RICH MEN

1. What does it mean to be “rich?”

2. In some countries, being rich means owning a car.

3. In other places, it means having plenty of food and the most basic necessities of life.

4. In the good old US of A, what is our criteria to be considered rich?

TONIGHT AS WELL AS NEXT SUNDAY EVENING I WANT TO LOOK AT SOME BIBLE CHARACTERS WHO WERE RICH. WE WANT TO SEE WHAT THE LIVES OF THESE MEN WERE LIKE.

a) We find at least six examples of rich people in the Scriptures.

b) Tonight we will look at 3 of them; next Sunday the remaining 3 will be studied.

2) These six men to be examined are:

3) Abraham, Solomon, Hezekiah, Job, Joseph of Armathea, Zacchaeus.

4) Abraham is first, and he had a lot going for him.

a) Abraham was a name that meant “father is exalted.”

b) Abraham was the beginning of the Hebrew nation.

c) He was highly respected by various local leaders.

5) Abraham was a man who had the chance to travel to different areas.

6) God took him to a special land (Gen. 12:1).

7) A general overview of this man’s life might suggest that his life was ideal; he was rich & had it all.

8) There is more to this man’s life than riches, fame, and fun – Gen. 12:10 – READ.

a) Abraham was wealthy, but a lot of money didn’t solve all his problems.

b) He was a great man of God, but that didn’t resolve the issue of a major famine.

c) Abraham had wealth and a relationship with God, but food was still scarce.

d) He had to go to another area (Egypt). Even though he had lots of wealth, he had to move.

9) We might think the wealthy can go wherever they want and everything will always be fine.

10) Abraham got to the new area and he realized he had a new problem – Gen. 12:11-12 – READ.

11) The more a person has, the more concerns he or she has.

12) Abraham’s problem was finally resolved, but it didn’t take long for another issue to arise.

13) Let’s note a passage that specifically mentions Abraham’s assets – Gen. 13:2 – READ.

14) We know of Abraham’s wealth. Some might think all his riches solved all his problems.

15) That is not quite right – Gen. 13:5-7 – READ. Money brought turmoil.

16) Abraham and Lot had to go their separate ways.

17) We know where Lot went. He headed over to the area of Sodom and Gomorrah.

18) Gen. 14 tells how Lot was captured and Abraham had to go rescue him.

19) Later Abraham had to do some intense pleading for the area of Sodom and Gomorrah.

20) Lot had gone into this area, and barely escaped before the cities were consumed.

21) Abraham must have seen the smoke coming up from the destroyed cities.

22) Abraham also had domestic problems because of a woman named Hagar.

23) Later he was asked to slay a boy (Isaac) who was his promised son.

24) More time passed and he suffered the loss of his wife.

WE WOULD NOT DENY THAT MANY GOOD THINGS HAPPENED TO ABRAHAM IN HIS 175 YEARS OF LIFE, BUT DURING THE COURSE OF ALMOST 200 YEARS, HE CERTAINLY HAD HIS FAIR SHARE OF TRAGEDIES AND HEARTACHES. WEALTH BROUGHT BLESSINGS, BUT IT ALSO BROUGHT SIGNIFICANT DIFFICULTIES. TODAY MANY PEOPLE ONLY SEEM ABLE TO SEE ONE SIDE OF WEALTH.

a) God tells us about a second man who had a lot of money—Solomon.

b) Solomon’s dad (David) started out as a shepherd.

c) Solomon did not need to live that simple kind of life.

d) He grew up as a prince.

e) David was a man of blood (war); he fought in many battles and killed a lot of people.

f) Solomon didn’t have that kind of life; in fact, his name means “peaceable.”

2) At the beginning of Solomon’s reign 1,000 burnt offerings were sacrificed to God.

3) I don’t know what the cost of that was, but it could not have been cheap.

4) Solomon was a man who had great wisdom.

5) He was so bright and wise, the queen of Sheba came a long ways to see him.

6) She was prepared to pay a lot of money to hear him speak (1 Kgs. 10:2).

7) Solomon developed trade relationships with foreign countries.

