Man is certainly in need of help. He is dependent on his environment, whatever
atheists may say. Indeed some of these godless people recant in the face of
death when their total and irreversible helplessness hits them in the face, Ps.
14:1. So for the vast majority of people living in various communities
worldwide some kind of god or another, provides them a support-base- at least
so they believe. In ancient Israel it was the Living God, or one of those gods,
the most prominent of which was Baal, I Kings 18:21-22.
In the contest that followed Baal and his prophets lost out woefully and so did
those who depended on it. The Living God proved Himself not just as the
source and author of life but also as a consuming fire, I Kings 18:25-40, Heb.
12:29. Those who depend on false gods and their prophets are on their own. But
those who earnestly seek the help of the Christian God will not be disappointed.
However it is not just in ancient Israel that there were gods. They have existed
all over the world, and still do, even in our time, though there is no life in them.
Yet Satan regularly expresses himself through their priests, I Sam. 28:7-14.
So why do men seek help from wherever they can get it? One major reason is
human weakness or insufficiency, what Paul the Apostle describes as the
problems that are “common to man…” I Cor. 10:13.
1. Poverty. One such challenge is poverty which ravages individuals and
communities, Deut. 15:11. The most problematic variety is the inherited
type which limits the horizon of the victims. Any offer of help, from
false priests and false prophets, are readily accepted even though it might
ultimately worsen their situation.
However when God is the source of help there is dramatic improvement
in the spiritual and material condition of the people. God raised help for
Elijah using the poor and hungry Widow of Zarepath. For agreeing to
share her last meal with the prophet, in exceptionally difficult
circumstances, God gave her a double miracle, I Kings 17:8-24. Similarly
a widow of one of the sons of the prophets, who was poor and in debt,
received divine help, when it was certain that her two sons would
otherwise be taken into slavery, by the creditors, 2 Kings 4:1-7.
2. Barrenness. It is the desire of most married couples to have children.
Africans, in particular, expect to reproduce themselves and thus delays in
child bearing is considered a curse much like the biblical Jews, I Sam.
1:5. Sarah like the traditional Yoruba women of Nigeria, even proposed
to her husband the adoption of a second wife, to allow for the emergence
of children she could call her own although this led to unforeseen
problems, Gen. 16:1-6, Gen. 30:1-5. For many families, then and now,
barrenness was a source of deep sorrow, especially for the wife and, very
often, a recourse to external help – to the god of fertility or the divine, I
Sam. 1:5-11, 19&20.
3. Incurable Disease. Certain types of disease are still beyond the realm of
scientific knowledge and skills. The Woman with the Issue of Blood
would certainly have bled to death if she had not obtained help from
Jesus, Matt. 9:20-22. Blind Bartimeaus was a well-known beggar and he
would have remained a begger for life if Jesus had not attended to him.
The fact is that blindness, in his day, was not treatable at all.
4. Satanic Oppression. The woman that Jesus released from satanic
slavery most probably never knew the source of her long-term ailment,
which would have left her crippled for life if Jesus, the helper of the
helpless, had not intervened, Luke 13:10-13. On the other hand if the
ruler of the synagogue had not rebuked Jesus, for breaking the law of the
Sabbath, neither the woman nor the rest of us, would have known that
satan was the author of her affliction Luke 13:15&16.
From the foregoing it is clear that help is available to those who need it,
above or below. You can receive help from other people either because
they have a giving-heart or they too expect to get from you when they are
in need. Even then human help is limited, Ps. 60:11.
Satan also offers help to those who patronize him – people who seek
power, position or wealth although, in the end, life for them ends in
misery, Job. 21:7-17.
But divine help is honest and true. When Jesus says “Ask and it shall be
given to you….” He means what He says, Matt. 7:7. Very often, though,
divine help is not unconditional. You cannot serve God and mammon and
yet expect God to come to your aid when you need Him, Lk. 16:13. That
will not happen. But He is more than generous to those who obey and
serve Him. Gen. 22:15-18.