COVENANT OF DIVINE PROSPERITY

“Therefore keep the WORDS of this COVENANT, and do them, that you may PROSPER IN ALL that you do” – Deuteronomy 29:9

Almighty God is unequivocally committed to the COVENANT of DIVINE PROSPERITY: “Therefore keep the WORDS of this COVENANT, and do them, that you may PROSPER IN ALL that you do” (Dt.29:9). Divine Prosperity is intricately connected to God’s Covenant. Again, He told Israel: “If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit (Lev.26:3-4). He assured His people that they could prosper in ALL that they did, subject to obeying His Word: trusting Him in every situation, confident that He would keep His Word. They had to learn to obey even when it would be easier to compromise; when it meant doing things they didn’t want to do; or when confronted by the pressure to conform to their heathen neighbours.

Every step of the way, Israel could remember God’s promise of prosperity, conditioned on observing and obeying “the words of this covenant.” The covenant was to be the firm foundation and constant guide and companion for their lives. The transgenerational Unchanging Changer thus established a principle that would be true throughout all ages, for all peoples. God has the same desire to bless His new covenant people and grant us prosperity, despite humanity’s permeating adversities and poverty. His Word is not subject to the world’s elemental forces.

Divine Prosperity is balanced prosperity of spirit, soul, and body: ““Beloved, I pray that you may PROSPER in all things and be in health, just as your soul PROSPERS” (3Jh.2). It includes but supersedes money, fortune, wealth, riches or material possessions. God wants us to be prosperous in all aspects of life: spiritual, mental, physical, relational, and financial. Worldly prosperity is destructive, because people compete, strive, and kill to amass it (Psa.73:3; Pro.1:32). For true believers however, Prosperity is a Covenant right and blessing from our loving Father; and our priority is Kingdom Prosperity: “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Mt.6:33).

Temporal success or financial prosperity is scriptural and legitimate but is only a portion of God’s Prosperity Plan for humanity. And for the believer, the pathway remains God’s Word: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make YOUR WAY PROSPEROUS, and then you will have GOOD SUCCESS” (Jos.1:8). God’s interest in our prosperity is profound and purposeful, not superficial: “Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has PLEASURE in the PROSPERITY of His servant” (Psa.35:27).

Divine Prosperity is also SECURE or PROTECTED PROSPERITY of which David testified: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” (v.5a). With Christ as my Shepherd, my prosperity is permanent, protected and secure. The Great Provider not only supplies, but prepares a banquet for me and all who are destined to dine at my table! This is Prosperity without pain or sorrow: “the blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it” (Pro.10:22).

Despite the abuse of the message on Prosperity by some preachers, which has created an aversion to it in certain quarters, the truth is that prosperity is in the Covenant. Prosperity isn't just an accessory to God’s Word, but an integral part of it. Hezekiah’s testimony is germane: “And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. SO HE PROSPERED” (2Chr.31:21). Whatever the dimension of Prosperity desired, OBEDIENCE and FAITH are vital: living according to God’s Word; keeping, believing, and acting on His instructions. God’s Covenant to prosper us is unchanging. Ours is to trust and obey!