DCLM Daily Manna 4 November 2023 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Altruistic Leadership
TOPIC: Altruistic Leadership (DCLM Daily Manna 4 November 2023)
KEY VERSE: “Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now” (Numbers 14:19).
TEXT: Numbers 14:11-25 (KJV)
11 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.
13 And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)
14 And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.
15 Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,
16 Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.
17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,
18 The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.
19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.
20 And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word:
21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.
22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:
24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.
25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.) Tomorrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
MESSAGE:
The disposition of a leader at a time of national crisis can become a game-changer. If the leader is not selfless but bent on the pursuit of personal glory, he would scarcely worry if the system under him should cave in as long as his safety is guaranteed. On the other hand, if the land has a personality like Moses who would not rejoice when his people were threatened with extinction, the citizens would witness a flourishing era.
God was not happy with the continual backsliding of Israel. They broke His commandments and had no faith in Him despite numerous miracles, signs and wonders He did through His servant, Moses. Their faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was waning and pushing them into unequal yoke with their idolatrous neighbours. Finally, God said the punishment for all these treacherous acts would be to wipe out Israel and make Moses the patriarch of a brand-new nation.
Pleading for Israel, Moses reminded the Lord of His great characteristics of mercy, love and longsuffering. He asked Him to consider what the unbelieving nations would say if He disinherited Israel. He wanted the Lord to continue with His original plan to make Israel the nation through whom the Messiah would come. His intercession was a perfect example of what Jesus Himself would do centuries later: praying the Father to forgive disobedient man.
As ambassadors for Christ, the chief mission of Christians is two-fold: to draw the attention of sinners to the gracious Lord and to ask God to forgive them as they repent. God granted Moses what he asked. This indicates that there is power and efficacy in our prayer to the Lord on behalf of individuals, nations and ourselves.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
God can use our intercessions to transform sinners into saints.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Jeremiah 39 – 42
Deeper Life Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
