You guyyysss, you know how much I love my villains but guys, the real set of villains walk amongst us because why did I just get this disturbing news about human beings burning another human being because he stole, in 2024! It so upsetting I don’t even know what to think. 🤦🏾♀️
I hope you are not being a villain o, abeg. Be kind, hold up goodness and don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want done to you or your loved ones. How will the family of that dude take the news? How are they going to survive the trauma? Because of what? Thievery? That is the order of day in Nigeria? I mean, Fiji, through ’Fisayo Soyombo has been revealing for six weeks now the many ways Nigerian Customs Services is our opp with all the corruption in the organization and no one is taking any (drastic or otherwise) action but a common thief on the streets deserved to die by being burnt alive. Kmt. 🚶🏾♀️
I don’t even know if I want to continue with this villain series just in the case that I am encouraging somebody’s bad behavior.
That is why today, we would be envying a harmless villain, Eliab.
Eliab was introduced to us in 1 Samuel 16 as the first son of Jesse. He was a fine, fit, man that could have easily passed for a king in his appearance. Samuel liked him, I might have too but sadly, God didn’t like him for the throne and He didn’t mince His words about His choice.
…Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him…
1 Samuel 16 verses 6 and 7
That would sting and I can only imagine how dude felt in that moment.
You know what stung more? He wasn’t passed on for his immediate younger brother or the one after that one; he was passed on for his baby brother. Eliab washed this boy’s bum, took him to his first tabernacle event, taught him how to shoot a sling, how to be a shepherd, how to be a man. And now he wasn’t good enough? Eliab made David but the little stink was still preferred over him!
…“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes. And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”…
1 Samuel 16 verses 11 and 12
I would like to mention at this point that this was a trend in Israel though, firstborn sons weren’t exactly ‘worthy’ for anything outside of being sacrifices to God, cc God saving their lives at the last plague in Egypt. And there is also the Bible trend of the first being the last and the last the first – God loves His paradox.
Well it was the will of God and Samuel had poured the oil over his head. You can’t exactly touch or beef the Lord’s anointed now, could you? And so Eliab took it in stride and focused on the one thing he was good at – warfare. He dedicated his time and skill to Saul’s army and kept it moving.
Now tell him why he is hearing rumors of his brother, the same brother that has taken his place, sniffing around the camp trying to steal his shine? What kind of baby brother was this?
As with anyone, Eliab wasn’t please and he was quick to dismiss David.
But when … Eliab, heard David talking to the men, he was angry. “What are you doing around here anyway?” he demanded. “What about those few sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!”…
1 Samuel 17 verse 28
Often times when this story is told, asides fromthe fact that David is still the star of the tale 🙄, Eliab is painted as the wannabe destiny blocker. He is described as the one who almost discouraged David from killing Goliath and we are advised to not listen to the Eliab’s in our lives and ensure we weren’t pulling an Eliab on the people around us.
However, writing this today, something strikes me about him. He was a man of order.
Eliab knew his place and expected everyone to know theirs. David’s place was the position of the last son and so he didn’t deserve to be picked over his seven other brothers. David’s job was also to manage their father’s flocks and ensure that the animals were well taken care of and not on the battle field. And Eliab was only trying to enforce this order.
If everything on earth followed an order, there wouldn’t be chaos.
And I get that it was the will of God to bring David into his journey as the man after His heart but clock this. If David had followed the order of things, Saul wouldn’t have had to pursue him for the several years he was on the run for. Man didn’t even enjoy his rule because from the moment he came into that season, it was from one battle to the other. If he had stayed in the fields and minded his place as a shepherd, he could have avoided the drama his life turned out to be.
I am not trying to rewrite the Bible, before y’all come for my head. All I am saying is that Eliab had a point; a valid one.
And this is why today, I want you to learn that it is okay to have a structured order that keeps things a certain way and even more okay to be rigid with this order. If you have your plans and your life structured and you stick to the structure, you are well on the way to being a solid man.
If everything on earth followed an order, there wouldn’t be chaos.
I conclude today’s piece by saying, be an Eliab. Put things in place and make sure they stay in their place.
Shalom. ✌🏾✌🏾
Catch y’all next week. I might be in the mood to envy someone scandalous or maybe move on completely for bad behavior, who knows 🤭💀
Life of Juuju 