Skip to main content

MOSTLY READ

THE GREATEST WEAPON ( Part 2))

And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22 KJV . Our preliminary article has established that of all the weapons, including prayer, praise/worship, knowledge and faith, obedience is the greatest. Faith is proved by obedience. As the popular adage is, ” practice makes perfect.”, so knowledge itself is also not complete without obedience. Prayer, praise and worship are all forms of sacrifices, yet God says obedience is better than them all. Today’s piece reveals why Obedience is God’s number one ! As quiet as obedience is, it remains the loudest tone of faith amongst prayer, praise and worship. The three Hebrew boys had not even the slightest hint of deliverance from God if they disobeyed the king’s orders.But their faith-oriented obedience was voiceferous in the ears of God ! How about Daniel, Job and Joseph? They equa...
Post a Comment
Read more

LIVE FOR GOD !

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it (LUKE 9:24) A certain man counceled his Christian son against being too industrous for God. This man's fear was that his dear son could lose his life serving Jesus Christ and preaching the Gospel. But the son replied, “Dad, I’m only doing what Jesus said I should do; I’m serving Him with my life.”  The man took offence at that and asked back, “You’re doing what Jesus said you should do? That’s why He died young; at thirty-three! They killed Him!” Like that man, there’re many who neither understand Christ’s purpose, nor the meaning of life. It’s not how long you live; it’s about the life you live.   The truth is, for such people, the issue really isn’t that they want to live long or want their loved ones to live long. If that were the case, God promised them eternity; their real problem is the fear of death.   As long as the fear of death possesses...
Post a Comment
Read more

SAUL

  MEANING OF NAME : ASKED FOR OR DEMANDED STORY IN BRIEF : Saul, son of Kirsh, and the first king of Israel was installed in a private manner by Samuel as the people would not accept Samuel's suggestion for the need of a King. Saul was not only anointed; the Spirit of God also filled him. For which reason he ably won some battles with the Israelites in the early years of his reign. And his followers would publicly recognise him thereafter. However, Samuel denounced Saul as King of Israel because God had rejected him for the blunders he committed - Saul autocratically made vows and patronised superstitions. David, whom Samuel anointed as the new king, was constantly hunted by Saul till he escaped to Philistia. So Saul only succeeded in sowing some form of discord between his children ( Michal and Jonathan) and David. Before his last fight against the Philistines, Saul still revoked the ghost of Samuel by the help of Nichomancers for some words courage, yet he was still rejected; Sau...
Post a Comment
Read more

ANNA

MEANING: Grace. SORROW: As a widow, she would probably have been among the most vulnerable members of society, with no one to provide for her financially or to take care of her if her health failed. JOY: That her own eyes beheld the Messiah she had longed to see. STORY IN BRIEF: Anna, a Prophetess from the tribe of Asher, became a widow after seven years of marriage. She spent whole of her widowhood fasting and praying to God. Anna worshipped in Herod's temple. This temple had tour segments - the outer court for Gentiles or non-Jews; the inner court divided into Women's and Israelites'; the Priestly court for the Leviticus Priests which also surrounded the temple. Anna could only access the Women's court yet God was merciful to her - She witnessed the Messiah; while Anna worshipped in the temple one day, Someon came holding the baby Jesus in his laps. REFERENCE SCRIPTURES: Luke 2 : 22 - 38
Post a Comment
Read more

RIZPAR




Rizpar was one of Saul's concubines. She stood and witnessed the gruesome murder of her two sons -  Armoni and Mephibosheth. 

More disdainful to her is the fact that the two were not burried; they were left to rot contrary to the prevalent tradition of burrying the dead within the next 24hours. 

With sorrow, Rizpar spent days and nights with the corpses ensuring that they were neither swamped nor dragged away by any animals. Soon enough, King David noticed her discomfort, and was moved by her attitude; David ordered for the burrying of Rizpar's sons, the remains of their father, Saul and that of Jonathan.

BACKGROUND: 

Joshua promised that Israel would be at peace with the Gibeonites. But Saul broke that oath, killing as many Gibeonites as he could in his time. In retallating, the Gibeonites asked David for seven of Saul's son whom they murdered in the presence of Rizpar.

LESSONS:
 
1. Customes can be broken; protocols are skipable. If only we consistently remain loyal and faithful to God, our expectations will be met. 

2. God never asked David to release Saul's sons to the Gibeonites; the Bible does not record anywhere that rain finally fell because David positively affirmed the request of the Gibeonites. But like Virginia Owen indicates in her book, " Daughters of Eve" , it is clear that God takes pleasure in honourable burial so He swiftly responded to the prayers of the people following the burrying of the Suals.

BIBLICAL HISTORY ON BURIAL:

In Bible times, the dead were burried soon after they died; it never took more than twenty four hours for people to burry their dead. First, the corpse is washed and smeared with good smelling preservative ointments. Mourning which could span seven days following the burial was done, sometimes, by professionals too. The corpse was burried in a cave or a tomb. And every other relation of this person was buried in that same tomb.  

REFERENCEE SCRIPTURE:

2 Samuel 21: 8- 14, John 11: 17, 39, 44., Genesis 49:29-32, Jeremiah 9:17, Matthew 9:23, 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

We appreciate your comments. God bless you for staying !

DONATE