Dual Lifestylists

Copyright © 2010 by Emmanuel Oghenebrorhie.

ISBN: Softcover    978-1-4568-2803-5

ISBN: Ebook        978-1-4568-2804-2

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Unless otherwise indicated, scriptures are from Today’s English Version (TEV) also known as the Good News Bible (GNB), New King James Version (NKJV), (New American Standard Bible (NASB), Contemporary English Version (CEV), Rotherham, and Gods-Word.

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CONTENTS

Appreciation

Introduction

1    The Balaamites

2    Peninnahites

3    The heinous hijackers of this world

4    Injurious Insiders of this world

5    The Doegites

6    The prominent but privately precarious

7    When the Trusted turn Tortuous

Author’s Other Published Titles

Dedication

To all the victims of disgusting dual life-stylists in every generation

Appreciation

As always, all glory to God that this is available for others to read. Lord, everything in this call and commission is your doing and it is marvellous in my eyes. A million thanks for giving me the privilege to serve as sole administrator of this foreordained purpose.

God bless Cletus Okuguni for serving as editorial assistant. Mrs Yvonne Olatunbosun, my principal editor did editorial duties. My Lola did not fail in her overwhelming support throughout the writing and production of this work. May God swell your heavenly accounts richly, in Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

Introduction

Just like Genesis 25:19-24 says that Rebecca went to consult divination in reaction to her strange experience with her pregnancy, a woman’s daughter sought her counsel on a suitor and she went to consult divination. She returned to tell her daughter that she would enjoy her marriage if she got married to a particular suitor. So the daughter agreed to marry this suitor and they began courtship. A few months into the relationship her mother expressed her discontent to the daughter about the would-be spouse.

She had dreamed of her daughter marrying a medical doctor and this man was not a medical doctor and did not have the prospect of ever becoming one unless he would t-rain to become a healthcare assistant. She spoke the outcome of her divination but abhorred the fact that it would abort her dream of a medical doctor son-in-law. She fought her daughter over this relationship in the dirtiest manner possible. Later, she began to say that the outcome of the divination was not enough to dash her aspirations of many years over her daughter.

While in the spirit, John the Baptist confirmed that Jesus was the Messiah but when he got into Herod’s prison he sent his disciples to ask if Jesus was actually the Messiah. It is either the trouble was too much to bear or that after identifying Jesus as the Messiah, his ministry ended and the heavens were no longer opened and, in the flesh, like any ordinary human heart, he could not understand what he believed by God’s Spirit when his season to reign was still on, or both. In the serious heat of Job’s tribulation he said horrible things which he never dreamed he could say when he enjoyed prosperity.

Though Job 29 says he had been kind to the weak and treated the lowly respectfully, when his troubles were at their peak, Job 30 says that he voiced out his heart-hidden disdain for the wretched of the earth. In this regard, Job 29:1 and 12-17 and 31:1 and 4-40 say—

1   Job began speaking again. 12 When the poor cried out, I helped them; I gave help to orphans who had nowhere to turn. 13 Men who were in deepest misery praised me, and I helped widows find security. 14 I have always acted justly and fairly. 15 I was eyes for the blind, and feet for the lame. 16 I was like a father to the poor and took the side of strangers in trouble. 17 I destroyed the power of cruel men and rescued their victims.

1   I have made a solemn promise never to look with lust at a girl. 4 God knows everything I do; he sees every step I take. 5 I swear I have never acted wickedly and never tried to deceive others. 6 Let God weigh me on honest scales, and he will see how innocent I am. 7 If I have turned from the right path or let myself be attracted to evil, if my hands are stained with sin, 8 then let my crops be destroyed, or let others eat the food I grow. 9 If I have been attracted to my neighbor’s wife, and waited, hidden, outside her door, 10 then let my wife cook another man’s food and sleep in another man’s bed. 11 Such wickedness should be punished by death. 12 It would be like a destructive, hellish fire, consuming everything I have. 13 When one of my servants complained against me, I would listen and treat him fairly. 14 If I did not, how could I then face God? What could I say when God came to judge me? 15 The same God who created me created my servants also. 16 I have never refused to help the poor; never have I let widows live in despair 17 or let orphans go hungry while I ate. 18 All my life I have taken care of them. 19 When I found someone in need, too poor to buy clothes, 20 I would give him clothing made of wool that had come from my own flock of sheep. Then he would praise me with all his heart. 21 If I have ever cheated an orphan, knowing I could win in court, 22 then may my arms be broken; may they be torn from my shoulders. 23 Because I fear God’s punishment, I could never do such a thing. 24 I have never trusted in riches 25 or taken pride in my wealth. 26 I have never worshiped the sun in its brightness or the moon in all its beauty. 27 I have not been led astray to honor them by kissing my hand in reverence to them. 28 Such a sin should be punished by death; it denies Almighty God. 29 I have never been glad when my enemies suffered, or pleased when they met with disaster; 30 I never sinned by praying for their death. 31 All the men who work for me know that I have always welcomed strangers. 32 I invited travelers into my home and never let them sleep in the streets. 33 Other men try to hide their sins, but I have never concealed mine. 34 I have never feared what people would say; I have never kept quiet or stayed indoors because I feared their scorn. 35 Will no one listen to what I am saying? I swear that every word is true. Let Almighty God answer me. If the charges my opponent brings against me were written down so that I could see them, 36 I would wear them proudly on my shoulder and place them on my head like a crown. 37 I would tell God everything I have done, and hold my head high in his presence. 38 If I have stolen the land I farm and taken it from its rightful owners—39 if I have eaten the food that grew there but let the farmers that grew it starve—40 then instead of wheat and barley, may weeds and thistles grow. The words of Job are ended. (TEV)

