Principle Joseph speaks of the creation of something that did not previously exist through the application of biblical principles. Uncultivated land is a good example of this because land has a potential to produce a good harvest but only if the brush and weeds and thorn-bushes are cleared and rocks removed and the soil is tilled in preparation for planting.

Proverbs 13:23 (7KB)

²³ There is much (potential) food production in the tillage of the poor: but what good the poor man may have obtained from a harvest of crops was lost due to a lack of judgment (when the poor man failed to save seed for sowing and capital for investments).

This scripture above speaks of the fact that most poverty on earth is self-inflicted when poor people fail to follow biblical principles of seedtime and harvest (which involves saving seed for planting and capital for investments). Most poverty on earth is a result of people consuming their seed and not having anything left for investments to produce a harvest for them in the future.

There are also other spiritual factors involved as well because if people worship idols, they are in fact trafficking with demons and this will bring a curse upon them and bring them to financial ruination. If God should bless an idol-worshiper then they will bow down before their idols and thank the idols for their good fortune and thus anger the jealous God! Idolatry brings a curse and causes entire nations to have famine and poverty and disasters galore in proportion to the amount of idol-worship that is conducted in any pagan idol-worshiping nation.

See the link "Idolatry-Curse of a Nation" for more details.

If, however people can be taught to forsake idol-worship and worship only the living God and to honor God with tithes and offerings then they can become candidates for God's blessing and increase.

See the link "Giving and Kingdom Finances" for more details.

Once idol worship has been removed from the lives of formerly pagan people and they have been taught about giving to the Lord and honoring God with the firstfruits of their increase, then these same people can be taught biblical principles of saving and investments.

The cart cannot be put before the horse however (which is an expression that means first things must be put first place). What good is it to teach an idol-worshiper about savings and investments when they are busy bringing a curse upon themselves every time they bow down to idols and pray to idols for "good-luck" or blessing. They could do everything else right and still have a curse of poverty come upon them because of idol-worship which angers the jealous God!

The three steps toward financial prosperity are:

1. Abolish all idol-worship of any kind and only look to God for provision alone.

2. Honor God with the firstfruits of their increase by acknowledging that all of their income and blessing comes from God alone. Paying tithes is giving a tenth part back to God while the giver retains 90% for themselves. Giving offerings come out of the 90% share of the giver and can be as much or little as the giver desires to give to God. Giving into good soil (that is not cursed) is also an important part of the doctrine of giving and those who soil into good soil will reap a blessing from the Lord.

3. After they have done the above two steps then the giver (who is now free of idolatry) can begin to apply the biblical principles of savings and investments to power themselves out of debt and into prosperity by the steady gradual increase which comes by obeying God's word.

It is the level three principle above which applies to the Joseph Principle because after a believer has been prospered by God (following the three steps above) then they will rise out of debt and build a savings and an emergency fund and eventually an investment fund. When this happens, they will be in a position to become a blessing to others (like the fruitful branch that grows over the wall to bless others besides themselves).

Genesis 49:22 (NIV)

²² "Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.

Principle Joseph deals with the fact that Joseph was like a fruitful vine planted by a spring of waters whose branches climb over the wall. This is an analogy that speaks of a believer who follows all three steps for obtaining prosperity from God and in doing so they become like a fruitful vine that grows over the wall. This means that a believer has risen up out of debt and has built a savings and an emergency fund (to stay out of debt) and then they build up an investment account (which enables them to invest in those things that generate income for them). This is progressive system for building prosperity because they prosper by gradual steady increase and the more that they prosper the more they have to invest so that over time they continue to prosper until they become very prosperous.

Genesis 26:12-14 (NIV)

¹² Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him.

¹³ The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.

¹⁴ He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.

Isaac prospered by steady gradual increase and his wealth continued to grow so that over time, Isaac become very wealthy. Isaac had many flocks and herds and many employees working for him so that even the Philistines envied his prosperity. This is a good thing and a testimony that following God's word can cause a man to prosper. This shows that God is alive and real and God can bless those who keep his commandments and follow God's biblical principles for prosperity.

Isaac learned these biblical principles from his father Abraham who learned these principles directly from God. God specifically chose Abraham because God knew that Abraham would be faithful in teaching his own children and teaching his household about the principles of God.

Genesis 18:18-19 (NIV)

¹⁸ Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.

¹⁹ For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."

God blessed Abraham and caused his descendants to multiply into a great nation so that all nations on earth would be blessed through Abraham. God chose Abraham because Abraham would direct his own children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord. This means the knowledge of God passed from Abraham to his son Isaac to Jacob and to his twelves sons who become the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel. Then this nation of Jewish people also became a blessing to all of the Gentile nations on earth because they brought the knowledge of God to the entire world's population.

Genesis 22:18 (NLT2)

¹⁸ And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

Thus, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob became like a fruitful vine whose branches grew over the wall. This means that the blessing of God went over the wall or went outside the "Jewish race" to bless those Gentile nations living outside of the nation of Israel. Those outside of the Jewish wall were able to eat the fruit of all of the good things that the Jewish nation brought to earth via the knowledge of the one-true God. God's promise to Abraham was fulfilled that through Abraham and his descendants the Jews all nations of the earth would be blessed.

Genesis 39:1-5 (NIV)

¹ Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

² The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.

³ When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did,

⁴ Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.

⁵ From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

Joseph was brought to Egypt as a slave but he carried with him the knowledge of the God of Israel which was passed from God to Abraham and Abraham to Isaac and Isaac to Jacob and from Jacob to his twelve-sons (including Joseph). It was by the knowledge of God that Joseph was able to prosper in Egypt by applying the biblical principles (taught to his forefathers via Abraham). These biblical principles caused Joseph to prosper in Egypt and become a blessing to others.

Jewish Race Bringing Prosperity to All Nations

Genesis 18:18 (NIV)

¹⁸ Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.

God stated that he would bring blessing to all of the Gentile nations on earth through Abraham and his descendants the Jews.

Tikkun Olam Repairing the World by Application of Biblical Principles

Tikkun olam (Hebrew: תיקון עולם‎, lit. 'repair of the world') is a concept in Judaism, interpreted in Orthodox Judaism as the prospect of overcoming all forms of idolatry, and becoming a blessing to the world by behaving and acting constructively and beneficially.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tikkun_olam

Thus, Tikkun olam speaks of the Jews repairing a broken world by bringing the knowledge of God to all nations on earth. It is these Jewish biblical principles that are the foundation of building successful and prosperous nations on earth by abolishing idol-worship (which brings a curse) and causing people to follow biblical principles of prosperity that will cause any nation of people prosper who follow them.

Jewish Wisdom that Blessed Egypt

Joseph brought the knowledge of God with him to Egypt so he was like a fruitful vine that grew over a wall and blessed others outside of the nation of Israel. During the seven-year famine Joseph was able to feed Egypt and the surrounding nations because he applied biblical principles taught to him by Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and was able to prepare for the famine. He knew about saving seed for the future which is a Jewish principle and all of these principles gave Joseph wisdom to be a manager in Egypt and prepare for the coming famine.

Numbers 2:32 (HCSB)

³² These are the Israelites registered by their ancestral houses. The total number in the camps by their military divisions is 603,550.

God taught Abraham these principles and Abraham passed this knowledge to his children and grandchildren after him. Then the descendants of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob multiplied in Egypt for over 430-years to become over 600,000 Jewish families headed by over 600,000 Jewish male heads of households. Thus, this Jewish nation was set apart by God to bring the knowledge of God to all the nations of earth.

Exodus 12:40-41 (NIV)

⁴⁰ Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years.

⁴¹ At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD's divisions left Egypt.

It took 430-years in Egypt for the offspring of Jacob to multiply from only 70 people to over 600,000 Jewish families.

Exodus 1:5-7 (NIV)

⁵ The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.

⁶ Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,

⁷ but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.

There were only 70-descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt during the famine to live in Goshen during the time of Joseph. These people multiplied exceedingly so that after 430-years they had a population of over 600,000 Jewish families. This was a large enough population to become a nation of people. This godly nation (following godly principles) was large enough to have a positive effect upon all of the Gentile nations outside of Israel (those outside the wall).

The fruitful vine represents the principles of God taught to the Jewish race and how this fruit (knowledge of God) went over the wall to bless all Gentile nations outside of the nation of Israel!

