The Sunday Conversation | with Pastor Luke Okoro | 27. 03. 2022
Numbers 23:19-24. 2 Samuel 7:12-16.
“God is not a man that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said , and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed: and I cannot reverse it… Surely, there is no enchantment against Jacob; neither is there any divination against Israel, according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, what hath God wrought!
Behold the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion : he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain”, Numbers 23:19-24.
When God promised to bless the heritage of Abraham , now represented by believers inCHRIST JESUS, and to curse those who curse him, Balaam was not there. Yet, years after when King Balak of Moab invited him as a soothsayer, to curse God’s heritage Israel, he ended up blessing them as captured in our opening Scriptural quote. Indeed, the turning of his curse into a blessing for Israel was in keeping with the Abrahamic Covenant by God. Balaam could not curse them successfully because Israel was already blessed. Genesis 17.
But then the shocker came when the same Balaam was consumed by Israel when they overran Moab as they (Israel) expanded their territory in the Promised Land. That was during the military conquest or campaign carried out by Joshua, who succeeded Moses to the Promised Land.
“And they slew the kings of Midian, besides the rest of them that were slain , namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian.
Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword” Numbers 31:8.
Even if Balaam was ignorant of the curse placed upon those who will rise up against the inheritors of the Covenant between God and Abraham, that ignorance did not restrain the onus of liability on him.
Similarly, those who wage war against you will also suffer the same liability: justice and judgement, before God concerning you.
This is the kind of understanding which ,if it settles well inside you as a believer , each day you wake up in the morning, you will roar like a lion and bless the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who gave you such a privilege. Indeed, it is a rare privilege!
By the way, do you know that Israel was not initially aware when Balak and Balaam conspired to curse them. Sure , you need not be aware of their conspiracy. It doesn’t matter how far removed and thick their plot? How coordinated their plans? How organised, intense and extensive they may be ? Check out all tm what Balaam and Balak did. They were deeply intentional. They were prepared all-round, but they were not with heaven. Heaven was against them. They roundly failed because their labor was not favored, graced or had the backing of the Grandmaster our Father.
And by the mercies of God, I command that all those who rise against you shall have their labor wasted like those of Balaam and Balak who also died in their wickedness in Jesus’ name.
Meanwhile, God was well pleased with the heart of David, especially as he was very bold, courageous and confident to challenge Goliath the Philistine giant who defied the armies of the Living God. He showed great courage, even when he was a stripping and not of age to be in Israel’s army. 1 Samuel 17. No doubt, beyond the issue of Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, David did some other things that were great before God, including his prompt repentance before God on the same matter of Bathsheba. His Lamentations, or perhaps, a dirge in Psalms 51, clearly sums up his contriteness of heart on this same matter. And God was minded! Wherefore, He responded appropriately with a covenant between Him and David. God appreciated the goodness of David’s heart. The Bible tells us that those who worship God must do so in truth and in spirit. Many hardly do.
“And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in… Now, therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel…
Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning, … Moreover, I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee that the LORD will build thee an house.
And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers , that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his throne for ever.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son : and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took from him that was before thee: But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore…
according to all these words, .. so did Nathan speak unto David. ” 1 Chronicles 17:3-15.
We have indulged in this long quote to enable us see where God decided to factor David into the Abrahamic Covenant in a manner that appears like a Covenant subset. The wisdom in this is that believers can as well carve out niches for themselves, their families and their generations in this Covenant relationship. Yes, any believer with the right spiritual fervency, understanding, character, grace and vision can enlist himself, his family and generations thereafter into this Covenant relationship, intentionally. That was what David did. David applied repentance, humility, courage, faith and Godly boldness to integrate his dynasty in the Covenant ,that showed him so much favor and greatness and fame. God rewards genuine service of men unto Him. Don’t forget that David wasn’t a perfect character. But you couldn’t catch him with pride, arrogance and hubris which make men think they are like god before others. His service to God was devoid of self. How do you serve?
