The Beloved King

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"Jesus said to them, 'Why are you bothering this woman? she has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her'" (Matthew 26:10-13).

      When a woman called Marth brought a  bottle of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and poured it on Jesus's head and feet, some of the disciples, that included Judas Iscariot who was latter tobetray him, cmplained. Martha had taken this opportunity to demonstrate her love for Jesus. She must have observed Jesus' actions; what he did, how much he loved and cared for the people and  what he said, and concluded that Jesus was truely was he said he was; the son of God. She must felt that there was nothing for her worth witholding from him.
          The love that Martha felt for Jesus may be like the love Attai felt for David. Attai was a foreigner who had arrived in Israel just a day before Absolom forced David to leave his Kingdom. He wanted to make  Israel his home leadership, but he did not want to live there under Absolom's reign, and so followed David to exile.
           The conversation between David and Ittai is very beautiful. The King being aware that he did not belong  to the people of Israel said to him, "Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King  Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your countrymen. May kindness and faithfulness be with you."
           But Ittai replied to the King, "As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the King lives, wherever my lord the King may be, whether it means life or death, there will be your servant be."  David said to Ittai, "Go ahead, march on." So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.
           This story reminds me of the love my Causin.s wife, whom we now foldly call mum, showed to me when I needed it most after leaving my Uncle's family. I believe. she had read the my uncle had given to my brother to take to causin. My uncle had said that he had completed his responsibilities of taking care of me, and that he was now handing it over to my causin as they had agreed. What bothered me most at that time was that I did not know what was going on, and that I was being moved from one family to another, with no idea what was coming next..
             After a long day travel by bus from the Rift Valley, we arrived in Nairobi in the late afternoon and headed straight to Mum work place to wait for her to finish work, and take us home in her car. I was not sure how Mun would receive me after having a bad exprience with my uncle's family. But she made me relax as we were driving home. During the ride, we passed different residential places along Thika road, which had different names. and Mum started by explaining to me their names as she showed me famous campanies and schools along the same route..After that she started talking with my brother about several possible High school in Nairobi that I could attend. My spirit was quite revived by this conversation.
        We finaly arrived at my Causin's beautiful home in Kiambu.There were quite a number of people who lived there, and they all made me feel comfortable after my arrival..We all ate dinner together while socializing, mainly by telling jokes to each other. After Dinner Mum soon left to her room.
          I thought that Mum had gone to her room to relax after along day's at work, but this wa not the case. I was told that she needed me,and I went to he room to find out what she wanted. I was surprised to find that she taken my old wooden box that my uncle had given me the day before,so that I could put all my belongings which included a few badly tornout clothes. I was emberrassed to see mum trying her best to carefuly fold those clothes into the box for me. I would have preferred her not to see the clothes, but was glad to know that she cared about what I wore. She also had other good clothes which she  wanted me try to see how well they would fit me.I had never felt before such a genuine love from another person when I needed it most!
       Atti's Love towards David is a picture of every heart which has been taught by the Holy Spirit to "Say that Jesus is Lord." If they have enlisted "but yesterday," they will prefer to take their place with their King in exile, rather than join the ranks of the Usurper.

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The Rejected King, And The Mount Of Olives.

"Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple and each evening, he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple" (Luke 21:37-38).

            Our Lord Jesus Christ often trod the Mount of Olives. This mountains semed to be closely connected with many incidents in his life. It seems a specially hallowed, place because it was the last place on which his feet stood, when leading his disciple over it's brow. It was where he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of of their sight. Two men dressed in white stood beside his disciples and said, "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11).
David also led his little band of faithful folowers in the same place when his son, Absalom obliged him to leave the city of Jersalem, and go forth as a fugitive. It was a familar resort for each where they would pour their heart to God.
                We read in 2 Samuel 15:30, that David continued up the mount of Olives, weeping as he went, and all the people with him also wept. Here we we have a foreshadowing of our Lord, who wept  on the very same spot, over his rejection by Jerusalem:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to yoou, how often I have longed together your children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you are not willing! Look your house is left desolete. I tell you, you will not see me again untill you say, 'Blessd is he who comes in the name of the Lord'" (Luke 13:34-35).  Some Pharesees had said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herold want to kill you" (Luke 13: 31).

