{"id":18336,"date":"2019-05-29T12:03:12","date_gmt":"2019-05-29T12:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=18336"},"modified":"2019-05-29T12:03:12","modified_gmt":"2019-05-29T12:03:12","slug":"christians-only-material-beware-deceivers-will-use-what-you-love-to-deceive-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=18336","title":{"rendered":"Christians Only Material: Beware: Deceivers will use what you love to deceive you!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tope Banso<\/strong>
\n\u201cAfter four years, Absalom said to the king, \u2018Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the LORD in fulfillment of a vow I made to him. For while I was at Geshur, I promised to sacrifice to him in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem'” (2 Samuel 15:7-8 New Living Translation).
\nDeceitful people often try to use what their victims love to deceive them. For example, they may tell them what they like to hear, and they’ll believe them. They get carried away by their lies. What do you love? Be careful that deceitful people don\u2019t use it to exploit you.
\nDavid had a heart for God. His son, Absalom, who was plotting a rebellion, must have known his father very well. Therefore, he deceived him by giving him the impression that he also loved God! He was a hypocrite.
\nFour years after he had returned to Jerusalem, from the exile that he had fled to after killing his half brother, the eldest son of David, Amnon, he lied to his father. 2 Samuel 15:7-8 says, \u201cAfter four years, Absalom said to the king, \u2018Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the LORD in fulfillment of a vow I made to him. For while I was at Geshur, I promised to sacrifice to him in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem\u2019\u201d (New Living Translation).
\nHe probably knew that David would give him permission to travel if he gave a vow he had made, which had been due for payment four years earlier, as his reason for wanting to go to Hebron. He, therefore, lied to him about this, as part of the plan for his revolt (2 Samuel 15:9-13).
\nHe succeeded in seizing power from David. David and his loyalists had to flee Jerusalem. Absalom was in charge for a period until his rebellion was put down and he was killed in the process.
\nAbsalom deceived his father. He told him what he would like to hear. Why did he have to wait for four years to pay his purported vow? He probably knew that David never joked about the payment of vows. He would not delay in paying his vows to the LORD.
\nIn Psalm 56, which David is believed to have written regarding the time the Philistines seized him in Gath, he said in verses 12-13, \u201cI will fulfill my vows to you, O God, and offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help. For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light\u201d (New Living Translation).
\nEarlier in Psalm 22:25, he said, \u201cI will praise you among all the people; I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you\u201d (New Living Translation).
\nWhy did Absalom choose Hebron as the place to pay his supposed vow? It could be that David had a sentimental attachment to Hebron, which Absalom was probably aware of and used to deceive him. David had been king in Hebron over the house of Judah for seven years and six months (2 Samuel 2:11) before he became the king of the entire nation of Israel, captured Jerusalem and made it his capital (1 Chronicles 11:4-8). In addition, six children, including Absalom, were born to him in Hebron (1 Chronicles 3:1-4).
\nDeceivers will seek to manipulate or take advantage of you, using what you love or you’re emotionally attached to. If you love prayers, prophecies, titles, human praises, children, etc, they may use any of these to deceive you. Be careful! Don\u2019t be carried away. Listen to what they\u2019ve said, and what they\u2019ve not said. Don’t be deceived by their actions or utterances. They may have a hidden agenda or an ulterior motive. Don\u2019t just read between the lines; listen to the Holy Spirit.
\nBeware! Isaac was deceived because of his love for meat from the field! He had suspected a foul play because the meat was brought to him earlier than normal. \u201cThen Isaac said to Jacob, \u2018Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.\u2019 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, \u2018The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau\u2019\u201d (Genesis 27:21-22).
\nHe still perceived something was wrong and asked Jacob if he was really his son, Esau. Despite these doubts, he went ahead to bless the deceiver, Jacob, because of the meat he had brought for him to eat (verses 24-25).
\nBe careful! Don\u2019t let your enemies use your strength, weakness or love against you. Don\u2019t let your strength become your weakness! Don’t let what you love become the enemy’s trap for you.
\nPRAYER POINT: Father, expose every deceit around me. Let me not be a deceitful person.
\nThis is wisdom for living, and it\u2019s worth sharing. Please share.
\n(For more inspiring messages, visit: www.cedarministry.org).
\n\u25aa Banso, an Abuja-based minister can be reached at Cedar Ministry International, cedarministryintl@yahoo.com, cedarministryng@gmail.com; Tel No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523 <\/strong>
\nWhatsApp No: +2349081295947<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tope Banso \u201cAfter four years, Absalom said to the king, \u2018Let me go to Hebron to offer a sacrifice to the LORD in fulfillment of a vow I made to him. For while I was at Geshur, I promised to sacrifice to him in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem’” (2 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":17027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5772],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-faith"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18336\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}