Post by Akewo Authe Ltd (@akewoautheltd)

Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah.
Jeremiah 41:1

While a leader should not live in paranoia, they should also not live in stupidity.

Here we saw Gedaliah having a meal with Ishmael despite having received an intel of the plan of Ishmael to murder him. Really! If you must have an official interaction with this person, at least have some sense enough to protect yourself and those around you. Many lives were snuffed out by the murderous Ishmael because of Gedaliah’s stupidity.

In the preceding verse, he got the intel of Ishmael’s wicked intentions. In this verse that we are highlighting today, he was eating with his potential murderer and his co-travellers. Is it any surprise that in the succeeding verse, he was murdered along with all the people with him? All these people could have been spared the fate of untimely death if Gedaliah was more self-aware. Unfortunately, he was not. So, many innocent lives were lost.

The senseless killings were even more appalling. Even people that were on a journey for their own spiritual purpose were also killed. The reason for this is not clear to me. Maybe some Bible scholars could help here. Really?

The guy must be a blood thirsty murderer. He really didn’t have a place among normal human beings. If it was leadership he was angling for, why kill the people he wanted to lead first. And he was also taking the people from their land to another land until Johanan, who originally warned Gedaliah of Ishmael’s bad intentions, showed up to rescue the people Ishmael now held captive. All these mess were avoidable if Gedaliah was not such a clueless leader.

Trusting should be in the right people. Nonetheless, only God deserves 100% trust. As much as you want to believe in the good of people, protect yourself and your loved ones against schemes that could lead to unnecessary loss of lives by people who are greedy and selfish around you. The human heart is deep like a dark pit; and the Bible is clear on that.

Nonetheless, like Elisha, you can have an insight through the gift of discernment. It starts with you giving your life to Jesus Christ and accepting Him as your Lord and personal Saviour.

Jesus is Lord!

#selfawareness
#intel
#stupidity
#akewoauthe
#akewoautheltd

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