“And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.” (2Kings 25:30)
Jehoiachin king of Judah had been imprisoned in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar thirty-seven years when Evilmerodach became king of Babylon. Evilmerodach took Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison, gave him a seat with all the royalty and had him eat with him. Moreover, Evilmerodach gave Jehoiachin a daily allowance for the rest of his life. (2 Kings 25: 27-30) Some commentaries say this was a royal gesture commemorating the initiation of his reign. Others say that he had befriended Jehoiachin in prison when he’d been imprisoned himself by his father Nebuchadnezzar for trying to ascend the throne while Nebuchadnezzar was still living. Still others say that he may have thought Jehoiachin had been treated unjustly. Whatever the reason, it gave the Jews hope to see their king treated well.
Jehoiachin received a daily allowance. We also see this daily provision when the Israelites received manna from the Lord. They were to gather daily only what they could eat that day. It couldn’t be stored. An exception was made for the sixth day in which they would gather enough for the Sabbath because they couldn’t work on the Sabbath. (Exodus 16:16-24) The Lord is a good steward of His blessings. He gives enough provision for the need. He gives it when needed, not early and not late. This is a hard thing to learn as children of God. This world has entrenched in us the idea of storing things and hoarding things in abundance. So, we feel a responsible thing to do is to save. God wants us to be totally depended on Him and to trust Him wholly for our provision. I can hear the protests right now. Is saving for the future sinful?
There is a fine line of distinction between honoring God and saving for the future sinfully. While saving actually is biblical it can also be evil when we save because of greed, fear or because we want independence from God or others. Do you have the mentality that if you have saved enough, you don’t have to worry about “tomorrow?” That would be sinful because you are actually saying you won’t have to depend on God for tomorrow’s provision if you had enough saved.
We have two examples of those that saved for the future. On one hand we have the rich man who had such an abundance, he built bigger barns to store his abundance. (Luke 12:16-21) He said, “And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” (Luke 12:19) That very night he died. “But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:20-21) There is a warning here for those who save. First, we see that the rich man was saving and storing for himself. And secondly, he was not rich toward God. The rich man had no intention of seeing that God received His portion or what He needed for His purposes.
We also have the example of Joseph in Genesis. “And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same.” (Genesis 41:48) We read that the purpose of this storing was to provide food for the people of the land and beyond in the seven years of famine that were coming. (Genesis 41:28-57) We also know that God provided for Abraham during this time in bringing Joseph through many years of slavery to come to the place where he could save his family from the famine. (Genesis 42-50:21) God will see to it that we have provision for what we need tomorrow. We only see the immediate need, but God sees and provides for the future, years and decades ahead.
What is the purpose of our saving? The purpose in our hearts is what makes our saving evil. The right attitude toward money is provision for the now for us personally and provision for those in need. “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; He hath given to the poor: His righteousness remaineth for ever. Now He that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)” (2Corinthians 9:6-10) After that some can be saved for future need. But to really be biblical, we should invest it so that there would be more for future need, ours and others. The example for us is the parable of the talents. (Matthew 25:14-30) We should invest every blessing the Lord gives and return it to Him with interest.
Then there is the provision for our descendants. “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children...” (Proverbs 13:22a) An inheritance is not provision for a lifetime but a portion from the blessing we have received. It would be enough for their need starting out, be it a car, a house or education. Their obedience and faith would have to be in God for their provision. This honors God and honors His blessings to us. We can then conclude that saving and investing is not sinful when in fact it’s biblical. What is sinful is the motivation and attitude of our hearts.
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