Can someone tell me what happened?

Have you ever read the book of Judges? If yes, have you read


Jugdes 2: 10? It reads:


And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

Very serious account which calls for many questions.

Now let us look at what the Lord said to Abraham,

Genesis 17:8-9

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.


And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.


Let us look at what the Lord said the Moses:

Exodus 3:14-15


And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.


And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.



From the first account, Abrahams seed after him in their generations were to keep Gods covenant. While in the second account the name of the Lord God was to be a memorial unto all generations.


Now lets look at these accounts:

Exodus 16:31-33


And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.


And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.


And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.



Deuteronomy 6: 4 – 9


Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:


And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.


And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:


And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.


And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.


From these two accounts, Manna was to be kept so that generations to come can see it and know how their fathers were fed in the wilderness. They were also to diligently teach their children the commandments of the Lord.

Besides these, the children ofIsraelwere to keep circumcision in their generations (Genesis 17:12), observe the feast of the unleaven bread forever (Exodus 12: 17), keep the Sabbath forever (Exodus 31:31).


All these commandments were put n place so that the children ofIsraelwill remember the Lord God and remember what He did for them.


Now lets look at Judges 2: 8 – 12

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.


And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.


And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.


And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:

And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.


With all these steps in place what could have happened? After all the mighty acts of the Lord and ordinances and instructions in place, how could there‘arise a generation that knew not the Lord nor yet the works which he had done for Israel?

I think it is safe to say that something must have gone wrong. Someone did not do what they were supposed to do. Someone did not teach their children nor pass down the instructions of the Lord. Someone lived for themselves and forgot the generation to come. Man failed in their duties to the Lord and to the future generation.

Before we start blaming and throwing stones we need to ask ourselves some serious questions. What are we laying down for our own children? What instructions are we laying down for our children to pass down to their generation?


What are we teaching them of the Lord? Are we teaching them the fear of the Lord? True worship? Holinesses, the list goes on.

What you don’t know, you don’t know. We are responsible for our children and the generation to come. What are we laying down?

This calls for a serious inventory of how we are living our lives now.

May it not be said of any of us that after brother Y, there came a generation which knew not the Lord nor His ways.

Lets make a conscious effort not to live for ourselves but for our children and the generation to come.


Let this be our heart cry!!



Psalm 102:12



But thou, O LORD, shall endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.




Bisi Oladipupo

True riches

Hey, before you move away, this does not relate to money. Everyone can be rich. While you can be rich with money, there are others things you can be rich in.



Good works

Everyone can be rich in good works.

Titus 3 v 8


This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.


1 Timothy 6 v 18


Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;


That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate.




While the above verse applies to those rich in this world, Titus states that we should all maintain good works. Which means we can all be rich in good works.


Faith

We can all be rich in faith.

James 2 v 5


Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?



As we develop the measure of faith the Lord gives us at the new birth, we can bring many to the faith and help others obtain their inheritance in Christ Jesus.


Everyone can be rich. We all have the ability to be rich in good works and in our faith.



Bisi Oladipupo

There is always a rising!

Have you ever done anything wrong? Made a mistake? Or have you deeply regretted what you did along time ago?


We all have made mistakes in life however some mistakes are more costly than others.

A number of years ago, a minister used to say ‘ as new covenant believers we should live in the new testament’. However as the years went by, l now realise that yes, we live under the new covenant, but the whole bible still remains the counsel of God for our lives.

What do l mean? We can see and understand the ways of God and learn many valuable lessons from the old testament. Besides, the things the Lord hates in the old covenant, He still does not like them today though we have a better cleansing covenant. If we did not need the old testament, it would not have been written.

Do not be deceived, we need the whole counsel of God to live victorious lives and to understand the ways of the Lord. If you want to have a good foundation, being to read the entire bible for yourself.


2 Timothy 3


16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Note the word ‘ all scripture’.

Lets look at a few examples:

David:

David was described as ‘a man after my own heart’ in the book of Acts.

Acts 13: 22


‘And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.


David was a honourable man, yet he failed and sinned against the Lord. The account can be found in 2 Samuel 11. Yes David paid for what he did, however the Lord was very merciful to David.

In times when we fail and fall, the best place to run to is the Lord. Bathesda later gave birth to Solomon who wrote the book of Proverbs. Not only that, our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ is the seed of David. Who can search the mercies of God?

Romans 1:3


Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;


Matthew 1


1The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.



How we need to be so careful when we fall. The Lord has not given up on us, His mercies are still new every morning. David is a good example of the mercy of God.


Am l promoting sin? No, not at all, however when we fall and repent there will be a lifting.



Peter


Peter is another example. He was even told that he would deny the Lord and still went ahead to do it.



Luke 22:
31And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
32But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
33And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.
34And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.


Yes Peter did deny the Lord, however he must have repented Luke 22: 62. When the Lord was resurrected from the dead, Peter had an encounter with the Lord

John: 21
14This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.
15So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.



Peter was fully restored and went on to do exploits for the Kingdom of God. I am yet to hear of anyone shadows that healed the sick, yet this was recorded regarding the same Peter.


Act 5


14And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
15Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
16There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.





Peter fell and moved on, so did David and so should we.


Lets not team up with the accuser of the brethren, lets receive the mercy of God when we fall and extend His mercy to others. When we fail, let us repent, rise up learn from our mistakes and move on.


Bisi Oladipupo