On our way to successful decrees, we came upon a double promise. In Job 22.24, God promised real wealth to those who have fulfilled all the triggers in Job 21-23. “Then you will lay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.” I call that real wealth, do you not? God does not want us to decree while wearing rags or living in borrowed quarters. He does not want anybody to say “Physician, heal thyself” as that might bring reproach to His name.
After all, the one who successfully decrees is no less than God’s ambassador, speaking as an oracle of God. We saw the very close relationship between prosperity, success, and the state of being blessed. Interestingly, you need to study the Bible to arrive at each of these states – prosperity, success, and blessedness. You have to become acquainted with God to enter into this double promise. And God had to make that plain because while many of us know about God, not many know Him.
The first disciples knew about Jesus from the start of their association with Him. But it was not until after three years that they knew Him enough for Jesus to call them friends. Can Jesus count me among His friends? Hopefully, we now know God better than before. He might even have started calling us friends. We have studied the Bible, meditated on the word, and practiced it. God then qualifies us to make our way prosperous and have good success. Find this double promise in Joshua 1.8
The Double Promise Brings Good Success
Later, we shall examine whether one can have bad success but for now, we enjoy this great God. If we fulfill the triggers, we shall not only make our ways prosperous but also have good success. Wow! It is one of the few verses that contain a double promise. Granted, both promises are related but God took the trouble to spell them out. He must be serious about this business of prosperity. I suspect God wants us to prosper more than we want to.
The man who enters this double promise cannot be stopped, not even by the devil. But we have a problem.; we are unable to pay the price. We are indeed saved by grace, born of the incorruptible word of God. But we cannot remain as babes and expect to decree. Hence the idea of paying a price. The works of the law do not justify us. However, the believer who wants to make progress has a price to pay.
As children, we had a ditty that went like this. “Read your bible, pray every day, pray every day, pray every day (2ce) if you want to grow.” There is that concept of condition again, “if.” As always, you can choose whether to grow or remain stagnant. We therefore do not regard these steps as ‘works,’ but as the price of growth and experiencing the double promise. First, the book of the law must not depart from our mouths.
Paul Deserved A Double Promise
From where do you get your words? Social media? Other people? Tradition? A lady once referred to an adage that was common with her father. I forget which particular one now but it turned out that the Bible said the same thing. But she did not know her father took it from the Bible. The opposite is also true, as some people believe they are quoting the Bible but are merely repeating tradition. Such people will not partake of this double promise.
Paul knew the importance of filling our mouths with God’s word to enter this double promise. He wisely advised us to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. I should check my words and ensure their source is the bible. Perhaps we all need to do that because the reward is hefty. You will make your way prosperous, and have good success.
Good Success
Not surprisingly, reading and speaking the word of God is not the only trigger. Perhaps in God’s reckoning, a double promise requires a double trigger. You read the Bible, you speak the Bible, you meditate on the Bible and now, you practice the Bible. I hear you saying that that is a whole lot of Bible. Of course, but when you balance it with the double promise, it is worth your time and effort.
We promised to examine why God spoke about ‘good success’ and not simply ‘success.’ Can one have bad success? Definitely, yes. In a previous post, we saw an example of riches that develop wings and fly away. That is bad success. Good success is the blessing that makes you rich and adds no sorrow. It only comes from knowing God.
So, on his way to successful decreeing, this man prospers (is successful, is blessed) and has good success. There is no inroad for the devil because God has built a hedge of goodness around him. God surrounds him with success, prosperity, blessedness, goodness, etc. But he did not arrive there by ignoring the word of God or refusing to obey what he reads. We should be ready to do what he did. Each of us must read the bible, meditate on it, speak it, and practice it so we too can enter into God’s double promise.
Maranatha!
