Daily Manna 17 October
KEY VERSE: “I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” – (Luke 18:8)
TEXT: Luke 18:1-8
1. And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
2. Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man;
3. And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
4. And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5. Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
6. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
7. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
8. I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
The Dead Sea, lying in the Middle East region with Israel, Jordan and Palestine, as its neighbours, is a landlocked salty lake with no outflow. It does not flow out as do other seas. Scientists say it is trapped to evaporate. But the Dead Sea takes in much from its local surroundings and the atmosphere. In other words, this body of water hardly gives. This defies the natural scheme which says relationships only glow where there is action and reaction from both sides. There cannot be life in a bond that witnesses activity from only one side without response from the other.
Our Lord Jesus dramatises this in the parable in our study today. A judge who would not reverence God or have respect for his fellow man was put to the test about these convictions by a widow. She required the man of justice to right a wrong done her by an adversary. She must have looked for help in several places in the community without success, turning finally to the custodian of the law. The judge “would not (help) for a while… because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”
The Lord then dropped the moral: if a self-acclaimed irreverent and unjust judge would grant the entreaties of a poor woman who did not allow him rest, “shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?” The Lord Himself answers by saying God will not just avenge us, but He will do so “speedily”.
Now, not being the Dead Sea, we are expected to give the Lord, Who always gives as we ask something in return. As He answers our prayers “speedily”, we must continue to respond with unyielding faith in Him and preach to win the lost into His kingdom.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Pray to have souls to give to the Lord at His return.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 46-50
Thanks for reading Today’s Daily Manna – Don’t Be A Dead Sea – by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi.
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Daily Manna 17 October 2020 Devotional