Separating Seed for Planting and from Seed for Consumption

Isaiah 55:10 (NIV)

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

This scripture speaks of seed for the sower and bread for the eater. This scripture mentions two of the three parts which a man must divide his finances into. Part of their income must be reserved as seed for planting (investments) which can produce more income for the future. The other part is for consumption (represented by bread for the eater). The third part (to be discussed in this lesson) is the part reserved for God in giving. This third part will remove the curse and bring the blessing of God upon their family finances. It takes all three parts for anyone to prosper:

1. Separation of seed for sowing (capital for investments).

2. Separation of finances for consumption (living expenses).

3. Separation of finances for giving to God (in the form of tithes and offerings).

All these financial parts must be separated because if a man does not separate the part for consumption from the part for investments then he will consume all of his seed and have nothing left for sowing and will come to ruination in the future. If he also does not separate out the tithe and offering (which belongs to God) then he is a robber of God and this will bring a curse upon him and bring him to ruination and poverty.

Malachi 3:8-11 (NASB)

⁸ "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings.

⁹ "You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!

¹⁰ "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.

¹¹ "Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes," says the LORD of hosts.

Paying both tithes and offerings is a vital and important aspect of prosperity that comes from God. If people do not honor God with tithes and offerings, they are a robber and this will bring a curse upon them. They will lose everything to this curse even if they did the first two steps correctly.

It is important that believers follow all three steps because failing to apply any of these three steps can result in their own financial ruination.

Saving for Investments

Yes, a man has to eat so part of his finances must be set aside for food and living expenses. But whatever he can save on living expenses can be transferred over into the seed for sowing (investments) which can produce a financial income for the future.

Whenever money is wasted then it is a loss that could have been used for investments to create more money in the future. Wasting money is like consuming seed and those who consume their seed will not have anything to plant in the future and so they will have no harvest in their future and thus they will come to financial ruination and go broke.

Examples of Wasting Money

I once worked in a convenience store where they typically charged 30% more for the products just because people wanted the "convenience" of buying something quickly without standing in line at a grocery store. The US government then had a program to help the poor called food-stamps which enable poor people to purchase "consumables" using food-stamps. The idea was to help the poor by giving them assistance in buying food.

But often there were people who came in with food-stamps to spend in the grocery who were not using them to buy food. This system permits them to use the food stamps on consumables so this means they were able to buy alcohol products using food stamps. Then they could get a deposit on the empty alcohol bottles to use toward tobacco products. Sometimes they would even purchase qualified goods only to trade them for tobacco products. The problem with all of this is that this system largely degenerated into a freeloader program that was being used to pay for the vices of those addicted to alcohol and tobacco and who typically blow all of their income using recreational drugs. It is no wonder that these people are poor when all of their income goes to feed vices (addictions to alcohol, tobacco, and drugs).

If these people are to be helped at all they would have to first break these addictions that are draining all of their money away. Also buying products in a convenience store (that cost 30% more) is an example of wasting money. If they really wanted to save money, they would buy a 100 lb. sack of potatoes or rice in bulk at a wholesaler and this would give them a stable food that could last for months! Buying expensive junk food does not help their health but only drains them of what little money they have.

It is obvious that the reason that these people are poor is due to the bad decisions that they make on a daily basis. They seem to be void of common sense and everything that they do results in their own financial ruination! Helping such people is a waste of money because they cannot improve until they become saved and are set free from vices and begin to live according to biblical-principles.

Jewish people typically live in frugal manner and respect money knowing that money is also seed for sowing. Therefore, living frugally and buying food in bulk and seeking wholesale prices enables them to save money for investments. These are Jewish principles that caused the business-environment of New York to thrive because there is a high percentage of Jewish people in New York and so that city is often called the "Big Apple" meaning it is a prime business environment where there are a lot of people following Torah-principles. It is these principles that cause a city or even an entire nation to prosper when there is a majority of people following these principles.

In fact, the United States has been established upon the principles of the bible which came from the Jews. It is this Judaeo/Christian culture that caused this nation to prosper more than any other nation on earth! With just a short 200-year history the United States rose up to be the head of the nations and prospered more than some nations that have over a 5,000-year old history! The reason for this prosperity was the large number of both Jewish and Gentile believers who live by the principles of the bible which came from God (as were given to Abraham and the Jewish nation).

Investments and savings and money management principles are all found in the bible as well as God's promise to bless those who give and pay their tithes and offerings to the Lord (by sowing into good soil).

God-fearing Americans typically abhor idol-worship and it was not until the Immigration Act of 1990 that the door was opened to import millions of idol-worshipers from the Central and Latin American countries (given over to Spanish Roman Catholic idol-worship culture). This has brought on a curse to the nation and it caused a great spike in natural disasters (after 1990) and caused the diminishing of the great prosperity once enjoyed by God-fearing Americas who embrace Judaeo/Christian culture.

See the link "Idolatry-Curse of A Nation" for more details.

The removal of biblical teaching from the public education system has resulted in a whole generation of Americans growing up as bible-illiterates. These atheist people are now a part of the godless generation who have forsaken the biblical foundation of their forefathers. It is these godless secular liberal Americans who have forsaken biblical principles and are now living like godless heathens (existing only to feed their vices).

ATM Businessman Confirms Vice-Ridden Behavior of Cursed People

There is a video on Utube where a businessman gives advice about running an ATM business. He installs ATM cash machines in retail stores and makes money from the ATM fees charged to people who pull cash from these machines. He gave some strong advice in his video about never installing a ATM cash machine in a Korean community or a Korean supermarket or Korean shopping center. The reason for this is that the Koreans have a large population of God-fearing people who follow the Torah-principles found in the bible. These principles dictate that they must save seed for sowing and a major way of accomplishing this is to reduce living expenses and stop wasting money so they can save more for investment capital. As a result, Koreans never use the ATM and consequently never pay ATM fees because they go to the bank directly and withdraw their money without paying ATM fees. This ATM businessman therefore said that if someone installs an ATM in a Korean business location or Korean shopping center, they will not make any money because Koreans will avoid the ATM machines like the plague!

The Koreans respect money and do not waste it by foolishly using ATM machines when they can withdraw their money without fees directly at their bank! It is something interesting because my wife is Korean and I have lived in Korea over ten-years and I know that they have a large population of bible-believing people and they follow biblical principles like saving seed for sowing (investments) while reducing living expenses (bread for eating) so they can have more to invest.

The same ATM businessman then proceeded to disclose the most profitable locations for ATM machines where he can always make a lot of money off of ATM fees. Surprisingly the prime locations for ATM machines were not found in rich neighborhoods like Rodeo Drive in Hollywood because rich people also respect money and do not waste money on ATM machine teller fees. In fact, this is one of the reasons rich people are wealthy because they respect money and do not waste it in foolish manner.

The prime location for making money off of ATM machines is found in the black-neighborhoods where there is a high incidence of vices and drug use and welfare programs! This ATM businessman installs the ATM machines in small grocery stores in black-neighborhoods and people use them all of the time to draw out cash and spend it. It seems that money means nothing to them and they do not care how much ATM fees they pay (as if it is no consequence to them)! These same people are notoriously non-Christian and their own culture is based upon living off government handouts and having children out of wedlock only to qualify for more government handouts. Poverty is high among them and it is these same people who are the most notorious users of ATM machines and who shop at convenience stores and have no respect for their money whatsoever! In fact, it is because they do not work for their money that they have no care about losing it by using ATM machines and paying ATM transaction fees.

This is in great contrast to the Koreans who are predominantly a bible-based culture with a high percentage of believers among them. Those who believe the bible and live by biblical principles typically will not waste money foolishly (like on needless ATM fees) when they can go to their bank and withdraw their cash without fees!

Again, when helping the poor, social workers should ask the question, "What kind of poor people are they dealing with?" If these people are poor because of their freeloader lifestyle and their ungodly and unbiblical culture then they are cursed ground to sow into. Feeding freeloaders therefore is a curse!

This is vastly different from a disabled person who cannot physically work or a widow who has no provider and is too old to work. Such people are poor for a justifiable reason and should be helped because they are in real need of support.

But if the welfare recipients are healthy and able to work, they should seek employment. Living a lifestyle as freeloaders is an example of following anti-biblical culture and they are bringing a curse upon themselves by their own daily decisions. These freeloaders create self-inflicted poverty because everything they do is working to make them poor! They do not save money for investments and they consume everything that they get. They do not respect their money wasting it in expensive convenience stores and wasting it on ATM fees and living only for indulging in vices. Everything that they do brings poverty upon them and then they cry out for help because they are so poor! Again, this is self-inflicted poverty and it is a result of following anti-biblical culture that is full of vices and breaking of God's laws.

The ATM businessman made big profits in ATM fees off of the vice-ridden poor people of the ghettos but made nothing from Koreans living in America (where biblical culture is strong). This communicates the truth that people are a product of their decisions and bad decisions create poverty just as good decisions will result in future increase. It is the ability to make good decision that comes from the wisdom of the Jewish Torah just as Joseph made good decisions as a manager in Egypt that resulted in the nation of Egypt rising up to become the most prosperous nation on earth during his generation!

In fact, nations rise and fall based upon following Jewish Torah principles and those nations of people which refuse to follow these principles will bring a curse upon themselves.

