Treason

Details
Category: Teachings & Articles
Published: Monday, 15 May 2023 01:33
Hits: 796

Treason

CLSF-Rosales Annual Evaluation and Planning

May 10, 2023

Updated: March 13, 2023

By Peps

 

 

Above Photo by Peps: Colosseo in Rome

 

“O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision,”

                                     – Paul, a prisoner of the Gospel of Christ

 

 

 

Treason

In the present world of lies and trickery, to whom we shall stand in this most challenging times?

 

To Elijah, he strongly stood on his ground. And Elijah said to Obadiah, “the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand..”

 

Elijah stood alone to confront Ahab and his 450 Baal prophets, including another 400 followers of Astoreth, a total of 850 false worshippers against one true prophet of God.

 

 



When Obadiah crossed path with Elijah, he recognized him right away and bowed to the ground as a gesture of respect but trembling in fear for his own life. Elijah, the topmost in the wanted list of Queen Jezebel was right before him. Any gesture of association with the most wanted man in the land of Israel would make anyone possibly an “enemy of the state.”

 

Seeing Elijah brought a sudden snap of his sinews in cowardice, Obadiah beggingly said, “What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? “(1 Kings 18:9)

 

While Elijah exposed himself an “enemy of the state,” Obadiah was in his comfort zone, secretly hiding under government-like immunity as “palace governor” of Ahab (1 Kings 18:3).


In verse 13, Obadiah was so defensive saying to Elijah, “Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD'S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? “

 

Did Obadiah commit  spiritual treason, as a believer of the God of Israel?

 

Even Jesus Christ became an “enemy of the state,” who have been arrested without fair trial, publicly made a spectacle for allegedly crime of sedition and treason.

 

 

 

 

Criminal or martyr?

Jesus was arrested on a charge of treason and was crucified, a common form of execution for condemned criminals. To the Romans, Jesus was a troublemaker who had got his just desserts, “The Roman Empire: In The 1st Century.”

 

When I asked the Malacanan Palace’s Chairman on Peace Process before 3,500 – 4,000 people in huge public forum this question, “Why is it our state is creating a state within a state, much more recognizing a CIA-dubbed, “international terror-group” creates a state within a state” that threatens the sovereignty of this nation, can you be charged with treason?” Presents that time, were DFA Secretary, four (4) diplomats from Indonesia, East Timor, Ireland, and from another state, including then Sen. Bong Bong Marcos, the Chair of Local Government Units (LGU’s).

 

She said, “It is only the state who can tell who can be charged with treason!” Fear engulfed every sinew of my being.

 

As the sayings goes, “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely,” no less from British historian, Lord Acton.

 

Again, my question is, did Obadiah commits treason hiding in the palace? Then why he was siding with King Ahab? Why Obadiah did not publicly speaks against the wicked leadership of Ahab and Jezebel while they wantonly killed the prophets of the Lord?

 

Is Obadiah an anti-God? Does he committed treason?

 

Immediately, the Scriptures answered me right away. Verse 3 says Obdaiah was " a true follower of the Lord." Then I remembered King David.

 

 

 

Hiding Place.

God is our hiding place.

 

David in his most troubled times ran away for fear of his life. He hid himself everywhere – deserts, pits, cave, valleys, name it.

 

He composed and sungs this song in Psalm 32:7, “ Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. ”

 

“ Hiding Place “ in Hebrew :”sether,” means “a  covering, shelter, hiding place, secrecy (of tongues being slanderous), protection, disguised.”

 

Look at the word, “disguised” like in the Greek word  “acton” the Greek word of actor or in disguised or hypocrite or masked.  

 

While Elijah was commanded by the Lord to go the open and exposed himself to Ahab, most  probably, the direction of the Lord to Obadiah could be the other way around. Calling are not the same.

 

There are many men and women of God who hid themselves for purpose just like Obadiah did.

 

 

People hid

There were people from the Scriptures who hid themselves for a reason.

 

  • Moses. Moseswas hidden by his mother for three months to spare his life from the hands of Pharaoh who commanded to every Hebrew midwives that every son of the Hebrew women must be killed (Exodus 1:20-22).. Again, Moses was hidden among the reeds or papyrus in the Nile River (Exodus 2:3)
  • David.He disguised himself as a mad-man. 1 Samuel 17:13 “So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. 
  • The babe. The babe Jesus was hidden as well.  

