Thursday January 29th, 2026
« Don’t fool yourselves. Bad friends will destroy you »
1 Now David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Amnon, her half brother, fell desperately in love with her.
2 Amnon became so obsessed with Tamar that he became ill. She was a virgin, and Amnon thought he could never have her.
3 But Amnon had a very crafty friend—his cousin Jonadab. He was the son of David’s brother Shimea.
4 One day Jonadab said to Amnon, “What’s the trouble? Why should the son of a king look so dejected morning after morning?” So Amnon told him, “I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”
5 “Well,” Jonadab said, “I’ll tell you what to do. Go back to bed and pretend you are ill. When your father comes to see you, ask him to let Tamar come and prepare some food for you. Tell him you’ll feel better if she prepares it as you watch and feeds you with her own hands.”
6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. And when the king came to see him, Amnon asked him, “Please let my sister Tamar come and cook my favorite dish as I watch. Then I can eat it from her own hands.”
7 So David agreed and sent Tamar to Amnon’s house to prepare some food for him.
8 When Tamar arrived at Amnon’s house, she went to the place where he was lying down so he could watch her mix some dough. Then she baked his favorite dish for him.
9 But when she set the serving tray before him, he refused to eat. “Everyone get out of here,” Amnon told his servants. So they all left.
10 Then he said to Tamar, “Now bring the food into my bedroom and feed it to me here.” So Tamar took his favorite dish to him.
11 But as she was feeding him, he grabbed her and demanded, “Come to bed with me, my darling sister.”
12 “No, my brother!” she cried. “Don’t be foolish! Don’t do this to me! Such wicked things aren’t done in Israel.
13 Where could I go in my shame? And you would be called one of the greatest fools in Israel. Please, just speak to the king about it, and he will let you marry me.”
14 But Amnon wouldn’t listen to her, and since he was stronger than she was, he raped her.
Today, I will continue the discussion I started yesterday on the factors that can hinder a person’s progress.
Sometimes, the wall hindering your progress could be someone you have a relationship with.
Many people don’t know it, but sometimes, even the people you love may be a hindrance to your progress.
In Genesis 12:1-5, Abraham took Lot with him when God called him to leave his family behind and go to a place that He would show him.
However, it wasn’t until Lot separated from him in Genesis 13:14-17 that God spoke and showed him the land He had promised.
- The spiritual authority an individual submits to can also hinder this person’s progress, 1 Kings 13:1-24.
This is why you must carefully choose your spiritual father or mentor with the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
John 15:20 says that the servant cannot be greater than the master.
Whomever you choose to be your master will determine how far you can go.
Prayerfully choose someone who is constantly growing so that there won’t be a limit to your progress.
Another kind of person that can be a wall of Jericho that is hindering your progress is your friend.
- To a great extent, those you call your friends will determine how far you will go in life.
This was why Solomon warned his son in Proverbs 1:10-15 not to keep company with certain kinds of friends.
When I became born again, one of the first things I did was to change my friends. It was painful, but if I had remained in their company, I would never have come this far in life.
Amnon would have lived a long and good life as a son of David, but he ended up badly because he had the wrong friend.
In 2 Samuel 13:3, the Bible says,
« But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab »
There are some people who pose as friends but are actually like the wall of Jericho.
If you have such friends, stay away from them because they are enemies of progress.
If you have a friend who you only gossip with, but you never pray or discuss the Bible, that friend will become a hindrance to your progress.
If you have friends whose pieces of advice are always contrary to what the Bible says and are always encouraging you to reduce your dedication to God,
such friends are a wall of Jericho between you and God’s perfect plan for your life.
Beloved, please run away from such friends.
Prayer focus – Father, please help me to stay away from friends that will hinder my progress in life, in Jesus’ name.
Application – Through fasting and prayer, ask God for grace to get rid of all your personal Jericho walls.
Author – Bishop Enoch Adejare Adeboye; General Overseer of the RCCG
Posted by Naomie Joseph
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Freely you received, freely you must give (Math 10:8) , kindly share this devotion, and the Lord will bless you for it.
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