Daily Manna 8 August
KEY VERSE: “And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.” – (Ezekiel 2:6)
TEXT: Ezekiel 2:1-10
And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” 2 Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. 3 And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. 4 For they are [a]impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ 5 As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.
6 “And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. 7 You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”
9 Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. 10 Then He spread it before me; and there was writing on the inside and on the outside, and written on it were lamentations and mourning and woe.
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
In her bid to restore England to Roman Catholic religion, Queen Mary of England burnt not less than 288 Protestants at the stake for their faith. One of such was the top reformer, Bishop Hugh Latimer of Worcester. Here is what he told the officer that was sent to fetch him to London for trial: “My friend, you are welcome; I go as willingly to London to give an account of my faith… And I doubt not but as the Lord made me worthy formerly to preach the Word before two excellent princes, he will now enable me to bear witness to the truth before the third, either to her eternal comfort or discomfort.”
Prophet Ezekiel was forewarned that he was going to encounter briers, thorns and scorpions for his unpopular prophecy to Israel. The people had become so rebellious that they would not regard his warning of impending divine judgment in the hands of the Chaldeans. But the prophet was encouraged to ignore their hostile attitude and preach God’s undiluted truth to them, at least, to leave them without excuse.
Our world is increasingly becoming rebellious and God-rejecting. Although many have become more intolerant of the gospel truth today, the Lord has commissioned us to “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2). We should not be deterred by persecutions or the unreceptive posture of the people we preach to.
Saved and consecrated to God, the Lord expects us to courageously take the gospel message to the unsaved and rebellious. You may encounter briers, thorns and scorpions but do not be discouraged. We have the promise of God’s presence and power to deal with them. Only preach the Word to turn men from their dead gods to the living God.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Courageous preaching will prick the sinner to penitence.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Nehemiah 11-13
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Dealing With Difficult People – by Pastor Enoch A.
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Daily Manna 8 August 2021