 Matthew 1:13, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and commanded him to hide Jesus and bring him to Egypt saying, "take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt." Flee (pheugo) to be saved by flight, to escape safely out from danger; to escape. “  So Joseph brought his wife, Mary with him including the babe Christ.To All mothers: when your sons and daughters have a calling and they are in great dangers, YOU TOO will be included for an escape and to be given a shelter of protection. .

  • Jesus.Even Jesus "did hide himself" (John 12:36)

Hide, Hid Defined

  • In Hebrew: The wordHid Hebrew "tsaphan" (tsaw-fan) means “ to head, to treasure, secret (-ly, place), to protect).”
  • In Greek: “ hide”in Greek "krupto"  means “to hide, to conceal, escape, keep secret, secret, covering.”  

 

Have you visited great museums? I visited a few, just like in Manila Museum and Palawan Museum. In other countries, like the Vatican Museum, London Museum, Louvre in Paris, Florence, the arts capital of the world.

 

In the museums, they collect, keep and secure priceless arts’ pieces and collections to protect them from art-thief or any other factor that exposes them to injury or destruction.

 

The Jews preserved “ancient sacred writings on papyrus” just like the Isaiah Scrolls. The scroll is written in Hebrew and contains the entire Book of Isaiah from beginning to end, apart from a few small damaged portions. It is the oldest complete copy of the Book of Isaiah, being approximately 1000 years older than the oldest Hebrew manuscripts known before the scrolls' discovery. Great Isaiah Scroll, is one of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls that were first discovered by Bedouin shepherds in 1946 from Qumran Cave. Source : Ulrich, Eugene; Flint, Peter W.; Abegg, Jr., Martin G. (2010).

Highly-treasured possessions are normally being kept with much confidentiality from public view. For example, the Gospel. Matthew 13:44, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field..”

 

So when God treasures something, He will protect it. So when God treasures you, He will hedge a wall a protection upon you as  Isaiah 49:16 says, “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. .”

 

 

Man-made
But there are man—made covering as well. When a sin or crime committed are being made secret just like when David commanded that his paramour’s husband will be exposed to the front line of the battlefield in order to die.   

 

Meanwhile Adam and Eve also did the same thing and concealed themselves with man- made covering, the "fig leaves". Genesis 3:7, “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. .”

 

 

 

Unlike God's covering to Adam and Eve, the Lord preferred permanent covering, "coats of skins. "  Genesis 3:21, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. ”

 

Coats Hebrew "kethoneth" garments, tunic, undergarments. Skins in Hebrew "or" means "skin,  or hide."

 

We often hide or conceal our weaknessness if not wickedness from the public view to shun public humiliation. But they are times that God will exposes them. Like David, God exposed his secret sins when he was rebuked by Nathan, a prophet for sleeping with another husband’s wife ((2 Sam. 12:12).

 

Mark 4:22/ NLT says, “22 For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light..”

 

But at the same time, God will provides us His spiritual covering  according to His grace and mercy as well.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. “

 

 

Apostle Peter said, “ Love shall cover the multitude of sins,” (1 Peter 4:8).

 

 

The word “cover” used here is from the Greek term “kalupto” meaning “to hide”. Because of God’s amazing grace, God can cover or hide our sins for a reason. In the same way, that God hide His treasured people for a reasons in the likes of Moses, not just hiding him among the reeds but allowing him to escape in the land of Midian as his temporary hiding place when he murdered an Egyptian (Exodus 2:15)  or Obadiah when he hid 100 prophets in two separate caves (1 Kings 18:13).  

 

 

The blood of Christ

We take Communion for a reason as a form of hiding place. The Blood of Christ is a rare protecitive gear for all of us.

 

Romans 3:25, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”

 

Propitiation (Greek) “ hilasterion” means “appeasing” or “placating” Strong: “Atoning victim, mercy seat,”  used as a cover of Ark of the Covenant 

 

 

When we take that Cup of Suffering, the anger of God is being appeased. In the same way, that God’s anger have been appeased when Adam and Eve sinned when blood poured upon the ground when “God make coats of skins, and clothed them. ”