TODAY’S DEVOTION (THURSDAY 18TH AUGUST 2022)
“Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused.
So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said: “I am young in years, and you are very old; Therefore I was afraid, and dared not declare my opinion to you.
I said, ‘Age should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.’ But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.
Great men are not always wise, nor do the aged always understand justice.” Job 32:4-9 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 230TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE!
We give God the glory for another day to be alive. His mercies have been beyond human compression. We will ever remain grateful.
Today is a celebration in my village. We call it “the New Yam Festival.” I do not know if they still keep the festival. But back then, in the 80s it was kept.
It was a season that is akin to the season that the nation of Israel reaped their first fruits in the days of the Bible. The first fruits is the first harvest that comes from what was planted.
Israel had a favored agricultural climate.
They reaped their harvests twice every year. The first comes earlier in the year and the other came later in the year, and they were expected to give the first to God as a first fruits offering, a significance of the resurrection of Christ, the resurrection of the saints, and the newness of life that comes forth as soon as we give our lives to Christ.
Though the first fruit thing has become a scamming system for many preachers, in the beginning of the Church age it was not so.
There was no giving of first fruits in the early Church because they understood that it had been fulfilled. Whatever the present Church is doing that the early Church never did is a scam from the part of the present Church that is sick.
So, our new yam festival was a festival where we harvested the first set of Yams that grew into maturity and celebrate the harvest. Farmers will gather around with their harvest, singing and dancing in a queue. They use to be Heavy rains that day. I have witnessed just few the celebrations in my adult life.
I remember seeing a lot of old men dancing with there beautiful dance steps in one of the occasions. It was village happiness at its peak. Very clean and pure; no profanity just the fragrance and beauty of age on display.
You will never understand what am talking about fully because words alone cannot communicate some things we see.
The last one I witnessed was in 1983. We would later leave the village to the City where I would later grow into a minister of the gospel. But those memories are still there.
Sadly, time has wiped away the lives of all those gracious Old men, whose presence made our village a place of morality, order and reason. A place you always want to visit. Today, am told, lawlessness is everywhere.
THE YOUTHS ARE ON RAMPAGE PROMOTING PROFANITY, IMMORALITY AND ALL THEY CAN PROMOTE.
Though we have evolved into a modern society today, with good roads, telecommunication, mechanized agriculture and all that, it seems these developments also brought with it a garbage of profanity.
I believe if those gracious, respectable, and orderly Old Men where still here with use, we would not have had the ills we now have. There passing away gave birth to a generation of Old men who seems not to know their role. They all want to remain young and all that.
They do things that even youths should not do, and do not have the virtues that command respect for the aged. It is so sad when it is you the younger one that now tells them how to behave.
What is true of my village is also true of the Church today.
Our old men in ministry have failed our generation terribly. Only those who do not read their Bibles will disagree with me. Yes, only those who do not understand the role of Old men in every generation will think am being disrespectful.
Only those who do not see how the destinies of even nations are being sold out courtesy of the Old men in ministry who seems to have lost tract with God.
Today is the 18 day of our journey with the Cry of the Spirit on spiritual fathering. Because fathers form the core of human existence, this journey is important.
As stated in earlier devotionals, the first government of God on earth was the government of a father called Adam, not even a nation. There can be no nation without fathers. That is why when fathers become fathers only by procreation, looks and color of hairs, even nations will be in disarray.
In God’s design, the Older Men in Ministry were supposed to be fathers, but most have become feathers of the evil one. We see an Older generation of ministers of the gospel doing very shameful things even on Television.
You see greed, covetousness, deception, craftiness, selfishness, sometimes hate, and most times treachery in the lives of most of them, and you feel so sad about it.
IN THOSE DAYS WE RUN TO THE AGED FOR DIRECTION, BUT TODAY IF YOU DO THAT, IN MOST CASES, YOU WILL BE RUNNING TO THEM FOR YOUR DESTRUCTION.
It is becoming very dangerous by the day to feel safe when with an Older person. Unlike Elihu, a younger generation must not be ignorance of the role God gave an older generation to play in their lives, especially, an older generation they have been serving and submitting to. Either older in age or older in the things of GOD.
If they are ignorant, they will not know when the older generation is deceiving them to their destruction, like the young prophet from Judah never knew. If they are ignorant, they will not know when they are being misled and misdirected. That is why it is safe to stay away from a greedy, covetous, selfish and self-centered older generation.
It is wise to depend on the inspiration of the almighty than the wisdom of the old when the old have lost their saltiness. A Part of our devotional text says,
I said, ‘Age should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.’ But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. Job 32:7-8 NKJV
When age refuse to speak what should be spoken in a time when the voice of the aged is needed, when the multitude of age that the aged has may have gathered did not given them the wisdom, virtues and morality to share and impart into a younger generation, the younger generation should respectfully cut off from them and depend on the inspiration of the Almighty alone; who Himself is the Ageless One, the Ancient of Days.
