WordToday

Manasseh had two notable things that characterised his rule as outlined in II Kings 21. 1) He ascended the throne as a teenager and went on to become Israel's longest serving king. 2) He turned out to be one of the vilest individuals in the chronology of Israel's godless leaders. Manasseh desecrated the temple and led the nation in worshipping Molech who required child sacrifice, Ashera the fertility god whose veneration comprised disgusting sexual perversions and dabbled in astrology among other forbidden things. In addition he committed murder at a scale never seen before and had spiritists, mediums and sorcerers as advisors. As a result of his sins with which he led the nation astray, God determined to destroy the Jewish nation. Eventually they were exiled to Babylon. Manasseh himself was captured by Assyrian commanders who tortured and humiliated him by dragging him into exile with hooks pierced through his nose. Here was a man condemned to pain and death for h...

  Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing.  David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might.. 2 Samuel 6:12, 14, 20-22  When David returned home 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 servants as any vulgar fellow would!” David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house 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... Now back in the days we used to sing a song based on this passage;...

Psalm 43:5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. The Psalmist talks to himself in a moment of depression. “Why are you downcast, O my soul...why so disturbed..?” In other words, “…why am I feeling so low…my heart is not at peace!” This is called self-talk. The statement is repeated in 42:11 so the Psalmist must really have been feeling it. Ever felt this way? I certainly do from time to time. And unless you are one of those irrepressible sanguines, eternally optimistic, you certainly have come across the ‘ black ’ times.   Sometimes it is related to some circumstance and sometimes there isn’t anything in particular that one can relate the feeling to. However what is important in every instance of depressive self-talk is what you tell yourself next. The Psalmist immediately continues, “…put your hope in God...” I dare say that is the most important favour on...

Five women are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus; Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary. What is the common thread that ties these women? Why of all the other mothers in the lineage of Jesus are they the only ones picked out for honorable mention? Now one would expect that the lineage of the Messiah should consist only of 'good stock' seeing that the Messiah is considered King of the Jews. Not so with the biblical record. Unlike other holy books that embellish the record of their heroes, the Bible is unflinchingly candid in its details. Thus a second look at the women above will reveal that each had a touch of scandal. Tamar had a rather umm, interesting past. In Genesis 38 we see her losing two husbands in quick succession and then schemes to get herself pregnant by her father-in-law. She disguised herself as a prostitute and then solicited sex from her father-in-law! The (not so good) result is that she bore twins and one of them (Perez), fell smack in the line...

The other day I sat in a matatu my eyes on Proverbs 14. Coincidentally Classic 105 was airing one of its salacious stories on everyday life and a woman caller was narrating how her marriage broke down. She said that she had a defined evening programme for each work day. She would live work at 6 p.m. and then head off to a café where she would have quality time with the girls up to about 8p.m. She would then get home by 9p.m. Her husband she said, reluctantly agreed to this arrangement. However he soon changed his mind and demanded that she comes home straight from work. Not one to be commanded around, she adamantly stuck to her evening routine. Things quickly went south and before long she walked out of the relationship.  As I listened to this story and then read Proverbs 14:1, I couldn't agree with the bible more. To be a good home-maker requires wisdom. It cannot be without good reason that the woman is traditionally called the ‘home-maker’. For example in my culture w...

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 1 John 3:8b Each year I find it perplexing that even those who do not consider themselves true followers of Christ celebrate Christmas. And they probably do it with more pomp than those who live by the commands of Christ. In any celebration or commemoration it is only a fool who participates without knowing the real reason behind the event. A wise man does a little research before lending his time and largesse to a holy day he doesn't fully understand. Only then can he appreciate the solemnity with which true believers carry the day.   It seems to me that the excessive carousing and binging around Christmas is testimony to man's ignorance on the things of God. Few stop to ask themselves; why Christmas? A Sunday school class might probably respond that Christmas is when we celebrate the birthday of Jesus. To which I would pose the question; why is Christmas important? Christmas is not a spec...

There are moments I believe, that are reserved only for those who get to raise daughters. My five year old daughter gives me this privilege. The other day I came from work all tired and agitated. As I came round a corner that leads to the house my little girl spotted me some distance away. She gave me a mischievous look and then turned her back to me as only a woman can. Without uttering a single word she paused like someone preparing for a grand performance. Then she gingerly lifted one leg off the ground and with her other foot planted firmly on the ground, she twirled this way and that way, all the while waving her little hands in the air. Her eyes still carried that mischievous glint and every so often she looked my way to make sure that I was watching. It took me a while to figure out what she was doing. It was a ballet dance. I was the audience. And yes, it was the beautiful thing ever! J The following day did not turn out so well. As we left a friend’s house my daught...