Nations Rise and Fall Based on Torah

The owner of the ATM business in our example was a British man who immigrated to America and eventually started an ATM business. In fact, Great Britain at one time was the carrier of the gospel light and they had a high percentage of believers who were following the biblical principles which caused their nation to prosper. Great Britain (at the height of their zenith of national prosperity) was a world-power and it was said of them that the sun never sets on the British empire! It was at this time that they followed biblical principles. Britain once carried the light of the gospel but as with so many nations in past history when they began to prosper by following God's word then they often become proud. When people fall into pride, they falsely assume that they have no more need of God and they can make themselves rich with their own human ingenuity and being clever and by self-effort. But nations fall after they become godless and secular and today most of the churches are abandoned in Britain and the empty church buildings are now being used for warehouses or are being converted for use by heathen religions. This is the fruit of having new generations of people rise up who no longer know God but who became godless and secular instead.

After Britain become secular and godless and abandoned Judaeo/Christian culture then the torch passed to America and this is when the nation of the United States rose up to be world power. God gives dominion to those nations who honor biblical precedent and this is the cause of America rising up into becoming a world-power in a short 200-year history.

But like Britain before them, America also has been following a pathway toward secular atheism. Believers have done nothing with their God-given dominion as liberals work in unhindered manner to remove God from the American society and nation. By 1990 the United States has suffered a curse from the importation of millions of idol-worshipers. Natural disasters have spiked since this time and prosperity has been greatly diminished by the curse of active idol-worship which now operates in the land.

Nations rise up in prosperity when a majority of their citizens serve and obey God. Living by biblical principles given to humanity by Abraham and his descendants the Jews brings blessing to any nation. When these same nations depart from their biblical foundations then they come into ruination and are greatly diminished. The blessing and prosperity of God is a result of obeying God's word and having Judaeo/Christian culture which abhors idol-worship and practices the principles of the bible.

Jewish Principle

Separation of Investments and Consumption

Seed for Sower and Bread for Eater

Isaiah 55:10 (CJB)

¹⁰ For just as rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return there, but water the earth, causing it to bud and produce, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater;

This scripture distinguishes the difference between seed for the sower (investments) and bread to the eater (consumption). This is a key Jewish Torah principle which speaks of separating finances into two specific parts. One part is to be saved as seed for sowing (investments) and the other part is to be used as bread to the eater (consumption). This means living expenses must be clearly separated from investment capital. If people consume everything, they have they will have no seed to plant for the future and will come to poverty. This is the same as a farmer who eats his last seed and has nothing left to plant. Such a man will have no financial future because if he plants nothing, he will have no future harvests.

Hen for Investment and Eggs for Consumption

Deuteronomy 22:6-7 (CJB)

⁶ “If, as you are walking along, you happen to see a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground with chicks or eggs, and the mother bird is sitting on the chicks or the eggs, you are not to take the mother with the chicks.

⁷ You must let the mother go, but you may take the chicks for yourself; so that things will go well with you, and you will prolong your life.

This same principle also can be seen with a hen and eggs because the Jewish Torah forbids them to eat the hens. They were permitted to eat the eggs or the chicks but not the mother birds who can produce more eggs and chicks for the future. If a man eats his last hen then this will be the last meal he will ever eat!

It will go well for people and they will prolong their lives on earth (by not starving to death) if they save the hens (for investment) because the hens can produce more chickens and eggs in the future. It is for this reason that Jewish people do not eat their female livestock.

Genesis 31:38 (NIV)

³⁸ "I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks.

When Jacob was working for Laban he operated in utmost integrity before God and he followed the Jewish principles taught to him from his father Isaac who learned them from Abraham who learned them from God. Therefore, the Jewish people do not eat the female livestock but save them for procreation. If they do eat any animals it will be only the male livestock rather than the females. But Joseph was so honest that he did not even eat male livestock of Laban even if that would not diminish the herds.

It was a principle of God not to consume female livestock because they have the potential to reproduce and create more livestock for the future. If a man ate his last ewe lamb then that would be the last meal he would ever eat! The same applies to all types of livestock like goats or cattle or poultry because it is the females which can reproduce and must be saved as future seed. Only a few males needed to be kept for breeding purposes but the excess males can be sold for cash or even used for consumption.

Goat for Investment and Milk for Consumption

Proverbs 27:26-27 (NASB)

26 The lambs will be for your clothing, And the goats will bring the price of a field,

27 And there will be goats' milk enough for your food, For the food of your household, And sustenance for your maidens.

Another illustration of this principle is that the female goats were for reproduction and the milk they produced was for consumption. Goat's milk was considered food for the family of the shepherd to sustain their households. As long as female goats were preserved then they could produce more milk in the future.

The principle of not mixing the finances for investment together with the finances meant for consumption can also be seen in the parable of not boiling a goat in his mother's milk. The section of this website (that hosts Jewish topics) has a lesson which depicts parables as a means of communicating spiritual truth in the form of a hidden code.

See the link "Parable of the Goat and the Mother's Milk" for more details.

This lesson linked above provides a detailed and exhaustive teaching about parables (which are mysteries revealed in the form of a code) and this lesson specially shows how that which is intended by God for investments (goats) are not to be mixed together with that which is for consumption (goat's milk).

Exodus 23:19 (NASB)

¹⁹ "You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. "You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

The command not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother is speaking of not mixing investment capital together with funds intended for consumption (living expenses). If a person mixes them all together and just consumes everything, then they will not have anything in their future and they will go broke. All laymen are to separate their finances into proper parts and not mix them together. They must have a savings and emergency fund in order to keep out of debt. They should eventually have an investment fund which can make money for them in the future. Investment is like a female goat which can produce milk (for daily consumption) and more goats in the future.

Exodus 34:26 (NASB)

²⁶ "You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

This scripture says the same thing that a young goat representing future income should not be killed (boiled in its mother's milk) because that is mixing the two together. If a goat is boiled in mother's milk then the meat would be sodden with milk or mixed together with milk. No Jewish person would eat such a thing which is meat mixed with milk. In the same way that Jewish person would abhor meat that was sodden in milk so a believer should also abhor mixing that which is intended for investments (goat) with that which is intended for consumption (goat's milk). These must be separated rather than just lumping them all together and consuming the whole works! Such Torah-ignorant behavior will result in people having nothing in their future and coming into complete financial ruination.

Deuteronomy 14:21-22 (NASB)

²¹ "You shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the alien who is in your town, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

²² "You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year.

This scripture also speaks of not mixing investments (goat) with that which is intended for consumption (goat milk). But this scripture also speaks of not eating anything that dies of itself. This is in fact speaking of those who kill themselves by their own Torah-ignorant behavior (like those who consume all of their seed and have nothing left to plant for a harvest in the future). A dead animal can be given to a foreigner but the Jewish person was not to eat of it themselves. This means that the Torah-ignorant behavior should be left only to foreigners who consume all of their seed and causing their own self-death (died of themselves). Such ignorant behavior is not permitted of God's people who should know better!

Deuteronomy 32:14 (NASB)

14 Curds of cows, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, And rams, the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the finest of the wheat— And of the blood of grapes you drank wine.

This scripture mentions "milk of the flock" and this is specifically the part which was intended for food for consumption because typically milk must be consumed daily or it would spoil without refrigeration. Only if they could dry the curds could they preserve the milk without refrigeration. So, the temporal nature of fresh milk suggests that it represents food for daily consumption.

Proverbs 27:26-27 (NASB)

26 The lambs will be for your clothing, And the goats will bring the price of a field,

27 And there will be goats' milk enough for your food, For the food of your household, And sustenance for your maidens.

Again, this scripture speaks of goat's milk as food for the household of the shepherd. When the goat is not to be boiled in milk it was a spiritual mystery or parable that teaches God's people not to mix that which is intended for future investments (goat) together with that which is intended for daily consumption (milk). Keeping the two separate is a means of having financial prosperity in the future with more female goats to produce more milk in the future.

Exodus 34:26 (NASB)

²⁶ "You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

This scripture also speaks of not boiling a goat in milk but it also mentions paying the first fruits or tithes to the Lord. This is the third factor of prosperity in God's kingdom to stop the curse by giving God's part back to the Lord.

Malachi 3:8-9 (NASB)

⁸ "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings.

⁹ "You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!

Again, if the people do not pay tithes and offerings, they are robbers of God and they are cursed! This curse will bring them to poverty no matter what they do.

Malachi 3:10-11 (NASB)

¹⁰ "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.

¹¹ "Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes," says the LORD of hosts.

