MY GRANDPA’S UNIQUE WALL CLOCK

We holidayed quite a lot with my late grandpa. We would spend days there alongside our cousins. It was always loaded with fun. Part of the fun was the joy of running out to see the wall clock perform its magic each time an hour struck.

At the stroke of the hour, a bird would come out and chime the particular hour. It would then go back into hiding. Trust children- we needed to get behind the mystery. At a particular hour when the bird came out, we held it and began to check it out. The end of the story was not palatable. The bird never chimed again. We were confronted with the guilt of our curiosity with a mixture of the fear of what we would tell Grandpa.

There are things you should just leave unchecked.

Some tested out what premarital sex is and today are ridden with the burden of the fruits of teenage pregnancy, the burden of aborting, the reminder is always before them in the form of a fine boy or girl that they hate or at times incurable sexually transmitted diseases and for others, demons that have held them in the trap of strange patterns. Why? They wanted to check it out.

One of the things that will keep you from checking it out is the trust you have for the one who gave the instruction. Simply trust the one who has instructed you and you will remain safe. Paul told Timothy to hold on to what he had learnt knowing from whom he had learnt it. Trust is key.

Yet you must continue to advance in strength with the truth wrapped around your heart, being assured by God that he’s the One who has truly taught you all these things.

2 Timothy 3:14 TPT

Adam and Eve were lured into the curiosity of finding out what would happen if they ate out of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The consequence was unpalatable. They lost it all.

If you will be safe, please learn this- fight forgetfulness. Time does not erode what the Lord has commanded. The standard of God has not dropped in our generation. He still demands holiness. He still says we should abstain from immorality.

There was a man called Shimei who treated King David with contempt. When Solomon became king, Solomon, in showing mercy told him that his movement was restricted to the city alone.

Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere. For it shall be, on the day you go out and cross the Brook Kidron, know for certain you shall surely die; your blood shall be on your own head.”

I Kings 2:36–37 NKJV

Shimei agreed with his judgment. He stayed within the ambits of the decree for three years until something happened- two of his servants ran away and settled in Gath. He got information about where they were. Guess what Shimei did?

So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath.

I Kings 2:40 NKJV

He succeeded in bringing back his slaves, but do you know what? He did not succeed in hiding it from the King. He had to face the judgement.

And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back. Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’

I Kings 2:41–42 NKJV

The question he was asked is the same question you will be asked when you cross the line:

Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the commandment that I gave you?”

I Kings 2:43 NKJV

There are commands you must keep. Some oaths must not be broken. Some lines must not be crossed. There are times the bird will stop chirping and you know by then that you have messed up.

What was the end for Shimei? Death!

What is the wages of sin? Death!!

You may still be breathing oxygen but do you have Zoe (the life of God)? Something dies every time you cross that line- you struggle in worship, the word does not come alive, and shame and guilt take over.

Will you retrace your steps? Do not get to Gath! Leave the runaway slaves. The cost of disobedience is a life- your life! Do not gain things and lose your life. It is an unprofitable deal.

© temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa