Is 48:17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

Profit is an expected end in any God given quest. It is defined singularly in scripture as a principle of trading and as a seamless business outcome. In the Parable of the Talents there is a Master who bestows an investment to his three servants. The parable is laid out as a picture of heaven.

Mtt 25:14 – The Kingdom of Heaven is … as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.) ¹⁵ And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

Firstly the parable begins by saying the Kingdom of heaven is like … meaning in other words – this is how the Kingdom of Heaven thinks. Everything in that parable is a picture of the kingdom of heaven’s Thinking. In the Parable we see that one servant is given five talents, another is given two talents and the third is given one talent. The bible says each according to their several ability. The allotment of talents was proportional to the ability of the traders.

How you hone your abilities may be an indicator of what investments you may attract. We can also deduct that nobody comes empty, each of us has within us inherent abilities that when put to use are able to attract investment. The first thing working for you or against you is whether you have developed your abilities to the degree that they can multiply any seed capital lent to it.

16-24 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.

His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

Out of this story we see that two of them aligned their abilities to the talents and made double what they had been given. The other one buried it and made nothing out of it. Some key ideas to note

The Constants – Abilities and Time

Abilities 

The Word used as abilities is Dunamis in the Greek and it means – power, force, strength or potential to produce wonderful work. None of them lacked ability whether this strength or power exhibited itself in aptitude, intelligence, unique skillsets we do not know. What we know is that it was enough to attract investment and it appears each had the knack to multiply what they were given. So each person had multiplier trading abilities lined up or inherent in their skills.

Time

Each of the men also had sufficient time to trade with their abilities and investment to multiply what they had been given. Time is not loud but time is a constant to every person. Time is constrained to serve you when you meaningfully plan it around purposeful utilized trading. Time does not plan itself for you. It may avail opportunities which can only be discerned by those who yield themselves to an idea, a plan, capital and abilities to convert that to a quest of trade. Multiplication is a function of calculated utilization of time around ideas and inherent abilities. In fact a healthy work ethic comes from how we view productivity, planning and profit.

• There is a lot we can unpack from that parable but will hold here for now and go to my key scripture that inspired this Bible Study.

The Rod of Profit

Is 48:17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

Kinsman Redeemer

In the scripture above the Lord speaks as the Redeemer and the Holy One of Israel. Redemption at its core is a Trading metaphor. Redemption is a buy back relationship.

The kinsman-redeemer is a male relative who, according to various laws of the Pentateuch, had the privilege or responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need. The Hebrew term (go el) for kinsman-redeemer designates one who delivers or rescues (Genesis 48:16; Exodus 6:6) or redeems property or person (Leviticus 27:9–25, 25:47–55). The kinsman who redeems or vindicates a relative is illustrated most clearly in the book of Ruth, where the kinsman-redeemer is Boaz.

In summary to transpose it in New Testament terms, Jesus bought us with a price. He paid for everything at the cross. In Isaiah the Redeeming Lord is also an Instructor of Profit. He promises to teach us to profit. There are at least five Jewish words and ways to teach.

Alaph To learn by yoking Association

Lamad To learn by goading Instruction

Yarah To learn by pointing Direction

Shanan To learn by sharpening Skills

Yacar To learn by chastisement Discipline

The Word used in this scripture is Lamad and it stands for Instruction. It is the staff of a shepherd, used to direct and control the flock. The verb means”to direct” or “to learn by showing the direction”. To make it more clearer it involved Guided Self-discovery, Revelation Knowledge, and Group Interaction. It is a master apprentice method. Profit in terms is arrived at from this pedagogy. You receive Direction of business models and business process. You are set up to experiential business and career practice. You are instructed to peer interaction that initiates humility in reception of wisdom.

The Rod

When the Spirit of the Lord as an instructor uses a rod, he induces us to actions of profit albeit the discomfort it takes sometimes to adjust and be challenged. I have seen many people in their careers and businesses take on or sometimes resist the ever-tight path of progress and profit. Sometimes profit from products grow through iteration. This may come through both quantitative and qualitative tweaking.

The Parable instructs us of profit based on our abilities; Isaiah adds unto it the discipline, direction and education of the redeeming God in our Business. God is a God of Profit and He has a methodology around it that we all can relate to.