The Danger and Challenge of Prosperity - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2025

Israel is a luxuriant vine; he produces fruit for himself. The more his fruit, the more altars he made; the richer his land, the better he made the sacred pillars.
Hosea 10:1

The Danger and Challenge of Prosperity
We see Israel had become overall as a luxuriant vine, very rich and prosperous, because of God's grace and favor of course, but their appetite and desire for building up themselves did not diminish. "He produces fruit for himself." Israel, just like many believers today, were more concerned with self and how to build more riches. They had become more prosperous for themselves and were not focused on bringing fruit and truly glorifying God for all He had done for them.

"The more his fruit, the more altars he made." The more blessings and wealth Israel had received, the more they built for themselves. The question for believers is, how often do we take what God has blessed us with and give the majority of it back to Him, instead of using it for ourselves? Alas, we often invest for ourselves and build up our own wealth instead of giving to the Lord's work and truly serving Christ. "The richer his land, the better he made the sacred pillars." The more wealth they had received, the more they had spent on the development and increasing of idolatrous religious infrastructure, instead of building for the Lord with what He had given them!

The question should be, what can I do for the Lord today? What and how can I give to Him for the blessings and wealth He has provided? This will vary from individual to individual, depending on how the Lord has blessed you. But we can all surely give to the Lord and serve Him in whatever capacity He has given us.

What is most important is that we have the heart, will, and desire to give back to Him and serve Him when the opportunities arise, including with our finances!

Elie Nassour