Hallelujah – Praise The Lord With Me

Let me defrock myself by letting out that I have never been a birthday party adherent. I celebrated the birthdays of Bluebird,the regal King David and the inimitable Bubu Josh, but I can’t remember ever holding a birthday party for myself! Indeed, I positively forgot some of my birthdays in the past, even as recent as five years ago! But now, change has caught up with me and I’m very excited about this birthday. The first reason is because 2016 is my best year on earth! – JERE. 25:11-12; 29:10; DAN. 9:2. Praise God.

The second reason is the amazing goodwill that swamped me on this birthday from family, friends, neighbours, school and class mates, my father in the Lord Pastor Dan and the Starplace Bible Church family, servants and saints of the living God, the FB community, and others that God stirred up their good hearts. Men and brethren, I am very grateful because “he who is in honour and does not know it is like a beast that perisheth - PSA. 49:12 {KJV}.This I know: I am not perishing, and will never perish in Jesus glorious name, amen.

My friends, thank you for the phone calls, personal visits, text messages, emails and other avenues that conveyed your prayers, prophecies, encouragements, counsels and admonitions. My dear well wishers, may God bless you abundantly in Jesus precious name. A celebration party was out of the picture on this birthday, hence you didn’t receive my invitation, but I will greatly enlarge the scope when I hit six decades, D.V. For now, please join my HALLELUJAH chariot before party time comes!

This birthday found me making joyous melodies in my heart to the Lord God Jehovah Who lives and reigns forever! The great day saw me singing hymns to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Son of the living God, my Lord, Saviour and Redeemer. I spent the day solemnly and meditatively marveling at the extraordinary ministry of God the Holy Spirit in my life and His great grace without measure. Glory to God in the highest! HALLELUJAH!

WHAT’S THE MEANING OF HALLELUJAH AND WHY HALLELUJAH

HALLELUJAH is a heavenly language. It is the Hebrew word for “Praise Ye Jehovah.” Synthesized from Hall {hail} El {God} the Strong One, the Creator – Jah {Jehovah}, it fully and actually means “Hail to God the Creator and Jehovah the Redeemer.” Glory be to His name! Psalms 111 – 118, are called the HALLELUJAH or HALLEL psalms, but there are HALLELUJAH verses in various other psalms. ALLELUIA is the Greek form of the word – REV. 19:1, 3, 4, 6. In Hebrew, it is a verb that means “PRAISE THE LORD” – a command to mankind! In the Hebrew meaning, this most holy injunction ignites a congregational praise – JERE. 31:7. Now, let somebody shout ALLELUIA! The praise of God is very important and it should be a delight to His people, not a chore. All creation should praise Him – PSA. 148:1-2. The first HALLELUJAH in the Old Testament called for the overthrow of the wicked– PSA. 104:35. The second HALLELUJAH points out the judgment that awaits the wicked at the end time – REV. 19:1-2.

Sometimes, HALLELUJAH is used to acknowledge and praise human qualities endowed by God, but godless folks misuse these endowments to their doom. Sarah, the wife of the patriarch Abraham was a very attractive woman. The Hebrew word for her name, yapheh, means “beautiful” and she was truly so. Though she was 65 years, the servants of Pharaoh were so smitten with her that she was commandeered for him, but God intervened while she was in the harem of the king of Egypt for purification before being brought to him – GEN. 12:14-20. Rebecca the wife of Isaac the second patriarch elevated the concept. In Hebrew, her name, towb, means “fair, beautiful” – GEN. 26:7. Rachel the second wife of Jacob the third patriarch greatly upped the ante. The Hebrew word for her name, yaphehto’ar, means “beautiful in shape, countenance, features and appearance!” – GEN. 29:17. She was lively, vivacious and extremely attractive. Can you blame Jacob for serving her father Laban 14 years for her hand and heart?