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Out Of Lodebar

"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in heavenly reams in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness" {Ephesians 2:6-7).

         Our Lord Jesus is full of love and kindness. A great many people may be afraid of him merely because they do not know how full of love his heart is. They may be likened to a young man called Mephibosheth who we read about in the Old Testament. He was the son of Jonathan who grew up without knowing how kind hearted David was towards him.
          When David came to the throne, he did not forget his love for Jonathan, his friend. After reigning for sometime, he begun to look round and inquired if there were any of Jonathan's family left that he could be kind to for Jonathan's sake. He was told there was one, but he lived a long way off at Lodebar. This name, Lodebar, means the place of no pasture, and like so many of the names in the Bible, it had a meaning which is very appropriate.
            When the news of Saul's and  Jonathan's death came to their household, there was great alarm, and the nurse of Mephibosheth fled with him in her arms, for he was only five years old. Mephibosheth, in their  haste fell, and was badly hurt that he was cripled for life. Now he was a grown man, but he never dared to come back for fear of David. How little he knew of David's kindness, and love for his father!
          I felt like we were in Lodebar immediately after our mother died. We were a family of five children, and my oldest brother and I were merely teenagers. The rest of our family members were very young. Our parents had seperated many years ago, and we were being brought up by my mother alone, and now she had died.
          I was quite afraid because I did not know what the future held for us, and none of the relatives seemed ready to adopt us, apart from two causins. One was a teacher in Nakuru, and did not have much income at that time. The other lived comfortably with his family in Kiambu, the central provence, which was very far a way from Ndothua. They did not want our elementary education to be interrupted, so the asked the other relatives who lived close to Ndothua to take care of us so that we coulld complete elementary school, then we could move to our causin's family in the Central Provence, to continue with our schooling. The relatives agreed, but not long afterwards, we were seperated from one another with each one of us going to live with a different family. This traumatic experience, like Mephiboseth, had very serious effect in our lives.
        I went to live my uncle at Njoro,which is about seven miles from Ndothua. I spent  two years with his family, but it felt like ten years. After two years in Njoro, my uncle sent me to my causin's family in Kiambu, where I was received with great love and kindness.
           David was not satisfied to have Mephibosheth so far a way from him, and so he 'he sent to fetch him from Lodebar. Mephibosheth had no idea what David wanted. He probably was very much afraid at the summons.
          When he came to David, he bowed down to pay honor.  David said, "Mephibosheth! "your servant,"" he replied. "Don't be afraid." David said to him, "For I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table" (2 Samuel 9: 6 - 8).
       When Mephibosheth heard David speaking to him so kindly, he was greatly surprised. He thought of his lameness, and felt that he was not fit to sit down at the King's table. But David did not mind this, and would not take any refusal.
            This picture story is only a faint type of how the Lord Jesus treats those for whom he has done so much, and whom he has loved so dearly. He does not merely send to fetch them as David did. The Lord Jesus came himself to the place of no pasture, "to seek and to save that which was lost."  David told Mephibosheth that he might sit at the king's table  "as one of the King's sons,"  but those who come to the lord Jesus are not merely like King's sons, they actually become God's children. "How great is the love the father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!" *(1 John 3:1).

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The New Master

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us.. .For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his son, how much more, having been reconcilled, shall we be saved through his life!" (Romans 5: 8,10).

