Throughout biblical history God has brought abundant wealth to many of His people. When we begin to study it, the pattern becomes very evident.
That pattern began with God’s covenant partner, Abram. He was made wealthy shortly after he began to walk with God. In a brief time he received a great deal of wealth from the Pharaoh of Egypt because of Sarai, Abram’s wife (see Genesis 12:16).
Genesis 13:2 says, “Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold” (NKJV). Abram’s wealth came out of Egypt and continued to grow along with his power. His own men even conquered an alliance of five kings who had taken his nephew, Lot, captive.
At the same time Abram delivered the king of Sodom and then offered the tithe of all the wealth he recovered, to the priest and king, Melchizedek. In this case, the wealth of Sodom was transferred into God’s kingdom to fulfill His plan and purpose.
Abraham’s son, Isaac, also experienced dramatic increase. When the land in which Isaac lived suffered from a famine it drove everyone living in the region to Egypt for help. But, following God’s instructions, Isaac remained in the land, risking everything. Yet as a result of his obedience he received a harvest of one hundredfold on all of his crops.
Notice the increase that came as a result of Isaac’s obedience to God: “That year Isaac’s crops were tremendous! He harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. He became a rich man, and his wealth only continued to grow” (Genesis 26:12-13 NLT).
Jacob, Isaac’s son, received a plan from God that would transfer the wealth of his wicked father-in-law, Laban, into his possession. Jacob had tended Laban’s flocks and herds for many years. Although Laban’s wealth increased because of Jacob, Laban cheated Jacob over and over. God showed Jacob how to turn this injustice around.
In Genesis 31:4 9, Jacob tells the details of how this transfer took place.
“So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, and said to them, ‘I see your father’s countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me. And you know that with all my might I have served your father. Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. If he said thus: “The speckled shall be your wages,” then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: “The streaked shall be your wages,” then all the flocks bore streaked. So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me'” (NKJV).
Though Jacob served Laban with integrity, Laban unfairly changed his wages ten times, but God didn’t allow Jacob to be hurt by his father-in-law. The wealth of a wicked and unjust man was transferred into the hands of a man who walked in covenant with God.
God wants to transfer the world’s wealth into the hands of His covenant people today. When that happens we can use it to fulfill God’s plans and purposes.
