DCLM Daily Manna 2024: DCLM Daily Manna 5 November 2024: Divine Chastisement
Text: 2 Kings 23:26-30 (KJV)
26 Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal.
27 And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.
28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
29 In his days Pharaohnechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.
30 And his servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s stead.
KEY VERSE: 2 Kings 23:26
“Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal.”
God is merciful but also holy. His justice makes it impossible for Him to overlook the atrocities of the unrepentant sinner who despises His warning and call to follow the path of righteousness and obedience. God’s mercy does not condone sin; He condemns and judges it. Although God loves all men, He hates their sins and, thus, calls them to repentance so He can grant them pardon (Psalm 7:11).
Today’s passage exposes the damage that the wicked and idolatrous lifestyle of Manasseh, the king and his compromising subjects, brought upon Judah. Judah was taken to exile from their land due to divine chastisement. This, no doubt, negated the promise the Lord gave Abraham to settle his generation in Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey. It is clear that sin provokes God to anger and will destroy the perpetrators and all those collaborating with the wicked.
We must be careful of our actions and steps because we might be able to dictate our actions but cannot dictate the consequences. The constant derailment of Judah from God’s will and word brought the untold hardship of seventy years in exile and captivity, showing clearly that God’s promises are conditional. We will continue to enjoy His benefits if we abide by His word. Similarly, the presumptuous action of Josiah led to his untimely death, despite the account of the revival he initiated in Judah. Believers must watch against taking presumptuous steps and actions without receiving clear direction from God.
To escape God’s wrath, we must walk with Him sincerely and serve Him with all our hearts. If you have deviated from His will, you must repent immediately before judgment falls. God will not spare the wicked who rejects His mercy.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
God’s justice justifies the judgment of the wicked.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
1 Kings 9-10
Daily Manna 5 November 2024
