May 2020 | Page 11

www.bymonline.org | May 2020 | page 11 S. Mohanakrishnan, Missionary, Mysuru Men, like Abraham, who pleaded before the Lord by gradually bringing down the count of righteous from 50 to 10 (Gen 18:27-33) in order to save the city from God's wrath. Men who will plead for the salvation of the whole world with the righteousness of Christ as their cause (Ps 106: 23). Men who will go to any heights to prove their obedience to God like Abraham and Jephthah (Gen 22:12, Jdg 11:34). Men who will choose holiness instead of momentary pleasure and bring about the redemption of many, like Joseph (Gen 39:12; 50:20). Men like Joshua, who are bold to challenge an entire nation to serve the Lord as he and his family did (Jos 24:15). Women like Deborah, who rose as a mother for Israel and went out (as a single lady) to fight the war with Barak, when people were following strange gods (Jdg 4:9; 5:7,8). Men like Gideon, who cannot live a complacent life in slavery, who question, “If God is with us, then why are we in this situation?”, who work behind the scenes to protect what they have, who remove the high places of false gods and replace it with an altar for the living God, who seek signs and win a battle with just a handful of men and renounce to rule the people by pointing them to the Sovereign King (Jdg 6:11,13,27,37-40; 7:7, 8:23). Men fervent like Moses and Barak, who were not willing to move one step forward without the Presence of God and the servant of God (Ex 33:15; Jdg 4:8). Men bold like Elijah, who stood as a solitary man before king Ahab who was leading the people astray. He stopped the rain, challenged the 450 prophets of Baal, brought down fire and made the people to confess, “The Lord, He is God. The Lord, He is God” (1 Ki 17:1; 18:18,39-40). Men who desire and receive a double portion like Elisha, who started his ministry with, “Where is the God of Elijah?” and finished with double the miracles (2 Ki 2:6,9, 10,14). Men who gained the knowledge of Scripture and laboured to transfer it to people who perish without it, like Ezra (Is 5:13, Hos 4:6, Ez 7:10). Men with holy anger like Ezra and Nehemiah, who inflicted pain upon themselves and the offenders for their heinous act (Ezr 9:3, Neh 13:25). Man who lament over the sins of their people,