INTRODUCTION
Well mon, people it is
that time of the month again! January has been very hectic been travelling by
foot and public transportation in the eastern part of the United
States. It has been challenging but quite an eye opener.
Unfortunately, I have not been very well received because of the Canadian
factor. They go ahead of me and rile up the public officials and the police. I
am realizing that everybody could do with a little more money. So no one seems
to be immune. All the Libraries have the Canadian spy program. Everyone
eavesdrop on what I am doing on the computer. I will have to continue to plod
on it was never easy for anyone who had to stood up for their principles. I have
a series of Blog coming up i am particularly looking forward to the one on
Welfare as done by God. I want to show the Church how far we have fallen
from the original plan and why it can't be done by government.
REFLECTIONS
This topic came to me in
2010 during one of the most difficult periods in my life. It is one of the
topics that is included in my two journals that were stolen. 2010 was the year
I read the Bible through twice in one year. I could not get enough of the word
because I needed answers. We will be looking at the three major betrayals King
Saul and David, Ahitophel and David and Judas and the Master. What took place
and the lessons learnt.
CRITICAL
DEFINITION
Definition
of Betray (Merriam Webster)
Transitive
Verb
1:
to lead astray; especially: SEDUCE
· A
nation betrayed into violence
· A
teenager betrayed by a much older man
2:
to deliver to an enemy by treachery
· Was
betrayed to the authorities by one of his students
· Betraying
one’s own country
3:
to fail or desert especially in time of need
· Betrayed
by his family
· Felt
that she would be betraying her principles
· You’ve
betrayed out trust
4a:
to reveal unintentionally
· Betray
one’s true feelings
b:
SHOW, INDICATE
· His
best columns betray… the philosophical bent of his mind.
· Jason
Brown
c: to disclose in
violation of confidence
· Betray
a secret
Intransitive Verb
· To
prove false.
I.
KING SAUL DESTROYED BY JEALOUSY
King Saul realized that God had anointed David to succeed him on
the throne instead of his son Jonathan. He was so wrought that it
lead to insanity, King Saul had only himself to blame. When he was chosen he
was head and shoulders above everybody else (be careful of these people who are
taller than everyone else physically), they might be the choice of men but not
the choice of God. Man looketh at the outer God looketh at the heart I Samuel 16 verse 17. King Saul was very
disobedient I Samuel 15 verse 22 and wanted to blame the
people for his actions. God took the kingdom from him and gave it to
a little shepherd boy by the name of David. Now David did not ask to be king he
was just in the field learning ‘The Art of War’ with his sling and honing his
skills as a musician. The prayer warrior part was to come later when King Saul
was chasing him and he had four hundred vagrants to deal with.
Can you imagine you are in distress and you have four hundred
people who are even more distressed than you? Talk about
praying all types of prayers. King Saul chased King David his
replacement for thirteen years.
1 Samuel 15 - King
Saul disobeyed the Lord again. The kingdom is symbolically taken from him by
God.
After this in I Samuel 16 we see where God sent
Prophet Samuel to secretly anoint David as king. I tell you God and His diplomacy
for fear of Samuel’s life and that of Jesse and his family. The
Bible says ‘But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit
from the Lord troubled him. 1 Samuel 16 verse 14 . King David was appointed to play for King
Saul. David’s one minute elevator speech enunciated by one of the
servants ‘Behold, I have seen a son of
Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man,
and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him.’1 Samuel 16 verse 18 .
David was hired to play for King Saul. David got to learn about life in the
palace.
1 Samuel 17 - King
David annihilated the giant Goliath that everyone was hiding from including
King Saul. He officially became a part of the palace marrying King Saul’s
daughter Michal. He and King Saul’s son Jonathan, became best friends.
1 Samuel 18 verse 5 And
David went out withersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul
set him over the men of war; and he was accepted in the sight of all the
people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.
Fantastic scripture which indicated that the
young man did not become carried away with all the attention and behaved
carelessly, which makes the ultimate betrayal that more condemning.
