Daily Manna 31 January
KEY VERSE: “And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.” – (Isaiah 7:4)
TEXT: Isaiah 7:1-9 (KJV)
7 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not [a]prevail against it. 2 And it was told to the house of David, saying, “Syria’s forces are [b]deployed in Ephraim.” So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and [c]Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, 4 and say to him: [d]‘Take heed, and [e]be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up against Judah and [f]trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel”— 7 thus says the Lord God:
“It shall not stand,
Nor shall it come to pass.
8 For the head of Syria is Damascus,
And the head of Damascus is Rezin.
Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be [g]broken,
So that it will not be a people.
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
And the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.
If you will not believe,
Surely you shall not be established.”
Fear is one of the most potent weapons often used by the devil and his cohorts. Terrorists use it to weaken their targets’ confidence and create cracks in their walls of defence. In war situations, enemies use it to intimidate and weaken their opponents. Those who succumb to fear become easy targets and eventual victims.
King Ahaz of Judah, together with his royal family, was thrown into panic when news got to them that there was a plot to invade Judah by the alliance of the kings of Syria and Israel. Unlike his father, Jotham and grandfather, Uzziah, Ahaz had forsaken God and resorted to wickedness and gross idolatry. He could not obtain His help in the time of trouble. Sin has a weakening effect on sinners and makes them vulnerable. However, for the present danger confronting Jerusalem, God, for the sake of His promise to David and his house, sent Prophet Isaiah to Ahaz to advise and assure him that the plot against Judah would not stand.
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
“Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted” the Lord said to Ahaz. God referred to the threats of the two enemy nations as “tails of smoking firebrands”. This implies that they were empty and short-lived threats that would soon fizzle away. All that God required of Ahaz and his people was to “believe in the LORD” and “his prophets”. Doing this was the way to be established and prosper (2 Chronicles 20:20).
God’s “fear not” message particularly applies to the saints of God who are often the targets of Satan’s threats. We must not give in to the torment of fear, whatever the situation.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Counter every fearful threat with the written Word.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Romans 13-16
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – The Weapon Of Fear – by Pastor W.F Kumuyi
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Daily Manna 31 January 2022
