Today we continue our series entitled, “Back to the Bible,” with Part 27. We have been looking at Psalm 119. Let’s continue to walk through this amazing psalm. Today we will only look at one verse, verse 72, because I am going to teach you the context behind the verse.
David said:
(v.72) The words you speak to me are worth more than all the riches and wealth in the whole world!
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. King David was astronomically rich and he valued God’s Word over his riches. David said, “The words you speak to me are worth more than all the riches and wealth in the whole world!” (Psalm 119:72). I believe Christians today have a hard time wrapping their minds around the type of wealth God’s people had in the Bible. Since David was comparing God’s Word to earthly riches, I will give you an example of how much wealth he had.
a) God told David that He wanted a temple built. But He also told him that he was not authorized to build it. The assignment to build the temple was given to Solomon, David’s son. David’s part was to store up the wealth/resources required for the project. When David was telling his son about the resources he stored up for him, this is what he said, “Solomon, I have worked hard making plans for building the Lord’s Temple. I have given 3,750 tons of gold and about 37,500 tons of silver. I have given so much bronze and iron that it cannot be weighed. And I have given wood and stone. Solomon, you can add to them.” (1 Chron 22:14 ERV). You may have no idea how much money we are talking about here. So allow me to do some math. I will only calculate the gold. Today an ounce of gold is valued at $1,300. There are 16 ounces in a pound. This makes a pound worth $20,800. A ton is 2,000 pounds. This makes a ton worth $41.6M. David handed Solomon 3,750 tons. In gold alone that is $156B. And this is just what he stored up for the temple project. Yes, for ONE PROJECT.
b) To give you an idea of the type of money David raised from the people, in Chronicles 29 the King raised an offering. He told the people to bring their offering for God’s temple. This is what they brought: “They contributed 375,186 pounds of gold, 750,000 pounds of silver, 135,000 pounds of bronze, and 7,500,000 pounds of iron for the work on God’s temple.” (1 Chron 29:7). This was worth billions of dollars, and it was raised in a single offering.
c) When Solomon took over as King the provision did not stop. Solomon’s kingdom brought in just under 50,000 pounds of gold every year (1 Kings 10:14). And that is just in gold.
d) When it was time to build the temple Solomon had the natural resources he needed and he also had the money to hire skilled workers from outside his kingdom. Solomon contracted King Hiram of Tyre and Sidon to bring in cedar from Lebanon. He also hired 30,000 men from Israel, just to help the men from Lebanon. He hired 75,000 general carriers, 80,000 stone cutters, and 3,600 forman to supervise the project. Yes, you read that right. He had 3,600 supervisors (see 1 Kings 5). The temple project took billions of dollars and about 7.5 years to complete. This was all led of God and it was all for His glory. Remember, while God is in heaven, He is attempting to reach people in the earth. And ministry, on this planet, requires money. This is why God is not against you having it. You can be a conduit through which God funds His Kingdom projects.
e) Now that you have a better understanding of the type of wealth David had, let’s go back to his statement. He said, “The words you speak to me are worth more than all the riches and wealth in the whole world!” (Psalm 119:72). I hope this gives you a better understanding of the importance of God’s Word.
2. God is not against you having money, He is against money having you.
a) God made several people in the Bible exceptionally rich. By conservative estimates, both David and Solomon were trillionaires. The richest man in the world right now, Jeff Bezos, is worth $100B. David and Solomon had at least 10X that. And it was God who gave them the wealth. He blessed them and they used earthly wealth to glorify God on this planet. So money, in and of itself, is not bad. It’s the LOVE of money, or having a wrong relationship with money, that causes all sorts of evil (1 Tim 6:10).
b) King Solomon, David’s son, a trillionaire in his own right, taught us to never wear ourselves out attempting to get rich (Prov 23:4,5). It’s not worth it. You can ruin your life chasing a what people consider to be the “almighty dollar.” There is nothing almighty about money. If you chase the true almighty, God Himself, instead of chasing money, God can see to it that money chases you (see Matthew 6).
Closing Confession:
Father, this is a season of expectation for me. I expect to experience Your best and I also expect to be in a position to BE a blessing to others. So I open my heart to all You want to do in my life. I do not live for just me and my family. I live TO BE a blessing to others on this planet. This means I am open to having MORE THAN ENOUGH. You bless me with MORE THAN ENOUGH peace, love, mercy, favor, grace, and money, so I can in turn BE A BLESSING to others out of my overflow. And I declare that I do! I am a conduit of Your blessing in this world! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
