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30/9/2016

Forms of corruption in the society

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Forms of corruption in the society

The following are the forms of corruption found in the society today:

Tribalism.
Bribery.
Cheating in business.
Stealing.
Robbery with violence.
Dishonesty/telling lies.
Misuse of public property/funds.
Grabbing of personal or public land.

Any form of corruption is wrong as it is an unfair dealing and causes suffering to individuals who fall victim.

It can also retard development in society.
A Christian has a duty to play in building a fair and just society by applying the life skills of critical thinking, creative thinking and making appropriate moral decisions.

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29/9/2016

Elijah’s fight against corruption

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1 Kings 21 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Naboth’s Vineyard
21

Later the following events took place: Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria.
And Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house; I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.”
But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you my ancestral inheritance.”
Ahab went home resentful and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him; for he had said, “I will not give you my ancestral inheritance.” He lay down on his bed, turned away his face, and would not eat.
His wife Jezebel came to him and said, “Why are you so depressed that you will not eat?”
He said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it’; but he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”
His wife Jezebel said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal; she sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.
She wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth at the head of the assembly;
seat two scoundrels opposite him, and have them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out, and stone him to death.”
The men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. Just as it was written in the letters that she had sent to them,
they proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the assembly.
The two scoundrels came in and sat opposite him; and the scoundrels brought a charge against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city, and stoned him to death.
Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”
As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Go, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.”
As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab set out to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
Elijah Pronounces God’s Sentence
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying:
Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession.
You shall say to him, “Thus says the Lord: Have you killed, and also taken possession?” You shall say to him, “Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.”
Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you. Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord,
I will bring disaster on you; I will consume you, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel;
and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.
Also concerning Jezebel the Lord said, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the bounds of Jezreel.’
Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat; and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the air shall eat.”
(Indeed, there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel.
He acted most abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.)
When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth over his bare flesh; he fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went about dejectedly.
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite:
“Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster on his house.”

Prophet Elijah fought moral corruption by condemning King Ahab’s behaviour involving Naboth’s vineyard.

Ahab coveted Naboth’s vineyard, which was adjacent to the palace.
He offered to buy it but Naboth refused because it was a family inheritance.
The king was depressed but Jezebel planned a corrupt scheme to acquire it.
She forged letters using the King’s Seal and accused Naboth falsely for:

(i) Showing disrespect to God/ Blasphemy.
(ii) Cursing the king/ treason.

This led to the stoning to death of Naboth.
Ahab went and possessed the land.

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29/9/2016

Conditions that made it difficult for prophet Elijah to stop idolatry in Israel

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Conditions that made it difficult for prophet Elijah to stop idolatry in Israel

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29/9/2016

Lessons learnt about the nature of God from the contest at Mt. Carmel

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Lessons learnt about the nature of God from the contest at Mt. Carmel

Yahweh is the only true God. Baal is not a god at all.
Yahweh is a living God who controls force of nature/ He is the Lord of nature/ He has power over nature.
Yahweh is a powerful God.
Yahweh is a merciful God who wins back way ward hearts. I Kings 18:37.
Yahweh is a jealous God who will have no other gods beside him. vs. 21
Yahweh is a God of justice who punishes idolaters and other sinners/He punishes evil.
Yahweh answers prayer/He is a faithful God.
God should be worshipped.
He works through human beings e.g. appointment of Jehu.
God wants human beings to obey him.
He is omnipresent.

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27/9/2016

Factors which lead people away from the worship of God today

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Factors which lead people away from the worship of God today

Drunkardness

Materialism, love/craving for earthly possessions/wealth at the expense of spiritual development.
Corruption which makes people mistrust God/come to the conclusion that God does not care.
Permissiveness in society which makes people lose value especially religious values/social influence from peer groups.
Mass media /pornography where people spend time listening and watching T.V, videos and films. They may influence people’s activities which are contrary to the true worship of God.
Urbanization leads people to lose their identity/change values which may lead to degeneration of morals.
Dehumanization where the value of a person is not considered but the service they can provide.
Threats to human life/human dignity; caused by wars nuclear power/abortion which make people lose faith in God.
Confusion arising from religious pluralism. Some people wonder which is the true religion as some religions advocate worship of idols/Satan.
Oppression. Social/political/cultural/economics/religion suffering might make some people loose faith in God.
Sexual immorality/adultery, fornication, prostitution, homosexuality take away some people from the community of worshippers.
Scientific discoveries. People come to place their faith in science and technology. They believe it can solve all their problems.

-Addiction to drugs.
-Social prejudices/discrimination racism/tribalism destroys the unity of humanity.
-Poverty dehumanizes the unit of humanity.

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27/9/2016

LOYALTY TO GOD – PROPHET ELIJAH

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Elijah means “Yahweh is my God”

Factors that led to spread of idolatry in Israel

Introduction:

Idolatry refers to worship of idols.
An idol is an image representing a god usually made using materials such as bronze, stone or hard wood.
The images of these gods would be kept in the places of worship where the worshipers went to ask for whatever needs they had.
The 2nd commandment Ex. 20:4 forbids making of images of anything “In the heavens above or the earth below…”
The Israelites were forbidden from bowing down to /worshipping these images. (Deut 5:8 – 10 and Lev 26:1)
To guard against the temptations to turn to the worship of the Canaanite gods, Yahweh through Moses had forewarned the Israelites that when they enter Canaan, they were supposed to destroy all the worshipping places e.g. temples/shrines and cultic objects (Ex .34:13).

