- Lesson 5 in the Connect360 unit “The Search for Wisdom: Words to Live By” focuses on Proverbs 3:9-10.
Proverbs 3:10 wraps up the “then” portion of the “if/then” statement from verse 9. The person who trusts and obeys God experiences the joyous benefits of his promises. Verse 10 reveals the results of what happens when a person honors the Lord with their possessions and with their firstfruits. The result is God’s ongoing provision and protection.
Tithing and giving to the Lord does not always result in seeing an increase in financial wealth, but it always makes room for the Christian believer to see that God is truly the provider.
The writer emphasizes that “barns” or “storehouses” will “be filled with plenty.” Surely the person who honors the Lord with their first and best will experience a fulfilled life with more than enough. Vats, or troughs, that operated like a winepress would overflow with new wine. The King James Version says the vats will “burst out” with new wine.
This was awesome news for people who could not get the kind of access to drinkable water like those in the 21st century. The Israelites had to rely on wine as a viable beverage to consume, due to lack of access to drinking water, drought and contamination.
Imagine having so much that you do not mind giving more to God and blessing others around you.
Surrendering to God is made easier when one understands the promises of God and when one recognizes God’s character as a promise keeper. The children of Israel had to learn this even as they journeyed to the promised land. In Deuteronomy 28:8, the promise that God would bless Israel in their land was dependent on the obedience of the people of Israel within the Mosaic covenant.
The children of Israel would experience agricultural abundance and prosperity, not because of their own abilities or because of a false god in the culture, but because the Lord God had provided and continued to provide for them.
When we are faithful and obedient to God by trusting him with our wealth, we discover God is more than faithful in meeting our every need. When we are generous givers of the things God has blessed us with, we will experience an incredible abundance of blessings that will show up in our faith walk as well. We live and look more like Jesus when we trust God with everything he has given to us.
To learn more about GC2 Press and the Connect360 Bible study series, or to order materials, click here.
Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.