8) He also made political alliances (these partnerships further created wealth).

9) 1 Kgs. 10:22 refers to a shipping industry involved with gold, silver, ivory, apes, peacocks.

10) A verse I want to read is 1 Kgs. 10:7.

11) The queen of Sheba made an observation about Solomon and this included his wealth.

12) READ 1 Kgs. 10:7. A queen was impressed at the amount of Solomon’s wealth.

13) If all this were not enough, Solomon launched an elaborate building program.

14) He embellished the area of Jerusalem.

15) 7 years were spent constructing a temple.

16) It took another 13 years to complete the palace complex.

17) 80,000 men are said to have worked in stone quarries to get the job done, 2 Chron. 2:2.

18) Another 70,000 men are mentioned in 2 Chronicle plus thousands of foramens.

19) All these people had to be paid. Imagine employing more than 150,000 people!

20) Solomon also maintained a thousand women (1 Kgs. 11:3).

21) How many people have we ever tried to support at one time?

a) What would it be like to support a household of 10, 50, 100, 500?

b) This man maintained 1,000+ ladies, and they didn’t grocery shop at Aldis.

c) Being in the king’s court meant high-class living.

22) Solomon gives us a picture of extreme wealth. Would not this be the ideal life?

a) As in the case of Abraham, there are additional details about Solomon’s life.

b) This king began to be influenced by the women he was supporting.

c) Many of the ladies in his harem were pagans (heathens). They lured him into false worship.

d) Solomon’s heart was “turned away” (1 Kgs. 11:4).

23) Solomon’s national alliances started to fracture.

24) Taxes increased and the Hebrew people became dissatisfied.

25) We do not know where Solomon will spend eternity because he made some bad choices.

26) As the years passed, he faced significant declines and erosions in the kingdom.

27) People sometimes refer to themselves as a “has been.”

28) Perhaps things did not get that bad for this king, but there were serious reverses.

29) Many who have had money, power, and prestige, have seen it slip away.

ONCE AGAIN WE FIND THAT HAVING WEALTH IS NOT QUITE AS WONDERFUL AS PEOPLE OFTEN THINK.

a) Our third and final example comes from Job.

b) Job is offered last because of his spiritual life.

2) Abraham made some bad choices during his lifetime.

3) So did Solomon.

4) What if these people had just lived better lives? What if they had made fewer mistakes?

5) Would not better lives have let them avoid the hardships we have seen tonight?

6) Job answers that question.

7) Job 1:1 tells us Job was a wonderful man; he pleased God.

8) Being good also means we get the attention of someone else—Satan.

a) A wealthy person who is trying to live for God is a prime target for the devil.

b) Satan wants to go after all, but those who are wealthy are especially good prospects.

9) Job had 7 sons and 3 daughters, but these children were all killed.

10) It wasn’t enough to take all the sons or all the daughters; the 10 kids died at the same time.

11) In the opening verses we find approximately 11,000 animals owned by Job.

12) That is a lot of livestock; Job was a huge rancher.

13) His animals and servants were also quickly killed.

14) Job 1:20-21 has wording that sounds like a 100% loss.

15) Job’s wife soon turned on him; she recommended Job curse God and die.

16) Job developed serious health issues; we know of the “friends” who came to see him.

Job was a wealthy man, but he went through times we would never want to endure.

CONCLUSION:

1. Jesus once said that people should “count the cost.”

2. Before becoming a Christian, we are to think about what it costs.

3. A similar thing is true concerning wealth.

4. I have known people who want to get rich; incredibly wealthy.

5. If that is our desire, we should carefully consider the cost.

6. It is wise to go back and study the life of Abraham—would we pay the price he did?

7. What about Solomon?

8. Are we willing to possibly jeopardize our own eternal fate?

9. Then we have a question from the life of Job:

10. If we have a desire for great wealth and it is met, are we willing to have it all lost?

11. Would we still be faithful to God?

12. We need to have the right attitudes towards wealth and money, and these come by being a Christian.

13. Tonight we hope you have taken the steps to become a child of God.