Book Title: The Lost Male Mandate
Author: Joseph Guni
Reviewer: Benvictor Makau
Get Your Copy: Nuria Bookstore
Cost: $10
In a world where masculinity and the appertaining responsibilities have been perpetually swept under the carpet and their weight eroded, re-visiting God’s plan and dividing the Word over the same would be a timely move.
To turn the flickers into a steady light over the matter, offer Bible-backed perspectives, and emancipate men from the rubble of falsehood, Joseph Guni penned The Lost Male Mandate.
In the book, which has eight chapters, Guni handles matters of “The Lost Male Mandate,” “Divine Masculinity,” “High-Value Man Versus Low-Value Man,” and the way to “Recovery,” among other issues.
He starts by laying the concern bare that despite efforts to avert the lostness of the male mandate and masculinity, men have remained far away from the truth, with the God-given mandate and aspect of divinely living masculinely slipping away.
“The male mandate that was and still is constituted by divine authority to execute God’s policies on earth and the divine order and commission given to man to be God’s male man on earth has been absolutely destroyed and lost,” he writes about the worrying trend.
The author notes that the symptoms are apparent: strife, suicides, political “correctness” of men, blurred masculine boundaries, and mass shootings, among many others.
The book seeks to set the records straight and clear the clutter of multi-generational misapplication of masculinity.
But what’s Divine Masculinity?
He handles this in the second chapter of the book, quoting Apostle R.E.S Takim: “…is the use of God’s authority as the male man to uphold His order and commands in the fulfillment or execution of the male mandate.”
He adds that executing the male mandate encompasses a divine application of the mind.
To remain within the demands of the divine masculinity and restore the lost male mandate, he posits that, as the Bible notes in Romans 12:1, man must present his body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
He has to operate not within the radar of the flesh but must submissively and consciously die in the flesh so that Jesus may live in him.
Guni gives the examples of Abraham, Isaac, Isaiah, Jesus, Joseph, and others as some of the men who stood their ground to rise above the confines of human limitations and remain worthy of being called men, using their energies and minds to satisfy the requirements of the Divine Male Mandate.
He says a real man should be able to defend and deliver those under his wings without playing cowardly and dejected, just as Abraham delivered his nephew Lot and his loved ones after being captured by the four kings of Babylonia, Elassar, Elam and Goiim (Genesis 14).
He should also provide for and establish those under his headship (1 Timothy 5:8).
Directing and defining are other roles of a man operating within the divine mandate, touching on morality, leadership, spirituality and otherwise.
“The man without a mandate is incapable of offering spiritual direction because he cannot receive directions from God,” he notes.
Further into the pages, the author calls men to utmost and continuous holiness, calling them out of wasting their energies and seed in wild pleasures such as women-chasing, fornication, masturbation and unreasonable copulation outside marriage.
He also challenges men to stay courageous and determined, resiliently fighting even during life’s breaking moments, turbulent storms, adversities, and temptations with lion courage and undying hope.
It behooves them to master and conquer themselves first to win over the enemies embattling them throughout their lives.
He expels all doubts that men, especially in marriage, must be strong enough to sustain long-lasting relationships.
Separation, handled in Chapter Five, is, according to Guni, the breeding ground for mandates.
Separation from every form of spiritual filth and wickedness is paramount if anyone is to walk within the boundaries and dispensations of their mandate. (1 Corinthians 15:31, 2 Corinthians 6:17)
“It is the lack of separation that breeds conformity and blurred lines, …,” he observes, adding elsewhere that “The preparation for greatness has always been preceded by separation.”
He takes the example of how Abra(ha)m was separated by God from his people and nation for God to create a strong, holy, and chosen nation for Himself out of him. (Genesis 12:1)
In solitude, God changes the lives of His chosen ones and quickens them for the tasks ahead.
He did it to Joseph, sold by his brothers to foreigners, whom He molded while in prison after being accused by Potiphar’s wife, for the task of becoming a Prime Minister in Egypt.
He notes that separating yourself from all distractions, physical and spiritual, offers a leeway to finding renewal and a more profound clarity of the tasks God has placed ahead of you.
However, people may take it for defeat and seclusion.
Jesus, ahead of His mission on earth, went to the wilderness for 40 days in separation from everyone else.
Juxtaposing high-value and low-value men, he points out that value is attained by walking through the steps of life faithfully and swallowing the bitter pill of staying the course, even when everyone else deserts you, without groaning.
The low-value man will not be willing to stay the course of the journey, but the high-value one will look past the myopia, see the future, and remain resilient.
Purity, wisdom, and integrity are other ingredients to gaining value as a man. Job is the perfect example.
These are qualities the man factor has lost, weakening his thoughts and decisions and drifting him away from the divine calling.
“A high-value man is absolutely indispensable within the locus of his operations. His presence is palpable and when he leaves the market, people squirm,” he writes.
He underlines the need to capacity-build oneself and amass value in diverse facets of life: in wisdom and education, in skills and understanding, and in other zones of genius.
In all ways available, seek value, especially as a man. Grab it and stay with it, for “…the fortunes of the low-value man always stand on quicksand. He has no impact.”
While man’s masculinity (not physical but psychological and spiritual) and the divine mandate have vanished, they can be restored.
That is what Guni handles in Chapter Seven, “The Recovery: Baptism of Mercy,” reminding us all that we desperately need God’s mercy.
When Samson missed the goal and failed to fulfill his mandate as a judge and a man, and the Philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes, he sought mercy from God, to be restored and strengthened to revenge against his enemies. (Judges 16:28-31)
“Recovery is only possible through receiving the Word of God,” he writes.
The baptism of mercy gives man:
Restoration of Sight: It takes away spiritual and mental blindness that is retrogressing men. He finds comprehension, insight, light, discernment, and wisdom.
Restoration of the Mouth/Tongue: It guides men on what to speak concerning their lives and future generations. “Through the baptism of mercy, our tongues are given order in truth and power,” he writes.
Jabez, Isaiah and Jeremiah are biblical examples of beneficiaries of this.
Restoration of Power: It bequeaths men with amazing grace, personal blessings and strength, accuracy of prophetic hearing, and established dominion, among other heritages that epitomize the power of a man.
Guni says that “Despite the pressures and enticements of this modern living, what a man ought to be focused on is being grounded on God’s Will and Ways.”
Before fixing anyone else, men ought to fix themselves first and set the records transparent, with insights and sight.
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In microcosm, this is the book you should go for if you need to learn more about masculinity and the male divine mandate, how the man has lost the male order, and what he ought to do to restore the lost sacred treasure.
