ESOCS Devotional 10 July 2023
MEMORY VERSE: “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.” 2 Kings. 1:13 KJV
TEXT: 2 KINGS 1:9-15 (KJV)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:…” Prov. 4:7; “Length of days is in her right hand;…” Prov. 3:16; “For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all that hate me love death” (Prov. 8:35-36). The above bible verses are a few out of the many words of wisdom as it pertain to the preservation of life.
Frankly speaking, no matter the circumstance one finds him or herself; there is always a wisdom to guarantee escape for safe landing. Unfortunately, many persons are blinded to this, while others deliberately refuse to pay heed but prefer to wallow in ignorance and foolishness.
This was the case in our text where King Ahaziah sent fifty hefty men with their captain to go and bring down Prophet Elijah. Acting on the instructions without applying wisdom, they all got consumed by fire from heaven at the request of Elijah. Ironically, the second fifty were sent on the same mission and became victims like the first fifty and their captain.
On their arrival, the captain of the third fifty decided to apply wisdom while executing the directives of the king for the preservation of his life and that of his fifty. It takes a man who is alive to get the job done. Below is some of the wisdom that secured his preservation:
- HUMILITY: “…and came and fell on his knees before Elijah…” Anywhere true humility is confirmed preservation is guaranteed. Whether it is the preservation of status, position in organization or religious setting, humility plays a major role. No one keeps the proud and arrogant for too long. To lose humility is to be humiliated in life and destiny. Hear this; it will take nothing out of you to be humble before your parents, authorities, elders and spiritual fathers. If you love life, then imbibe the wisdom of humility.
- COMMUNICATION: “…and besought him, and said unto him…” While the first two fifties came with a commanding tune, the third came with a well-mannered approach. He had good communication skill. If there is any challenge with many persons who run errands for leaders is the issue of communication. They surely have a good message, but are bad communicators. We must learn the wisdom of communication. There are troubles we would have escaped if only we communicated properly.
- Deal with every trace of pride and be humble..
- Father, thank you for the commitment of preserving our lives per time. I receive grace to apply the wisdom needed for my preservation, in Jesus Name, Amen.
FURTHER READING: Jeremiah 26:1-15; Mark 1:14-20; Luke 9:46-56
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ESOCS Devotional 10 July 2023