The devourer is a spiritual curse that devours the prosperity of those who rob God by not paying their tithes and offerings. Everything that they do will be cursed so that their livestock will get sick and die or be destroyed by predators. Their crops will be destroyed by insects or plant disease or hail or freezing temperatures. They will have illness in the family which will consume their finances with medical bills. Their expensive things will break down and have to be replaced. Everything bad that can be imagined will go wrong for them because they are cursed as robbers of God and the devourer has been released against their finances to destroy their prosperity and bring them to poverty!

Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 (NIV)

⁴ When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.

⁵ It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.

⁶ Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the [temple] messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands?

Suppose that someone makes a vow to God that if God will prosper them and make them wealthy then they will give a tenth-part back to honor God for their increase. But after they receive great wealth then they change their minds and want to keep it all to themselves and not give anything back to God! This breaking of a vow before God will make God angry and he will destroy the work of their hands and all that they have will become cursed and they will lose the wealth God gave to them. God will take away their wealth for breaking their vow to God by becoming greedy and refusing to give to God the part that belongs to God. In fact, God is very generous and allows them to keep 90% and only asked them for 10% or a tenth-part in return.

Proverbs 3:9-10 (NKJV)

⁹ Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;

¹⁰ So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

Those who fear God and obey God are to honor God with the first tenth-part of all of their increase. If they have ten chickens, they are to give one to God. If they have ten-eggs they are to give one to God. If they have livestock, they are to give one to God. If they have ten-dollars they are to give one to God. If they have ten bushels of fruit, they are to give one to God! If they pay a tithe of their increase, they are worshipping God with their increase and acknowledging that everything that they have has been given to them by God! Doing this will cause them to prosper and their barns (savings) will have overflow and plenty and more than enough!

Genesis 28:20-22 (NIV)

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear

²¹ so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God

²² and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."

Jacob made a vow to God that if God would prosper him and care for him then he would honor God with a tenth-part of all of his increase. Jacob was under covenant relationship with God and honored God with a tenth-part of everything God blessed Jacob with. This resulted in Jacob becoming a prosperous man!

Genesis 32:9-10 (NASB)

⁹ Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,'

¹⁰ I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.

Jacob become two large companies of livestock and workers because he had been blessed by God tremendously. Jacob was a tither and was blessed because the curse was removed and he was therefore open to the prosperity that comes from God.

Genesis 30:43 (NIV)

⁴³ In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.

Jacob exercised his faith in God to prosper him and he became exceedingly wealthy with large flocks and servants and much livestock.

Fourth Factor of Prosperity

In summary, there are three Torah-principles which will cause anyone to prosper who follows them. These are:

1. Do not eat your seed, which is the same principle as do not eat your hens.

2. Separate that which is for daily consumption from that which is for investment.

3. Pay your tithes and offerings to the Lord from all increase God gives to you.

But there is yet a fourth factor and this is sowing into good soil because if they give into cursed ground, they will also reap a curse and lose everything they gained by applying the three principles above.

See the link “Sow in Good Soil” for more details.

The businessman is well-aware of the fact that money has the potential to make more money by investments. Their money can be considered seed for the future for this reason.

See the link "Seed for the Future" for more details.

Businessmen Creating Something that Generates Revenue

Principle Joseph has application for those who start business enterprises and create something that did not exist before (such as a wealth generating enterprise). They become like a fruitful vine growing over a wall to bless other besides themselves. Those who start business enterprises as entrepreneurs are those who create employment for others and manufacture products and produce food and everything that is a blessing to humanity. They are like a fruitful vine that grows over the wall to bless the whole world! The businessmen however must not assume they only exist to bless themselves because God gifted them in business to be a blessing to others. Their gift to make money is not for themselves but for the benefit of others.

This is just like Joseph in Egypt who was blessed as a leader but he also was a blessing to the entire nation of Egypt and also saved all of the surrounding nations from starvation.

Principle Joseph deals with being a blessing and prospering so they can be a blessing to others. Abraham was blessed by God so that he could be a blessing to all nations on earth. The Jewish race is also a blessing to every nation (of their residence) because they carry the knowledge of God's word which makes nations prosper.

Principle Joseph is all about being blessed so that they can be a blessing to others. In this manner God's prosperity and goodness can be made available to all nations of people on earth. Principle Joseph relates to being a blessing to all humanity by following the Torah-principles God first gave to Abraham which were passed onto all Jewish people and then to all nations outside of the wall (Gentile nations on earth). These principles have all of the revelation needed for any people to become prosperous and blessed by the God of Israel.

Parables Contain Mysteries Hidden for God's People

The parables are secret code which is used by God to hide revelation and reserve it only for those who are righteous. Thus, God can hide this revelation from the wicked and reveal it only to those who are worthy in his sight!

Again see the link "Parable of the Goat and the Mother's Milk" for more details.

This lesson linked above speaks of how things like "oxen" mentioned in the scripture are not referring to literal cattle but rather to the support of the NT Levites of the Fivefold Ministry.

The hen is not referring only to chickens but also speaks of investment capital or anything that can produce future income.

The milk and the goat also refers to funds for daily consumption (milk) and the goat is referring to investments that can produce more milk (and goats) for the future.

With this in mind, it should be noted also that the Proverbs 31 woman is not even referring to a human female but this is a parable of hidden code that speaks of a business which can do the business owner "good" all of the days of his life.

The previous material of this lesson can be applied to all layman believers in general but there some people who are born with the gift of being a business entrepreneur. Creating a business is something that can produce income and blessing for many people for generations to come (as long as it is managed properly and seed for investment is saved).

Warning for Laymen Not to Attempt Business Startup (if Not Called by God for Business)

It should be noted here however that not everyone can become a business entrepreneur because this is a gift that people are born with from the mother's womb. There has been numerous layman who have lost their entire life-savings trying to invest in their own startup business enterprise that never made a profit and so they lost all of their capital. Some have worked for decades to save that money only to lose it all on a business startup venture that never worked. For the working man they must be faithful to save and just work their job and do not seek to become rich by starting their own business. If they lose everything they worked for (for decades) then they may never recover from such a loss and it will be difficult to start over again. No, those who are a plow-horse (laborer working for wages) cannot become a race-horse (a business entrepreneur) who can start his own business. The latter is a gift which men are born with and this does not apply to the laboring men who work for wages.

See the link "Principle Issachar" for more details.

I know of a family who worked for many years to build a savings then foolishly invested it all in a retail store venture where they sell discount items for only a few dollars each. But no matter how hard they worked (even having family members serving for free) they could not pay the bills simply because the income was too low and the expenses and building rental were too high! They lost their savings all and had to start all over again. If they are over age fifty however that will be a difficult thing for them and may be too late for them to recover from such a financial loss.

Business is a strange thing however because I know of another man who lost his job then he got an idea to sell toast with eggs on top. He perfected his product and people went crazy for it and his business grew and grew (never being able to keep up with the demand)! [As long as there is a demand someone can make a great deal of money from an enterprise.]

So, one went broke doing a retail franchise store of an established company and another made great wealth selling something as simple as toast and eggs. I believe however that the one who made the profits was gifted in this area and blessed by God because others have tried the same thing and went broke at it.

Laymen have to be honest with themselves and admit that they are assigned by God for working a job and they should not try to assume to intrude into business for which they have no gift or ability. Laymen have to admit when they are not gifted or called for business and just remain faithful in the job where they are at. It may not seem as exciting as being an entrepreneur but it is a steady income and they can stay debt free and pay their bills by working a steady job. The fact remains that a plow-horse cannot be made into a race-horse and as soon as the laymen acknowledge this fact and become honest with themselves, they will stop squandering their savings on numerous failed business ventures.

Mystery of Proverbs 31 Woman

The mystery of the Proverbs 31 woman has application to business entrepreneurs because this parable is in fact speaking about starting a business enterprise. If an entrepreneur (born with the gift) should apply these principles they can create an enterprise that becomes a blessing for generations to come and will create employment and products and services which will be a blessing to others.

Proverbs 31:1 (NIV)

¹ The sayings of King Lemuel--an oracle his mother taught him:

These were the sayings of a King (named Lemuel) which means Massa.

1 Chronicles 1:28-30 (NIV)

²⁸ The sons of Abraham: Isaac and Ishmael.

²⁹ These were their descendants: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

³⁰ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema,

Massa was one of the many sons of Ishmael and this can be applied to that fact that an entrepreneur is a pioneer and they should do not give up but rather continue to push forward until they obtain success. The many sons of Ismael can be applied to the fact that the entrepreneur may make many attempts at business until the entrepreneur succeeds. This is assuming that the person is born with the gift of entrepreneur because just trying and exerting a lot of self-effort will not help an ordinary plow-horse type of laymen who is not gifted for business. This gift of being an entrepreneur should be something evident from their childhood like the man I know of who never worked a job but was making his own money since youth by his own business enterprises. This gives evidence that he was born with such a gift and this gift manifested from a young age. Most of the layman however (probably over 90% of them) are created to work a job rather than run a business enterprise.

