Be There or Be Square

“But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven.” (2Ch 28:9 AV)

How annoying to have a man of God interrupt us right in the middle of our sin!  How inconvenient.  How rude.  Doesn’t he know that we want to enjoy our sin and then, and only then, he can preach at us so that we feel guilty about it, repent, and do it all over again?  It’s just like the LORD to put a preacher right in the middle of our lives to meddle in them and tell us that we shouldn’t be doing what we are doing.  Such is the case above.

The king of Israel, or Ephraim, or Samaria invades Judah as God’s means of chastening Ahaz, king of Judah, or idol worship.  This king heads back to Samaria with the wealth of the temple, the wealth of the Judean Palace, and captives of the war for the purposes of slavery.  The later is a big no-no.  The law specifically forbids the Hebrew people from enslaving one another.  Even and indentured servant had to be free from his debt after so many years.  Here they are, on their way back from a battle with hard fought gains when a man of God was there.  They were merely minding their own business and fulfilling the will of God by being the chastening rod to Judah, and there stands the man of God to spoil all their fun.

Praise God for the man of God who is there!  I have had several occasions when the man of God was there.  He was there when I was tempted to date someone I had no business dating.  He was there when I needed a subtle reminder to be faithful in my tithes and offerings.  He was there when I needed to hear that as blessed as God blessed me with wisdom in raising children, not everything I was doing was wise.  He was there when I needed to hear of the proper motive and heart needed for effective ministry.  My only regret is the man of God was not always there when I needed him.  If you are a man of God, be there.  It is uncomfortable for sure.  Confrontation is never easy.  However, if those whom you are trying to help will heed the word of God, they will thank you for it later.  This reminds me of a survey done by the Barna group that concluded the majority of preachers avoid difficult subjects for fear of losing the sheep.  Quit then!  The sheep need you to be there! Even if they may not appreciate it at the moment, they need you there!