This was how good he was before his troubles began as reported in Job 1-2. And concerning his very bad experience with people, Job 19 says—

1   Why do you keep tormenting me with words? 3 Time after time you insult me and show no shame for the way you abuse me. 4 Even if I have done wrong, how does that hurt you? 5 You think you are better than I am, and regard my troubles as proof of my guilt. 6 Can’t you see it is God who has done this? He has set a trap to catch me. 7 I protest his violence, but no one is listening; no one hears my cry for justice. 8 God has blocked the way, and I can’t get through; he has hidden my path in darkness. 9 He has taken away all my wealth and destroyed my reputation. 10 He batters me from every side. He uproots my hope and leaves me to wither and die. 11 God is angry and rages against me; he treats me like his worst enemy. 12 He sends his army to attack me; they dig trenches and lay siege to my tent. 13 God has made my brothers forsake me; I am a stranger to those who knew me; 14 my relatives and friends are gone. 15 Those who were guests in my house have forgotten me; my servant girls treat me like a stranger and a foreigner. 16 When I call a servant, he doesn’t answer—even when I beg him to help me. 17 My wife can’t stand the smell of my breath, and my own brothers won’t come near me. 18 Children despise me and laugh when they see me. 19 My closest friends look at me with disgust; those I loved most have turned against me. 20 My skin hangs loose on my bones; I have barely escaped with my life. 21 You are my friends! Take pity on me! The hand of God has struck me down. 22 Why must you persecute me the way God does? Haven’t you tormented me enough? 23 How I wish that someone would remember my words and record them in a book! 24 Or with a chisel carve my words in stone and write them so that they would last forever. 25 But I know there is someone in heaven who will come at last to my defense. 26 Even after my skin is eaten by disease, while still in this body I will see God. 27 I will see him with my own eyes, and he will not be a stranger. My courage failed because you said, 28 How can we torment him? You looked for some excuse to attack me. 29 But now, be afraid of the sword—the sword that brings God’s wrath on sin, so that you will know there is one who judges. (TEV)

There is no doubt this was a very bad experience. Job felt abandoned by God just like Jesus asked why God the Father forsook Him on the cross. The friends of Job who claimed to have visited to commiserate with him worsened his feelings because they claimed that his troubles were a proof that he had hidden sins. This was a man about whom Job 1:1 and 6-8 says—

1   There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name [was] Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? So Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it. 8 Then the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that [there is] none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? (NKJV)

This is God’s testimonial of him, therefore we cannot dispute that he was amongst the holiest of holy men who ever lived as Jeremiah 15:1-2 and Ezekiel 14:12-14 confirm about him and some other persons. Yet when his troubles were at their worst level, he transformed into another individual. And concerning his other reaction to the ingrates, the poor who must have benefited from him earlier but turned against him during his tribulations, Job 30:1-11 says—

1   But men younger than I am make fun of me now! Their fathers have always been so worthless that I wouldn’t let them help my dogs guard sheep. 2 They were a bunch of worn-out men, too weak to do any work for me. 3 They were so poor and hungry that they would gnaw dry roots—at night, in wild, desolate places. 4 They pulled up the plants of the desert and ate them, even the tasteless roots of the broom tree! 5 Everyone drove them away with shouts, as if they were shouting at thieves. 6 They had to live in caves, in holes dug in the sides of cliffs. 7 Out in the wilds they howled like animals and huddled together under the bushes. 8 A worthless bunch of nameless nobodies! They were driven out of the land. 9 Now they come and laugh at me; I am nothing but a joke to them. 10 They treat me with disgust; they think they are too good for me, and even come and spit in my face. 11 Because God has made me weak and helpless, they turn against me with all their fury. (TEV)

Troubles transform man into a terrible being. When Job 19, 29 and 30:1-11 are placed side by side for comparative consideration, it is very striking. When Job was prosperous even his employees and domestic servants must have considered themselves very fortunate to serve him. Everyone who had an encounter with him must have been very grateful to God for making their paths cross but when he had his troubles most of them turned around to despise him. They readily forgot that he had been a great blessing to them earlier. Consistency is a stranger to human nature or human DNA. A man’s fortune is one of the chief determinants of how his fellow humans regard and react to him. They interpret prosperity to mean godliness and worthiness. Fortune is a major language of mankind. It is a universal currency. In the heart of man prosperity is a universal master key. It is a door opener to respect, honour and acceptability. Proverbs 18:23 and 19:4 and 6-7 say—

23   When the poor man speaks, he has to be polite, but when the rich man answers, he is rude.

4   Rich people are always finding new friends, but the poor cannot keep the few they have. 6 Everyone tries to gain the favor of important people; everyone claims the friendship of those who give out favors. 7 Even the brothers of a poor man have no use for him; no wonder he has no friends. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot win any. (TEV)

What the poor man begs to get, the rich man is begged to pay with his money. The poor man’s pleas might not even be considered or given things to enjoy, because we live in a monetized world where those without resources can as well go to hell.

In my estimation Sarah obeyed Abraham to a very ridiculous point when Genesis 12:10-22 and 20 confirm that she agreed to be introduced as his sister only rather than adding the fact that she was his wife as well. One expected her to protest as she could have thought that Abraham was finding a way to get rid of her since she was barren at this time and remarry another woman. If he was not man enough to tell everyone she was his wife then he should not have married her in the first place. If he was afraid to take a risk over her then, he should not have married her.

Though she was docile enough to accept whatever rubbish her husband threw at her and called him lord, it got to a point that I Peter 3:1-6 admonishes women to follow in her footsteps in this respect, Genesis 16 and 21:9-21 say that there were two instances when she was provoked to the point of seemingly daring Abraham. She was pressed into disregarding Abraham’s feelings to punish Hagar to the point that Hagar ran away with Ishmael’s pregnancy. This means that pressure could push saints to become unkind and callous.

David once prayed that God should not let the rod of the wicked rest on the lot of the righteous to the point that the righteous would be constrained to put his hands into doing evil. This was part of what he tried to avoid when he left the land of Israel to the land of the Philistines. He knew that if he did not escape to the land of the Philistines he might be tempted to kill Saul some day in order to protect himself. In this respect, Psalms 125:1-3 and Proverbs 30:7-9 says—

1   Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever. 3 For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.

7   Two things I request of You (deprive me not before I die): 8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches—Feed me with the food allotted to me; 9 Lest I be full and deny You, and say, Who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God. (NKJV)

1   Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which can never be shaken, never be moved. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, now and forever. 3 The wicked will not always rule over the land of the righteous; if they did, the righteous themselves might do evil.

7   I ask you, God, to let me have two things before I die: 8 keep me from lying, and let me be neither rich nor poor. So give me only as much food as I need. 9 If I have more, I might say that I do not need you. But if I am poor, I might steal and bring disgrace on my God. (TEV)

We can see that pressure, poverty as well as prosperity are capable of making an individual live a dual lifestyle. This is explains why many complain that whenever people get to a position of authority, affluence and influence, they literarily become another man. Everything about them changes and those who knew them earlier become surprised at their latest attitude and lifestyle. Some would vouch for someone based on what they used to do together without realising that their changed circumstance has affected their thinking and attitude and therefore actions and reactions.

Until Judah’s wife died he never sought sexual intercourse with a presumed harlot on his way to his business location. Until his two sons died he never had reason to suspect his daughter-in-law as an ill-luck carrier into his household. As long as he did not know that his sons died because of their own sins rather than because of her, he treated her suspiciously. He must have been a good father-in-law hence it seemed that Tamar did not want to let go her getting married to his family. But the death of his sons and then his wife had tampered with his reason.

I learnt of a man who was very generous with acquaintances when his business boomed. He got big contracts and gave those with smaller amount to his acquaintances readily. But as the economy of his nation dwindled as fallout of the global economic melt-down he could not afford to leave the small jobs for his acquaintances any longer because he needed such ‘small jobs’ to survive personally.

In the days of the judges one thing common to the different generations of Israelites was that when they had been freed from their oppressors they went back into sin and God would send some nations to oppress them. Then, they would come to their senses and seek God’s help and afterwards they returned into sin once again. It happened repeatedly. Meanwhile, Moses had forewarned them in Deuteronomy 8 that they must strive never to forget the Lord after He would have blessed them in the land of Canaan.

Lack contributes to humble a man while prosperity gives man the confidence which tend towards pride and arrogance. In the same way smallness and greatness reveal the different lifestyles of man. Most peoples who were too timid to run God’s errand for them in their lifetime, turned around to speak proudly. Prosperity and greatness made Nebuchadnezzar become unkind to the weak. Indicting King Uzziah of Judah, II Chronicles 26:1-5 and 16-21 says—

1   All the people of Judah chose Amaziah’s sixteen-year-old son Uzziah to succeed his father as king. 2 (It was after the death of Amaziah that Uzziah recaptured Elath and rebuilt the city.) 3 Uzziah became king at the age of sixteen, and he ruled in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. 4 Following the example of his father, he did what was pleasing to the Lord. 5 As long as Zechariah, his religious adviser, was living, he served the Lord faithfully, and God blessed him. 16 But when King Uzziah became strong, he grew arrogant, and that led to his downfall. He defied the Lord his God by going into the Temple to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah the priest, accompanied by eighty strong and courageous priests, followed the king 18 to resist him. They said, Uzziah! You have no right to burn incense to the Lord. Only the priests who are descended from Aaron have been consecrated to do this. Leave this holy place. You have offended the Lord God, and you no longer have his blessing. 19 Uzziah was standing there in the Temple beside the incense altar and was holding an incense burner. He became angry with the priests, and immediately a dreaded skin disease broke out on his forehead. 20 Azariah and the other priests stared at the king’s forehead in horror and then forced him to leave the Temple. He hurried to get out, because the Lord had punished him. 21 For the rest of his life King Uzziah was ritually unclean because of his disease. Unable to enter the Temple again, he lived in his own house, relieved of all duties, while his son Jotham governed the country. (TEV)

His case is similar to that of his ancestor King Joash. II Chronicles 22:10-12, 23 and 24:1-22 say that Joash could not do right without the guidance of others. While his uncle-in-law and God sent benefactor lived and guided him to do good things which pleased God, after his death, Joash followed new advisers to do wrong. And there are persons, no matter how great in life, who have no mind of their own to do the good they know.

Kings Saul of Israel and Zedekiah of Judah were such personalities. King Uzziah of Judah could not continue in what he had learnt from his guide Zechariah to remain humble in order to please God. He grew proud after God had made him strong and powerful on the throne of his ancestors. The same God-given greatness led to his downfall by the way he behaved because of it. As for King Saul, I Samuel 9 says that when his father sent him out, it was his servant who gave him the idea of consulting Samuel the seer in Ramah.

Something else relevant is the fact that I Samuel 9:25-27 and 10:1-9-16 say that once Samuel anointed him in Ramah, the Spirit of God came upon him and he got a new nature. He left home an ordinary man in search of his father’s donkeys but he returned four days later an extraordinary man. And as a result, I Samuel 11 says that when he learnt of the Ammonite threat to the town of Jabesh Gilead, the Spirit of God could provoke him to lead their defeat, something none else could do because they did not have God’s Spirit like him. Of course, Samuel had God’s Spirit but this battle was meant for Saul to lead in victory for their nation. Then, I Samuel 13 says that his officers’ desertion and the threat of the Philistines made him commit a great mistake. This was followed by following his officers’ suggestion to disobey God concerning the total annihilation of the Amalekites.

1

The Balaamites

There is what I call I Know, But Cannot and it concerns those who would know the right thing but still find some curious reasons to do the very opposite. It would be nice to find a copy and read it. When Laban realised that giving Leah to Jacob in the daylight, would not allow him to achieve his desire to cheat Jacob, he decided to deliver her to him as his wife at night when visibility would be poor. Ruth and Naomi knew that there was a closer relative who had the right to marry Ruth but because they had decided in favour of Boaz, they agreed that Ruth should seek Boaz’s consent without reference to the closer relative. Even when Boaz used his initiative to refer the matter to the closer relative to secure his approval, he did not come out directly. He did it in such a clever way that the closer relative did not suspect that Boaz and Ruth and Naomi had cut a secret deal before seeking his approval. Balaam could not resist the gains from his hirers to obey God and refuse to attempt to curse the Israelites as requested by his heinous hirers. Judas Iscariot knew very well that Jesus did not deserve betrayal but greed for money could not let him resist the temptation. King Saul knew that David was his benefactor and should be appreciated and celebrated, but envy and jealousy made him seek to kill David. He could not be dissuaded even in the name of the Lord. There is what I call Staying Sane Throughout or Remaining Sane Throughout or Remaining Sane Afterwards. Saul was a very sane individual until he realised that he had been established on the throne of their nation. I Samuel 9 says that he was so considerate that when he realised that his father would be more worried for him than their lost donkeys, he told his personal servant that they should call off the search party and return home. I Samuel 10:1-16 says that initially, he obeyed Samuel’s directives not to tell anyone about the fact that he had been chosen to be Israel’s king. However, I Samuel 10:17-27 and 11-15 say that after becoming established on the throne, he disobeyed both Samuel and God, his benefactors.

