Nearing the last days of his life, Joshua calls the leaders of Israel together. He reviews how Israel was given the Promise Land and how it was divided among the tribes.
And he reviews the promise God made to them when they were first about to go into the land to take it. “And the Lord your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land as the Lord your God promised you. “ (Joshua 23:5 NKJV) Notice he was promising an economic and wealth transfer to the Israelites.
To their long-lasting regret, some of the tribes did not trust God enough to drive out the inhabitants completely. Instead they rationalized their existence among them. They seemed to have thought, “It’s fine that they’re here. We can make them slaves to do our work.”
Joshua warns them that these former inhabitants will turn the Israelites’ hearts from God. Israel will actually start bowing down to their gods and will leave their love for God. Instead of taking the “business mountain,” they will be overcome by its corruption.
God gave the Israelites a land flowing with milk and honey. He gave them houses they didn’t have to build, vineyards already producing, and mature olive trees that could be harvested year in and year out. But they eventually lost it all.
It is a powerful warning to Kingdom business people also. When we invade the business mountain, we must recognize that we are in a spiritual battle. We don’t trust in other gods. We won’t let them lead us astray. Joshua said those people who remained as a pollution in their land would do great harm. “They shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.” (Josh. 23:13 NKJV) Not a pretty picture.
How does this apply to Kingdom business people? Are we to avoid having any non-Christians around us? Of course that isn’t the solution. Jesus died for the whole world and doesn’t want anyone to perish. We have to be in contact with others. We will buy from them and sell to them. But there are some foundational principles we must walk in. Let’s review some of them.
- When you are a Kingdom person in business, you must “trust in the Lord with ALL your heart,” as Proverbs 3:5 says. The Israelites had seen many miracles; yet they did not totally rely on God’s promise that He would give them power to remove all those who were in the land of their inheritance. It takes spiritual focus, prayer, fasting, godly counsel, and more at times to stand in trust. But if you don’t, you will not receive the best.
- Proverbs 3:5 continues, “And lean not on your own understanding.” The Israelites rationalized that they could make the locals their slaves. They didn’t heed the warning that they would become snares to them.
- Kingdom business people “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Taking the business mountain is a spiritual act. You cannot pollute yourself with other gods as the Israelites did. They will be snares to you. You avoid the snares, for example—
- When others aren’t honest (remember, the devil is the father of lies), you act with honesty and integrity.
- You don’t allow yourself to get into entanglements that will compromise your stand in Christ. Unsavory partnerships, sweetheart deals, less than full disclosure all can strip you of the transparency in Christ that is one of your chief strengths.
- You have a financial plan so that finances cannot control you and be a major snare. If you don’t have a financial plan and let bills slide, break promises to creditors, rob Peter to pay Paul, etc., you become ensnared to the world’s financial system rather than living in a Kingdom economy.
- As a business entrepreneur, you don’t use that title as an excuse for risking when you shouldn’t. And you don’t secretly hide greed under an entrepreneurial overcoat. The love of money doesn’t snare you.
In short, we keep our eyes on our Prize. Lesser gods cannot snare us. And we move into the promised Business mountain land and reclaim it for its rightful owner. “The Lord your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land.”
John Boneck is the Director of the Kingdom Business Association. He is a business coach and has served in management in a $100M division of a corporation.