1 Samuel 18 verse 6-7 indicated
that it is not even what you say that gets you in trouble but what other people
say about you. It was the ladies that commended David and Saul became very
wroth and began keenly observing David from that day on. Then the evil spirit
came on him and while David was playing he tried to kill him. 1 Samuel 18 verse 11.
1 Samuel 18 verse 12 King
Saul became afraid of David for ‘the Lord was with him and was departed from
Saul’. 1 Samuel 18 verse 14-16
The rest of the chapter
is full of King Saul’s deception in order to get David killed. The
daughter that he should have married was given to another (that is prophetic a
strategic move by the all-knowing God). In order to get him killed King Saul
asked him to get one hundred foreskins of the Philistines as a dowry for his
daughter, which he did. He ultimately got the girl, and the girl
loved him and he became the father in law’s continual enemy.
1 Samuel 18 verse 30 –
David behaved himself so well in exalted company that his name was constantly
being called.
1 Samuel 19 – Private
sin become public. King Saul wanted everyone to assist him to kill David even
his own son Jonathan and later his daughter Michal.
1 Samuel 20 verse 31 –
King Saul actually told Jonathan that as long as David was alive Jonathan would
not ascend the throne. In fleeing King Saul, David got assistance from the
Priests of Nob which angered the former who got Doeg the Edomite, to do the
dirty work killing all seventy Priests.
1 Samuel 21 ｖｅｒｓｅ:10-15 In fleeing David went to Gath where
he pretended to be a mad man to save his life.
In 1 Samuel 22 – David
went to live in the caves of Adullam where he was joined by all his household
and everyone that was in distress, everyone in debt and everyone that was
discontented gathered themselves unto him and he became a captain over them and
there were with him about four hundred men.
1 Samuel 23 – David
became an official fugitive living among the Philistines and fighting against
the Philistines. One major constant in David’s life was that he was
always enquiring of the Lord. He did not move until the Priest used the Ephod
to know what the Lord is saying. One of the major thing was that the people
that David helped would betray his whereabouts to King Saul.
In 1 Samuel 24 - David
had his first opportunity to wipe out King Saul and this was his response. I
Samuel 24 verse 6 ‘And he said unto his men, The Lord forbids that I
should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed…
I Samuel 25 verses 42 - 43 - David
took time out in the wilderness to get married.
1 Samuel 26 verse 2 - So many soldiers came
after one man. Reminds me of my life and the whole host of criminals that I see
on a daily basis running around like headless chickens following me.
1 Samuel 26 verses 8 - 11 - God delivered
King Saul into David’s hands a second time.
1 Samuel 28 verse 6 – God stopped
communicating with Saul. Terrible state to be in when the Lord
himself cut you off. Because of this King Saul who had cut off all
Psychics and Sages in the land had to seek out one disguising himself in other
raiment.
1 Samuel 30 – Ziklag where David and
his bunch hang out was raided while they were on a raid and all their possessions
and families were taken. At the first sign of trouble all David’s men were
willing to stone him. The Bible says that David encouraged himself
and then enquired of the Lord. 1 Samuel 30 verse 8.
1 Samuel 20 verses:22-25 -
Principle established by David, everybody partake equally as part of the team
whether you tended the stuff or went to battle.
The Demise of King Saul
I Samuel 31 verse 34 – King Saul fell on his
own sword after his armour bearer refused to kill him. A good life was wasted
because of hatred and jealousy not only he died but all his sons died on the
same day.
II. AHITOPHEL – THE
ORACLE OF GOD THAT COMMITTED SUICIDE
How does one go from
being a mouth piece of God to someone who commits suicide? Let us explore!! This
I find to be one of the most tragic stories of the Bible. I mean very tragic,
very, very tragic. Yuh feel mi people!! From where I am sitting Ahitophel should
have died a martyr not a sinner. This story more than any other
gives credence to the quote by Edmund Burke- The only thing that is necessary
for evil to prevail is for good men to keep silent.
Ahitophel as per 2 Samuel 15 verse 12 was King David’s
trusted counsellor. He was the first man to hold that office under King David’s
government 1 Chronicles 27 verses 33 - 34. He had the
King`s ears, I think he was spineless and a coward who wanted to spare his own
life.
