“Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in anything; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man” (Judges 18:7).
TEXT — Judges 18:7-10
There are people who live as if there is no danger in life. They crave their independence, and would not be bothered by what others around them do. Sometimes, such people profess faith in God, and they think that faith means that they have no responsibility for their character and conduct, at least to protect themselves from harm. They are convinced that God will take care of them, so why concern themselves about things around them? Yet, faith does not make us careless but careful about what we do, for it is our action that expresses in little and big things, whether we trust or disbelieve God.
The people of Israel had at this time in their history descended into moral declension, tribal wars, and idolatry. In fact, in those days, “there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” The people of Laish best epitomised this abysmal condition, as the five spies from Dan discovered. They lived without attention to happenings around them, like the Zidonian unbelievers. Everyone kept to himself, feeling secure in their little corner. There was no magistrate that could call them to order for anything at all. They lived far from everyone else, and “had no business with any man”. Reporting later to their people, the spies from Dan urged them to quickly go to invade Laish. The people, they said, were unprepared and ill-equipped to defend themselves. They had a false sense of security in their large and luxurious territory. They were in no condition to resist invaders.
Some Christians are not as vigilant as they should be. They isolate themselves from other believers. They are routinely absent from fellowships, and they are always quick to say that they know their hearts, that their salvation is assured and secured. They neither seek nor accept the counsel of other believers or even ministers of God. They become completely unconscious of the danger that lurks around the corner for the Christian pilgrim. We must be careful for just when we think we are comfortable, that is when the devil strikes and the negligent believer falls from grace.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
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