Heralds Digest

  “Now therefore, command that they cut down cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians. So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!” ‭‭I Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The cordial relationship between the Sidonians and the Israelites started with friendship between king David and king Hiram. And after the demise of king David, it was doubtful to king Hiram if the relationship could be sustained by king Solomon, who succeeded his father on the throne. But he was greatly impressed after receiving the words of king Solomon, making requests for continued collaboration towards the temple building project. It is important to note that words either break or make relationships, depen...

  “The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.” ‭‭I Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ While there has been no time where self-centredness produced good things, there are several accounts of blissful breakthroughs through the blessed burden. For king Solomon, he had a blessed burden of how to provide righteous judgment to God’s great people. And not how to be the richest man on earth; or how to be the undisputed number one on the Forbes magazine or the Guinness book of record. Fortunately for him, he got these secondary life’s achievements as...

  “that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’” ‭‭I Kings‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Everyone knows that it is much easier to make promises than to keep those promises. Human relationships mostly fail and falter because of the dearth of promise keepers; and not necessarily the scarcity of promise makers. Notwithstanding, there are several sincere promise makers who cannot keep the promises made, not on the account of their own negligence or unwillingness. Sometimes, the promise makers fail to keep the promises because the promise takers do fail to be the promise pacers. Therefore, promise pacing is the setup of the building blocks of trust, honesty, and integrity by man; upon which God is confident that the fulfillment of His promises will achieve the divine purpose. For God to extend the prom...

  “Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king”; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.” ‭‭I Kings‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The simple difference between self exaltation and self projection in life is that while the latter is influenced by innate abilities, internal qualities, self preparation, and personal disciples, self exaltation is excited by external influences. When Adonijah exalted himself by saying ‘I will be king’ , he most likely acted out the script of Joab the son of Zeruiah and Abiathar the priest, who “ followed and helped [or ambushed] Adonijah ”. Unfortunately, he didn’t learn anything from the ambushed ambition of his late senior brother Absalom.  Whereas, self projection requires patience and waiting upon the Lord for His divine assignment, while preparing oneself through training, experience, and exposures. Whenever we allow our ambition in life to be ambushed by external manifestation of se...

  “So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.”” ‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭24‬:‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ While the importance of census for national planning of resources, infrastructural development, and services to citizens is non-negotiable, everyone knew that the intention of king David for the first national census in Israel was strictly influenced by his pride, self-reliance, and self-glory. Unfortunately, after he fell into the temptation, he then realized his folly and forgetfulness that the Lord that delivered the Philistines and Goliath into his hands with just a sling and stones doesn’t need the census of human prowess to win the battles of life for His children. And as the children of God face the challenges and the projects of life, in comparison with the necessary implementation strategies, including the accumulation of human intelligence,...

  “For by You I can run against a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” ‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭22‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The final victory of king David over all his lifetime enemies will always be an inspiration to those who understand that life project is nothing short of a battlefield. While it is generally acceptable that only an unintelligent person will attempt to engage in a life project on a solo run, the challenges of trust and dependability with the option of team running are enormous. Although David’s life project was significantly blessed with several teams of loyal captains, he was able to single out God as his dependable defender. At all seasons of life, from when we are able to successfully run against the invading troops to when we unfortunately stumble and fall, it is only God that can be leaned upon for protection, provision, preservation, and purification, without perse...

  “And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you are not commander of the army before me continually in place of Joab.’ ” So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah, just as the heart of one man, so that they sent this word to the king: “Return, you and all your servants!”” II  Samuel‬ ‭19‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Walls are necessary only for providing the divisions and protection of precious possessions from invasion. But in a supposed cordial relationship, walls come in the form of offenses or disappointment; and they hinder progress and breakthrough in every project plan. For example, in the ways of king David’s return to Jerusalem, after the divinely orchestrated victory over the insurrection of Absalom, are walls created by the actions of his tribe of Judah in support of Absalom and against him. Even after the war was conquered, the wild wall was visible to king David. Therefore, David used forgiveness to break the wild wall; a...