Before we go much
further let us look at some facts about this fellow Ahitophel. He was a
Gilhonite from the tribe of Giloh. Giloh was near Hebron, Joshua 15 verses 51-55. This was
Caleb’s country where those traitors the Ziph who betrayed David lived. The
Bible does not speak to the specific way and time the relationship was formed
and one does not want to speculate. Suffice it to say in 2 Samuel 11 verse 3 King David was warned
(or someone was trying to caution him) that Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam,
the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Who listens to reason when they are ridden by
hormones?
Let me interject here I
am reminded of the book 'A Man for All Seasons Sir Thomas Moore'. Almost
identical situation involving one of the Henry VIII of Great Britain who wanted to marry female he should not marry. Of course in those
days monarch listened to church or got rid of them. If the church
did not endorse the marriage nobody else would. I think most people in the
story capitulated because they did not want to lose their heads except for this
fellow Sir Thomas Moore who was eventually sent to the dungeons and then to the
gallows. But we are still reading about him as a man who stood for what he
believed in. Those days church and state were intimately intertwined. I don’t
know where we got this foolishness about separation of church and state. It is
the church more than anything else that caused the expansion of the British
Kingdom. Quoting from James Baldwin The Fire Next Time pg 45 – ‘When the white
man came to Africa, the white man had the Bible and the African had the land,
but now it is the white man who is being, reluctantly and bloodily, separated
from the land, and the African who is still attempting to digest or to vomit up
the Bible’.
Ahitophel did not want
to lose his head like Sir Thomas Moore. He allowed King David to commit this
sin.
Who was Eliam?
In II Samuel 23
verse 34(b) where the lists of King David’s thirty and Seven mighty
men were being listed it states ‘Eliam the son of Ahitophel the
Gilonite. This means that King David was having an affair with
Ahitophel’s granddaughter and murdered his son in law. People, now do you see
why the Bible say if you have ought against your brother you ought to go to
your brother and you are not to allow the sun to go down on your anger. If your
trusted adviser cannot speak to you. Who can? Here it is before Ahitophel dealt
with the matter he internalized things and had a grudge against King David
carrying for a number of years. Hence the reason God used Prophet Nathan in a
diplomatic way to deal with King David. Ahitophel was too busy sulking. Reminds
me of Mrs. Ellorine Walker former principal of Merl Grove High School who said
to me once, ‘Raphleta, what are you sulking about now? Ahitophel needed someone
like her to deal with him direct and to the point.
Root of Bitterness
Ahitophel allowed the
root of bitterness to fester in his heart which became the motivation to turn
on King David and join Absalom. Hebrews 12 verses 14 - 15.
In 2 Samuel 15 verse 12 Absalom immediately
sent for Ahitophel and sought his counsel when he was trying to overthrow his
father. This indicates that there was some dissension between King David and
his Chief Adviser or the fact that Absalom had inside information on what had
taken place. You know the grapevine otherwise called Nomadic News Network
(NNN).
In 2 Samuel 16 verses 21 - 23 just to indicate
how accurate Ahitophel was in his counsel. The same things that
Nathan predicted in 2 Samuel 12 verse 10 - 11 were the same
things that Ahitophel told Absalom to do. The man was 100%
correct. I tell
you I want to stone some
of these Armani and Gucci suited gentlemen that call themselves prophets. The
Prophet Jeremiah said they are saying that God said when he has said nothing.
In 2 Samuel 17 verses 1 - 2 I tell you
Ahitophel was motivated, not being satisfied with the ultimate degradation and
insult that Absalom could inflict on his father by openly sleeping with his
wives and concubines. He wanted to have his ultimate revenge by killing King
David himself. He wanted to pursue David capture him when he is weak,
and destroy him. He wanted the ultimate vengeance. King David puts
it this way in Psalm 41 verse 9’Yea mine own familiar friend in
whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.’
Ahitophel was not wise
enough or he would have known that ‘vengeance is mine saith the Lord I will
repay' Romans 12 verse 19. The fact of the
matter is that King David had already dealt with the sin in 2 Samuel 12 verse 13 . King David had
already sought forgiveness and God had promised that he would not die.