Again ,see the link "Principle Issachar" for more details.

Genesis 16:11-12 (NIV)

¹¹ The angel of the LORD also said to her: "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery.

¹² He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."

Massa, the son of Ishmael relates this parable to Ishmael who was a wild-donkey of a man! This reference of being a "wild donkey of a man" may not sound too flattering when referring to an entrepreneur but the wild-donkey is one who can take care of himself (even without a job). He can create enterprises and generate sales even if he is not working for anyone else. This is like a wild donkey that has no master to feed him and so in the same way the entrepreneur also has no boss or master or employer over him.

Then the part about everyone's hand is against him and he will live in hostility toward all of his brothers speaks of the aggressive nature of the entrepreneur. This thing of being a fighter is something that is part of the character of an entrepreneur. It is a cut-throat world in business and no one shows any compassion so it is left to the survival of the fittest. He has to stay on top of competition constantly because many are working to take his business share for themselves.

Business Entrepreneurs are Symbolized by Kings

Proverbs 31:1 (NIV)

¹ The sayings of King Lemuel--an oracle his mother taught him:

It should be noted that the modern-day equivalent of a business entrepreneur is a king. A king has to organize his army and assets in order to capture spoils of war from his enemies. He must be a "big-picture" man and must have foresight to see the long-term goal and comprehend all of the steps necessary to accomplish that goal. He has to be a good manager of money because money to business is like life-blood to the body. Once this operating-capital is gone then his business is finished. Not many men are gifted to become entrepreneurs although they are the envy of the laboring men who suppose it would be great to own their own business and be their own boss. But such a man is born as a "wild-donkey" survivor who can stand on his own two feet without an employer. He is also a king who can organize employees and vendors and sales and juggle expenses and pay taxes and manage payroll and a multitude of other things related to being an entrepreneur. He is both a wild-donkey survivor and a king to win spoils of war from the hostile business world where competition is fierce and there are many casualties in business. He is like Ishmael having many sons as if trying to come up with a lasting progeny that will have effect for the long-term future. He cannot give up but just keeps hammering away until he finds his niche or the right vein which proves to be a success. All of this must be accomplished before his source of capital runs out.

This is not like a University P.H.D who is granted a lot of government research money just because he has the three-letter acronym "P.H.D." after his name. Such men rarely produce anything of value because they have a lot of free capital to play with and there is no urgency for them to have success. The P.H.D. guys therefore seldom have the qualities required to be an entrepreneur king.

Our "wild-donkey-king" however must come up with some results quickly because he is under time restraints to have some success and bring in some income before his capital runs out! Therefore, a man born with the gift of an entrepreneur is born with some sort of tenacity and ruthlessness and an energy that can either move mountains or bore a hole right though them! They seldom have the luxury of being able to sit on a pile of investment capital so therefore they have to think fast and have wisdom and foresight or they will not survive! But a wild-donkey is a survivor without a master (employer) feeding him with a steady wage.

Mother of Wisdom

Proverbs 31:1 (NIV)

¹ The sayings of King Lemuel--an oracle his mother taught him:

This thing about having his mommy teach him is not speaking of a mamma's boy because no such pampered boy can ever survive as an entrepreneur! It takes a real man to become an entrepreneur and eunuchs need not apply! (A eunuch is a boy raised by women who thinks like a woman and wants to have a mother feed him and carry him for life).

This thing about his mother teaching him is actually referring to the mother of knowledge which is "business-acumen" obtained by real life "warfare" in a hostile business world where competition is fierce.

This first verse of scripture in Proverbs 31:1 speaks of a man who is a wild-donkey-king who can take care of himself without a job! It also speaks of being trained by experience to be hardened by difficulties and being able to overcome until they have success.

It is not the same as a layman laborer who is intruding into the office of an entrepreneur and trying to ignore the facts that he is a plow-horse trying to run with race-horses. Such a man has to return to his field of labor and his employment to work for wage because for such a one to vainly keep-on trying is not going to help him but only will financially sink him into a place where he can never recover during his lifetime. The sooner the layman plow-horse acknowledges what he really is born for then the sooner he can be faithful and build up is savings again. He must be faithful as a plow-horse and earn his wages and stop wasting his savings on vain business pursuits that always end in failure.

Born of Adversity: Starts with Nothing and Vows to God

Proverbs 31:2 (NIV)

² "O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows,

Here this scripture speaks of the son of the womb which refers to the one who is born in adversity. Many of the greatest industrial giants who were part of the great industrial revolution in America were poor immigrants who arrived with nothing and overcame to become the great names in the US economy with companies that still operate today with billion-flow in revenues! These were sons of adversity the wild-donkey entrepreneurs who knew how to survive on their own and build something great out of nothing! It is like a mother's womb that bring for a child out of nothing!

2 Samuel 4:9 (NKJV)

⁹ But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity,

David become a king and he built a nation out of nothing which become the most powerful nation on earth. David spoke of God helping him by redeeming his life from all adversity! These wild-donkey entrepreneurs who founded the US economy out of nothing were like this and they overcame all adversity and had nothing at all when they arrived. This is like David who was a poor shepherd boy who later become king. David defeated all of the enemies of Israel and vanquished them and took their spoils of war to build a nation!

2 Samuel 8:7-8 (NASB)

⁷ David took the shields of gold which were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.

⁸ From Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze.

David captured a large amount of bronze and gold from the nations he conquered in battle!

Proverbs 13:22 (NIV)

²² A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous.

A good man (righteous man) like David will build something valuable which he can leave to his children and grandchildren after him. This is the character of nation-builders who create civilizations out of nothing and generate great wealth.

This scripture also says that the sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous. David captured spoils of war from the ungodly nations and used it to build a nation for God's people the Jews! In the same way, the wild-donkey businessman captures spoils of war from the world's business system so he can use it to build God's kingdom on earth and to bless those who are believers.

2 Samuel 8:9-11 (NASB)

⁹ Now when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer,

¹⁰ Toi sent Joram his son to King David to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him; for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold and of bronze.

¹¹ King David also dedicated these to the LORD, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued:

David subdued these nations and brought their spoils of war and dedicated them to the Lord from all of the nations he had vanquished!

1 Chronicles 18:11 (KJV)

¹¹ Them also king David dedicated unto the LORD, with the silver and the gold that he brought from all these nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.

The plunder of the defeated nations was all dedicated to the Lord.

1 Chronicles 22:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ "I have taken great pains to provide for the temple of the LORD a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed, and wood and stone. And you may add to them.

David brought to the temple project a million talents of silver (75,000,000,000 lbs.) and a hundred thousand talents of gold (7,500,000 lbs.). This was an enormous amount of wealth taken from the heathen nations and then dedicated to God!

The point to make here is that David conquered all of these heathen nations and vanquished them and this resulting in peace during the reign of Solomon. This is the time that the nation of Israel reached its zenith of prosperity and this occurred because David (formerly a poor shepherd boy) started with nothing built an empire. The reign of Solomon was established upon the peace David had won by war!

The wild-donkey-king entrepreneur is a king who can start with nothing (like David) and build something great like a nation. David was also a big-giver to God and dedicated the spoils of war to the Lord by donating generously toward the first temple building project!

Proverbs 31:2 (NIV)

² "O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows,

The son of my vows speaks of a man making vows to God that if God will prosper him the he will honor God with the best part of his income with tithes and offerings.

Genesis 28:20-22 (NIV)

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear

²¹ so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God

²² and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth."

Jacob also left home with nothing but he vowed to God that if the Lord would bless him the he would honor God with a tenth of everything God gave to him.

Genesis 30:43 (NIV)

⁴³ In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.

Jacob grew exceedingly prosperous and owned large herds and had many employees and livestock of all kinds. This was a result of him honoring God with this first part of his increase. Paying a tithe will stop the curse and it is also an act of worship to honor God proclaiming that all they have was given to them by God and God is the source of their income.

Genesis 13:2 (NIV)

² Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.

Abraham also depended only on God for his income and did not rely on humans for his prosperity. Abraham only looked to God to prosper him.

Genesis 14:23 (NIV)

²³ that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.'

Abram was careful not to allow any humans to take credit for his prosperity because he wanted to glorify God who gave him all the wealth that he had. It was God who made Abram rich not humans.

Proverbs 31:2 (NIV)

² "O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows,

This thing about becoming a son of my vows speaks of the "mother-enterprise" that was born out of a vow just like a poor Jacob who vowed to God that he would honor God with his increase if God would bless him.

Genesis 32:10 (NIV)

¹⁰ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups.

When Jacob left home to find his wife, he had nothing except the staff in his hand and his faith in God. He made a vow at Bethel before he crossed the Jordan and God answered his prayer and caused Jacob to be exceedingly prosperous and wealthy!

