The NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 18th – Sunday 24th May 2026
SELECTIVE BLINDNESS
Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel (Gen. 49:5-7).
In Gen. 49, Jacob gathered his sons around his deathbed and made prophetic declarations over each of them. Upon some, he pronounced blessings; upon others, a curse. Simeon and Levi jointly received a lashing from their father, and a curse to the effect that they would be “scattered” in Israel. It might not have been unconnected with the slaughter of the Shechemites in Gen. 34:25. Thus, instead of a blessing, Levi earned for himself a curse.
The tribe of Levi carried this curse for over four hundred years, during the entire sojourn of Israel in Egypt and through the wilderness, until Exodus 32. At Mount Sinai, after Aaron had led the people into the idolatry of worshipping the golden calf, Moses, in fury, wanted to execute judgment on the idolaters, and called out, "Who is on the Lord's side?" The tribe of Levi responded. They were directed to take up swords against their idolatrous brethren, "and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men" (Ex. 32:26-28).
The instruction from God was clear. They were to slay their “brothers," “companions”, and “neighbours”. It was judgment as fierce as the wrath of God. Only the sons of Levi responded and executed God’s judgment upon the transgressors. By that act of uncompromising obedience, the tribe of Levi redeemed itself from a curse that had lasted over four hundred years. They became the anointed tribe in the land. In fact, Levi became " the portion of the Lord" in the land. In Num. 18:20-21, the Lord said to Aaron, "Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel. And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation".
The tribe that was under a curse suddenly became the tribe preferred by God. All the other tribes worked for Levi. After their labour in the fields, ten percent of their income went to Levi. Only Levi could touch the holy things of God, and it was the only tribe permitted to enter the Holy of Holies. The most precious item of God in the land was the Ark of the Covenant and only Levi could carry it. What was responsible for the transformation from curses to blessings? God provides the answer in Deut. 33:8-9: " And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant." When it came to defending the holiness and righteousness of God, Levi neither looked at faces nor considered relationships. How he treated the external enemies of God was how he treated the internal enemies. As far as Levi was concerned, an enemy of God was an enemy of God, irrespective of where he was found. That was the unflinching commitment that turned an ancient curse into an eternal blessing.
Interestingly, when Israel fought the Amalekites in Exodus 17, none of the tribes, including Levi, was commended. But when Israel sinned, the only tribe that rose to execute judgment on the sinners in Israel received God’s “covenant of peace” (Mal. 2:4-5). According to this Bible passage, Levi acted the way he did because, despite his ruthlessness, he feared God. That fear propelled him to Godly obedience irrespective of whom the Israelite sinner was. The same zeal for God’s honour and glory was demonstrated in another descendant of Levi, Phinehas, in Num. 25:6-8. Phinehas killed the Israelite who brought a woman of Midian into the camp to sleep with her. That ruthlessness stopped the plague that had broken out amongst the people. Again, God blessed Phinehas and gave him "a covenant of everlasting priesthood."
Levi recognized the darkness outside and the darkness within Israel and executed judgment on both. He did not, out of personal relationship, pretend that he did not see the Israelites who offended God. In effect, Levi was not selectively blind. He did not open his eyes to against Shechem in Gen. 34:25 while he closed the eyes to the idolatrous Israelites at mount Sinai in Exodus 32.
This is a lesson that Christians in Nigeria need to learn. The enemies of God are both within and outside the Church. In fact, the category of enemies of God responsible for God’s wrath upon Nigeria are those in the Church. They are the enemies that God expects Christians to execute judgment upon, like the sons of Levi, in demonstration of zeal for the Lord. Unfortunately, most Christians prefer to pamper and indulge the enemies of God within the Church while they call down God’s judgment on the enemies of God outside the Church.
God’s specific instructions to the Church on this matter is clearly stated in the New Testament. Regrettably, they are rarely followed.
1 Cor. 5:12-13: "For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person." The day Christians start obeying this command, the healing of the land would commence. The saints are commanded to judge evil doers within the Church, while God would judge the evil doers outside the Church. It is not God that will judge the evil doers in the Church. That has been given to the saints. Peter judged Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5: 5, while Paul judged Hymenaeus and Alexander in 1 Tim. 1:20. Instead of judging evil within the Church, Nigeria Christians call on God to judge politicians, terrorists, bandits, and all manners of criminals outside the Church. Meanwhile, they continue to honour, adulate, and in some instances, “worship” the offenders within the Church. That is selective blindness. Christians see the evils going on outside the Church, but pretend to be blind to the evils within the Church. When their attention is drawn to the terrible things going on in the Church, they call on God to have mercy on those sinners and to give them more wisdom. Why do Christians do this? It is because many Christians curry favour from those they regard as “powerful” and “successful” within the Church, rarely considering that most of them are not on the Lord’s side.
Another Bible passage worthy of reference is Eph. 5:11-13: "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light." The call of God on Christians is to expose and judge every work of darkness, primarily within the Church. It is when Christians do this that they are recognized by heaven as children of light. When Christians apply selective blindness to the evils going on in the Church, they send a signal that they are children of darkness. This is because darkness will not expose darkness. Only light exposes darkness. " Whatever makes manifest is light" (Eph. 5:13). The Bible says in
1 Timothy 5:20, " Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear." If Christians had been obeying this command, corruption, immorality, and idolatry in the Church would have greatly reduced. Unfortunately, many Christians would rather condemn and vilify politicians and the criminals of the world, while they protect their spiritual leaders from exposure and judgment. When Christians do not judge evil “within” the Church, God will not judge the evil “outside”. That is why the land is in distress. The day Christians judge the evils in the Church, every evil politician will disappear. The selective blindness of the Christians is delaying the deliverance of Nigeria.
Some Christians justify tolerance for evil doers in the Church by misinterpreting Rom. 14:4 "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand." When the Law of Context is applied to that Bible verse, it is not an instruction for Christians to tolerate liars, thieves, traitors, and occult people in the Church. The context of that statement is in relations to individual preferences in matters of fasting and eating. In 1 Cor. 5:11, we read, "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat."
Darkness is ravaging the land, but that darkness persists because Christians refuse to judge the darkness in the Church. Consequently, the Church and the land have come under God’s judgment. "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged" (1 Cor. 11:31). The evils going on in the Church are not hidden. Unfortunately, no one is executing judgment. The situation in the Church is like that in Judges 17:6 & 21:25: "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes". The household of God cannot be left in such disarray yet expect favour from heaven. The Church must consciously build structures to demand accountability from Christians, particularly those in leadership. The selective blindness of Christians is affecting the entire country.
God is calling Nigeria Christians to genuine repentance. Forsake selective obedience and put the sanctuary in order so that healing can come upon Nigeria. This is the accepted time. We are in the season of salvation. God bless Nigeria.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Is. 42:18-20
Pray that God will deliver Nigeria Christians from spiritual blindness so that they can see evil the way God sees it.
2. Ps. 18:28
Pray spiritual light upon the Nigeria Church, so it can see the way out of the present darkness in the country.
3. Eph. 5:11-13
Pray for the light of God to expose every work of darkness in Nigeria Church.
4. Mal. 3:2-3
Pray that God will stir the spirit of Nigeria Christians to reject the corruption and serial betrayals in the Church, and judge all who are involved.
5. 1 Cor. 11:31
Pray for grace and understanding for Nigeria Christians to commence judgment on evil doers within the Church.
6. Jud. 17:6
Pray that God will raise a credible spiritual leader for the Nigeria Church, who shall restore orderliness and reverence for God.
7. Acts 5:9-11
Pray that the fear of the Lord shall be restored in the Church. Amen