God overturned the counsel
of Ahitophel as prayed by King David 2 Samuel 15 verse 31. Mon people you are
only fooling yourselves when you are making excuses for your
sins. King David shows how repentance is done
Suicide - The Ultimate Indication of Hopelessness
In 2 Samuel 17 verse 23 when Ahitophel saw
that his counsel was overturned he packed up his ass went home, set his affairs
in order and committed suicide. This was the most idiotic thing he could have
done. Suicide negates the power of God. It is saying one is so far gone that
God is not able to help. That is not what my Bible says in Psalm 139. It says whatever the situation
He has us covered. It also speaks to the fact that the man was
full of pride. He should have the Canadians and the African mutants otherwise
known as Bro. Anancy Nigerians to deal with like me. The first thing
was that they uncovered my nakedness, then they tried to destroy me with
bio-terrorism, then they along with the crooked Jamaican politicians and
businessmen stole all that I have and they continue to try and steal all that I
have. Death is final once there is life there is hope. I am reminded
of the story of the man in the tree that ate his last banana and was about to
jump because he thought he had nothing to live for. Then he looked
down and saw a man under the tree eating the banana peel he had thrown away.
Moral of the story when you think you are wiped out there is always someone
worse than you.
I state categorically King David would not have
killed him as evidenced by the scriptures. He did not kill Joab who
murdered General Abner deceitfully. He did not kill Shimei who
cursed him most disgracefully when he was leaving town because of Absalom and
he did not kill Ziba who lied to him about Mephibosheth. He left them all to
King Solomon 1 Kings 2 verses 1 - 8 Ahitophel was
King Solomon’s great grandfather. I tell you this Bible is a book for
all seasons.
I always wondered why of
all King David’s children that God fell in love with Solomon. I
think I have found the answer; it is the consolation to Ahitophel and Uriah.
After all they were both good men. Psalm 115 verse 3 ‘He sits
in the heaven and he does as he pleases'. When you can’t believe his hand
trusts his heart says the song
If Ahitophel had not
allowed bitterness to blind him and committed suicide he would have lived until
he died and seen his great grandson become king of Israel.
III. JUDAS ISCARIOT –
PRE-ORDAINED VERSUS CHOICE
The most terrible betrayal in the Bible! Someone
had to do it but you would not want it to be you. Let us deal with the whole
question of pre-ordination versus choice. God is omni- Omniscient meaning he
knows everything, Omni-present He is everywhere present and he is Omni-potent
meaning He is all powerful. He is also the alpha and
omega. He knows the end of a matter even before he starts
it. Having said that, you will note that all through scripture Judas
had a choice, no one pushed him. He made an adult decision based on
his avarice. Let us now look at his non committed behavior throughout
scriptures.
Lack of Faith in Jesus
Although Judas was chosen to be one of the
twelve St. John 6 verse 64 scriptural evidence
points to the fact that he never believed Jesus to be God. One gets the
impression that Judas was not convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, based on the
Jewish interpretation of what the Messiah should be. The other
disciples called Jesus ‘Lord’, not Judas instead he called him ‘Rabbi’
acknowledging Jesus as nothing more than a teacher. The other disciples made
profession of faith and loyalty St. John 6 verse 68 and 11 verse 16 Judas never did and appears to
have remained silent on these occasions.
Personal Relationship with Jesus
Judas not only lacked faith in Christ but he
also had little or no personal relationship with Jesus. When the Synoptic
Gospels list the twelve, they are always listed in the same general order with
slight variations (St. Matthew 10 verses :2 - 4, St. Mark 3 verses 16 - 19 and St. Luke 6 verses 14 - 16 ). The
general order is believed to indicate the relative closeness of their personal
relationship with Christ. Despite the variations, Peter and the Brothers James
and John are always listed first, which is consistent with their relationship
with Jesus. Judas is always listed last, which may indicate his
relative lack of personal relationship with the Christ. In addition,
the only documented dialogue between Jesus and Judas involves Judas being
rebuked by Jesus after his greed motivated remark to Mary. St. John 12 verses 1 - 8. Judas’ denial of his
betrayal St. Matthew 26 verse 25 , and the betrayal
itself. St. Luke 22 verse 48 .
