom literature and sayings among the Ancient Jewish people.
However, these nuggets of wisdom have been around for a long time. Solomon actually wrote his proverbs around 950 B.C., making the initial collections of wisdom sayings about 3,000 years old. Not only are these sayings ancient, they have passed the test of time. They are ancient, have withstood time, and now are part of inspired Scripture. In other words, we start with Proverbs to learn how to build and spend wealth because, being God’s opinion on the subject, it’s the most reliable information we have. These ancient proven words of wisdom represent divine principles we can use to make godly decisions about money. These proverbs are based on the laws of creation used to establish the world and are written in the form of precepts to be applied to any generation as it considers financial concerns.
What makes a biblical proverb so insightful?
The uniqueness of a biblical proverb (Heb = misel (masal pl) in contrast to an old English proverb is that an English proverb is a short, pithy saying that is popularly understood and accepted by the general population, whereas, a Hebrew proverb (biblical) though it is also a short, pithy saying, is mainly understood and accepted among people who desire to honor the LORD.
A proverb is like a quick drawing (or stick drawing). It’s a parable expressed in a brief pithy sentence. It often includes a contrast between one thing and another. It’s not a law but a principle. A single proverb only offers one side of a coin. But when you gather all these “quick drawings together” you begin to see a mosaic of divine wisdom on a particular topic. So, in one sense, a biblical proverb is like a song or poem and should be interpreted like poetry: its words are rich with overtones and guidance.
There are some Psalms (poetic songs) that are proverbs. Look at Psalm 49. It’s a poem but it’s also a proverb. It’s a word of wisdom (vs 3) or what we call a proverb (vs 4) but it uses the form of a song. Verse twelve is the crux of the Psalm, “Man … is like the beast that perish.” Since this is poetic literature, yet also a proverb, its meaning is clear while its applications can relate to the various situation someone would find themselves in. To the lowly, it’s comforting to know the rich won’t dominate forever. To the wealthy, it’s a sober reminder of the limits of their control. To the rich, it’s a warning not to misuse their influence. And to the poor, there’s consolation knowing that suppression isn’t forever. Biblical proverbs are amazingly contemporary even though they are thousands of years old.
The Greeks believed in fatalism. Fatalism was based on the belief that every aspect of society was decreed by the gods. There was no free will. The biblical proverbs don’t support this worldview. The Hebrews believed in divine sovereignty as opposed to a fatalistic world. God was understood as being in full control of the world while allowing people to make real meaningful decisions. In other words, life is more complicated than the Greeks believed. This is why we need the divine wisdom (Proverbs) found in the Bible.
Proverbs about wealth are designed to equip people to live in God’s moral world.
Wisdom in the Bible is defined using the Hebrew word “Hokma.” “Hokma” is the word used for the mastering of understanding, the skill of living rightly, the ability to master one’s experiences. It includes three dimensions:
- A moral aspect
- A religious aspect
- A social aspect
God’s universe is fundamentally moral because God is a moral being. The moral God, who is holy, rules his universe using moral laws. Every human action reflects a moral choice because we live in a moral world. This is true because every choice relates to God and his will. Either we honor God’s holiness or we don’t. Our ultimate financial success is therefore dependent on how moral our choices are in building and spending wealth.
Finally, these moral decisions done before the face of God affect relationships. They not only affect our relationship with God but also with one another as we live in God’s creation. So, wisdom “Hokma” is the ability to properly relate to God and others and to live in God’s world successfully. And this includes how we use our money.
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