       The Lord  Jesus not only forgives us  for what we have done, but he also takes us into his service, and allows us to help him  in his work, when we accept him. David had done th same at one time. There is ia story in David's life that tells about his relationship with one of his enemies, that shows just what our Lord Jesus does when  he meets us, and we accept him as our Lord..
         David and his little band of followers, after escaping from  Saul many times, took refuge over the border of Israel in the land of the Philistines. The King of that land, gave him the city of Ziklag as his headquaters. Many of the Philistines did not approve of this, for they thought that the man who had slain their champion, Goliath, was not likely to be of much help to them.
           One day while David and his men  were absent from Ziklag, another enemy appeared on the scene. The Amale kite swept down the city, destroyed it with fire, and took a way  captive all the women and children. When David and his men returned to find the city in ruins, and all their wives, sons, and daughters gone, they were in great grief. David encouraged himself in the Lord. He knew where to go when in trouble. He asked God what to do. "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will overtake them?"   "Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them, and succeed in the rescue."
                  When David heard the answer from the Lord, he gathered his band, and started on their pursuit. They had not gone very far when they came upon a young man lying in the field almost dying. He had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.They gave him water to drink and food to eat; part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisin. He ate and was rivived. David asked him, "To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?'
            The young man had taken part in the burning of Ziklag, for he was a servant to one of the  Amalekites. He himself was an Egyptian, but he had been serving a very bad master who cared nothing for him, for when he fell ill his master left him by the wayside to die; Sin and Satan are hard masters! He had been doing all he could to injure David, but how kindly David treated him! David was also willing to take him into his service there and then.
              There was one thing the young man wanted to know before he took service with David -Whether David would not only spare his life, but also swear to him that his old master would never get hold of him again? He wanted to have been done with the Amalekite forever!
            The young Egyptian is a picture of every unsaved sinner before meeting our Lord Jesus. When we come to the Lord Jesus Christ, we too change masters. He sets free from the old master, Satan. Now being made free for ever from the old master, we have entered the service of God's chosen King, and his service will bring nothing but reward!
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The Rest And In The Cave Of Adullam

 

         

"Come to me,all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my york upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my york is easy and my burden is light" (Mattheww 11:28-30).

        We have been invited to come to Jesus Christ! Our Lord wants us to come to him just as we are, and when we come, we find that he welcomes us, heals our souls and pays our debts. He is like David receiving his strange recruits at the Cave of Adullam..
        On two occasions, King saul had thrown his spear at David in an attempt to kill him for he had great hatred for David. At last David saw that it was better for him to leave Saul's court, and he went about from place to place hiding from him. We have account in the first book of Samuel,of some of his narrow escapes, for Saul pursued him,and tried to get his people to betray him into his hands.
           When the news spread that David was hiding in the Cave of Adullam, his family and a number of men joined him. They were the beginning of his army, with others joining them latter. Some of them were strange recruits for this is how they were described: "Everyone that was in distress, and everyone that was in debt,and everyone that was dicontented gathered themselves unto him; and he became their Captain. They could be likened to the Kikuyu people who lived in the forest areas of the Rift Valley during the time when Moi was in Power in Kenya. They were brought there from the Central Provence, by the colonial Government to work in the forests. But by the time Moi came to power they had already established themselves, and they considered the Rift Valley as their home,
       In  vallages like Ndothua, the Kikuyu lived as squatters in Government land. They were allowed to cultivate chunks of land allocated to them by forest officers. They would clear the land allocated, and then plant trees along with their own crops. When the saplings matured, the squatter was allocated another uncleared chunk and the process continued. But this process was interrupted by Moi when he came into power.
         The Kikuyus were completely ejected from the forest areas, and their place taken by other groups of people who did not care about reforestation. They completely destroyed the trees that had been planted by the kikuyus.as they cleared land for cultivation, and did not bother to replenish them. Many of the Kikuyus had no where else to go and are now living as Internally Displaced People in Kenya. This is sad to see as the Kikuyu people have greatly sufferd under different government administrations, as they have been evicted from their lands and dweling places since the British colonial period in Kenya.
       The interactions witth David and the training he gave them changed the first recruits into veteran solders. Some excelled in the use of the bow, other could hurl stones with either the right or left hand. They became under his training some of the mighty men so beautifully described in chronicles 12. The love of his mighty men was such that he had but to express a longing for water from the well of Bethlehem, and three of them at once were willing to risk their life to satisfy that desire. It is a beautiful picture of how our Lord Jesus Christ changes those who come to him, and how he finds his home in the hearts of those who love him, while he is in exile from his Kingdom.