Judas was consumed with greed to the point of
betraying the trust of not only Jesus, but also his fellow disciples St. John 12 verses 4-6.
Wrong Motives
Judas may have desired to follow Jesus simply
because he saw the great following and believed he could profit financially.
The fact that Judas was in charge of the money bag for the group is indicative
of his interest in money St. John 13 verse 29. Judas like most
people at that time believed that Jesus would overthrow Roman occupation and
take a position of power ruling over the nation of Israel. A number of persons
in addition to Judas was hoping to benefit from association with Him as the new
reigning political power; expecting to be among the new elite after the
revolution. By the time of Judas' betrayal, Jesus had made it clear that He
planned to die, not start a rebellion against Rome. Judas must have assumed not
unlike the Pharisees that since He would not overthrow the Romans, He must not
be the Messiah they were expecting.
Old Testament Referral To the Betrayal
1. Psalm 41:9 King James Version (KJV)
9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I
trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
Fulfillment St matthew 26 verse 14 and 48-49
Fulfilled:
Matthew 26:14-16 King James Version
(KJV)
14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot,
went unto the chief priests,
15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I
will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of
silver.
16 And from that time he sought opportunity to
betray him.
Matthew 26:48-49 King James Version
(KJV)
48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign,
saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail,
master; and kissed him.
2. Zechariah 11:12-13 King James
Version (KJV)
12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me
my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of
silver.
13 And the Lord said
unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them.
And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the
house of the Lord.
Fulfilled:
Matthew 27:3-5 King James Version
(KJV)
3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw
that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of
silver to the chief priests and elders,
4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed
the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the
temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
These Old Testament
prophecies indicate that Judas' betrayal was known to God and that it was
sovereignly planned beforehand as the means by which Jesus would be killed.
CONCLUSION
In concluding, in all
three cases mentioned the root of the matter had to do with the heart
condition of the persons. King Saul was a very insecure leader who
allowed covetousness and jealousy to overcome his heart. I was just reading the
Ten Commandments as I do my yearly routine of going through the Bible at least
once per year and while reading the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, I was amazed
at how detailed the Lord was in outlining the things that should not be
coveted. I said to myself the Lord really knows the creatures he has made. He
was simply saying you should not want to be like the Jones'. Keep your nose out
of your neighbour's business. King Saul wanted it all and lost everything.
In the, case of Ahitophel a really tragic
story! We are reminded of Proverbs 4:23 King
James Version (KJV)
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it
are the issues of life.
This wise, not so wise man allowed
bitterness to take root in his heart and eventually destroyed him and
eventually lost the ultimate his life. King David was also culpable but he is wise.
He knew the power of repentance. 1 John 1:9 King James Version
(KJV)
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Reminds me
of a Sister in the church that once told me the feet of Jesus was always a safe
place to be. Why don't we listen to Ron Kenoly's 'I will Come and Bow Down'.
Judas! Judas! Judas!
what can one say but, I am lucky I am not him. One also has to look
at the situation in context. Remember pretext, post text and
context. Contextually, it is said that hind sight is 20/20. Meaning
we now have the full picture of what took place back then. In their
days the teachings and actions of Jesus were very
revolutionary. Remember after he was crucified everyone went back to
fishing. Unfortunately, Judas' motives were not pure and by the time he
realized his error Satan had already entered him and had his way St John
13:27 King James Version (KJV)
27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then
said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
From our discourse I think we can safely say God
does not look upon betrayal very well, all cases ended up in death of the
individuals who did the betrayal. We can also clearly see that these
persons hearts were never at peace. The Bible says if your heart
condemns you, God is greater than our hearts and knoweth all things 1 John 3 verses 19-21. The Bible again
says we are to be at peace with all men. Yes people you are not going to love
everyone and if we follow the Sermon on the Mount way of doing things we will
avoid a lot of conflicts and heartaches. If you
have ought against your brother go to your brother and talk to your
brother. That is the only way the church is going to have effective
growth.
This is me Lillene’s
baby girl coming to you from the city that never sleeps New York, USA
À bientôt!!
REFERENCES:
