WHAT I'M LEARNING IN THE BIBLE.... (PART 2)

NUMBERS 32 1-3: SELF DETERMINATION is very essential for the expression of self and fulfilment in life. The children of Reuben and Gad saw what they wanted – a good pasture for their large livestock – in the land of Jazer and Gilead, and they went to Moses to seek his permission to allow them settle there, as there was no point for them to go further with the congregation across the Jordan when they had already seen all they needed for sustenance before the Jordan.

9: DISCOURAGEMENT, either external or internal, can prevent one from making the necessary move to take possession of what God has given one.

11: NOT FOLLOWING GOD WHOLLY, that is with unflinching dedication, can also prevent one from ATTAINING THE PROMISE. It halted a whole generation of Israel from attaining what had been given to them by Divine Promise many years before they were even born.

15: TURNING AWAY FROM God can lead to Him abandoning one in the wilderness (the vicissitudes of life), and this might lead to the destruction of the person.

6-33: There is a PRICE TO PAY FOR GETTING WHAT YOU WANT. In the case of the children of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh, it was patiently enduring the castigation of Moses and resolving to go with the army of Israel across the Jordan to fight the battle that would make them the sole occupants of Canaan. 39: For there to a POSSESSION, there must first e a DISPOSSESSION. The children of Machir had to fight and dispossess the Amorites before they could possess their land.

WHAT I'M LEARNING IN THE BIBLE.... (PART 1)

NUMBERS 33 Rameses was THE STARTING POINT for the children of Israel on their way out of Egypt to the Promised Land.

3b-4: What a contrast of fate! As the Israelites were marching out of Egypt, their land of bondage, with boldness, the Egyptians were all downcast and in great mourning burying their dead firstborns! Only God can wreak such CONTRAST OF FATE when a former downtrodden slave can saunter confidently while his hitherto haughty master looks on morosely.

38: AARON died at 123 on mount Hor on the first day of the fifth month (Jewish calendar) in the 40th year of the journey of the Israelites.

50-53: God’s charge to the people of Israel on WHAT TO DO WITH THE INHABITANTS OF THE LAND of Canaan; they were to be dispossessed and driven out of the land, and their engraved stones, moulded images and high places destroyed.

54: God instructed a DIVISION of the land BY LOT as an inheritance among the families, and then a PROPORTIONATE ALLOTMENT of the land to each family according to their sizes.

55: The consequences of NOT ELIMINATING ALL THE INHABITANTS of the land/territory one is to take over. The remnants will eventually constitute irritants in one’s eyes, thorns in the flesh and a source of harassment to the person. This is also applicable to one’s habits after being born again. Those habits/indulgences that one did not get rid of will constantly be the Achilles’ heels that the devil will use to get one to fall.

THE PROCESS OF CREATION

Genesis 1:2-5

2. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep... 3. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

EXPOSITION

The above passage captures the process of creation. For there to be a creation or production of something, there must first be a CONCEPTION of its image (imagination) in the mind of the creator/producer. It takes an imaginative mind to create. God is the Father of all dreamers, that was why He could see the light in the confusion, the formlessness, the voids and the darkness that was upon the deep.

The second step in the creative process is SPEAKING IT FORTH. Words are substance. And the creative power of the spoken word cannot be over-emphasised. APPRAISAL is also one of the processes of creation. God didn’t just stop at the appearance of the light. He appraised it, saw that it was good. But He did not stop there, He went ahead to DIVIDE the light from the darkness, thus FINE-TUNING even the good product He had created to make it better.

Another creative step derived from the above passage is IDENTIFICATION. After "refining" Light from darkness (that was the first refinery activity in the book!), God gave each a name or an identity, calling the light Day and the darkness, Night.

What makes a day? According to the last part of verse 5, the evening and the morning made the very first day in world history. Surely that calls for some meditation and, perhaps, re-orientation if you believe otherwise.

Shalom!

THE POWER OF SAYING

 Genesis 1:11-12,20,24

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. 12. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good…. 20. Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” 24. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so.

EXPOSITION

The grass, the herb and the trees were all in the earth, just as abundance of living creatures were in the seas and the land. But all these did not surface until God called them forth.

The same way greatness, success and virtues abound inside all of us, but until we put our Godlike nature to bear and call them forth or speak them into being, they will remain dormant, undiscovered and unused potentials.

What a waste!

Starting from today, why not let us cultivate the habit of calling to manifestation the greatness that lies within us? As a cherished friend of mine said yesterday, “we have to say it to see it!”

So stop whining about what is and start saying what you want to see.

This may sound like a cliché but it is nevertheless the truth.

To Your Greatness!

FAR ABOVE RUBIES: The Proverbs 31 Woman (PART 1)

REFERENCE SCRIPTURE PROVERBS

31: 10-21

10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. 13 She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar. 15 She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants. 16 She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard. 17 She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms. 18 She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night. 19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle. 20 She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet. 22 She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. 24 She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants. 25 Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come. 26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness. 27 She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: 29 "Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all." 30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.

BENCHMARKS FOR DETERMINING A VIRTUOUS WOMAN

1. As a Daughter of her Parents

2. As a Wife

3. As a Mother

4. As a Child of God

5. As a Friend, Associate

6. As a Citizen of her Nation

7. As a Business/Career Person or Professional