Our Father God made two men to give women a good competition in the beauty arena. The first was Joseph, the eleventh {11} and favourite son of the patriarch Jacob by his favourite wife Rachel – GEN. 30:24. His name in Hebrew means “he shall add” and God indeed, fully added to Joseph his mother’s comely features. All her physical attributes hugely radiated in him – GEN. 39:6. The beauty of Joseph was so outstanding that it got celebrated all over the East. Persian poets and the 12^thchapter of the Koran, the Muslim holy book described his beauty as perfect! Traditional folklore of Egypt has it that Zuleekha, the wife of Potiphar was rated the most virtuous of women, but the beauty of Joseph took her scented breathe away! She completely lost control and slavishly surrendered her passions to his beauty. Under the cover of hosting the 40 most beautiful women in Egypt to dinner, she unveiled the young Hebrew beauty and the highly placed women proclaimed him not to be a human being, but an angel!

Absalom was the third son of David the second king of Israel by Maacah, a non-Israelite princess from Geshur. His Hebrew name means “father of peace.” Absalom came perfect in body, was extremely handsome, a prince charming with eloquence and great dignity. He had courtly manners and a profusion of very beautiful hair which when he cut it yearly, amounted to four pounds in weight! It was a subject of great admiration and discussion in Israel. Absalom rode horses and chariots, a sign of pride - DT. 17:16, 20. He projected his royal status proudly by making his servants to clear the way for his transport and despised his brother Solomon because he was born of a woman who committed adultery with David while his mother came from a kingly lineage – 2 SAM. 3:3; 13:1-19:10; 1 KGS. 6; 2:7, 28; 1 CHRO. 3:2; 11:2-21.

PHYSICAL BEAUTY: A DEATH TRAP OR A GLORY LADDER

More importantly, Joseph’s character was as glorious as his astonishing physical features. He had the highest moral standard which made him reject the offer and cheap opportunity of committing sexual immorality with his master’s willing wife. Despite everything he suffered from his envious, jealous brothers, Potiphar’s spurned wife and Pharaoh’s forgetful chief cup bearer, Joseph maintained implicit faith in Jehovah, the God of Israel. In prison, he didn’t give in to depression, but executed the charge given to him and rode above all adversities. No wonder God prospered everything that he did – GEN. 39:20-23. As the prime minister and deputy ruler of Egypt, the superpower of antiquity, Joseph was not proud or haughty towards ordinary Egyptians and never rewarded his brothers with evil for their wickedness. He was fair in beauty and fair minded in character.

Unlike Joseph, Absalom was on the opposite side of the moral divide. He had winning ways of praising men and projecting himself as the temple of justice. He was a base fellow, a“wayo” {cunning} man! A smooth, bold, violent, revengeful, enterprising hypocrite, Absalom lied, connived, deceived and flattered to steal the throne from his father David. He was very traitorous, bloodily murderous, hugely merciless, greatly godless and astonishingly self-conceited. He murdered his brother Amnon, betrayed and overthrew his father David. Psalm 2 was composed when David fled from Absalom. In the end, his beautiful hair hung him and he died like a fool from vain seeking of a kingdom that he was not qualified and appointed to rule - 2 SAM. 18:15-18. David left ten {10} concubines to look after the palace when he fled from Absalom - 2 SAM. 15:16. To fulfill the word of the Lord through Nathan the prophet, in the same place where King David cast his eyes on Bathsheba the wife of Uriah the Hittite, Absalom gave in to the counsel of Ahitophel and “went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel” – 2 SAM. 11:2; 12:11. The Law of Moses rated a son taking his father’s wife as the sum of abomination punishable by death – LEV. 20:11. Because his three sons died in infancy, Absalom raised up a pillar after his own name and called it “Absalom’s Place” – 2 SAM. 18:18, but his true place in history is eternal infamy.

