Bible passage: 2 King’s 6: 24-33, 7: 1-20 In our passage, we see how the Syrians created a blockade against Samaria, the capital city of Israel. Nothing was allowed in, and no one went out. No food, no water, nothing. Crops are not grown in the city, so it has to come from outside. As a result of the blockade, the city died within. Food became very scarce and expensive. A mother agrees with another mother that they would both kill their sons for food, one today, the other the following day. After sharing the flesh of the first woman’s son, the second woman hid hers to prevent him from being eaten, and the case is brought to the king. It
By going in the prophet’s name to collect money and expensive clothes from Naaman the Syrian, Gehazi became the grandparent of those who abuse the gospel of salvation. Gehazi himself had been with God without knowing God. His heart was corrupt and full of lust for material things. He was not saved even though he had credentials of having been with Elisha. Many like Gehazi have flooded God’s house and taken over the business of the house. A Prophet was crying recently and saying. “This house has fallen. Thieves have broken into this house “ Naaman came with a condition worse than leprosy. He came with morbid pride. The prophet discerned it long before he arrived which was why he
I will like to share something the Lord revealed to me recently out of a familiar passage in the New Testament, the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon reeled off a number of injunctions that you and I will likely consider impossible to adhere to. You have probably read or skimmed through some of these, recorded in the synoptic Gospels. Let us keep our finger in the version in Luke Chapter 6. What He is asking of us will be troubling to most, particularly if you are a new believer. Many who bumped into the passage may immediately leaf it over, believing it must be one of those things He said but didn’t seriously expect us to do, or
We suffer from doubt. We all deal with doubt. We are on one side of eternity, and between us and the other side is a great thick fog. We do not see what lies at the other end clearly. Sometimes, we are given to see vaguely. Apostle Paul calls it seeing through a glass darkly. But that does not mean the other side is not concrete. Some like to think it is not, or find it convenient to think of it that way. But that is where all humanity is headed inexorably. Right now, we see the other side concretely through the word of God. Although our daily experiences are limited to our natural side, we will often need help,
One of the things a famine or scarcity causes is fear. This is particularly so when what is in short supply is desperately needed for survival. Food for example, or purchasing power, which is money. Famine can befall an individual, not only with regard to food or funds but in other areas of life as well. There can be a famine of love and affection. A famine of respect and honour, of strength and health, etc. Conversely, there can be a rain of finances, strength, affection, favour, honour and respect. A famine can also happen to a nation. Even though famines have been caused by indiscretion on the part of men or worsened by it, in the majority, the causes
Too often, I will say, our prayers are deprived of the effectiveness they deserve simply because we do not know the Lord that well. We are unsure of what to expect when we approach Him for help. We lack the confidence that we will be heard. Paul wrote that we should come boldly before the throne of grace so that we can obtain mercy and find grace in the hour or time of need. I picture a child in my mind going to the fridge to have a bottle of orange squash. Her hands are already on the door of the fridge, opening it when asking the Mom’s permission to have it. She has confidence that she can have it.
When God has confidence in you, He entrusts you with certain things. I will name two, and there are many Biblical references. The Gospel of Matthew however has the primary example I want us to dwell on. You may not have thought of it that way, but some of the trials and difficulties you have faced may have been just that, God having faith in you. He believed you could bear it with little or no complaint. He trusted that you would handle it well, and His purpose for allowing you to go through it would be realised. God bragged about the man, Job. Have you also known somebody that you felt so sure of, you could bet on what
Let’s begin by asking, who was Hanun? Hanun was none other than the newly crowned king of the Ammonites whose father was a great friend and benefactor to King David. David hoped to continue the wonderful relationship that existed between him and Nahash, Hanun’s late Dad. Hanun’s reaction to David’s great gesture will show us that a lot of the time, parents are not able to transmit their great spirits to their children. Let’s also take a look at the case of Mephiboseth, who was evidently unlike his father, Jonathan. I tend to think that a wrong spirit transfers more easily between people than the right one. Parents in particular will, except where the hand of the Lord is at
The big lesson from our passage (2 Samuel 12) is that, there is someone upstairs watching what we do. We have not been left to do as we please. Our God is the perfect example of a father who keeps watch over His own, keeps them in check and in line. I marvelled at some Christian people I knew who after making so much noise about being loved and cared for by the Father in Heaven, go all over the place doing as they please without any godly restraint. If it is true that you have a Father in Heaven, then He cares about you, and as much about how you run your life and your relationships. He is insistent
