Omoluabi Podcast

PROVERB CONSIDERED: "Bí Ṣàǹgó bá ńpa àràbà, tó ńpa ìrókò, bíi tigi ńlá kọ́."

INTERPRETATION: "Even though Ṣango kills the silk-cotton tree and kills the ìrókò tree, no such fate can befall the huge tree."

MEANING: This proverb is often said as a boast which is supposedly based on the assurance that the person being referred to is mightier than anyone in the vicinity who others consider to be mighty.

BIBLICAL REFLECTION: We considered this proverb from a few perspectives.

BIBLE VERSES CITED:

Psalm 91:7 (NIV) says "A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you."

The entirety of Psalm 95 (TPT)

PROVERB CONSIDERED: "Kò sí kò sí; bẹ́ẹ̀ni ọmọ wọn ńyó."

INTERPRETATION: "‘‘We have nothing, we have nothing!’’ Yet their children always have full stomachs."

MEANING: This proverb is often said of those who are too stingy and too tightfisted to help others. They have enough, but when others come to them for help, they claim not to have. In spite of their claim to be in lack, however, everything points to the fact that they actually do have. (For instance, their 'children' never go hungry; their stomachs are always full!)

BIBLICAL REFLECTION: We considered this proverb from a few perspectives.

BIBLE VERSES CITED:

ỌMỌLÚÀBÍ PODCAST | EPISODE 014

PROVERB CONSIDERED: "Bí èèyàn-án bá ṣeun ká sọ pé ó ṣeun; bí èèyàn-án bá ṣèèyàn ká sọ pé ó ṣèèyàn; nítorípé, ohun tí a ṣe, ó yẹ kó gbeni."

INTERPRETATION: "If a person deserves gratitude, we should acknowledge that he deserves gratitude; if a person is kindly, we should acknowledge that he is kindly, because we all ought to reap the rewards of our actions."

MEANING: The idea is simply that we should readily acknowledge and accord gratitude to those who are due of it. We emphasised the need for us to include such phrases like "Thank You" in our default day-to-day language and the need to be immediate in our show of gratitude (like the Good Samaritan did not delay in showing love to the wonder Jewish man he helped in spite of the rift that had been between Samaritans and Jews for many generations.) 

BIBLICAL APPLICATION

Here, Paul stresses the need for us to give "double honour" to those who God is using to teach us God's Word and lead us in the things of God, thus facilitating our growth. By being good at what they do, such pastors and leaders deserve an intentional show of (double) honour from us to them, and God will bless us as we do so.

ỌMỌLÚÀBÍ PODCAST | EPISODE 013

PROVERB CONSIDERED: "Ọ̀kánjúwà-á bu òkèlè, ojù ẹ̀-ẹ́ lami."

INTERPRETATION: "A greedy person takes a morsel of food, and tears gush from his eyes." The idea is that greed will cause someone to go for a morsel of food that is evidently too big for him/her to swallow without pain or effort.

MEANING: Greed can lead to tremendous pain. If anyone bites more than he/she can chew and chooses to force himself/herself to swallow rather than spit out the excess, such a person has set himself/herself up for the pains their greed will attract.

BIBLICAL APPLICATION: The Bible is full of warnings against greed and covetousness right from Eve's desire for the forbidden fruit onwards to many other examples. A notable example in the bible would be David's affair with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). David had multiple opportunities to have stopped himself from going further and further into sin with Bathsheba, but rather than admit that he had bitten more than he can chew, he kept forcing that morsel down his throat by going to any length to cover his sin (even to the point of murdering Bathsheba's husband, Uriah!).

The admonition of the proverb is to remind us that rather than allow greed's cousin (pride) to lead us into avoidable pain when we've bitten more than we can chew, we should simply admit that we have indeed bitten more than we can chew and simply get rid of the excess.

ỌMỌLÚÀBÍ PODCAST | EPISODE 012

PROVERB CONSIDERED: "Ẹni tí kò ní igi obì kì í léso."

INTERPRETATION: "Whoever does not have a kola-nut tree cannot have its fruits." In other words, to be in possession of kola-nuts must be preceded by being in possession of a kola-nut tree. Or, to say it yet another way, having a kola-nut tree is the prerequisite to having kola-nuts (the fruits from the tree).

MEANING: 

Unless one owns the means of production, one cannot claim the product. To make it clearer with a random example, you cannot lay claims to "Goodness Bread" if you are not the owner of "Goodness Bakery". Yes, you may buy "Goodness Bread" from the market, but your ownership of the bread is limited to the few loaves you bought, and even while you have it, it remains "Goodness Bread" not "Joseph Bread" [if your name is 'Joseph', for example].

BIBLICAL APPLICATION

We unpacked this using 2 imageries from the Bible:

1. The Fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)

The 9 virtues that Paul lists in Galatians 5:22-23 as "the Fruit of the Spirit" can seem like the sort of virtues you can find even in unbelievers. It is not only Christians who are loving, peaceful, kind, patient or self-controlled. However, the true essence of these fruits can ONLY be found in the life of someone who possesses the Spirit of God Whom produces these fruity manifestations. It is just like what the bible says about self-righteousness — no matter the level of righteousness anyone may claim to have apart from God, such righteousness will always be "filthy rags" before the Father.

