By Ambrose .J. Chakre | EMN
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you. Psalm 139:17,18
For as the scripture says there is a time for everything, it is in God’s time we live and it is in his power we trust. Even as every activity under the sun are God ordained, so it is also with love and devotion. In the scripture we see the likes of Samuel was trained in priesthood and David in war. This also gives us an understating of what war and devotion is and we also see the glorious ministries of both of them. Samuel was chosen first to be a priest, while David was chosen from among his brothers to be a king. Even in this we find the doctrine of election reigned supreme, though we may not be able to fathom the depths of it. The word says that Eli was first chosen to be the priest of Israel, but God’s favor was with Samuel, while Saul was first enthroned as king of Israel but the anointing was on David. Now let us study the scripture and see why Eli and his sons were rejected to be in the priestly service of God and how God exalted Samuel to a high place of honor.
The account of it states “ Now Eli who was very old, heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of meeting. So he said to them, “ Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. No , my sons; it is not a good report that I hear spreading among the Lord’s people. If a man sins against another man, God may meditate for him; but if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke , for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death. And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and men. Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “ This is what the Lord says: Did I not clearly reveal myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? I chose your father out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in my presence. I also gave your father’s house all the offerings made with fire by the Israelites. Why do your scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel? ‘ Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel declares: Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be distained. The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your family line and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, in your family line there will not be an old man. Everyone of you that I do not cut off from my altar will be spared only to blind your eyes with tears and to grieve your heart, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life. And what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, will be a sign to you- they will both die on the same day. I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his house, and he will minister before my anointed one always. Then everyone left in your family line will come and bow before him for a piece of silver and a crust of bread and plead, “ Appoint me to some priestly office so that I can have food to eat.” “ ( 1st Samuel 2:22-36 ) The nature of it speaks of elevation and rejection and the way Samuel was exalted above Eli is a sign of God’s favor. The following chapters and verses contains the fulfillment of the prophecies and the lessons of it teaches of how God works among his people. I trust even when Samuel was called, he knew nothing about what God’s will was but as he lived on God accomplished great things through him. Even as he was called, he began his ministry winning great battles, as he anointed Saul to be king of Israel who was latter to be disposed off in favor of David. In this we also find how God favored David more than Saul and the depths of it are a mystery. It was not just between Saul and David but it was also between David and his brothers. I trust even before David was anointed, he chose to live a blameless and pure life.
This is also a depiction of how God exalts the righteous and humbles the proud. There is no mention of Saul committing adultery but so many ways of his life spoke against him. And though David committed adultery we find that his heart was committed to a pure a righteous cause. The way the Israelite women exalted David over Saul by singing “ Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands” also speaks of the light upon David. ( 1st Samuel 18:6,7 ) Seeing that God’s favor was with David, Saul’s jealousy of David was further aroused and to make matters worst for him, his own son was with David and his own daughter was also married to David. In the scripture we find that David did not exalt himself over Saul but trusted God in everything. Though David also loved Michal , his devotion to God always came first and the following scriptures gives us a clear picture of how his faith was further strengthened when God raised him up to the position he was destined for. Thus to this the account states “ As the ark of the Lord was entering the city of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. After he has finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. When David returned to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, ‘ How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servant as any vulgar fellow would!”David said to Michal, “ It was before the Lord, who chosed me rather than your father or anyone from his household when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel- I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in high honor.” And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death. ( 2nd Samuel 6:16-23 ) The way he lived were all like his psalms and even his ways spoke of God’s power within him. Though his life’s history showed he was often on the edge, his acts of devotion always spoke a language of faith courage and love. His heart was always set in fulfilling all tasks assigned and the way he governed and ruled also spoke of his passion. This man was not only a king but a prophet, a preacher and he was also the man through whose generation Christ would be born. The way he lived are historical and even in his death, his legacy stood firm. The passion he had for God always drove him to give his best and though some of his acts were stained, his devotions were not.