No one sees or thinks clearly when and where love is involved. This is why we all need the eyes and mind of someone else to correctly appraise a situation that involves our loved ones. Joab filled this role for David when he confronted Absalom’s rebellion. This means we are none the wise where we are thus involved. The best of us must seek and use wise counsel. This is true concerning our children. It is also true concerning our intended spouses and almost everyone else we are favourably disposed towards. For this same reason, it is wise to not only listen to the commendations of our friends and loved ones. We need our enemies a lot more here. They
One passage in the Bible that touches me so deeply every time I come to it is this story of David and Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba. It feels as though it happened just yesterday. The sorrows of the episode can be that overwhelming. Wrong-doing, which is another expression for sin, can be described as a situation in which a person dupes himself or herself. It was simply not worth it when the whole thing is viewed together. The purchase was absolutely not worth its cost. But this is always what sin is. It is not worth it. And the story is given as an example for the rest of us. Can we read the price tag right away? David lost his
The Lord could easily bring His harsh consequences to bear on Amalek without the help of Saul. So why did He hire Saul for the purpose? Moreover, the grievous sin committed by Amalek occurred some four hundred years prior to this time. Why didn’t He execute punishment immediately instead of waiting all this while to revisit the matter? Our attempt to ponder these questions will throw some light on the divine nature and why God deals with us as He does. It does seem that with God, delay is not denial. Just as judgement can be delayed, especially when it is acute, blessings are also delayed when they will take the form of a great rain and are likely to
We can regard this as the second part of our previous discussion on leadership, entitled, “What It Takes To Lead Men.” Right now we will examine the flipside of the topic which is followership. The second book of Samuel, from chapters 2 through 4 illustrate how, many times, spiritual leadership can become perilous because of the quality of followers who form its followership. Where a leader draws followers who walk or are willing to walk in the same spirit, leadership is a blessed experience. A leader can face and overcome any challenge or obstacle through the help and support of a faithful band or team. Unfortunately, leaders don’t always attract those who have the same quality of commitment and love
Never trust a repentance that is produced by circumstance. The tears of an adversary whose mission is foiled or who got caught are worthless. In our passage, King Saul is spared by David the second time. No sooner had he finished with his piteous cry the last time had he resumed his enmity and determination to destroy David. His dog returns to his vomit. Saul is a reprobate. Please believe it, according to God’s word, some will no longer change or genuinely repent. They are called reprobates. Contrary to the much-touted belief, it reaches the point where God washes His hands off certain people. Their cup is full to the brim. The British novelist George Orwell was a journalist during
Our passage today, which is the first chapter of the Book of Second Samuel, is one of the most interesting and revealing passages of the Bible with regard to leadership. David displays a marvellous leadership trait here, something that every leader must have. Otherwise, they are not worthy of that name. Now, many are in leadership positions who are not leaders intrinsically. In Christian parlance, we will say they don’t have a call on their lives to lead. Leaders are a great blessing either to the church or out there in the world. Leaders are called by God and trained by Him. He will often train them on the job. Without a call, there is nothing to train. And nothing
David was not only played down but played out by those who owed him their love. The father forgot him. And what if it was a game of chance and that being present at the meeting where the kingship was being determined was the only deciding factor? He would have been played out. He was despised. His special qualities resembled a curse. This was a reflection of how he was treated at home. The last born is usually everyone’s treasure but this was not the case with him. It was a foreshadow of Christ Himself: the stone the builders rejected. It was rejected for the very reason it fitted the head of the corner. It was special. Samuel pours the
But for the Lord setting up a barrier, there are mighty rushing waters wanting to break over and overwhelm us. Too many have been washed away. Many who once professed great faith have drowned, all because the waters found a little break in the barrier which eventually caused everything to come crashing down. So many times we act as though matters of our faith are just between us and the wonderful God we serve. We forget that there is an adversary and he is accompanied by wicked hosts whose aim is to swallow us whole as they have already done to so many great Christians. All the devil is seeking is the slimmest or briefest chance to make a little
One lesson we can take out of the story of Saul and the missing asses of Kish his father is that the asses thought to be missing were not lost. What goes missing in your life may not be lost. Somebody bigger than you knows about it and knows where they are. He will have them restored in due time. It is one of the great privileges of walking with the Lord. He preserves what we think we have lost, like the axehead that fell into the river in the time of Elisha. No creature is hidden from His sight, and in this case, He took what He never intended to keep away. The asses were taken because He has