Prophecy and The Business Executive
PROPHETIC WORD
Prophecy and the Business Executive
The first investor in history happens to be a Chief Executive of a world Corporation who was confronted with strategic decisions that needed foresight with an impossible task of starting His Corporation from nothing and Genesis 1: 2 says:
“The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters”.
Here we see God brooding, that is to think through a plan of action which is actually the strategic planning exercise the management team embarks upon before launching a product or service.
Then something extraordinary happens, Genesis 1: 3, “And God spoke the prophetic word which brought light into existence”. Every other plan He had prepared in His heart was brought into existence through the Prophetic word. The trend was like this, “He thought about it; He spoke it; It happened just like He said it; He observed and evaluated it; Then gave His approval of it that it was good”.
The business enterprise of thousands of years ago which gave one nation a competitive advantage over the other and provided them with opportunities for expansion, acquisitions, growth, wealth and recapitalization was war. The war of years ago is equivalent to today’s rapidly changing, fast-cycled business challenges where a corporation without the ability and capabilities to respond proactively to business opportunities disappears the way big names like Sears, RCA and IBM became irrelevant because they matched radical changes with incremental innovation-a strategy that relegated them to the sidelines with new players taking their positions.
God invented a plan for this when He asked Moses in Exodus 25 to build a tabernacle of worship so that He could dwell in the midst of the people. The essence of God living in the midst of His people was so He could direct their decision-making, solve their problems, meet their needs and give them the competitive advantage over their enemies through victories and exploits in His expansionary plans to give them territories and spheres of influence beyond their boundaries.
He gave them the Torah to guide their relationship with Him and their neighbors. He gave them the vessels of worship to get them engaged with Him on a personal level. When it came to decision-making, problem-solving, and strategic plans and foresight about any matter God gave them the Ephod, Urim and Thummim so that His people could enquire of the Lord concerning any matter, Numbers 27:18-23 says:
18 So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand on him. 19 Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. 20 Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. 21 He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim [one of two articles in the priest's breastplate worn when asking counsel of the Lord for the people] before the LORD. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in."
22 Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. 23 Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the LORD instructed through Moses.
God knew Israel would need to make decisions that would affect their lives daily so gave them the Urim and Thummim because God wanted to be part of man’s existence here on earth since He created it; He alone knows how it worked. Leaving man to himself was to be a disaster which God believed was too costly so made plans to give man counsel always through the Urim and Thummim of the priests.
The only problem with this picture was one needed to be a priest from the lineage of Aaron or a Levite from the tribe of Levi to know how to read the answer from the Urim and Thummim. The Urim and Thummim were defined as that which shows light or enlightens, speaking about God giving the Prophetic word that brings revelation concerning any matter.
The amazing thing here is it took a prophet, Moses to make these materials for the priest. God still preferred to talk to His prophets concerning His plans for His people because the Urim and Thummim contained stones that had Yes and No answers in a bag which reveals God’s decision on any matter after prayers before Him. But remember the only persons qualified to use them are priests and Levites.
Since God understood the need man had for direction and strategic decisions He maintained communications with His people through the prophets. Whenever Israel was to go to war, they inquired through the prophets if they would have victory before gearing up for war. David had prophets Samuel, Gad, and Nathan even in the battle with his son Absalom.
Are there battles you are facing today or business decisions that has kept you in one positions for some time? The question is this: Do you have a prophet by your side to hear from God concerning the situation so you could have a breakthrough?
All Kings, righteous and wicked made it a point of national security to have the prophetic word for all major decisions. One sees Pharaoh of Egypt in Genesis 41 receiving the prophetic word from Joseph, and Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapters 2 and 4 receiving the same from Daniel, Hezekiah also receiving the prophetic word from Isaiah the prophet in Isaiah 36-37.
Today, the business executive lives in the most uncertain times like the former kings and Israelites lived hundreds of years ago and Hebrews 13:8, and Malachi 3: 6a says, “I am the Lord, and I do not change” (NLT).
Remember, the first mission Jesus accomplished as soon as He rose from the dead in Ephesians 4: 11 were to commission the following offices for the benefit of those He loves. These offices include:
This is why it says:
"When He ascended on high, He led captives in His train
and gave gifts to men.
"11 It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.
God never wants His people to live without His Prophetic word. Remember that Israel had the scriptures but God still gave them prophets. The same way we have the scriptures today and God through Jesus has given us prophets for the benefit of the people He loves.
The real question is this: Do you have a prophet who fulfills God’s mandate of receiving from Him and proclaiming the prophetic word you need for your business needed to take you to the next level?