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The Author Of Life

"I am  the resurrection and life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die"  (John 1:25-26).

      The Lord Jesus Christ died on the Cross, but three days he came back to life, and was seen by many of his followers! This great event proved that he was not just an ordinary person, but the son of God as he always claimed to be. He went to the cross through death by his enemies, so that he might destroy him that had the power of death; that is the devil. He is our champion just like David was the champion of the children of Israel!
        David  met in a single combat, Goliath the great enemy of Israel  When David first offered himself to go  and  fight Goliath, Saul who was the King of Israel at that time, warned him, and thought he had undertaken a hopeless task. But David knew where to look for help. He told Saul how God had enabled him to overcome both a lion and bear, that had attacked one of the lambs of his flock. And so he went out to meet the giant with his shepherd's sling and five stones from the brook. The God whom Goliath defied guided the hand of David, and the stone his sling hit Goliath on the temple, so that he fell on his face to the ground, and with Goliath's own sword, David cut off his head. This great event previewed another greater one that happened among the children of Israel.
       In the Gospel, we read how our Lord Jesus immediately after his baptism, was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, that he might fight and conquer Satan, the great enemy of his people. When the time came for him to meet this great enemy in a single combat, his weapon was the word of God. "It is written" was hurled again and again at the tempter as he quoted three times from the book of Deuteronomy. In his death on the cross, Jesus finally vanquished him. This probably took place over the very spot where the head of Goliath is buried.
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The Way

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me" (John 14:6).

       When Jesus Christ died on the cross, he made a way for us, through which we can come to God the father, by having faith in him.  He is "the author and the finisher of our faith"  He is "Alpha and Omega, the begininning and the end, the first and the last. "He is the Ark that guided the children of Israel through their wildness Journey to the promised land.  He can also guide the people of Ndothua and many other internallly displaced people who have been unjustisly evicted from their lands, when  they trust in him.
        When the children of Israel were about to enter into the promised land, and had to cross the river Jordan, God commanded Joshua to speak to the Priests whose duty was to carry the Ark, and tell them to walk right into the river.  The moment their feet touched the water, the river divide infront of them. The Ark went into the Jordan and remained there, so that everyone of the people might pass over on dry land.
         The golden Ark could not be seen for it was coverd with skins, and over them was cloth of blue. But the people could all see this blue object as they marched passed it in the river bed. When everyone of them had passed over safely, without even wetting their feet, the Priests carrying the Ark came out of the river, and the water flowed on again once more. This was another beautiful picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. When our Lord Jesus was here on earth in human form, the golden, that is his beauty, could seldom be seen, but the heavenly, his actions, were always visible.
          This story tells how the Lord Jesus went down into the river of death for us, making a way for us into all the blessings that God has promised his people.  He "for the joy that was set before him," of bringing "many sons unto glory," " endured the  cross."

The Great High Priest

"Day after day every Priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sin, But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God" (Hebrew 10:11-12).

             Jesus' perfect atonement not only allow believers to enter God's holy presence, but also to come boldly to his Throne o f  Grace to find mercy and grace in their time of need. This was not so with the children of Israel Jesus' death. Soon after God had brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, he told Moses the pattern of a large Tent, and gave him full directions as to how he wished his Tent to be made. It was called the Tabernacle.
              While the Tabernacle had it's standing in the days before our Lord Jesus died, the way into God's presence was not  revealed. A square curtain called the Vail was placed in the Tabernacle by the Holy Spirit. The Vail hung between the holy place and the Holiest of all. It divided between the two. Only once a year was anyone allowed to enter into the Holiest of all.
               The moment Jesus died the Vail was torn into two, from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). This signified that the way into the Holiest of all had now been made open.  The torn Vail would allow those who served in the temple to see into the Holiest of all; and this is our privilege now! We can by faith behold our Lord Jesus Christ appearing as the great High Priest "In the presence of God for us."