The application here is that a business entrepreneur must make his vows to God and keep these vows and then God can bless and multiply him. God did the same for Jacob and other men of faith including Abraham and Isaac and Job and Hezekiah and many other men throughout history who had faith in God to do great exploits and obtain great wealth.

But like David these things are to be dedicated to the Lord because they are not given to the businessman entrepreneur just for him to have a comfortable life. He must live for something greater than himself and give to God's kingdom on earth just as King David dedicated his spoils of war to the Lord and these were used for the first Temple building project.

1 Peter 2:5 (NIV)

⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Instead of building a temple of stones and wood and gold the temple of God on earth today is made of the believers who become living stones in God's temple on earth. These believers are temple of the Holy Spirit and carry the presence of God wherever they go upon the earth.

Ephesians 4:11-13 (7KB)

¹¹ In giving ministry gifts, He gave some as Apostles, and some as Prophets, and some as Teachers and some as Pastors and some as Evangelists,

¹² For the perfecting (maturing) of the saints, and for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ:

¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

The Apostles and Prophets and Teacher and Pastors and Evangelists all work to build God's temple on earth. The evangelist wins souls and brings newly saved believers into the church. The Apostles and Prophets and Teachers instruct them and cause them to mature spiritually and clean them up from vices. The Pastors watch over them like a shepherd watches over a flock of sheep. So, they are engaged in a building project like Solomon but their temple is built of living stones of believers who are saved from the world and purified from idolatry and sin and mature in Christ.

When David dedicated the spoils of war to the temple building project this speaks of how wild-donkey kings are to win spoils of war from the business world and dedicate this plunder to God's building project headed by Apostles and Prophets who are in charge of the Fivefold Ministry and are used to build God's temple on earth made of living stones of human believers!

Businessman Vowing to God

Psalm 76:11 (NIV)

¹¹ Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared.

Our wild-donkey-king entrepreneur must make vows to the Lord and then fulfill them. If he will make God his senior partner then God can bless his business beyond his wildest dreams!

Again, the ordinary plow-horse laymen should not presume to attempt this because being an entrepreneur is a gift from God and those born with this gift must possess the survival qualities of a wild-donkey and have the big-picture planning and foresight of a king!

Do Not Blow Capital on Poor Investments

Proverbs 31:3 (NIV)-M

³ do not spend your strength on prostitutes your vigor on those who ruin kings.

A prostitute has sexual relations with men but she does not offer any procreation or hope for the future. The prostitute is a picture of a bad investment that produces no return for the future. Numerous businessmen entrepreneurs have lost their business capital on poor investments. In fact, God will speak to a businessman and give them wisdom and insight and direction. But if they instead follow vain human information, they are in great danger of losing everything! Often times false business ventures are nothing but a scam to seize the capital of the businessman. This is like a prostitute who only cares about fleecing a man of his money but there is no love relationship involved with it. So false investments are always being presented for no other purpose than to steal business capital. It is not for a businessman king to involve himself with strangers or conduct his business enterprises with those he does not know. This is like going to bed with a prostitute who only wants to fleece him of his money and bring ruination upon his life! His vigor (capital and energy and ingenuity) is to be invested in the right places on business that he has some control over and for which he has knowledge of.

2 Chronicles 20:35-37 (NASB)

³⁵ After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly in so doing.

³⁶ So he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.

³⁷ Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying, "Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works." So the ships were broken and could not go to Tarshish.

Never should a believer become a business partner with the ungodly. God will not permit the blessings of the righteous to be shared with those who are wicked in God's sight. This is especially true of those who worship idols and bring a curse upon themselves. Jehoshaphat was a godly king but when he tried to have a business partnership with a wicked king then God destroyed their venture completely! Never should a believer businessman (who is serving God's kingdom) become unequally yoked with an unbeliever. This is like going to bed in compromise with a prostitute and will result in nothing but financial loss for those foolish enough to enter into such a compromise arrangement!

Substance Addiction has No Place for God's Businessman

Proverbs 31:4-7 (NIV)

⁴ "It is not for kings, O Lemuel-- not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer,

⁵ lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

⁶ Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish;

⁷ let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.

For a businessman entrepreneur to have substance addiction is as foolish as if soldiers got drunk while engaged in battle! They need full-use of their senses because business is involved in a real war to survive and they do not need to be squandering capital on vices. Alcohol is for those who are perishing to forget their troubles not for a businessman king who must remain on the cutting edge who is winning spoils of war for the kingdom of God!

Proverbs 31:8-9 (NIV)

⁸ "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.

⁹ Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."

This has application to speaking up for their business enterprise which has no voice except the voice of the businessman entrepreneur. The business cannot speak up for itself but it will become destitute if a man is passive and allows his business to be taken by others. It is a war out there and no quarter should be given in this respect or others will gleefully steal what belongs to the businessman. Judging fairly speaks of being honest in business but at the same time not allowing your own business to become poor and needy because of giving everything away to the competition. In sales negotiations the businessman cannot allow himself to be "nickel and dimed” away into poverty because his business has to make money for the Lord. He must be assertive and defend the rights of his business to make a profit. He will be tested in this area but he has to be willing to walk away from the negotiation if he cannot get what he needs. It is worthless to be working for free when he can make more money on an honest deal with the same effort. Defending the poor and needy speaks of defending his own business (which cannot speak up for itself) and without his defense it will fail and become poor and needy and swept away the fierce competition.

Proverbs 31:10-12 (NIV)

¹⁰ A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.

¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.

¹² She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

Here the wife is an analogy of a business that does a entrepreneur good all of the days of his life. If he creates an enterprise out of nothing this is something that can be a blessing to him just as a young man being married to a wife. Before marriage both the man and the woman are both barren but when they marry, they become fruitful and complete. In the same way, an entrepreneur can create a business where there was none previously and this can do him good and not harm all of the days of his life!

Proverbs 31:13-15 (NIV)

¹³ She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.

¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

¹⁵ She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.

Selecting wool and flax and working with her hands speaks of taking raw materials and manufacturing useful products that are in demand. The merchant ships speak of vendors and bringing parts and materials and services from afar and assembling them into a useful enterprise. The business is like a living person (comparable to a wife) because it keeps producing and provides an income for the family of the businessman and even more by providing employment for others.

Progressive Investments

Proverbs 31:16 (NIV)

¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

This scripture speaks of buying a field and out of the earnings planting a vineyard. This is like a farmer who started off with some chickens and then saved money for some pigs and then saved money from the pigs to buy a cow. So, he was increasing by using investments gained from a lesser enterprise to fund something greater. Some business entrepreneurs have started with lesser enterprises and gained capital to invest in something more profitable later. This was a means for them to get started when they had nothing in the beginning.

Proverbs 31:17-19 (NIV)

¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

This speaks of perceiving when the business is doing well then really pressing into it in order to maximize the profits when the demand is present. The businessman should not be sidetracked from that area where he is making the most money. Some have gone into a ditch pulling money out of a profitable business to fund a sideline that was only losing money. They have to stay where the money is and not be distracted from their mainline or they can lose everything!

Blessed to be a Blessing to Others

Proverbs 31:20-22 (NIV)

²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.

²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

²² She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

Again, when a business prospers it becomes a source of income not only for the owner and employees but the business becomes like a vine growing over the wall to bless others outside of the company and to do good for the kingdom of God and to meet human needs. Money has to be made before it can be given and a profitable business enterprise can become a continual source of blessing to many people.

Successful Entrepreneur Respected

Proverbs 31:23 (NIV)

²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

The husband refers to the business entrepreneur who started the enterprise (wife) who does him good and generates revenue! He is respected because everyone wants to know his secret to success. A successful businessman is often the most respected and envied of all people in society! Everyone wants to hear his success story because he gives hope to everyone!

Again, however the plow-horse laborer should not be deceived into blowing his savings in a business startup for which he is not gifted to operate. Many are inspired by the testimonies of successful entrepreneurs and then foolishly blow their entire savings on something that makes them no money at all. The plow-horse has to be honest about his own ability (or lack thereof) and not assume to intrude into the office of an entrepreneur if he is not gifted to do so.

Proverbs 31:24 (NIV)

²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.

This refers to wholesale manufacture of goods which are sold to merchants who sell these items. A word of wisdom here is that a business entrepreneur should not assume to expand into areas where he is not qualified for. If his gift is in manufacturing, he should stick with that and not intrude into sales.

I know of a business innovator who was gifted in building earth moving machines but when he tried to use these same machines on construction projects then he would typically lose the profits he made from selling the machines. He had to focus on the manufacturing side because that is where he was prosperous (not on doing construction). The construction men were only his customers but he should not have wasted his time and money in that field himself. The principle here is that a man can define his way where he sees the fruit of prosperity but if he ventures into things (where he is losing money) then that is a sign that he has drifted away from his God-appointed place.