While David was dying, he still had the presence of mind to call Prophet Nathan and others to witness his appointment of Solomon as his heir apparent. Simply put, David replaced himself as the king of Israel with Solomon his son while still alive. This he did at the expense of Absalom and Adonijah, who both had aspired to the throne. This is also an affirmation of Ecclesiastes 9:11 which says the strongest don’t win the battle, neither great riches for men of wisdom or skills. But God determines them all ..
As a child of God, when you see these events in the pages of the Scriptures, what do they tell you about God? For me, it affirms the reality of God, the integrity of His word and the fact that “those promises of God yet to be fulfilled will eventually come to pass”
When God settled Israel in their Homeland of Jerusalem in 1948, it was also in fulfilment of this prophecy. God told David ..”Also, I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more, neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more , as at the beginning..”v9. Does this make sense to you? It does to me!
Today, events in the Middle East all attest to the fact that the issues involved have everything to do with the fulfilment of Scriptures. The Bible challenges us believers to be sober and watch unto prayer while these events unfold. Does it not rankle common sense that small Israel takes on the entirety of the Arab world with smart success? Please be prayerful. Be spiritual. Do not be distracted by Wealth, Wine, and Carnal Indulgences. Titus 2:11-13. These are the signs that would signal the end of times. Be vigilant. Be wary.
Now, it was so strange that Solomon, who was adequately mentored by David his father and Nathan and others, could not withstand the demands of the kingdom. He multiplied wives, horses and chariots. He loved the good life, and all that, at the expense of obedience to the rules governing the Covenant blessings.
“But King Solomon loved many strange women together with the daughter of Pharoah, women of Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites… And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, three hundred concubines ; and his wives turned away his heart.,” 1 Kings 11:1-3.
Sad. Solomon went further to build their shrines and sanctuaries of worship for the foreign and strange gods. This is the testimony of the Bible:
“Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all the his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods”. 1 Kings 11:7-8.
This is what happens when a man begins to trust in his abilities. At this point, wisest man Solomon became most foolish king Solomon. It is unthinkable, most unbelievable . But it happened to King Solomon. Yes, do not depend upon yourself. Always seek the ‘God factor’ in all your doings. It’s not a sign of weakness. Certainly not. It only proves your humanity, and the fact that you don’t know it all. Proverbs 3:21-26.
If Solomon was a disaster, then his son Rehoboam was a multiple disaster. He pulled down all that his father Solomon, and his grandfather David built in just three days of his reign. He was both wicked and ungodly. He lacked the character of a prince, King. And he paid dearly for his foolish indiscretion. A servant named Jeroboam, divided the kingdom with him. Solomon was only left with Judah and Benjamin in respect to the Davidic Covenant to ‘leave David a man on the throne.’ God is ever faithful, yet He judges every wickedness. 2 Samuel 7:12-16.
With the death of Solomon, Jeroboam led a delegation of the Northern kingdom to plead that their burden as laid upon them by Solomon be reduced. These developments are captured in 2nd Chronicles 9-10 and 1 Kings 12. Rehoboam gave them three days to return for an answer, during which he discarded the favorable response of the elders for the mischief of his peers, the youth of his generation. According to him:
“And now, whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions”.
1 Kings 12:11.
By this development, the days of King Rehoboam as ruler over all Israel were over, as Jeroboam who had earlier been given a prophecy that he would be King, had his path clearly paved for the fulfilment of that prophecy which came during the reign of Solomon. A prophet call Ahijah had parted a new garment into 12 pieces. He gave Jeroboam 10 out of them. 1 Kings 11 :29-32. Solomon had wanted to kill Jeroboam then, but he migrated to Egypt until the death of Solomon. He was invited home by his people to lead them on this empty voyage to Rehoboam.
Again, God brought to fulfilment his word as He has promised.
“So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents”.
1 Kings 12:16. God is always promise keeper. Trust Him fully.
God bless. Happy Sunday.
(To be continued).
•Pastor Okoro, a revivalist and marriage counselor, can be reached on: 08051000462.
March 27, 2022
