Daily Manna 8 November
KEY VERSE: “And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.” – (Ezekiel 21:3)
READ: Ezekiel 21:1-17 (KJV)
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and drop thy word toward the holy places, and prophesy against the land of Israel,
3 And say to the land of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked.
4 Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:
5 That all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more.
6 Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.
7 And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord GOD.
8 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
10 It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree.
11 And he hath given it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.
12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.
13 Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.
14 Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers.
15 I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter.
16 Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.
17 I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
Johnson had to go on a journey for two weeks. He lived alone with his five children as his wife travelled out for further studies. He left home with strict instructions to his children to take care of the house and tend the garden. They had enough food in the store and could eat what they wanted. But when he came back, he discovered that the house was not only terribly messed up, the garden was also overgrown with weeds and nearly all the livestock was diseased. He had to punish the children, especially the eldest who could not guide and correct the younger ones while he was away.
Our passage today is filled with the declaration of God’s fearful judgment against Israel. The Lord could no longer tolerate their sins anymore and was ready to cut off both the righteous and the wicked.
Why would such a fearful declaration go forth? Why should the righteous be punished with the wicked? Perhaps, they were obviously silent in the face of evil by the wicked. If the righteous keep quiet in the face of wickedness; if they fail to reprove iniquity; if they are too shy and tolerant of sins or allow sinners to thrive in their sins, would they not be punished? God expects the righteous as watchmen to “blow the trumpet” and warn the wicked against their ungodly acts. The righteous are God’s instruments of change and our righteousness should be impactful, non-judgmental and burden-bearing, and should be targeted at saving others from their wickedness. Anything short of this will place us on the same platform as the selfish and wicked sinners.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Our righteousness through Christ should reform the wicked.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 51-52
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Never Incur God’s Wrath- written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Daily Manna 8 November 2020
