Topic: The Many Woes Of Defiance [DCLM Daily Manna 28 January 2020 Daily Devotional By Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]
Text: Isaiah 5:18-30
18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
19 That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!
20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
Key Verse: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” – (Isaiah 5:20).
MESSAGE:
Here is how a poet aptly captured the prevailing defiance of today’s world: “We have kicked the Creator out of creation and searched the universe in vain for a replacement. Frustrated that no plausible one can be found, we fabricated one in a hurry!”
Such was the impunity of the people of Judah at the time of prophet Isaiah. They had backslidden to the point of disrespecting God and sacred things. They drew iniquity with cords of vanity and sin as it were with a cart rope; called evil good and good evil; put darkness for light and light for darkness; put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! They justified the wicked and condemned the righteous. They dared God and scoffed at His judgment. In their foolishness, they considered themselves wise. For all these, God pronounced woes on them.
Today’s moral condition is not better than the above appalling scenario. God is increasingly being abandoned. Now, people are not just drawn to sin by worldly allurements but they are drawing wickedness to themselves with all inventiveness. Sin is widely promoted by the media and supported by powerful personalities and institutions. Good is regarded as evil and evil as good. People have increasingly become “lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God”.
You can save yourself from this untoward generation. You do not need to flow in the drift and perish with the rebellious world. You must “book” a place in Christ the Saviour and live righteously for God by His grace.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
It is dangerous to dare God!
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Exodus 39-40
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
