DCLM Daily Manna 19 March 2023
KEY VERSE: – “Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.” – (Deuteronomy 19:13)
TEXT: Deuteronomy 19:11-21 (KJV)
11 “But if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13 Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall [a]put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.
Property Boundaries
14 “You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
The Law Concerning Witnesses
15 “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. 16 If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing,
17 then both men in the controversy shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. 18 And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother,
19 then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you. 20 And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you. 21 Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
In European history, there was this theory of monarchical absolutism which gave kings their authority which they claimed was derived from God. These rulers said no one could question their actions the same way no one could challenge the King of heaven. But liberal theorists disagreed, arguing that only theocratic states could make such assertions.
Biblical Israel was such a nation governed by God. Although the children of Israel had kings and leaders, they were directly chosen by God Himself through His faithful prophets. Regularly, He gave them laws to reflect His own infallible sense of justice and to preserve for them a unique people. In this chapter, as the children of Israel got close to the Promised Land, the Lord issued laws to guide their interpersonal relationships and conduct among the heathen in the land they were going to inherit. This was to distinguish them from the heathen.
God warned them not to condone wilful murder. They must not change their neighbour’s landmarks that bore the imprimatur of approved tradition and history. They must not give final rulings on allegations about offences unless they were proved by not less than two witnesses. Where a false witness was discovered, he would bear the punishment he planned for the accused. The Lord said all these regulations were designed to put “the evil away from among you”.
This same pursuit of justice should be the preoccupation of leaders. At home, in public places, in the church, in politics, in business and in every human institution, using the law to achieve equity for all, especially the vulnerable, should be our watchword. The reign of evil worldwide is the result of the absence of justice, equity and fairness as commanded by God.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY: We can put away evil from the world if we follow God’s system of justice.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Numbers 33-34
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Divine Justice – by Pastor W.F Kumuyi
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Daily Manna 19 March 2023
