HE WHO SEEKS MY LIFE SEEKS YOUR LIFE

WISDOM FOR LIVING DEVOTIONAL

JANUARY 30, 2021

TOPIC: HE WHO SEEKS MY LIFE SEEKS YOUR LIFE

BY T. O. BANSO

“Stay with me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe” (1 Samuel 22:23 New King James Version).

Humanity has a common enemy. And that’s the devil or Satan. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (New King James Version). The devil is on a mission to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).

Satan is after me just as He is after you. The Bible says we must in addition to being sober and vigilant, “Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Peter 5:9 New King James Version).

Beloved, he who seeks my life seeks your life! Believers need to know this and, therefore, we must be there for each other. We must know we have a common enemy. Nobody should be deceived to think that Satan has given up on Him or think that some things befell some believers just because they were not prayerful or not living a holy life. Don’t sit in judgment. Whatever affects one believer must be seen as affecting other believers. “And the eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’; nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you’” (1 Corinthians 12:21 New King James Version).

We must have each other’s back in the fight against the devil. Believers cannot afford to confront Satan with the mindset of self-sufficiency. We need each other. No soldier fights alone. He fights against the enemy alongside other soldiers. Galatians 6:2 says, “Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Chris” (New Living Translation). A chain is as strong as its weakest link. Believers must cover up for each other, especially in prayers, because the devil is after each of us. We must stand against Him together.

King Saul was after the life of David for no just cause. His sin was that he helped him to kill Goliath and saved the entire nation of Israel from the humiliation by the uncircumcised Philistine. Saul was insecure. He thought because the whole nation had celebrated David, he was after his throne. Unfortunately, he never succeeded in killing him. He was suspicious of everyone supporting David against him.

He wrongly accused Abimelech the priest of conspiring with David against him.  Doeg informed him that he saw Abimelech inquire of the LORD for David and that he gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath the Philistine (1 Samuel 22:10). Though Abimelech absolved himself of any wrongdoing, Saul said Ahimelech and all his father’s house must die (verse 16).

After Saul’s guards refused to carry out his ungodly order to kill the priests of the LORD, Doeg did. He killed eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod. He also massacred the people of Nob, the city of the priests. He struck both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep with the edge of the sword (verses 18-19). 1 Samuel 21:7 says Doeg the Edomite, was “Saul’s chief herdsman” (New Living Translation). Chief herdsman! What a wicked herdsman he was. But he acted on the king’s order. Both were guilty.

Meanwhile, one of the sons of Ahimelech named Abiathar escaped and fled after David, informing him about the killing of the LORD’s priests. David took responsibility for the death of those Saul killed because he knew the day Doeg saw him with Abimelech that he must surely tell Saul. David told Abiathar, “Stay with me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe” (1 Samuel 22:23 New King James Version). Please take note of that last sentence.

David was not under any illusion that Saul had given up on him or Abiathar. It was because of David that he killed all the priests and the people of Nob. If he saw David, he would kill him. He was a bloodthirsty king. Similarly, if he heard that one son of Abimelech had escaped, he would kill him if he saw him. David was pragmatic. He told Abiathar that both of them had a common enemy. “Stay here with me, and I will protect you with my own life, for the same person wants to kill us both” (1 Samuel 22:23 New Living Translation).

David’s words to Abiathar whose entire family had been wiped out were comforting and reassuring. He was committed to protecting Abiathar. Abiathar stayed with David throughout his years as a fugitive and when David became king he appointed him as a priest along with Zadok (2 Samuel 8:17; 1 Chronicles 18:16). He remained so throughout the reign of David.

However, He was removed by Solomon because he had supported Adonijah, his rival, to become the king. He didn’t execute him because Abiathar had carried the Ark of the Sovereign LORD for his father and suffered right along with him through all his troubles. Instead, he exiled him to Anathoth (1 Kings 2:26-27). Abiathar was the last priest from the house of Eli. Thus, his removal fulfilled the judgment of God to take the priesthood away from the house of Eli (1 Samuel 2:30).

