Daily Manna 25 August
KEY VERSE: “And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee…” – (Genesis 26:2,3a)
TEXT: Genesis 26:1-5
There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
In Nigeria in the 1980s, the phrase “checking out” or “to check out” was popularised by one “Andrew”. The term literarily means travelling out of the country to Europe or America for “greener pastures”. This “Andrew” was then dissuaded from his idea of checking out. He watched the plane that would have taken him out take off and flew out of sight. He had to remain in the country.
In our text, we have a similar scenario, where Isaac the son of Abraham intended to leave his location at Gerar and go to Egypt because of the famine in the land. But he was instructed by God not to leave where he was but to remain, promising to bless him which was accomplished later in the chapter. In fact, God so prospered him that he became the envy of the Philistines (Genesis 26:12-14).
Running away from one’s native country may not necessarily bring about the solution to the problems of poverty, suffering or lack of gainful employment. Hundreds of years after Isaac, another man Elimelech, because of the same problem of famine left his home at Bethlehem for Moab. He died there with his two sons, leaving his wife Naomi to return home a widow. Today, some are running away from many third world countries to the developed world with the idea that “money grows on trees” there.
Many of such people get stranded; some get involved in crimes and are imprisoned. The solution to this and any other problem is to seek the face of God in prayer and faith and receive definite guidance and instruction. Many in their desperation to leave their country go to countries where there is no true worship of God. For such believers, they simply lose their faith. And keeping one’s faith in God in the midst of that prosperity (like Isaac), must be of topmost priority to the Christian.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Let God direct your path.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 31-35
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Don’t “Check Out” – by Pastor Enoch A.
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Daily Manna 25 August 2021
