Revelation of the Word:

THEME: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

2 Kings 4:1-7 NIV

”The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.” Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.” She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

INSIGHT

-One among the prophets did not live within his means and fell into debt. It is not clear the circumstances under which he took loans but after his death, his creditors threatened to auction his sons. Proverbs 22:7 reveals that the borrower is a slave to the lender. The prophet’s wife cried out to Elisha in distress for a solution. It seems like some creditors had already auctioned their goods and all they had was a small jar of olive oil. The law of Moses permitted servitude of family members as slaves for a certain duration to enable loan repayment (Exodus 21:1-2). It is evident that financial mismanagement can be done by anyone including those in ministry. Elisha solved their problem by establishing an enterprise for them. Jesus explains the nature of the kingdom of heaven using an illustration of a man who owed the king ten thousand bags of gold and since he had not repaid his loan, he resolved to sell his wife and children to enable him settle his accounts (Matthew 18:23-27). Loan shark apps and organizations have been on an upward trajectory over the past few years. The majority of its customers have fallen into financial quagmire and take up loans given a higher cost of living due to increased inflation rates, taxation levels and dollar exchange rate to our local currency. Ecclesiastes 11:2 reminds us that we need to, “invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.“ It is imperative therefore for one to live within their means and seek other sources of income to coupe with these changes. An economically unstable nation may plunge its citizens into high debt levels and economic turbulence. A nation such as ours that has fallen into high debt levels is forcing its citizens into poverty and neocolonialism by the lending masters. Let us continually pray for our nation and seek God’s mercy and intervention, and He will surely deliver us.

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father we come to You with humility in our hearts. We want to acknowledge that You are our only God and none can compare to You. Every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and every tongue confess that Jesus You are Lord to the glory of God the Father. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Our Almighty Father. We want to thank You for this far that You have brought us as a people and nation. We are now sixty years old since we gained independence. It is not by our power or by might but by Your Spirit Lord. We want to appreciate You for all that You have done unto us and all that You are doing. You are our Lord and God and this far it is You. May You reign in our lives, circumstances, families, churches and nation. We repent of all the sins we have committed either individually or collectively. May You forgive us all our sins and heal our land. May You forgive us for poor governance and mismanagement of funds, greed and corruption, oppression of the poor, shedding of innocent blood, idolatry and adultery and other immoral practices that surround us, our churches, leaders and nation. May You deliver us from neocolonialism, slavery and high debt levels. May You heal our nation dear Jesus and grant us and our leaders the wisdom to manage our finances and nation prudently. Oh God of all creation may You bless this our land and nation, may justice be our shield and defender. May we dwell in unity peace and liberty may plenty be found within our borders. Amen

Further reading: Psalms 37:21, 2 Chronicles 7:14

Blessed Jamhuri Day

https://christ.co.ke