There is what I have come to classify as Balaamites since the Sodomites gave this title to a male having sexual intercourse with other males. Therefore, Balaamites are persons who know God’s will clearly but devise a way to disobey it. Balaam knew he should not curse the Israelites but taught his hirer King Balak of Moab and the people of Midian how to cause the Israelites aches and pains. Balaamites are backers of what they know to be wrong because of what they would gain, just like Doeg. Numbers 22-24 confirm that the same Balaam who blessed the Israelites on behalf of God taught the Moabites and Midianites to use their women to seduce the Israelite men so they could be afflicted by God.

And because he had a good knowledge of God, Numbers 25 confirms that the Midianites succeeded when they followed his idea. It was such a bad thing that several hundreds of years later, God made reference to it when Revelations 2:14 says—

14   But there are a few things I have against you: there are some among you who follow the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak how to lead the people of Israel into sin by persuading them to eat food that had been offered to idols and to practice sexual immorality. (TEV)

Perhaps for us to understand the gravity of Balaam’s evil, it would help to read that Numbers 22 says—

1   The Israelites moved on and set up camp in the plains of Moab east of the Jordan and opposite Jericho. 2 When the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, heard what the Israelites had done to the Amorites and how many Israelites there were, 3 he and all his people became terrified. 4 The Moabites said to the leaders of the Midianites, This horde will soon destroy everything around us, like a bull eating the grass in a pasture. So King Balak 5 sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor near the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw. They brought him this message from Balak: I want you to know that a whole nation has come from Egypt; its people are spreading out everywhere and threatening to take over our land. 6 They outnumber us, so please come and put a curse on them for me. Then perhaps we will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. I know that when you pronounce a blessing, people are blessed, and when you pronounce a curse, they are placed under a curse. 7 So the Moabite and Midianite leaders took with them the payment for the curse, went to Balaam, and gave him Balak’s message. 8 Balaam said to them, Spend the night here, and tomorrow I will report to you whatever the LORD tells me. So the Moabite leaders stayed with Balaam. 9 God came to Balaam and asked, Who are these men that are staying with you? 10 He answered, King Balak of Moab has sent them to tell me 11 that a people who came from Egypt has spread out over the whole land. He wants me to curse them for him, so that he can fight them and drive them out. 12 God said to Balaam, Do not go with these men, and do not put a curse on the people of Israel, because they have my blessing. 13 The next morning Balaam went to Balak’s messengers and said, Go back home; the LORD has refused to let me go with you. 14 So they returned to Balak and told him that Balaam had refused to come with them. 15 Then Balak sent a larger number of leaders, who were more important than the first. 16 They went to Balaam and gave him this message from Balak: Please don’t let anything prevent you from coming to me! 17 I will reward you richly and do anything you say. Please come and curse these people for me. 18 But Balaam answered, Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not disobey the command of the LORD my God in even the smallest matter. 19 But please spend the night, as the others did, so that I may learn whether or not the LORD has something else to tell me. 20 That night God came to Balaam and said, If these men have come to ask you to go with them, get ready and go, but do only what I tell you. 21 So the next morning Balaam saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite leaders. 22 God was angry that Balaam was going, and as Balaam was riding along on his donkey, accompanied by his two servants, the angel of the LORD stood in the road to bar his way. 23 When the donkey saw the angel standing there holding a sword, it left the road and turned into the fields. Balaam beat the donkey and brought it back onto the road. 24 Then the angel stood where the road narrowed between two vineyards and had a stone wall on each side. 25 When the donkey saw the angel, it moved over against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against it. Again Balaam beat the donkey. 26 Once more the angel moved ahead; he stood in a narrow place where there was no room at all to pass on either side. 27 This time, when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down. Balaam lost his temper and began to beat the donkey with his stick. 28 Then the LORD gave the donkey the power of speech, and it said to Balaam, What have I done to you? Why have you beaten me these three times? 29 Balaam answered, Because you have made a fool of me! If I had a sword, I would kill you. 30 The donkey replied, "Am I not the same donkey on which you have ridden all your