Rev. Dr. Kayode Ilupeju

Paul, in his letter to the Romans said, “4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). It is in the light of the above statement that we can be confident that the Word of God has solution to present-day problems in the life of individuals, families, and nations. We celebrated the 57th anniversary of our nation’s independence last Sunday but in the midst of heightened concern for the security and unity of the nation and increasing economic hardships and environmental degradation. The temptation that we often face is to consider these problems as mere social, economic or political problems and by so doing we attempt to find solutions to them on those plains as well. However, the time has come for us to begin to see these problems as symptoms of a more fundamental problem, namely, evidence of the wrath of God poured out upon individuals, families, and nations, because of their sins. One of the several passages that buttress this position is Judges 6. From it, we see many similarities between the experience of the Israelites and that of believers today

Daniel was deeply concerned about the future of his dear people and their painful suffering under Babylonian rule. For over seventy years, the Jews had been exiled in Babylon. Throughout those years, Daniel had seen his people broken, discouraged, suffering, and at times overcome by a spirit of hopelessness. Now, as an aged man, he did the only thing he could do to help them: he turned to the Lord. He sought answers from God concerning his people and begged God for their restoration through the Scriptures and prayer. But how did Daniel go about seeking God for the restoration of his people? First, Daniel studied the Scriptures in the first year of the reign of Darius, the new Persian ruler of Babylon (539-538 B.C.). Daniel read Jeremiah 25:1-14 which explains why the Jews had been exiled to Babylon.

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