226. You will Prosper
1 Chronicles 22:13 Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfill the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.
David is charging Solomon with the building of the Temple for the Lord. The promise from God is that he will prosper in the work he is called to do. This promise follows the pattern of conditional promises in the Bible: If you obey, then you will prosper. The Deuteronomic Blessings and Curses come into effect according to how closely we follow the Ten Commandments, the Law of God given to Moses. The Mosaic Covenant is conditional.
The immediate context of the promise is the prosperity and success of the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. The wider context concerns the prosperity of the kingdom of Israel under the kingship of Solomon. The still wider Biblical context of the conditional promise of prosperity is generally true. Prosperity comes from the fulfilling of the statues and judgments of the Lord given to Moses. One example is Psalm 1:2, 3: “His delight is in the law of the Lord….in all that he does he prospers.” And the Lord speaks to Joshua in Joshua 1:8: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Prosperity, as a promise, does not necessarily mean material prosperity and wealth in this world, although worldly riches do often come to faithful Christians, and even to morally upright unbelievers. The true riches, real wealth, and success in life are promised for spiritual prosperity. This is called eternal life, or the kingdom of God. Prosperity will come for specific projects or tasks or responsibilities when they are carried out according to God’s will. But it is still the spiritual prosperity that is promised to the one who walks in the way of the Lord. Peace in the soul and wellbeing in the spirit is much more vital and long lasting than any temporary prosperity. Material riches do not last; spiritual wealth is forever.
The truth is that Jesus keep the Law perfectly for us, and we are declared righteous, and thus because of the merits of Christ we shall prosper. We are righteous by faith and that gifted righteousness gives us the power to actually behave better and live rightly, so that spiritual prosperity comes.