The City Of Refuge

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin" (Colossians 1:13).

           Jesus has accomplished everything  for us through the Cross.  At the cross, all our sins that we ever committed in the past, or we will ever commit in future were put upon Jesus. His one perfect payment cleared us off our life time of sin so that we can now walk in the newness of God, and with confident expectation of God's blessings and eternal relationship with him. The picture of Jesus' work on the cross could be seen in the story of the cities for refuge, and their importance to the children of Israel in the past.
             When the children of Israel had taken possession of their inhertance, they set aside six cities, three on either side of the Jordan river, so that one would be easily accessible from every part of the land. These were the cities of refuge for a man who by accident caused the death of another. For example; two men could be cutting trees in the forest like the people of Ndothua used to do, and by accident the axe of one man flew out of his hand and struck his companion on the head so that he died. The man who caused his death would, according to the law, have forfeited his life for the previous law said; "Whosoever shed  man's blood, by man shall his bllood be shed."  The next of kin to the dead man might at once take his life, but this provision of the cities of refuse met his need.
            When the man saw that his companion dead, who may have been his friend, was dead, he would at once flee to nearest city of refuge. He had to start at once,and dare not wait a moment or even to go home to say good - bye to his wife and family. His main focus would be to reach the city of refuge.
          This picture is linked to our salvation by a verse in  the Epistle to the Hebrews, which speaks about  those who have fled to the Lord Jesus Christ for refuge (Hebrews 6:18). We have forfeited our life by sin, and our only hope is in the refuge which is  God has provided. We must flee immediately to Him, for we do not know how soon justice might catch up with us. But once we are within that place of shelter death cannot touch us.
                 In the old convenant the refugee was to remain in the city of refuge till the death of the high Priest. But in the new convenant, our Great  High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ does not die. We remain within the city of refuge, and we are safe in him to all eternity.

The Brazen Serpent

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life" (John 3:14-15).

            Our Lord Jesus knew that he was born so that he could die a horrible death. One night, he pointed to a picture of himself hunging on the cross, to atone for our sins while talking to Nicodemus; one the pharisees - those who vehemently opposed Jesus. But Nicodemus seemed to believe in Jesus, and may have come at night because he was afraid to seen talking with Jesus by the other pharisees. He must have remembered their conversation when it happened just as Jesus had shown him. John tells us that Nicodimus joined Joseph of Arimathea in preparing Jesus body for burial after his crucification. Nicodimus had also tried to prevent  the other pharisees from condemning Jesus, but it was difficult for him to do it alone.
    During his conversation withNicodemus before he was crucified, Jesus reminded Nicodimus of the time when the children of Israel were in the wildness after  leaving Egypt. They had been complaining again,as they had so often done in spite of Go'd goodness to them. They said they were tired of the bread God gave them, and thought nothing of the water he had provided when they were very thirsty. This was a sin, and sin had tobe punished, for they were under the old convenant. So because of their continued murmuring, God sent a great numbr of serpents amongst them.These were poisonous snakes, and not like those we occassionaly found around Ndothua.
          The serpents managed to reach the outskirts of the camp and begun biting multitude of people. Those who were bitten died. A great cry went up tp Moses, for they saw and owned their sin, and begged him to pray to pray for them. Moses prayed, and God heard his prayers as he always does. He told Moses to make a serpent of brass like those that had bitten the people, and set high up on a pole  so that all could see it. He said that anyone who was bitten could look at the brazen snake and live.
        Moses made the brazen Serpent as quickly as he could, and set it up, so that those on the outside of the camp could see it. Then when  anyone was bitten by the snakes and looked at the brazen snake, he lived (numbers 21:9). The remedy was very easy. They had to something which was quite easy. They had only to look. No even one of the Israelites who looked at the brazen serpent died from the snake bite. And it is so even now.
            The remedy took the form of that which had done the damage.It was a serpent that bit them, and it was a brazen serpent that healed them. This was a picture of God's plan. When God devised the plan by which he could give life, he "made him who had no sin to be sin for us." We have found this to be true. If, having looked for ourselves and been healed, we want to help others, and point them to the one who was lifte up on the cross of calvary. In  John 3:16 we read, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

The King At Work

"so do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or  ' What shall we wear?'  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:31 - 33).

