Daily Manna 14 November
KEY VERSE: “Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment.Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion” – Job 32:9,10
READ: Job 32:1-10 (KJV)
1. So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
2. Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram; against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
3. Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
4. Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he.
5. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled.
6. And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion.
7. I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.
8. But there is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
9. Great men are not always wise; neither do the aged understand judgment.
10. Therefore I said, Hearken to me; I also will shew mine opinion.
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
A king determined to set a prisoner free, having found he was innocent of the charges pressed against him. Being on a journey, he decided to use his cart driver as his de jure secretary to dictate what to write to the executioner. The king said, “Tell the executioner that the prisoner is acquitted, not to be killed”.
But in his opinion of where the punctuation should be in the king’s speech, the cart driver wrote “acquitted not, to be killed”. Then the prisoner was executed. Upon inquiry, the cart driver said he had actually given his own opinion that the prisoner was to be killed.
The account in today’s reading is an individual opinion given by Elihu, the son of Barachel. His opinion was clearly motivated by wrath against Job and his three friends because Job justified himself rather than God and Job’s friends condemned him. He had regarded the age of Job’s friends and had kept quiet until he could no longer take their wrong accusations.
The young man obviously lost his patience! We are at a time in history, where information has increased and the personal opinion given about any issue or anyone in the comfort of our bedroom can be seen on the front page of a high traffic news blog or website, all through the help of social media.
While technology is commendable, what unguarded personal opinions may do is highly alarming! We are enjoined by the Scriptures to be wary about our personal opinions of anyone especially those God has placed over us as authority figures. We must avoid giving fake news or helping to spread it. We must also avoid the temptation to speak evil of dignitaries.
If we must give our opinion, it must not be motivated by anger or hate. An opinion motivated by hate, ignorance and prejudice, could lead to social chaos and even deaths.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Personal opinion is like a matchstick; it could cause a fire when used wrongly!
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 9-13
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Mind Your Opinions – written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Daily Manna 14 November 2020