2. The Vine, the Branches and their Fruits (John 15:1-5)

When Jesus calls Himself the Vine in John 15 and calls those who believe in Him "the branches which bear fruits..." He goes on to say specifically in verse 5 that "... apart from me you can’t do a thing." So, for us to be able to do anything God-pleasing; it must be preceded by our possession of Him as He possesses us.

✥ Galatians 5:22-23 TLB — "But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; and here there is no conflict with Jewish laws."

✥ John 15:1-5 TLB — “I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener. He lops off every branch that doesn’t produce. And he prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops. He has already tended you by pruning you back for greater strength and usefulness by means of the commands I gave you. Take care to live in me, and let me live in you. For a branch can’t produce fruit when severed from the vine. Nor can you be fruitful apart from me. “Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can’t do a thing."

✥ John 4:10,14 TPT — "Jesus replied, “If you only knew who I am and the gift that God wants to give you, you’d ask me for a drink, and I would give you living water.” . . . For when you drink the water I give you, it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, flooding you with endless life!”"

Summarily, don't seek the fruit; seek to possess the tree!

ỌMỌLÚÀBÍ PODCAST | EPISODE 011

PROVERB CONSIDERED: "Bí ìdí ìkokò kò bá dá a lójú, kì í gbé egungun mì."

INTERPRETATION: "If the wolf does not have faith in its anus, it does not swallow bones." In other words, the wolf wouldn't dare to eat the kind of thing it wouldn't be able to digest and pass out as excreta effortlessly. 

MEANING: One should not attempt a thing whose repercussions one cannot withstand. There is wisdom in knowing ourselves and knowing our limitations lest we dabble into things for which we are not capable of withstanding the repercussions and consequences. So it's a proverb of caution regarding repercussions.

BIBLICAL APPLICATION

Summarily, we should know who we are in Christ as well as acknowledge our uniqueness in Him and our limitations as He leads us.

ỌMỌLÚÀBÍ PODCAST | EPISODE 010

PROVERB CONSIDERED: "Ká ròhìn ẹni ò tó ká bá ẹni bẹ́ẹ̀"

INTERPRETATION: "To have people say good things about someone is nothing like getting to meet and know the person firsthand and find those secondary reports to be true." In other words, nothing beats getting to know someone on a firsthand basis.

MEANING & BIBLICAL APPLICATION: We thought of this from both our human-to-human relationships and our relationship with God. Biblical examples given include: 

May we be the kind of people who relate with people—and with God—based on our firsthand experience, and not merely by what others say about them.

PROVERB CONSIDERED: "Bí ebí bá kúrò nínú ìṣẹ́, ìṣẹ́ bùṣe"

INTERPRETATION: "If hunger is removed from poverty, poverty comes to an end." In other words, whoever has food to eat is not poor.

MEANING: A need for sustenance (through food) takes precedence over every other need we may have. As such, if we will take Jesus' invitation seriously to come and feed on Him (He being the "Bread of life"), we will have the sustenance we need to face every single day.

TEXTS FOR SCRIPTURAL REFLECTION: John 6:35; Psalm 23:1

✰ John 6:35 New King James Version (NKJV) - "And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."

✰ John 6:35 The Passion Translation (TPT) - "Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life. Come every day to me and you will never be hungry. Believe in me and you will never be thirsty."

✰ Psalm 23:1 Common English Bible (CEB) - "The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing."

ỌMỌLÚÀBÍ PODCAST | EPISODE 008

PROVERB CONSIDERED: "Ẹni tó mọ ẹtu ní ńkì í ní ‘‘òbèjé, ẹlẹ́sẹ̀ọwọ̀.’’"

INTERPRETATION: "It is someone who knows the duiker intimately who can recite its praise, ‘‘spindle-legged duiker.’’"

MEANING: Only those deeply knowledgeable about their profession (or about anything for that matter) are able to profoundly express their knowledge and appreciation for the profession (or thing).

TEXTS FOR SCRIPTURAL REFLECTION: Daniel 8:32b; Matthew 5:16

✰ Daniel 8:32b New King James Version (NKJV) - "...the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits."

✰ Matthew 5:16 New King James Version (NKJV) - "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

ỌMỌLÚÀBÍ PODCAST | EPISODE 007

PROVERB CONSIDERED: "Ilé bo ilé lójú; òrùlé bo àjà mọ́lẹ̀; awọ fẹ́ẹ́rẹ́ bo inú kò jẹ́ká ríkùn aṣeni"

INTERPRETATION: One house obscures another; the roof conceals the ceiling; a thin layer of skin covers the stomach, making it impossible to see through an evildoer. 

MEANING: One cannot discern a person’s character, motives or intentions by simply looking on the outward appearance.

TEXTS FOR SCRIPTURAL REFLECTION: 1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Corinthians 12:10; Job 32:8

✰ 1 Samuel 16:7 New King James Version (NKJV) - "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”"

✰ 1 Corinthians 12:10 New King James Version (NKJV) - "to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues."

✰ Job 32:8 King James Version (KJV) - "But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding."