DCLM Daily Manna 2025: DCLM Daily Manna 19 October 2025: Divine Retribution
Text: Ezekiel 9:5–11 (KJV)
To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. 6 Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple. 7 Then He said to them, “Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” And they went out and killed in the city.
8 So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, “Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?”
9 Then He said to me, “The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!’ 10 And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head.”
11 Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, “I have done as You commanded me.”
KEY VERSE: “Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.” — (Ezekiel 9:6)
On the website of Preaching Today is found this story: In the town of Merced, which is named after the Spanish word for “mercy,” a bumbling robbery attempt was quickly brought to a merciful end. According to authorities, Stephan Stanley began breaking the glass in the jewellery department of a JC Penney store in Merced Mall. He was grabbed by two nearby men in the store, who attempted to hold him down to prevent him from getting away with any merchandise. Angered at their intervention, Stanley tried to use pepper spray against his sudden captors, but instead, he sprayed himself.
God’s judgment will eventually catch up with unrepentant sinners, while those who accept the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross will be saved. In today’s passage, God commanded judgment to be executed on the people of Jerusalem as a result of their wickedness. It also provides a sense of relief that those who were righteous and obedient to God would be set apart from experiencing the punishment. The narrative about backslidden Israel illustrates the same characteristics in our world today, where churches and so-called Christian assemblies have shifted from the standard of righteousness and pure gospel in pursuit of worldly things and ungodly practices.
The warrant for the execution of the judgment was signed in Ezekiel 9:5–7. The Lord instructed that the judgment should start from the sanctuary and with the leaders who had led Israel into sin. But before the judgment fell, an angel presented as “a man with an ink horn” was assigned to put a mark of distinction upon the righteous for preservation. In contrast, bitter judgment would come upon the sinners. The destroyer was told not to spare anyone — male, female, young, or old — despite Ezekiel’s plea for mercy, because the sin of Judah was exceedingly great.
We must first learn that the omniscient God sees everything happening in the world and in the church today. As it was with Israel in Ezekiel’s vision, the sheep will be separated from the goats before the judgment, so that “the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous” (Psalm 125:3). God is still seeking individuals who will stand in the gap like Ezekiel — those who will take the gospel to the world and warn sinning church members to flee from the coming judgment.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
When divine retribution comes, there will be no hiding place for the sinner.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Isaiah 56–60
Daily Manna 19 October 2025
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