I abhor the rise of prosperity gospel preachers. They teach a false, dangerous doctrine. A few months ago, while doing dishes, I listened to twenty minutes of Joel Olsteen. The word disgust doesn't begin to cover it! He didn't say a single thing that rang true, in regards to Biblical doctrine. Let's define these characters as mere motivational speakers--not Pastors or Biblical teachers.
An excellent sermon on the Jeremiah 29:11 passage can be found at www.expository.org/jer29a.htm. Much of this post comes from that teaching.
The English word "prosperity" is not a good match for the Hebrew word "shalom", which is the word used in Jeremiah 29:11. Correctly interpreting any passage of Scripture requires examining the Hebrew words and comparing them to the English words used in translation. Many times the match is far from precise, which is why we should all own a good study Bible. And why we need to choose a church carefully, making sure the church leaders use historical context and the correct Hebrew meanings for any interpretational teaching.
So, what does "shalom" mean? It means peace. A larger definition brings in the ideas of completeness, wholeness, harmony, fulfillment, unimpaired relationship with others and with God.
If you're interested, the historical context of Jeremiah 29:11 is printed in red below. If you're not interested, skip over this red portion.
These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: 4 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the LORD. 10 "For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, 14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. 15 "Because you have said, 'The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,' 16 thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile: 17 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, behold, I am sending on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, 19 because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the LORD, that I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the LORD.' 20 Hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. 22 Because of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: "The LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire," 23 because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, they have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and they have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. I am the one who knows, and I am witness, declares the LORD.' (Jeremiah 29:1-23 ESV)
Each use of the word "prosperity" refers to God's close relationship with his people, even in exile. This is the primary sense of the word shalom--peace, intimacy, unhindered relationship with God. God is working out His purposes even during the tragedies of His people. Nothing is pointless; nothing is out from under God's control.
Isaiah 40 tells us:
He tends his flock like a sheperd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
Currently, our van is doing something new. Our mechanic doesn't own the $80,000 diagnostic machine needed to correctly analyze the problem. So today, we have it at the Toyota dealer, spending the $60 necessary to have it analyzed. It could be the transmission, or another extremely expensive repair. Or, perhaps it's something simpler. Rebuilding a transmission is a couple thousand and our mechanic doesn't think it's worth doing on such an old van. My husband quickly let him know that a new used van is not in the cards. We HAVE to keep this van running. This is even more important right now than staying current on the house payment, which has been our primary focus during this job hunt/financial crisis.
This whole post endeavors to drive this point home: Our earthly lives are typically full of curve balls. Things ebb and flow, of course, but the curves keep on coming. My issues are different than yours, but still, everyone has issues.
Issues that seem really hard to handle.
Issues that can drag on and on, making us wonder where God is in the midst of our struggles.
Jeremiah 29:11 speaks of the peace we have in relationship with God.
THAT IS ENOUGH.
It truly is.
Don't be deceived, thinking that a better income will solve your issues, or a different house, or a different husband, or a different location, or a different job, or different friends, or a different extended family.
God. Just God. He's all we need. Seek Him, and his peace. Feel his sufficiency. Envelope yourself with it.
Memorize this: " He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart." Isaiah 40
Memorize this: "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
The Jeremiah verse literally popped into my head yesterday while I watched my children eat lunch together on the little preschool table in our playroom. The dining room table was littered with a collage project. We weren't finished and clearing it for lunch didn't make sense. So although I don't like them to eat in the playroom, it made sense yesterday.
Baby Beth was in heaven, I tell you. I put her in the preschool chair and she fit perfectly. She looked so proud! Her face lit up and sheer delight sparkled from her eyes. She felt like a big girl. Like an equal with her siblings, who were all sitting there with her. They giggled at her--sensing her big-girl delight.
They had the best time together, sitting there as one harmonious, happy unit.
I was blessed...not able to keep my eyes off them. I knew God was there, in that moment. The joyful sibling scene before me was from Him--a timely reminder of his blessings, of his faithfulness. Of the plans he has to prosper me (us). Not financially, but through relationship with him. Through closer relationship. Through more peace. Through greater clarity and wisdom.
Post Script: Oh, my. Reading this over a couple hours after writing it, I see tons of to be verbs. No time now, but later, I'll work on injecting beefy verbs.
No comments:
Post a Comment