20140123 Thursday, January 23 2014
Deuteronomy 30: What Does Prosper Mean?

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"The LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as He rejoiced over thy fathers"

The English word "prosper" originated from a compound Latin word, pro, which originally meant before, but later also came to mean for, or in favor of (i.e. before, as in to be for something - consider the multiple meanings), and spes, which meant hope. "Prosper" originally meant what comes before hope, or in the same context, to be for, or in favor of, hope.

"Prosper" is used to accurately translate the Hebrew word of the Holy Scriptures, pronounced tsaw-lay-awkh, which meant to move forward favorably. It was that sort of "prosperity" that the LORD (Who was and is Jesus Christ - see Genesis 1: In The Beginning Was The Word and The Kingdom Of The LORD God) gave the Israelites by means of "the land of milk and honey" (see the Fact Finder question below to understand the actual Biblical context of that term) if they would obey Him (see Deuteronomy 27: Why A Dark Side Of The Moon? and Deuteronomy 28: Blessings and Curses).

"30:1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, 30:2 And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; 30:3 That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. 30:4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 30:5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. 30:7 And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee. 30:8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. 30:9 And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: 30:10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul." (Deuteronomy 30:1-10 KJV)

The ancient Israelites (see Deuteronomy 29: Renewal Of The Covenant), as well as every human being before (see Grace In The Garden and The LORD's Seed Covenants With The Two Men Of Iraq) and ever since (see Why Call Me, Lord, Lord, and Do Not The Things Which I Say?), have the blessing of "prosperity" within their grasp - by following the Way of the LORD to "the land of milk and honey" (see the Fact Finder question below).

"30:11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. 30:12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 30:13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? 30:14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; 30:16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

30:17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 30:18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 30:20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them." (Deuteronomy 30:11-20 KJV)

Fact Finder: What does "the land of milk and honey" actually mean in the Bible?
See The Way To The Land Of Milk And Honey