Proverb 3:10

“So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.”
[Contrast with Luke 12:13-21]

The promise here, leans on the assumption that we have upheld our end of the bargain, which we reviewed in vs. 9: “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce.”

So assuming we have honored him—not with our excess, but with our first fruits—we can rest and feel secure because of what follows.

The promise ensures a barn filled with plenty. Most of us don’t have barns anymore. Barns weren’t just an ornamental fixture on one’s piece of land. They housed their livestock. They protected their crops from detrimental weather and hungry wild animals. Today, we might consider our garage, where we keep our vehicles and store other necessary goods.

Interesting the homes aren’t considered in the promise to “fill with plenty”. If we hold up our end of the bargain, it’s not like we’ll get the latest and greatest in fixtures, appliances, décor and style. But just like the Israelites wandering the dry dessert, our needs will be daily met. Our gas tanks will be full, though we may not have an extra tank’s worth for that road trip we had hoped for. Our mouths will be fed, but we may not get to eat out this week. Our backs will be clothed, though it may not turn the heads of chic designers. And that is okay. Because our needs are met and not only that, our wine barrel is full!

What, so we can wallow our sorrows in a drunken escape? No way! So we can invite people into our humble homes to celebrate these meager provisions from our God! So we can offer them the gift of hospitality and share the good news with them about our every need being met in Him.