Let’s go back to the words of David to Abiathar: “Stay with me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe” (1 Samuel 22:23 New King James Version). It would be right to say that Abiathar was safe and could not be killed after he escaped because he was with David. Also, David never lowered his guard even after Saul’s false repentance on the two occasions he had opportunities of killing Saul but didn’t (1 Samuel 24; 26).

Neither David nor Abiathar could be killed by the common enemy they had. He who was seeking their lives eventually died. Saul, with his three sons, his armourbearer, and all his, men died together the same day on Mount Gilboa (1 Samuel 31:6). David and Abiathar saw the end of the person who sought their lives.

Beloved, the one who seeks your life seeks the life of your spouse. The one who seeks your life seeks the lives of your children. But you shall be safe. If you dwell in the secret place of the Most High, you shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1). Say of the LORD that He is your refuge and your fortress; Your God, in whom you trust (verse 20).

He who seeks your life shall not get you no matter how close he is to get you. On one occasion, Saul closed in on David but he was turned back, and David escaped (1 Samuel 23:26-28). You will escape from the one who seeks your life and the lives of your loved ones. A thousand shall fall at thy side and ten thousand at thy right hand; it shall not come near you; only with your eyes you shall behold, and see the reward of the wicked (Psalm 91:7-8). You shall not die, but live, and declare the works of Jehovah (Psalm 118:17). You will see the end of the person who seeks your life; he won’t see your end.

David saw the end of Saul. Saul didn’t hear the obituary of David; it was the other way round. David who was still running away from Saul was in Gilgal when he received the report of the death of Saul (2 Samuel 1:1-2). Verse 12 says  David and all the men with him mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

He who seeks your life won’t announce your death. He won’t mourn your death. You will mourn the death of people seeking your life. God shall fight for you and take them away. Matthew 2:20 says, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead” (New King James Version). Those who sought the life of Jesus were dead. Jesus saw the end of Herod. You will see the end of any human agent of the devil who seeks your life or the lives of your loved ones.

He who seeks my life seeks your life, but he shall fail. Matthew 22:25-28 says the Sadducees who didn’t believe in the resurrection said to Jesus, “Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her” (New King James Version).

I’m not going to address the question of the Sadducees and the perfect answer Jesus gave. I will rather look at the wickedness of the devil in the story.  Each of the seven brothers who died one after marrying the woman never knew that he who sought the life of one brother also sought the lives of the other brothers. All the seven brothers died in the process. Apparently, when there was no person to inherit this woman, she finally died! You won’t die in quick succession in your family in Jesus’ name. The devil tried to wipe out that family. That won’t happen to you.

He who seeks your father’s life seeks your life but he’ll fail. In Luke 7:11-17, he who sought the life of the father also sought the life of the father. The widow of Nain had lost her husband and again she had lost the only son. The funeral procession was at the gate of the city when Jesus intervened. He had compassion on her and restored the young man back to life. If you give the devil an inch, he will take a mile.

The devil is a bad devil. I say so not because there is a good devil! The emphasis is to show that the devil is wicked. Stop him. He who seeks my life seeks your life. He sought the life of Elimelech and succeeded in killing him in the land of Moab he had gone to for greener pastures. Not satisfied, he sought the life of his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, and killed them also, leaving their mother, Naomi, childless and their wives widows (Ruth 1:1-5).

The prophet Elijah thought he was the only surviving prophet. he thought the rest had been slain. He told God they also sought his life, to take it away (1 Kings 19:10, 14). Rather than allow Jezebel to take his life, he asked God to take him home. But God didn’t. He gave him His perspective and sent him back to his ministry with new assignments. Nobody who seeks your life will succeed in taking it away.

The Lord will arise on your behalf, confront and cast down he who seeks your life; He will deliver your life from the wicked with His sword (Psalm 17:13).  The devil won’t get you. You will outlive any of his agents who seeks your life.

TAKE ACTION!

If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.

Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God. I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.

PRAYER POINTS: In the name of Jesus, he who seeks my life and the lives of my loved ones shall not succeed.  We shall escape every attack and plot. We shall not die but live and declare the works of God. The Lord shall not deliver us to the will of our adversaries

(For over 400 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).

T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org