Proverbs 31:25-27 (NIV)

²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

²⁶ She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

This speaks of business equity when they have saved capital for business expansion and they are secure financially because they did not blow any savings on false investment scams. Watching over the affairs of her household speaks of watching what is going on in business.

I know of an entrepreneur who had a large cattle operation but he was not paying attention to his affairs closely and had a few bad-apple managers run the operation into the ground by neglect. He had to fire them and take responsibility himself to straighten things out. The businessman entrepreneur must be on constant vigil and watch over the affairs of his business like a hawk! Any passivity in this area can mean the ruination of a once prosperous business enterprise.

Proverbs 31:28 (NIV)

²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:

The children can refer to those who are blessed by the operation such as employees and vendors and the many people involved with the business enterprise. They are all happy when this business prosperous and they also share in the wealth created. This can also have application to other profitable business startups that were funded by the original business. These new startups are like the children of the entrepreneur and cause him to increase his income and blessing. Only if they are profitable should such startups be pursued. A businessman has to be careful not to be sidetracked into strange or perverse enterprises for which he has little or no knowledge. But if he is able to expand into having more "children" as profitable enterprises then he should do so!

Proverbs 31:29-30 (NIV)

²⁹ "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."

³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

I know of companies which continually reinvest profits and expand their business operations until they have become a global empire. These companies which follow the program of capital reinvestment can create new enterprises (like having children) and they can surpass everyone by business expansion.

Charm is deceptive and often people will try to flatter a businessman for his money or to get contracts or deals. But it should be the products and services given that speak for the business not the praises of humans which are a vain thing. Those who fear the Lord are those who can be honored by God and who can receive God's blessing just as many of the founding companies that now make up the US economy. These businesses are predominately started by men who were tithe-payers and feared God and gave generously from their net-revenues.

Proverbs 31:31 (NIV)

³¹ Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Giving her the reward that she earned speaks of the continual reinvestment of business profits into business expansion. Her works will bring her praise with new innovations and products that come out continually and beat all competition in quality and price and advanced technology!

Avoiding the Pride Trap

Daniel 4:28-32 (NASB)

²⁸ "All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king.

²⁹ "Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon.

³⁰ "The king reflected and said, 'Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?'

³¹ "While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you,

³² and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.'

King Nebuchadnezzar became lifted up in pride after God had caused him to prosper. He falsely assumed that his Babylonian empire was built by his own human wisdom and by his own human power for the glory of his own majesty! This reflects outrageous human pride which refuses to acknowledge that he was gifted by God to fulfill eternal destiny upon the earth. In the case of the Babylonian empire, God used this nation as a scourge to discipline and chastise his people Israel for having fallen into idol-worship. But after God used Babylon to discipline Israel then God judged the same nation for destroying his people! This is an example of how God will even raise up unbelievers (like Nebuchadnezzar) to fulfill God's plans and purposes on earth.

It should be noted however that the same Nebuchadnezzar also was judged by God for his pride in supposing his success was his own doing. This same principle has application to the businessmen-kings who are raised up to generate wealth using their gifts in business. Many of them become exceeding prideful because of their wealth. They have politicians and even presidents of nations catering to them and they are often the envy of everyone in society (who all want to be rich). Sexual immorality is rampant among them as gold-digger type of women throw themselves at them trying to get their money. All of this human attention and praise can easily defile them and cause them to become like King Nebuchadnezzar who was proud of his world-empire as if he built it by his own human wisdom and his own human strength.

But the businessmen-kings are to give glory to God for their gifts and not use them for self-serving purposes. When these worldly businessmen do give financially then they will typically engage in social projects which glorify themselves or create a foundation with their name on it or build a building memorial for themselves or in some other way seek to glorify themselves.

Setting Up a Monument for Themselves

1 Samuel 15:10-14 (NIV)

¹⁰ Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel:

¹¹ "I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions." Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night.

¹² Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, "Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal."

¹³ When Samuel reached him, Saul said, "The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD's instructions."

¹⁴ But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?"

King Saul is an example of a man who just disobeyed God and was rejected as being king but at the same time he was busy setting up a monument for himself to honor himself for what he had done! Saul was so blinded by his own pride that he was unaware that he had been rejected by God and God sent the prophet Samuel to rebuke Saul and deliver his rejection notice from God!

Setting up a monument for themselves is something that businessmen-kings will often do. When they do give, they often do so to their own charities which are created as a monument to glorify their own names. Often, they will give to charities that flatter them for their giving or give to a false religion run by a hireling who only exists to create a livelihood for himself (but is not building the kingdom of God on earth).

See the link "Religious Vultures" for more details.

Religious vultures typically flatter rich men for their donations and have many schemes to flatter businessmen for their money. They will often place engraved donor plaques on the wall or provide assigned seating or offer big donors a position on their church board. But this entire religious operation is nothing but a dead social club and supporting it is sowing into cursed ground! This is all an example of rich businessmen who set up monuments for themselves because they desire to have human praises on earth.

2 Samuel 18:18 (NLT2)

¹⁸ During his lifetime, Absalom had built a monument to himself in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to carry on my name.” He named the monument after himself, and it is known as Absalom’s Monument to this day.

Absalom was another who set up a monument for himself when in fact he never did anything except flatter humans to gain their support so he could overthrow his father David and take the throne for himself. Those who build monuments for themselves are those who are full of pride and human ego and are displeasing in God's sight.

2 Samuel 17:14 (NIV)

¹⁴ Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than that of Ahithophel." For the LORD had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.

It is evident that God was not pleased with vain pride of Absalom trying to seize the throne for his own self-service. God frustrated his war plans because God planned to bring disaster upon the proud Absalom. God hates pride and this is the chief sin of those businessman-kings who were gifted to generate wealth for the kingdom of God.

Matthew 6:2-4 (NIV)

² "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Whenever giving is done for vain glory (only to garner human attention) then this is an abomination in God's sight and these types of givers will have no reward from God for their giving which was all done for vain self-glory.

Giving Under Authority of Apostles

Acts 4:34-35 (NIV)

³⁴ There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales

³⁵ and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

In the early church, the money was placed at the Apostle's feet meaning that it was placed under the authority of the Apostles. The Apostles typically operate using the Revelation gifts which includes Discerning of spirits (to know secret heart motives of people) and Word of Knowledge to know things present and Word of Wisdom to know things future. It is the operation of these spiritual gifts which can stop all financial fraud within the church. The Apostles would never give to freeloaders or give toward false social projects (only designed to milk money from the church). The operation of the "Revelation Gifts" enable the funds to be administered without financial fraud and stops sowing into bad ground by giving to someone who is unworthy or who is living an unclean or immoral life in the sight of God.

See the link "Spiritual Gifts" for more details.

1 Corinthians 16:3-4 (NIV)

³ Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.

⁴ If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.

Apostle Paul also administered large donations given toward helping the believers in Jerusalem who were suffering from a famine. Paul personally oversaw the administration of this large donation and brought men with him as witnesses so that everyone knew the large donation went fully toward its intended recipients. It was the Apostles (who operate in Revelation Gifts) that were given responsibility over large donations of the church to make sure they were utilized with utmost integrity. In this manner all potential financial fraud was eliminated in the church by the operation of Revelation Gifts under the administration of Apostles.

It is for this reason that businessmen givers are to give their donations only to Apostles confirmed with the operation of Revelation Gifts. Then their donations will go toward helping the kingdom of God on earth rather than supporting false religion.

Two Types of Rich Men

There are two types of rich men that exist and there are wicked rich men who are unbelievers and only use their gift for making money for self-serving purposes. They love to flatter themselves with human attention giving only to those who give them what they want in return.

Then there are righteous rich men like Abraham and Job and Hezekiah and David and many others who glorified God with their wealth.

Genesis 13:2 (NIV)

² Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.

Abram was wealthy in livestock and in silver and in gold. But Abram gave all of the glory to God for his prosperity and kept his heart right before God. God was free to bless him because he kept a proper perspective of wealth and used wealth to fulfill God's purposes on earth.

Genesis 14:23 (NIV)

²³ that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, 'I made Abram rich.'

Abram refused to allow anyone to say that they made him rich. Abram always gave God the glory for his prosperity and this is a trait of the righteous rich men who used their wealth for blessing others and fulfilling the kingdom of God upon the earth.

Hell is the Place of Wicked Rich Men

Isaiah 53:9 (7KB)

⁹ His place after death was assigned with wicked men, and He was in the place of the rich man’s hell ensuing his decease. He suffered punishment for all human sin as a sacrifice even though He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit found in His mouth.

Jesus went into hell to pay for the punishment of all humanity and so it was said of him that he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death. The wicked rich are those who are in hell!

