Open heavens Devotional Wednesday October 25

Open heavens Devotional Wednesday October 25

TOUCH NOT MY ANOINTED

Memorise:
Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.
Psalm 105:15

Read: 2 Kings 1:1-15
2Ki 1:1 Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
2Ki 1:2 And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.
2Ki 1:3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?
2Ki 1:4 Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.
2Ki 1:5 And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back?
2Ki 1:6 And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.
2Ki 1:7 And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?
2Ki 1:8 And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
2Ki 1:9 Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
2Ki 1:10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
2Ki 1:11 Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.
2Ki 1:12 And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
2Ki 1:13 And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.
2Ki 1:14 Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.
2Ki 1:15 And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.

Message:
Although the anointing in the life of the anointed can have a positive impact on people's lives, it can also take actions which have adverse effects against those who abuse the anointed or treat him or her spitefully. The Holy Spirit therefore gave us the warning in today's memory verse to avoid being on the receiving end of such grave actions. This reminds me of the sad story of a pastor who tried to humiliate my father-in-the-Lord, Pastor Josiah Akindayomi, during his lifetime. Sadly, this fellow became leprous and died. This is similar to the tragic story in today's Bible reading. Ahaziah, the king of Samaria, tried to lay his hands on Elijah, God's anointed prophet. What was the prophet's crime? God sent Elijah to point out to him that it was wrong for him to have sent emissaries to consult a strange god for his healing, in defiance of God's law (Deuteronomy 18:10-11). God's warning, if heeded, normally brings forgiveness and restoration, as demonstrated in Jonah 3:10, when the people of Nineveh repented of their sins. Unfortunately, instead of crying to the merciful God of Israel, the king ordered the prophet's arrest. Is this the right response to a message of warning from God? Before you respond to this, think of how you also feel whenever your pastor hands down a strong sermon to you in an effort to make you repent and be delivered from both present and eternal damnation. The story of King Ahaziah's foolish actions ends in tragedy, not only for him but also for the soldiers he sent to arrest the anointed of God.

There are many lessons to learn and pray about from this story. First and foremost, we must pray for our bad leaders, because when God's judgment comes, even the innocent may not escape the outcome. Secondly, children of God must always know whether any assignment they are given is of God or of the devil, and they should ask God for wisdom to go about it. I remember some policemen who wanted to extort money from my entourage some years ago. The moment I told their leader, "There is always a last assignment for every individual on earth", he understood and let us go. If he had not repented, that would have been his last outing, because it was not I who spoke but the Holy Spirit. Thirdly, ministers of God should always live above board so that God's anointing can fight on their behalf. Elijah said, "If I be a man of God...". As a pastor, evangelist or prophet, can you confidently say you are a man of God? Have you burnt your spiritual fingers in the fire of sin and covered it up as if nothing happened? If you are in such a situation, repent today, so that the anointing can resume its defence of your life. For those fond of ridiculing the anointed of God, be careful, so that you don't experience the adverse effects of the anointing. May the peace of God be with you.

Hymn:
Sing Hymn 15

Action Point:
If you've spitefully treated the anointed of God, repent and pray for forgiveness and healing.