Matthew 13:24. TPT Then Jesus taught them another
parable: “Heaven’s kingdom realm can be compared to a farmer who planted good
seed in his field. 25. But at night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came
and planted poisonous weeds among the wheat and ran away. 26. When the wheat
sprouted and bore grain, the weeds also appeared. 27. So the farmer’s hired
hands came to him and said, ‘Sir, wasn’t that good seed that you sowed in the
field? Where did all these weeds come from?’ 28. “He answered, ‘This has to be
the work of an enemy!’ “They replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather up all
the weeds?’ 29. “ ‘No,’ he said. ‘If you pull out the weeds you might
uproot the wheat at the same time.30. You must allow them both to grow together
until the time of harvest. At that time, I’ll tell my harvesters to make sure
they gather the weeds first and tie them all in bundles to be burned. Then they
will harvest the wheat and put it into my barn.’ ”
This scripture can be viewed
from two different perspectives. First, it talks about the enemies’ activities
in the life of men, when they are asleep. Secondly, it gives an illustration of
what will happen at the End Time, which is the dispensation we are in now. True
believers and unbelievers shall be seen growing and living together in one
place, and we shall not be able to differentiate them. But at the last day,
there shall be a separation. Our focus for this study, however, shall be on the
first perspective.
Sleep here in the physical
state, is to lay down to rest and oftentimes, you get some dreams. Sleep can
also be viewed as a spiritual state of slumberness. The second thing to
consider is the enemy and there are certain things to note about his mode of
operations. Micah 7:6 tells us that a man’s enemies are members of his own
household. This means that oftentimes, the person who sows the evil seed is
well known to the victim.
Micah 7:5 NKJV Do not
trust in a friend; Do not put your confidence
in a companion; Guard the doors of your
mouth From her who lies in your bosom. 6 For son dishonors father,Daughter rises
against her mother, Daughter-in-law against
her mother-in-law; A man’s enemies are the
men of his own household. 7 Therefore
I will look to the Lord; I
will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.
Similarly today, some of the
problems we experience are introduced by persons well known to us.
The second thing about the enemy’s mode of operation is that he comes in
to do evil, when the victim is unaware. Many people, today, wake up and
discover a problem because the enemy sneaked in and planted a seed.