All wicked rich men go to hell and therefore the place of hell is often referred to as the place of the (wicked) rich men. The wicked rich men should be distinguished from the righteous rich men because there is a big difference. There are many men like Abraham who were rich but they did not go to hell but they were honored by God in heaven because they used their wealth on earth to fulfill God's purposes.

Luke 16:19-31 (NASB)

¹⁹ "Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day.

²⁰ "And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores,

²¹ and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.

²² "Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.

²³ "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.

²⁴ "And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'

²⁵ "But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.

²⁶ 'And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.'

²⁷ "And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house—

²⁸ for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'

²⁹ "But Abraham *said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.'

³⁰ "But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!'

³¹ "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"

This is a true account of a rich man who went to hell. He was in agony in the eternal fires of hell because he was a businessman-king on earth but he never utilized his gift for the Lord but only used his wealth for self-serving purposes. He lived in luxury and self-indulgence and no doubt also built monuments to his own name while on earth and gave only to those who flattered him for his money or supported dead religion in exchange for their human praises. The end result was that he died and found himself in eternal agony in hell!

Hell is the place of the wicked rich men who were "businessmen-kings" on earth but they never got saved and never utilized their gifts to make money for the kingdom of God. All they did was for self-serving purposes and they went to hell for this reason because they were wicked rich men!

Passing the Prosperity Test

It seems that the majority of rich men (born with a gift of God to make money) all end up in hell. This is because they made no steps to humble themselves before the Lord and took all of the glory to themselves (like King Nebuchadnezzar) who thought he was responsible for his own wealth and the greatness of his worldwide empire.

2 Chronicles 32:24-27 (NIV)

²⁴ In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the LORD, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign.

²⁵ But Hezekiah's heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the LORD's wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.

²⁶ Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the LORD's wrath did not come upon them during the days of Hezekiah.

²⁷ Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables.

King Hezekiah was very wealthy and God blessed him because he was a godly king. But even King Hezekiah become proud and God judged him with a terminal disease. In God's mercy however, Hezekiah was suffering a slow death which gave him a chance to repent of his pride.

2 Kings 20:1-6 (NASB)

¹ In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'"

² Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying,

³ "Remember now, O LORD, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴ Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

⁵ "Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David, "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD.

⁶ "I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David's sake."'"

When King Hezekiah received the death-threat from the prophet (as a warning from God) then he humbled himself greatly and wept bitter tears in sincere repentance. God saw his broken heart and reversed the death sentence and healed Hezekiah and allowed him to live for an additional 15-years.

It should be noted that God hates human pride and when a businessman-king gets lifted up in pride (because of his wealth) then God will judge such a man. This is the reason that the majority of the rich men go to hell. Eternal damnation is so commonplace with wicked rich men that hell is even called the place of the wicked rich!

Even a godly king like Hezekiah was not immune to pride because of the enormous wealth God had given to him. All rich men must guard their hearts in this area of pride because the sin of pride is an abomination before God and it leads to many other types of sins as well!

Privilege of Being a Businessman King

It is a great honor and privilege to be born with a gift of being a businessman-king. However, with this great gift comes a sober responsibility because the majority of men born with this gift will end up in hell! Only those who are righteous rich men like Abraham and Job and Hezekiah and David and many others who served God's purposes on earth will make it to heaven.

It is up to the freewill of businessmen-kings to see to it that they keep their hearts humble and give only toward works that are authorized by the operation of Revelation Gifts of Apostles. If they support false religion on earth and give only for human flattery then they will be judged for it.

In fact, God did not give these businessmen-kings this ability to make money just so they could enrich themselves and live a lifestyle of self-indulgence. It was God's intention for all businessmen-kings to support the kingdom of God. They are to win the spoils of war from the world's system and then give this money to the kingdom of God on earth. Supporting anything else will bring a curse to them instead of a blessing.

The businessman-king is the envy of all society but few people realize what a grave responsibility it is to be a businessman-giver. Only those who use this gift to serve God's purposes will have reward in heaven. The rest are considered wicked rich men who only use their wealth for self-serving purposes and to buy human praises and flattery!

See the link "Gift of Businessman-Giver" for more details.

Only righteous rich men will make it into heaven. These are men who put God first-place in their hearts and love God more than money. They humble themselves and acknowledge that everything they have has come from God. They honor God with the first tenth-part of their increase and they are generous to give offerings out of their 90% share of the net-profits of their business enterprise.

See the link "Giving and Kingdom Finances" for more details.

Rich Man who Repented and became a Giver

Matthew 19:21-26 (NIV)

²¹ Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Jesus said that is it hard for the rich man to go to heaven when they love money more than the love God. Jesus asked this rich man to sell his possessions and give. This was a test of this rich man's heart because if he could not give then this means he loved money more than God. But men can change their hearts and repent and it is said that this rich young ruler was Joseph a Levite from Cyprus (who was also called Barnabas) and that he later counted the cost and sold out for the Lord and became a generous patron of the Apostolic church in Jerusalem.

Acts 4:36-37 (NIV)

³⁶ Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement),

³⁷ sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.

It seems that Joseph (also called Barnabas) owned land outside of Israel in the isle of Cyprus and he sold this land and gave it under the authority of the Apostles in the church as Jerusalem. A rich man can repent of love of money (which is equal to idolatry) and he can still change his ways and be saved (as a rich man) if he can humble himself and learn to "give" before his life on earth is expired.

There are many righteous rich men who made it to heaven so it is not impossible even though a majority of rich men end up in hell because they were unable to deal with their sin of pride and all of the related sins which typically affect wicked rich men.

Both the righteous rich man and the wicked rich man were both born with a gift of God to make money. But only the righteous rich men who get saved and utilize their gift to serve God's kingdom on earth will enter into heaven. It is a great privilege to be a businessman-king but at the same time there are powerful forces at work involving pride and sin and self-indulgence which have caused the majority of rich men on earth to perish in eternal hell!

Only those rich men who humble themselves and use their gift to serve God's kingdom will make it to heaven. God did not make them rich just to send them to hell but it is up to their own human freewill to choose to keep their own heart motives humble before God. Then they can join the ranks of the many righteous rich men in heaven together with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, Hezekiah and David and numerous others who used their wealth to honor the God of Israel and to fulfill God's purposes on earth.

Principle Joseph and Government

Ecclesiastes 10:16-19 (NIV)

¹⁶ Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning.

¹⁷ Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time-- for strength and not for drunkenness.

¹⁸ If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks.

¹⁹ A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything.

The scriptures above speak of incompetent government officials who become profligates and lazy and squander the government budgets on nonsense things. This happens when ungodly people are able to seize positions of authority when righteous men drop their leadership and do nothing but retire and pursue personal hobbies.

The rafters sagging and roof leaking speaks of no national security or protection from the outside elements. Such is the condition of any nation run by incompetent fools (who only serve themselves and deplete the resources of the nation).

The reason that money is an answer to everything is that if the State has a complete budget, they can take care of any problem that should arise. But if State funds are squandered by incompetent leaders then the country will go bankrupt and government officials will be unable to fix essential things. At this point society will go into disarray with broken sewer systems, ailing power girds, and no protection against the outside elements of foreign invasion (due to under-funding of military). When police departments are under-funded then chaos will arise and lawlessness will prevail on the streets!

Principle Joseph teaches that seed must be saved for the future. This is a Jewish principle to save seed for sowing (investments) and have funds saved for living expenses (consumption). If these funds are squandered by mismanagement (when incompetent leaders seize power) then the nation will come to total ruination (as has been the case for many nations headed by incompetent leaders throughout the whole earth)!

Budgets must be saved in advance for replacement and repair of ailing infrastructure and budgets should be made for an aging population that are now living longer. Having a 100-year healthcare plan is essential to provide care for the elderly for their entire lives (instead of having no plan in place for their care when they live beyond the allotted time-frame).

Principle Joseph deals with the fact that Joseph prepared for the future with long-term government planning. He saved grain for consumption to keep the population alive during the seven-year famine and stored extra grain for outside nations that also needed help. Joseph also stored extra grain so that they would have seed for planting after the seven-year famine was over. These things are all part of the Principle Joseph to think ahead and plan ahead using the wisdom of God and Judaeo/Christian biblical principles (which when applied can make any people or national population of people on earth prosper)!

There is no future prosperity outside of following the Torah wisdom of Jewish principles given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants the Jews. This knowledge has now gone over the wall of Judaism and today hundreds of millions of Gentiles (outside the wall of Judaism) are now enjoying prosperity because of these principles God revealed to his people.

Any human on earth can now prosper by follow these principles of seedtime and harvest and by saving seed for planting (investments) and seed for consumption (living expenses). This knowledge reveals the secrets of God's creation and how humans can follow them to prosper within the earth-system set up by God which causes the earth to reproduce continual provision in perpetual manner.