Daily Devotional
The Ziba’s In Your Life!
Text: 2 Samuel 16:3-4
“Then the king said, “And where is your master’s son? and Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me. So the king said to Ziba, “Here, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours. And Ziba said, “I humbly bow before you, that I may find favor in your sight, my lord, O king!”
Message
In Biblical Names Ziba means Army; fight; strength.
Ziba, the chief servant of the house of Saul, has fifteen sons and twenty servants and was among the thousand other men from the tribe of Benjamin that were with David when he was running away from his son, Absalom rebellion.
Ziba later Mephiboset servant was a false servant in fact, an opportunist; always looking for every opportunity to profit himself and his family. He had no qualms about lying in order to make himself appear to be a loyal subject worthy of David’s benevolence. For instance Ziba made David believe that his master Mephibosheth willingly remained in the city in the hope that the throne would be restored to him. Consequently David transferred all of Mephibosheth’s possessions to Ziba on the spot, as it was customary for kings to do with a rebel’s property ( 2 Sam.16:3).
I ask, are you aware of the Ziba in your life?
It is your duty to pray that God expose, shame, disgrace and disappoint the Ziba’s of your life.
Truth is you are duty bond to be aware and to take necessary precaution as not to further Ziba’s assignments in your life.
The Ziba in your life are your unfriendly friends. They are the opportunist; always looking for every opportunity to profit themselves and their family at your expense.
Ziba’s have no qualms about lying in order to make themselves appear to be a loyal subject worthy of your benevolence.
Ziba’s are sheep’s in wolves clothings. They are everywhere with you in the day and everywhere dining with your enemies at night while you are asleep, snoring. They are around you to give you a blow of no recovery.
The Ziba’s are your ‘property’, “servants” and “opportunist”. They are givers with hidden agendas. They have lying tongues and lies about and on everything like their father and master, Satan.
The Ziba’s attends every meeting so as to thwart everything or turn the table upside down where and when you are the topic to be mentioned, discussed or favoured. They are just on assignment to spoil and abort your joy.
Ziba’s are the bad mouth surrounding your helpers as to speak evil against you when it matters.
The Ziba’s know your wit ends, locations, secrets, weakness, challenges, hurdles, phase and next step and will be ready to press their evil button so long as it will truncate and bring you disgrace, shame and dishonour.
The Ziba’s are no distance to you. No, they are your regular familiar friend and faces, dependants and so called friends. They are friends you’ve chosen but have in turn chosen you as their sworn enemies. For this reason they will not eat food or drink until they carry out their mission unless you by God’s power root them out of your life before you are damaged.
Ziba’s mission is to deny you your place, space, marriage, family, ministry, wealth, joy, peace, settlement, position, location, power, property, possessions, promotion, prosperity etc.
Ziba’s are short and most probable long time acquaintance and co-worker out to get back at you to take what you have, and which you did not get from them. They want you to pay for food and drinks you or your generation have not eaten.
Truth is the Ziba’s knows when you are weak, fainting, vulnerable or exhausted by life experience and strikes when their iron is hot!
Ziba’s will despite the inspired God’s immeasurable love to you and your heart to them shut the gate of mercy against you suddenly even when themselves may become victim in a way that no one can explain.
Ziba’s can and will snap shut within the twinkling of an eye your God giving heart of over flowing human kindness.
Why?
As Proverbs 29:1 says, because “He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy”.
While true that many a time when the gate of kindness makes an attempt to snap shut, God’s love will push it open again, but a time would come when it will snap shut and nothing can open it again. So root the Ziba’s out of your life now before it is too late!
Ziba’s cannot and will not be satisfied. Little or big is always not enough to them. They want to have it all and leave you in the red. They never will reciprocate your kindness, care, love, compassion the same or near same way that you have been kind to them.
The Zibas want to unlawfully share your inheritance with you that is if they can’t get all. They want you as their lawful captive or as a prey of the mighty. God will in his mercy deliver you from them all. Amen.
In 2 Samuel 9:2-13 the gate of mercy propelled by God made David to remember Jonathan’s kindness. “There was a servant named Ziba from Saul’s family. David’s servants called Ziba to David. King David said to Ziba, “Are you Ziba?” Ziba said, “Yes, I am your servant Ziba.” The king said, “Is there anyone left in Saul’s family?”
Sadly in 2 Samuel 16:1 (NIV), we read, ” When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.”
In this passage we find David being met once again by someone whom he is familiar with, Ziba who at one time had been king Saul’s servant. When both Saul and Jonathan had died Ziba and his family became Mephibosheth’s servants; for Mephibosheth was Saul’s grandson, Jonathan’s son.”
True the Lord said He does not want the destruction of a sinner and His mercy endures forever; but the door of kindness gets shut when abused and warned several times, but we wouldn’t listen. It is then of God to shut the door against the Ziba’s of your life.
What are you doing with the Ziba’s in your life?
Remember the story of the fruitless tree in Luke 13:6-9? God said, “For three years I have examined this tree and done everything I could for it, yet it bore no fruit; I will cut it down”. Mercy said, “Give it another chance, another year, to see what happens; if it still doesn’t bring forth fruit, You can then cut it”.
Truth is Ziba’s care not about God. They treat each second as their last chance to harm you.
They care not for they are incensed and the shutting of the gate of kindness (mercy) against them means nothing to them. So surrender the Ziba’s in your life completely to Jesus Christ now before it is too late. The battle is of thy Lord and He will fight for you.
Shut out the Ziba’s before it is too late.
Shalom