By Olubunmi Adebayo
*Many of our patriarchs and matriarchs of old went through their own process of chastisement in good content and context.*
*1) ABRAHAM: Look at Abraham being chastised by God after failing to fully obey God when he took Lot with him while leaving his native land in Ur of the Chaldeans.*
*God finally said to Abraham :*
*Genesis 17: [1] And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; _walk before me, and be thou perfect_.*
*After 24 years of the call of separation from his people, God observed the life of Abraham and told him in plain terms : “you have not done well enough these 24 years”.*
*Remember, Abraham had doubted God severely by complaining about his lack of an heir. He had gone ahead to father a son through Hagar. He had lied in a strange land about Sarah NOT being his wife but sister.*
*At the threshold of God finally answering him ( in fact, less than one year to his life long prayers being answered), God said “Abraham be more upright and God trusting”. That is a verbal rebuke of his conduct over the years.*
*2) Moses- Num. 20:7-12.*
*Remember how Israel needed water in the wilderness, and God said to Moses gather the people together, and, “speak to the rock.”*
*Moses, frustrated and stressed under leadership tensions, decided to strike the rock twice and took the credit by saying : “Must we bring you water from the rock?”*
*Do you recollect how God chastised him? “Because you did not trust in me to honor me as holy. You will not bring this assembly into the land.”*
*Moses ended up seeing the Promised Land but failed to enter into it.*
*Moses acted wrongly as a leader, misrepresenting God to the people of Israel.*
*Note that not even Moses was above correction, despite his privilege of having spoke mouth to mouth with God.*
*3) Miriam – Num12:1-15.*
*Miriam and Aaron as the senior Sister and brother of Moses respectively. They criticized their junior brother – Moses, over his decision to marry an Ethiopian woman (Cushite) as wife, and challenged his authority to this effect.*
*They said : “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses?”*
*Their chastisement was that God struck Miriam with leprosy, and she became as “white as snow.”*
*Moses has to intercede for her and she was shut outside the camp of Israel for 7 days as punishment, before being eventually healed.*
*4) King Saul – 1 Sam 13 & 15.*
*Saul twice disobeyed direct orders.*
*First he offered sacrifice, when he was not a priest, instead of waiting for prophet Samuel to come around and do such.*
*Again he spared King Agag and the best livestock when he was told to destroy everything in the land of the Amalek.*
*His chastisement was as follows : prophet Samuel said to him – “To obey is better than sacrifice… Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.” 1 Sam 15:22-23.*
*The consequence was that the Kingdom was torn from King Saul and handed over to his neighbour – David.*
*God warned through this incident that partial obedience was the same as outright disobedience before Him.*
*This incident cost king Saul the rulership of his dynasty.*
*To be continued tomorrow, God willing.*
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©️ Olubunmi S Adebayo.