           When our Lord Jesu was here on Earth his heart was moved with  compassion when he saw the people as 'sheep without shepherd.' This reminds me of the squatters of Ndothua village who had nowhere to go when an eviction notice was given to them for them to leave the village. I used to  shepherd  my grandfather's sheep while I was  growing up at Ndothua Village.
               The Shepherd is personally responsible for the safety of everyone of his sheep. The sheep do not find their own pasture. This is the work of the shepherd to do, and the sheep will not rest untill they are satisfied. It is very dangerous for the  sheep to be without a shepherd because the sheep try to find the pasture themselves and get lost in the wildness where there many dangers
              The Lord Jesus did not want the people to be in danger while he was around. So he became their shepherd and met their needs; when they were sick, he healed them, when, when they were hungry, he fed them and when they needed leadership he led them. The Lord Jesus through his Holy Spirit also became my shepherd after my mother died when I was a young boy growing in Ndothua village.
                The Lord had been a shepherd of his people before he came to Earth in human form. He had led the children of Israel after their slavery in Egypt. At one of their stopping - places, marah,during their journey to the promised Land, the children of Israel saw some water and run forward to drink. But to their disappointment it was so bitter and  brackish that it was imposible to drink it. The people mumured, but God in his grace found a remedy, and told Moses to throw a certain branch of a tree into the water, and it was healed. The tree was a picture of our Lord Jesus who is several times called the the branch.
                Sometimes later the children of Israel began to suffer very much hunger, and again they began to complain to Moses and his brother Aaron. They thought of the food they used to eat in Egypt, and, forgetting all about the hardship, the slavery and taskmasters, wished themselves back there. But the Lord again found a way out of their difficulty by meeting their needs. He opened the doors of heaven and rained down bread for them to eat. This heavenly bread was called manna. All the people had to do was to go out morning by morninig and pick it up for themselves off the ground.
                    Our Lord promised to meet our needs just as he had  met the people's needs in the past. He says in mark 11:24, that whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it  will be yours. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened

Out Of Bondage

"There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Rromans 3:22 - 23).

        We who have believed in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ; that he was crucified for our sins, are counted to have have died with him. We have been cut forever from the life of bondage. The old taskmasters, Sin and Satan cannot hold us, just as the Pharaoh could not hold on to the children of Israel when the time for their deliverance by God.
        The Pharaoh had allowed the  children of Israel to leave Egypt, but very soon changed his mind. He did not want to lose his slaves, and with a great Army he began to pursue them.  When the Egyptian Army had almost caught the children of Israel, God came between the two hosts. He moved the Pil Cloud so that instead of going infront of his people, he went behind them. The Pillar of Cloud was burning and shining on the children of Israel, but was a wall of darkness to the Egyptians. He also opened a way right through the red sea. The water piled themselves up like two great walls, and the children of Israel marched on  dry land by the light of the Pillar of fire.
            The Egyptians followed the children of Israel, but it was pitch dark a head and they could not see where they were going. God also made their chariot wheels come off so that there was the greatest confusion. Just as they were finding out where they were in the morning, God told Moses to stretch forth his rode over the sea and the waters returned to their place.
               God did not leave the children of Israel inspite of their sinfulness as they continued in their journey. He still guided them and never once took away the Pillar of Cloud and fire.
                 This story speaks to us of the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we trust in him, God's  Holy Spirit takes up abode in our hearts. He puts his seal on us upon believing by giving us his holy spirit. He will never take  away his Holy Spirit from those he has given, and will always guide them out of them ways of Satan.

Our Passover Lamb

"The next day John  saw Jesus coming towards him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the World!" (John 1:29).

