And dwelt as a king in the army,
As one that comforteth the mourners.”[[212]]
“The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.”[[213]]
“Riches and honor are with Me,” declares Wisdom; “yea, durable riches and righteousness.”[[214]]
A Fruitless Venture
The Bible shows also the result of a departure from right principles in our dealing both with God and with one another. To those who are entrusted with His gifts but indifferent to His claims, God says:—
“Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.... Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it.” “When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when one came to the press-fat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.” “Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of Mine house that is waste.” “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings.” “Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.”[[215]]
Gains That Impoverish
“Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, ... ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.” “The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto.” “Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another, ... and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long; and there shall be no might in thine hand.”[[216]]
“He that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.”[[217]]