ESOCS Devotional 24 July 2023
MEMORY VERSE:“But wisdom is justified of all her children.” Luke 7:35 KJV
TEXT: LUKE 7:24-35 (KJV)
Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:
2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.
4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the Lordhad shut up her womb.
6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb.
7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.
8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?
9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord.
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.
11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.
12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth.
13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.
16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.
18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her.
20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
The absence of strategy is a worse tragedy than the presence of the enemy. When wisdom is lacking, it is more disastrous than the presence of the enemy. Wisdom makes you impregnable. Foolishness makes you vulnerable. Let us consider two ways to be truly wise.
- THE FEAR OF GOD: This is one critical subject that makes wisdom possible. The fear of God is the gear of the vehicle of wisdom. If you want to start the journey of wisdom, engage the gear of the fear of the Lord and the vehicle of your destiny will move. In order words, until you understand the fear of the Lord, your journey of the wisdom cannot start. The fear of the Lord is the elementary school for wisdom (Prov. 9:10). This wisdom is not about somebody being referred to as being wise because he is dubious or cheats others. This wisdom is about reasoning at the frequency of El-Shaddai with a superior photographic mentality and divine electromagnetic sense. Thus, reverence for God is a crucial point in connecting with the wisdom of God. To live with the fear of God means existing by Godly principles. It means that you govern your life by the rules of God and word of God; you refuse to take God and His word for granted. Obeying the statutes of God, equal fearing the Lord (Deut. 6:24). To live in the fear of God is to be connected to the word of God. Hear this, ‘the Bible will keep you from sin, and sin will keep you from the Bible.’ Dwight L. Moody. Those who genuinely read the Bible don’t like to sin, and those who sin do not like to read the Bible. It is a matter of choice.
- LIGHT: Ecclesiastes 8:1 says that “a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of this face shall be charged.” Isaiah 60:1 equally says, “Arise, shine, for the light is come.” If wisdom makes a man’s face to shine (Eccl 8:1) and light also makes a man to shine (Isaiah 60:1), by spiritual equation it means that light is the principal ingredient of wisdom. Those who are highly lighted are heavily wise. What is light? Light is information, light is wisdom. When you are in possession of secrets, you are a wise person. The secret of wisdom is the possession of secrets (Ezekiel 28:3).
If you don’t fear the Lord, you have not yet started your journey in the school of wisdom.
- Note the areas of your life where you have been unwise and where you lack the fear of God.
- Surrender those areas to God and make up your mind to walk in wisdom daily.
- Lord, I ask for wisdom today in order not to waste my life, destiny and time, I receive this wisdom Lord, in Jesus Name, Amen.
FURTHER READING: Judges 2:11-end; Ezra 1:1-end; Acts 21:1-16
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ESOCS Devotional 24 July 2023
