“A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him” – Proverbs 17:25
Rebellious among men is as old as the existence of humanity. It becomes very difficult when such a rebellion is plotted and executed by a member of your household. It is expected that a member of the family is a custodian to very deep family secrets, for such a person to initiate an uprising against the head of the home, it takes only the grace and intervention of God to quell such revolt. This was the case of King David and Absalom his son. Absalom revolt and coup against David threw him off balance, if not for committed and loyal warriors and the intervention of the Almighty God David would have lost the throne to an irresponsible and over ambitious son. A parable in my place says that a barren woman and a mother of a societal deviant share similar grief. The preacher said in Proverb 19:13a “A foolish son is the calamity of the father:”.
Rebellion is almost as old as creation. Isaiah 14:14 a vivid picture was painted of the inordinate ambition of Satan called Lucifer. “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High”. That was an ambitious statement. We were told concerning Satan in Ezekiel 28:12-15 “Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering,………….:the workmanship of thy tabrets and thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou was upon the holy mountain of God; thou has walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in the”. The above scriptures clearly shows that Satan is the force behind every act of rebellion. He masterminded the revolt in heaven based on pride. Pride initiated ambition has always been the cause of all rebellion. We can see the picture of pride and arrogance In Ezekiel 28:17a “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness:”.
Absalom’s revolt can be likened to that of Lucifer. Rev. 12:7 says I”And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels”.
Most church divisions come in the above order. It is therefore expedient that as Christian we should properly guide our mind. “Keep thy mind with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”. – Proverbs 4:23(KJV).
Prayer: Oh God help me to properly guide my mind.
Bro. Joel Ezeugo