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EZEKIEL

  MEANING OF NAME: God is strong or The Man God strengthens STORY IN BRIEF: Ezekiel, son of Buzzi, like Jeremiah, started first as a priest, but later had the calling of a Prophet at age thirty. He served in the Temple of Jerusalem that was later destroyed by the Babylonians. In the midst of events, God warned that the desire of his eye would die. And after his wife died, he was disallowed from publicly wailing - a sign of how Israel would suffer in the hands of their captivators without lamenting.  While in exile ( in Babylon by the River Chebar), the Prophet, also an artist, made a model of Jerusalem city, laid prostate and always prophesied over it. He either used symbols or demonstrations to deliver his messages. Ezekiel acted strangely because of the strange nature of his visions; he would either cut his hair and burn it, or he totally went dumb for a period of time. He had two major metaphorical visions where God - Israel's husband, was betayed by his wife after He had g...

THE SHUNAMITE WOMAN

  She lived in Jezreel, specifically along a road that links Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Being a generous woman, she agreed with her husband and made a resting place on the top of their building for Elisha who mostly plied that road. One day, when the shunamite saw Elisha travelling the road again with his servant she invited them over into her house and showed her kindness so much to the Prophet's satisfaction. Thus, Elisha sought through his servant, Geharzi, to reward her gesture but the woman sharply objected to it. The Prophet then asked his servant if there was any favour he could use his influence with the King of Israel to offer her but the woman would still reject that offer. So he asked Geharzi to suggest a reward for the woman. When the servant mentioned that the woman had no child, Elisha declared that they would have one a year's time from then, which the Lord also fulfilled. When this child died some years later, the woman went laid him in Elisha's room. But God r...

THE GRACE OF GIVING

  “…see that you also excel in this   GRACE OF GIVING .” 2 Corinthians 8:7. It’s an indisputable fact that our walk with God is strictly a walk of sacrifice or giving. We are either giving of our strength, possessions or money. But the seeds we sow, in the form of tithes, firstfruits, or thanksgiving often yield below the peak for some christians. Such are they that are advised by Apostle Paul to excel in The Grace of Giving. One may ask, “what extra Grace do we need for giving?” ; “aren’t we supposed to simply give and wait for results?” Emphatically, NO ! Giving is disciplined by principles. There’s the need for spiritual privilege – a reconditioning of The human Spirit so one can passionately, continuously and comprehensively offer of his or her own unto The Lord. And it’s only the Grace of Giving that positions us in this state. By this Grace, we first submit ourselves (our hearts ) to God; because our hearts are now governed by God, He alone – by His Spirit, determines ho...

THE LAW OF ATTRACTION

  "...that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we have gazed upon, and our hands have handled,..." John 1:1 If you consider your circle now, you will conclude that friends with whom you have similar personality outnumber those with deferring personality. You should also notice that, often times, you suddenly meet with or receive calls from, those you strongly  think of and long to see. These are manifestations of the Law of Attraction ! " The heart is DEEP beyond all things... " Jeremiah 17:9 Brenton Septuagint Translation. And Psalm 42:7 says DEEP calleth unto DEEP. Equating the two scriptures will help us deduce that, HEART calls unto HEART.  SOUL calls unto SOUL. That is the Spirit of the law - Like attracts LIKE ! Our opening verse starts with HEARING or SEEING and ends with HANDLING. Until a man hears or sees, he cannot handle. Yet, what we finally touch is always LIKE what we already hear and see according to the Law of Attra...

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, 

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