Isaiah on Wealth

The prosperity of American culture breeds sin. For any believer, it is hard to deny this. We first see wealth as a means to happiness through the comfort of security, or the ability to get what we want. In the end, we often sacrifice our true happiness for wealth.

Isaiah saw the same problems in his day. Isaiah was a court prophet whose interactions were with the wealthy and privileged of ancient Judean society. His condemnation of the wealthy Judean elite in Isaiah 3 applies in our affluent society.

Wealth is not a curse. It can be a blessing. In Isaiah 3:10 he clearly says that the righteous will do well and reap the joyous reward of their labor. The wicked will reap too, but not so joyously.

So what makes us wicked or righteous regarding wealth?

Seeing wealth as an object of trust

Wealth is temporary, it must not be the object of trust. Wealth never works as a substitute for God, because God can take away our wealth no matter how great it is. He can do this at any time he chooses. at any time. In Isaiah 3 He says He will take away all the stored up supply. No matter how much we set aside for the future, the security of our security is ultimately in God’s hands. It is a foolish thing to provoke the one who has mastery over all we own.

Trusting in people is not sufficient either. He is perfectly capable of depriving the nation (or person) of access to the people upon whom they depend. In this case, He takes away the powerful people, the soldiers that protect, judges, prophets, soothsayers, artisans, and any other type of people upon which they depend (Isaiah 3:2-7)

Obtaining wealth wickedly

God cares about how we get it.

Isaiah 3:14 and 15 make this clear. Wealth obtained while abusing those less fortunate is tainted in God’s sight. In Isaiah’s case, it is through the destruction of the poor, stealing, and abuse. God notices these things. By this principle, for God’s people, wealth obtained in any way that would disobedient to God is an affront to His glory. There can be no separation of business and faith for a believer.

Holding or spending wealthy arrogantly

Wealth held in pride is an affront to God. He cares about the spirit in which we use our wealth.

Money does us no good if we are not able to use it. In that sense, money is a means to an end. For the wicked, wealth is a means to flaunt pride and seeks to satisfy worldly lusts. Isaiah’s examples of this are the ornately decorated daughters of Zion (3:16). They walk in pride. They decorate themselves for attention. They flirt with their eyes and walk in a “look at me” way. This is not how God wants His people who claim His name to behave. His pronounced judgment is severe. He will take away their beauty and expose such arrogance to the gaze of strangers.

The picture painted here is so much different than the abundance God provides for the faithful described in Proverbs 3:5-8. Rather than starting off with wealth as a substitute for God, the blessed man commits everything in His life to God. It is God first. Then He follows God’s wisdom instead of His own. The result is God’s provision. True abundance is an incidental blessing in the pursuit of the pleasure of our Master.

And even then, the wealth we have is a stewardship to be used for His glory. Our example here is Christ (Philippians 2) who left the glories of heaven to humble himself become a servant. Even the most privileged believer must consider himself as a servant and his wealth as a stewardship to be used for God’s glory.

This radical change in world-view regarding wealth and prosperity is essential for proper Christian living.  God has called us to think and act differently than the world around us.