OLUSEGUN ISAAC BLOG

Recently I bought a copy of the Good News Bible, resolving to read it through this year. So far in it, I have found new meanings to different scriptures that I never knew before. For instance, the  King James Version says in Proverbs 14:31, 'He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor'. But the GNB version of the same passage says, 'If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship.' I will not say there is any disparity in meaning between these two translations but the latter opened my eyes to something new, that kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship to God. Really it should be, for God had told us in the scriptures that the kind of sacrifice acceptable in His sight is having pity on the poor; that by so doing we are lending to Him and He will pay back what we have given out (Prov.19:17 NKJV). No doubt, giving our substance to the Lord is of...

Jesus gave us a parable in Matthew's gospel. “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’  and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,  the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,  and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt.24:45-51 NKJV). Retribution is comeuppance. It is getting one's dues, particularly the bad dues for one's inaction or misdemeanor, in full measure. Shakespeare says in Julius Caesar, that the evil that men do follows after them! In this life the...

'So David inquired of the Lord , saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.” ' (I Sam. 30:8 NKJV).        I have been pursued before in my dream by a whip lashing, club branding masquerade that refused to turn back until I fell into a ditch, but that was a long time ago as a mischievous lad. As playful boys we have also joined the mob pursuing petty rogues in our neighbourhood shouting, 'Ole, Ole' until we caught them and dragged them to the police station. So I know what it means to pursue a culprit physically until he gets the punishment he deserves. Have you lost something you really treasure to someone else? Have you been cheated out of your right before? Have you ever lost a dispute over your rightful possession? The tendency is to mete out instant justice to the offender by yourself 0and get even. That's jungle justice; it's 'chicken break m...

'So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, leaders of tens, and officers for your tribes.' (Deuteronomy 1:15 NKJV).      God in His wisdom installs rulers over the nations, chooses leaders among the people and administers justice, peace and order in each land. Nations rule their peoples as they deem fit for their land - democracy, monarchy, capitalism, welfarism, socialism, communism and what have you, but God rules supreme over all. At the time of the reign of King David, Israel operated the monarchical system in which God chose the king and the king in turn chose leaders to administer the nation under his rule by selection not election (2 Sam. 8:15-18). Some last, some don't. Earlier, God had called Moses to lead His people Israel out of bondage in Egypt to become His own chosen nation. Moses led them out and set them on their way to the land of promise bu...