The glory of the youth is an old man who is godly, blessed with Heavenly wisdom, caring, sacrificial, pure, not greedy or covetous; one whose life is truly built around the Tree of life and can teach the youth how to allow GOD to father them.
IF WE DO NOT HAVE THIS KIND OF PEOPLE AS FATHERS, A YOUNGER GENERATION WILL BE DEVOURED.
Elihu, in our devotional text was not ignorant of what Old men should do. He was not ignorant of the role GOD placed them on earth to play! Yes, in the text, he made it clear that there are things that are expected of anyone who have become a father, especially spiritually.
For those who may not know, our devotional text is about a young man called Elihu who lived in the days of Job.
He was a friend of Job and understood what fathers should be doing in the life of a generation, especially in times of crisis, transition, confusion, darkness, and disorder. The words of his mouth proved that he understood what the role of fathers should be in the life of others.
Here is what he said as presented in the Holy Scriptures and captured in our devotional text;
“Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused.
So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said: “I am young in years, and you are very old; Therefore, I was afraid, and dared not declare my opinion to you.
I said, ‘Age should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.’ But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.
Great men are not always wise, nor do the aged always understand justice.” Job 32:4-9 NKJV
There are truths to glean from this gracious word from the mouth of Elihu.
Understand that Elihu was so powerful in God that his words were the very words that opened up the spirit of Job and connected him directed to the voice of God. If you read the entire book of Job, you will understand that it was when Elihu finished speaking that the encounter finally restored job began.
THE YOUNG MAN MUST BE ONE OF THE RARE GEMS OF HIS DAYS!
Though he would later blame Job for his problems which made God to demand that he and the rest of his friends meet Job for prayer of mercies, most of what he said were powerful enough to fire Job into the realm of face to face communication with GOD.
That is what is required of a true servant of God. Our words should bring people to the place of face to face encounters with GOD.
Now, Elihu, did what every respectable Young man should do; allow those who are like fathers to speak, listen to their wisdom and see if you can find any helpful word for release of destiny. We all have the Bible in our hands to know when they are on course and when they are out of course, except you do not study it.
Now when they are out of course with God, we are to do exactly what Elihu did; he said to them:
“I am young in years, and you are very old; Therefore, I was afraid, and dared not declare my opinion to you. I said, ‘Age should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.’ But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. Great men are not always wise, nor do the aged always understand justice”
The words of Elihu will be called disrespectful by those who seek to curry the favor of aged men, and the misguided. But when God final spoke, He did not rebuke Elihu, meaning his words were not disrespectful.
God made it clear that being truthful is not being disrespectful, and being disrespectful is not being truthful. We must understand the difference.
It is important and possible to let fathers know when they are a disappointment without dishonoring them. But some will still call it dishonors irrespective of how humbly, gracious and loving you put it.
People think honoring fathers is singing their praise even when they are sinking men into the gates of hell. You do not respect chronological age above the Ageless One, my friend.
IF YOU DO, YOU WILL HAVE THE AGELESS ONE TO CONTEND WITH IN THE NEXT LIFE.
If you know the severity of God, you will prefer contending with aged men to have peace with the Ageless One than contending with the Ageless One to have peace with aged men.
Jesus said;
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 10:37-38 NKJV
There are so many who love their spiritual fathers more than God. That is spiritual ignorance. People who love their spiritual fathers more than God will cover their wickedness instead of their nakedness. Like I said the other day both are not the same.
I was shocked when I heard some young preacher calling a criminal apostle who the entire unbelievers in Kenya knows has lost it “a blessed spiritual father who has something this generation needs.” It left me wondering what he really has. Perversion? deceit? Sorcery? Or Crime?
When you love father and mother more than Christ you extol the vices of an aged man as virtues, making you unworthy of Christ!
If we love our spiritual parents more than the LORD, we fight for them in the name of being their spiritual sons, even when they are fighting against God. We contend with those who speak of their evil behavior and public wickedness against the LORD.
If you do not know how to carry the cross of representing the interest of Christ above the interest of your so-called spiritual father, who is not representing the interest of Christ, you will be placed on collision course with God. And people on collision course with God, do not enjoy divine protection from Him. They struggle with the satanic and demonic.
Child of God, there is always a cross to carry each time you want to do what is right, especially when you are to separate yourself from aged men who are setting you up to be in opposition against the Ageless One, like the old Prophet did the younger one in 1 Kings 13. Carry it! That is where rest is found!
As we bring this to a close, we must understand the role of fathers in the life of a generation and watch out for it. We must not allow any force to deprive us of fulfilling our destinies by enthroning fathers over our lives who are a ruin instead of a resting place for the incubation of divine destiny.
May the LORD continue to set the solitary in spiritual families headed by fathers who know their God given roles in our generation. Amen!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR US TODAY!
“A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.
God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.” Psalm 68:5-6 NKJV