Daily Manna 13 September
KEY VERSE: “Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” – (Ezekiel 20:7)
TEXT: Ezekiel 20:1-9
1. And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD, and sat before me.
2. Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,
3. Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.
4. Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers;
5. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God;
6. In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
7. Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.
8. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me; they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt; then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
9. But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
In a sermon titled A Jealous God, C.H. Spurgeon said, “False gods patiently endure the existence of other false gods. Dagon can stand with Bel, and Bel with Ashtaroth; how should stone, and wood, and silver, be moved to indignation? But because God is the only living and true God, Dagon must fall before His ark; Bel must be broken, and Ashtaroth must be consumed with fire.” God hates idolatry and He warns His children to hate what He hates.
The passage today opens with the move of some elders of Israel who came to Ezekiel to seek counsel apparently on the issue of their condition in captivity. God saw through their hypocrisy and told Ezekiel to tell them of His disapproval of their hypocrisy because they still worshipped idols in their hearts. He wanted them to give up their idolatrous practices and turn fully to God. Ezekiel explained further that the failure of the people to repent and forsake the idols of Egypt turned the wrath of God against them.
Ancient Egypt was an extremely idolatrous society. God told Moses He would deal directly with the gods Himself. “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD” (Exodus 12:12).
No one has any excuse for ignoring God’s great declaration of His sovereignty over all men. He is the Lord of all and the least that anyone can do today is to honour and obey His demand over one’s life. Whatever is competing with the sovereignty of God in your life is an idol. You may see it as something else, but God calls it an idol. The right way to deal with your idol is to destroy it and worship the true God alone. He wants true worship from the heart.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Idols are hideous to God and must remain hideous to followers of Jesus Christ.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 120-130
Thanks for reading Today’s Daily Manna – Idols Of Egypt – by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi.
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Daily Manna 13 September 2020 Devotional