          When John the Baptist referred to Jesus as, " the Lamb of God", he meant that all the Lambs which had been offered in sacrifice before that time were types of the Lord Jesus. Paul also called Jesus the Lamb. He said, "For Christ our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed." when talking about Jesus.
            When the time came for God to deliver the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt,  God said that on a certain night a destroying Angel would pass through the land of Egypt and visit every house. It was to take place at midnight, and the eldest in every family would die suddenly. There was only one way of keeping the Angel out. God told the Israelites, "The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you when I strike Egypt" (Exodus 12:12). Everyone who believed that God would do what he had said took care to follow his directions, and then  they were perfectly safe.
                On the 10th  day of the month, the father of each family was to go to the flocks and choose a perfect Lamb and bring it home, For three days, they watched it and cared for it, and then on the evening of the 14th day, the Lamb was killed, it's blood put in a basin, and with a brush, the father was to sprinkle the blood on the side - posts and above the door. No destroying Angel could pass that precious blood, and everyone in that house was safe.
          This picture story tells of redemption by the blood of Jesus as the only means of deliverance from the wrath of God. It speaks to us of the need of personal appropriation, for there is not only the shed blood. but also the sprinkled blood. He is our Passover Lamb. The Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed, took bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."  In the same way, after supper he too the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this whenever you drink, in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:23 - 25).
        People may believe in the shedding of the blood; that the Lord Jesus Christ died, but unless they have appropriated his work for themselves, they are not resting under the sprinkled blood.

Joseph The Dreamer

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"His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. 'We are your slaves,' They said. 'But Joseph said to them, 'Don't be afraid.  Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.' And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them" (Genesis 50:18-21).

       Joseph's story is  a marvellous picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. Joseph was one of a large family. He  had eleven brothers, and he was a special favourite with his father Jacob. The other brothers were very Jealous. And to make matters worse, he was a dreamer
        One night Joseph had two dreams which he told his brothers. In his dreams Joseph saw himself as a great ruler. He father and brothers were bowing down before him. When his brothers heard the dreams, they hated him even more and could not wait to get rid of him!
         The opportunity for Joseph's brothers to get rid of Joseph came one day for he was sent by his father with a message to them as they were feeding their flock a long way from home. Some of his brothers would have liked to kill him there and then, but those who were not so cruel suggested that he should be thrown into a pit. To this they all agreed, and after they had thrown Joseph into the pit, they sat down to take their meal.
      As Joseph's brothers were taking their meal, there appeared some camels in the distance, and as they drew nearer they could tell that it was a caravan of Merchants going down to Egypt to sell their spices. Camels were the main means transport for the Merchants, but the people of Ndothua in Kenya where I grew up used Donkeys. Joseph brothers then decided to sell Joseph as a slave to the Merchants,and they were soon  bargaining with them as to the price, till at last sold Joseph as a slave for twenty pieces of silver and was carried to Egypt; far a way from his father's house. His brothers thought that this was the end of Joseph's dreams, but it was really part of God's way of making them come true.
          Joseph was also able to interprete dreams while in Egypt as a slave. He not only interpreted the Pharaoh's dreams, but also advised him what to do to prepare for a great famine that was coming. Pharaoh was so pleased with him and his wisdom that he made him ruler over the whole land, to carry out the plans which he had suggested.
           In this story, we can see a great many things which reminds us of the Lord Jesus Christ. He too was well - beloved of his father. His brothers, the sons of Jacob (Israel), hated him without cause. They envied him, and sold him for the price of a slave; thirty pieces of silver. They at last tried to get rid of him by nailing him on the cross!
           God had promised that the Lord Jesus would sit on the throne and reign over this world. This promise not yet been fulfilled, but it wil bel one day as surely as Joseph's dreams were fulfilled. When we come to God and tell him that we long for peace and for the pardon of our sins, he will tell us to go to the Lord Jesus, for he is the only one through whom we can get what we need. He will open his storehouses as Joseph did, and give us as much as we can carry (Genesis 44:1).

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