2 kings6:24-33, 2 Kings 7:1-20
An Impossible situation...
Samaria has been surrounded by an enemy,The gates of the city have been locked and none of its merchants could trade. There was scarcity in the Land, The city was suffering from lack and poverty/famine was destroying the land.
An "Easy" but Costly Temporary Solution...
This state of affairs drove two Women to reach and unusual and a terrible agreement.Their agreement was to eat the children born from their own wombs!!! Note that these were not the sons of strangers they wanted to eat (Though that would have been strange enough) These were children they had nursed and raised all through the years.
Sometimes the circumstances we face can drive us to take terrible decisions. A woman who has been barren for a long time toys with the idea of visiting a native doctor. We are tempted to cut corners or to give bribe to get ahead in life.We are always tempted with an easy way out to a problem that seems too great for us to handle.
These women choose an "easy but costly solution".
How much are you willing to pay for that easy solution? When you go to the native doctor, the price tag is always hidden and always costs more than is advertised. You may be wondering if these women had any faith at all. You may question their spirituality but the truth is that no matter how much faith you have it takes God to keep you from taking that easy solution
For Example, Abraham, the father of faith, who did not have a son slept with a maid to get a seed.
This solution still affects all of Abraham's descendants till date.Elijah, after calling down fire from heaven and slaughtering 850 false prophets, wanted to die instead of face the threat Jezebel.
What are you willing to do anything to ensure your survival?
These women having reached their agreement took the first child and killed him. I wonder how it must have been for the woman who gave birth to this child.To look into your child's eyes and kill him! Did the child beg for mercy? Did he trust mummy not to do this?
All that does not matter as the evil deed has been done.
The first child is dead and digested.The women are hungry again and the time to kill the second child has
come. Sinful pleasures never truly satisfy.The second woman finds she can not do it and hides her child. The aggrieved former mother takes her case to the king.
Seeking Help from the Helpless... (When the Helper needs Help)
I think you need to hear her appeal to him, as the king was passing," Help, my lord, O King!"(2 Kings 6:26)People only seek help from others whom they assume have the solution to their problem. No one goes to a poor man for money; No one asks the blind to look after his property for him.The king in this case was being looked at to judge the issue and probably give a judgment in favor of the woman.While I would like to know how the king might have judged this case, of greater interest is his reply to the woman. Hear him:
"If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? ..."
After he heard the problem, he rents his Kingly robes to reveal that the King Himself needed help too! Under the facade of kingly robes and bearing was a sackcloth! When your supposed help needs help what can you do? When the one you consider to be the solution to your problem has a few questions that require answers.
What do you do? The idols that Goliath trusted in could not help him.That's what Satan does; he leads one to a battle only to abandon him on the battlefield.In Egypt the bible says God judged not only the people but the gods of Egypt that was supposed to be their source of help.
What is your source of confidence? Trust God He has never lost a battle.
The King got so upset and cancelled his fast. He had been waiting on the Lord with sack cloth but when he heard this cry he became dissatisfied. He was in desperate need of a solution and he faced off with the man of God.
And God Stepped in
The solution to their problem can by the word of the Lord.Can you imagine how the woman that ate her child would have felt when she heard that by the next day the famine would be over?
Can you imagine when the next day the word of God came to pass?
"At this time tomorrow a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria"
Praise God!! No matter how bad the situation may be it takes the word of God to turn it around.He can speak to that situation and change it.
He can raise your Lazarus;Heal your issue of blood;Calm your storms;Slay your Goliath;Divide your red sea;Make fruitful Barren Sarah.The beauty of this is that he can do it in an instant!!
A famine that had lasted for a while was dealt with by the next day by God.God did not only provide a solution but he made it easy to access.It is at the gate of Samaria that the solution will be at. Your situation will not be an exception.
He can deal with that mountain,He can handle that situation if only you would trust him. Don't be impatient, Wait on God. He would do it. It is well. God will show up for your sake!
Thursday 28 February 2013
Dare To Begin Again
"And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent." (Genesis 9:20-21).
When we have been struck by a tragic event or have experienced a storm or set back in our lives, starting afresh could be a difficult task.
We wonder how we will build what has broken down, where we will find the strength to pick up the pieces of our lives and move on.
Some keep on recounting what has been lost and hold regrets for what failed to happen, so much so, that the strength to move on is spent on dealing with all the generated ill-feeling from the past experience.
Noah was an example of a man struck with tragedy. He lost his neighbours in the flood, he lost some of his personal belongings, he heard the cries of his neighbours calling out to him as they drowned in the flood, such voices must have echoed in his memory and haunted his dreams. could that be why Noah took to drinking? to suppress the voices and the memory of drowning neighbours and friends? Just asking but these are not the issue I seek for us to discuss today.
The point is that after his tragedy and loss of friends, neighbours property(whatever could not enter the ark), Noah began to be something! He started picking up the pieces of his life and building again. He took up the challenge and started a career. Despite his age he could start over!
Friend no matter the pain life throws at you its not enough an excuse to curl up and give up. Your life can begin again! You can still make something out of that experience.
Rise up and begin again. You were something before the tragedy and you can still become something after it. Don't give up on your dreams!
Dare to begin again.
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