My dear friend, have you received Jesus as your Lord and Saviour? – JN. 3:16; ACTS 4:12. Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? – HEB. 9:11-27 KJV. Are you an Absalom? Are you a terror in your church, mosque, office, school or neighbourhood? ls your talent, gift and ability now a snare to your soul? Do you paint the town red because you have money? Why bully your spouse because of God’s blessings? Sir, why is your beloved wife a punching bag? Madam, have you realized that your husband is hypertensive because of your verbal violence? My Oga at the Top, does your position make women and girls unsafe, even married ones? Man of God, are the women and girls in your church safe from your lecherous heart? Are they your harem? Do you routinely drink the wine of fornication and adultery? – 1 SAM. 2:22-25. Do you sell the word of God? Do you prophecy for profit? Oga, is your house girl your unofficial second wife? Madam, why are you in bed with strange men because you earn more than your husband? Why is your house girl reduced to slavery, hard labour, hunger and nakedness and you still call yourself a deaconess? Sir/Madam, what happened to your marriage vows? Woli woro and woli agba, chief and senior apostle, is it in the Bible that hypnotism should be your tool of manipulation? Why do women and girls who come to you for “solutions” end up as wives/concubines? Alfa Nla, consider your ways and stop all types of manipulations. Forsake mysticism and embrace the crucified Saviour, Who is able to save your damned soul. Only Jesus can save – ACTS 16:30-33.

My heavily endowed young lady, remember that Absalom’s luxuriant hair killed him in the end! What do you have that did not come from the righteous God in heaven? If misused, your beauty can kill or ruin you!Do you know that your breasts, laps and buttocks which you constantly expose a la Absalom shall kill you, even if you are a Christian? Are you always attired like a prostitute? – GEN. 38:13-19; PROV. 7:10. Is your role model 20-year old Catarina Migliorini, a Brazilian woman who on October 24, 2012, sold her virginity online for $780,000 to a Japanese man? Can you lift your skirt to do everything “if the price is right?” Homosexuals and lesbians, please know that you are condemned unless you forsake this abomination now and turn to Christ for forgiveness and mercy – GEN. 18:20; EX0. 22:19; DT. 23:17; ROM. 1:18-32; 1 COR. 6:9-10; 1 TIM. 1:10. Same goes for liars, thieves, murderers, armed robbers, whores and 419ners. Young man, why are you publicly sagging, drinking, smoking and womanizing to death unconcerned? Why do you commit righteous members of your body into unrighteous use? What attraction do you derive from cultism and football gambling? Is the age of youth a license for you to sexually molest women and girls? If you deceive men, can you deceive your conscience? Don’t you know that lying to the Holy Ghost will result in death? – ACTS 5:1-11. Mr Politician and Top Public Servant, do you think that all will be well with your family after you have diverted billions of fund meant for the fight against terrorism, military barracks, hospitals, schools, houses, electricity, law courts, sports complexes, police stations and barracks, salaries and pensions into your overseas accounts? You are wicked and don’t you know that the wicked shall not go unpunished?– ISA. 57:21; 1 JN. 2:13-14.

My dear friend, what must you do to be reconciled to this loving Father God in heaven and have peace of mind? “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” - ACTS 2:38 {NIV}.This is my hope: “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” – PHIL. 1:6 {NIV}.While salvation qualifies you to see the kingdom of God, conversion entitles you to enter into it. The messages of Jesus are for our own examples, to prepare us to meet God, not to frighten repentant saints away from His loving embrace. Jesus is a peace broker, for Jehovah speaks peace in knowledge – ISA. 5:13.

Dear friend, receive Jesus Christ now as your personal Lord and Saviour. It will be my great joy and privilege to relate with you in the worship of the living God.

Please utilize these contact information for this purpose: Starplace Bible Church, c/o Childs Fountain Schools, Olorun Adaba Bus Stop, Gowon Estate, Egbeda, Lagos.

Phone – 08035380252, 09022424101
Email – [email protected]
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you, amen.
Shalom!
A pastor, historian, and writer, Joseph Emeka Anumbor is the author of THE INTERCOURSE OF TROUBLED THOUGHTS,a critically acclaimed discourse on homosexuality published by AuthorHouse Inc, Indiana, USA.