The Israelites were not supposed to:

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27/9/2016

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TEMPLE IN ISRAEL

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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TEMPLE IN ISRAEL

The Temple of Jerusalem played important roles in religious, social and economic lives of the Israelites as follows.

It symbolized God’s presence among his people through the Ark of the Covenant which was kept in the Temple.
It was a dwelling place for God. I Kings 8:12 – 13.
It was a centre/house of worship and prayer for the Jews/ priests offered sacrifices, burnt incense and prayers to God in the Temple.
All the Jewish Religious festivals/feasts such as Passover, Pentecost and New Year were celebrated in the Temple.
The Temple was a symbol of national security because the Jews believed that the Temple would never be destroyed.
Religious rites were performed in the Temple e.g. Purification and dedication rites, naming, circumcision of baby boys and lepers were cleansed in the temple.
It was a place for pilgrimage for the Jews living in Palestine and the Jews of the Diaspora
It was a commercial centre and housed the Jewish treasury where currencies were exchanged and animals for sacrifices sold.
It was a centre for Jewish learning where the teaching of the law was conducted
It was used as a law court where social and religious issues could be solved by the Sanhedrin/council of Jewish religious leader.
11. It was a symbol of Jewish unity. It united the Jews as the people of God, since it was built and maintained by Kings. It was a royal sanctuary thus providing stability for the monarch.
It was the residence for the religious leaders and the place where priests and prophets Lived, e.g. prophetess Anna, Luke 2:36 – 38.
The Jews believed that the Messiah would appear in the Temple.
The Temple was the only place where sacrifices to God were offered by the priests.
God revealed himself to many in the Temple e.g. Hannah, Isaiah etc.

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26/9/2016

THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL (I Kings 12.)

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The death of Solomon and the Division of the Kingdom

Death of King Solomon

After the death of King Solomon, his son Rehoboam succeeded him. Not all tribes of Israel accepted him as their King and therefore it split into two. The Northern 10 tribes formed Israel while the 2 Southern tribes formed Judah. Judah retained Jerusalem as the capital city.
Factors that led to the division/reasons for the rise of schism in Israel

Solomon practiced idolatry which made God to punish him by splitting the kingdom.
Solomon built high places for idols.
The introduction of forced labour and heavy taxation led to discontentment among the Israelites and this made them rebellious.
Solomon had many foreign wives who brought with them the worship of foreign gods to Israel.
Rehoboam’s failure to heed to the elders wise counsel to rule the Israelites less harshly.
Rehoboam’s acceptance of the foolish advice given by the youth to rule the people more harshly than his father had angered the people.
Long standing feuds in David’s house.
Jeroboam was ready to lead the rebellious groups against Rehoboam.
Solomon’s favor extended towards the Southern tribes making the northern tribes to rebel/Solomon practiced nepotism and tribalism making northern tribes rebel.

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26/9/2016

Lessons Christians learn from King Solomon’s reign

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Lessons Christians learn from King Solomon’s reign

King Solomon

These lessons include to:

Be sexually pure.
Be Monogamous. Solomon’s seven hundred wives led him into worshipping their foreign gods.
Be just and fair.
Respect and honour God.
Not misuse national resources.
Put God above everything else.

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25/9/2016

King Solomon’s failures

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King Solomon’s failures

Although Solomon was a successful King, he had many failures. These include;

King Solomon weaknesses

He married many foreign wives who brought with them the worship of foreign gods to Israel. Ex 34:16.
He allowed his foreign wives to worship their gods in Israel.
He built high places of worship/temples for the gods of his wives. Ex 20:4 – 5.
Solomon worshiped the gods of his wives alongside the God of Israel thus broke the covenant with God.
He imposed heavy taxation on his subjects and his districts in order to raise part of the government revenue.
Solomon overspent and misused the wealth of the Kingdom by building a huge palace.
He overtaxed his subjects to maintain high standard of living in his royal court/ was extravagant.
He introduced forced labour to carry on his building programmes. E.g. palace and temple, therefore breaking the covenant rule of brotherhood.
He gave King Hiram of Tyre an area of Israel’s land to pay off his debts thus treating the nation’s land as his own personal property.
He killed his half-brother Adonijah (1Kings 2) because he suspected that Adonijah could be his rival to the throne thus committing murder.
He practiced nepotism by exempting his own people from taxation and forced labour i.e. tribes of Judah and Benjamin exempted from forced labour and payment of taxes.
He hired the skills of pagan craftsmen in the construction of the Temple and his palace.
He made treaties with foreign Nations/neighbouring nations against the covenant requirements.

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Forms of corruption in the society

Forms of corruption in the society

Elijah’s fight against corruption

Conditions that made it difficult for prophet Elijah to stop idolatry in Israel

Conditions that made it difficult for prophet Elijah to stop idolatry in Israel

Lessons learnt about the nature of God from the contest at Mt. Carmel

Lessons learnt about the nature of God from the contest at Mt. Carmel

Factors which lead people away from the worship of God today

Factors which lead people away from the worship of God today

LOYALTY TO GOD – PROPHET ELIJAH

Elijah means “Yahweh is my God”

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TEMPLE IN ISRAEL

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TEMPLE IN ISRAEL

THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL (I Kings 12.)

The death of Solomon and the Division of the Kingdom

Lessons Christians learn from King Solomon’s reign

Lessons Christians learn from King Solomon’s reign

King Solomon’s failures

King Solomon’s failures

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