And though the worship and offerings of Abraham and Daniel were also great, none of them was named as a man after God’s own heart. This man loved God and he also loved what he wrote. The desire of this saint was to build a house for God and when the confirmation of his prayer came that he would not be but his son would, he also began to rejoice at the revelation. Let us now read the scripture and see how he prayed in the aftermath of the confirmation of his desire. This was how he prayed “ Then king David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “ Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family that you have brought me this far? And as if these were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign Lord? What more can David say to you? For you know your servant O Sovereign Lord. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. “ How great you are O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel- the one nation on earth God went out to redeem as a people for himself and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O Lord, have become their God. And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised so that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, ‘ The Lord Almighty is God over Israel! And the house of your servant David will be established before you. “ O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant ,saying, ‘ I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer. O Sovereign Lord , you are God! Your words are trustworthy and you have promised these good things to your servant. Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you , O Sovereign Lord, have spoken and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever. ( 2nd Samuel 7:18-29 ) The way this prayer was started was that it began in humility and as it continued more of God’s grace was witnessed in it. Such beautiful prayers can only be uttered by the pure in heart and David was one among them. The scripture makes us see that David in his moments of error erred, in his moments of adultery sinned but the way he exalted in his moments of prayer is a mystery. This saint knew God and he knew what would happen in the future. For him relationship with God came first, then his people and his family and God in his will destined him for greatness. ( 2nd Samuel 7:9 ) Such was the will of God for him and if our desires are truly for God, our acts will be closer to heaven. as he rose, he also fell but it was God’s favor which lifted him up. God answered all of his prayers and delivered him from all of his foes. Such is God’s promise and exalted will be the ones who lives in his will.
The life of this king was not void of troubles, on the contrary, it was full of it but it was prayer which made him crossed it and it can only be by prayer alone that we can pursue and live in the will of God. The Prophets and the Apostles through whom the scripture came into being were all men of prayer but none of the Prophets lived in the time of Christ and as we now live in the last days our lives must be full of love and prayers. The promises of the scriptures are so great and even the angels are witnesses to it. And though some may preach so much of hell and bring more condemnation but our prayers are to preach more about heaven and take others closer to it. It has to be remembered that the gospel is not a gospel of darkness but of light and it is also important that the beauty of the light within us glows. Though human body and church buildings can bed destroyed. What God builds can never be destroyed. So if you seek the sermons which heals, delivers and empowers, go to the churches which preaches them and do not forget that the church came into being because of the word. Even a in a portion it is written “ The man who loves God is known by God” and in another part it says “ The Lord knows those who are his” and if this reminds you of faith again I want you to think of love again. Thus in relation to this, the book of Romans states “ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecutions or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “ For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. “ No, in all of these we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. for I a convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth , nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the loved of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”( Romans 8:35-39 ) This clearly speaks of the eternal security we have in Christ Jesus and everyone must know what this means. The vision of Stephen , the first Christian martyr were awesome, so was Paul’s confidence of seeing his God. This also gives us an understanding that it is only by faith we can see God and it will only be by the power of the Holy Spirit that we will see God. It has to be always remembered that God will never condemn his children, though he may afflict, rebuke and even punish, the ones who are his will always be his. And if these truths means light to you, we trust you to live in the way you should. So in conclusion of this article, what I write is that if the devotions we give to God are rich in love, holiness, righteous and purity , even if we have to go to sleep for a while someday, when we awake we shall see the King in his beauty. The truth is our salvation.
N:B : The teachings in this tract speaks of a king’s devotion, a priest’s faithfulness and it also speaks of God’s goodness. Since most of the last days sermons are condemnation based, we do not endorse it, nor will we do so. Though we preach that the ungodly and the sinner will surely be condemned it is our belief that those who lives under God’s wings will never be condemned. The truth must be acknowledged and the war must be fought with confidence, not in self-condemnation but in God’s power. The ways of God are our desires.
