DCLM Daily Manna 12 July 2021 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Violence Forbidden
TOPIC: Violence Forbidden
TEXT: Obadiah 1:10-21
10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.
12 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.
13 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity;
14 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
15 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
16 For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.
19 And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.
KEY VERSE: “For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.” – (Obadiah 1:10)
MESSAGE:
Hatred is the precursor to violence but it is instructive to state that the one who manifests hatred toward others end up injuring himself more than the target of his hatred. Adolf Hitler, because of his hatred for the Jewish race, worked assiduously towards wiping out the people. He deployed several wicked strategies and went everywhere to capture and bring the them to concentration camps to be killed in what was referred to as holocaust. He succeeded in killing over six million Jews worldwide but ended unceremoniously by committing suicide while his accomplices were sentenced to different jail terms.
Today’s passage opens with the controversy God had with Edom as a nation for his violence against his vulnerable brother, Jacob. Aside taking advantage of Jacob by blocking the way of those escaping from danger, Edom also looked away from the need to help Jacob but rather colluded with the enemy to bring him down. God hates violence in whatever form. It is sin and will attract its due reward as was the case with Edom.
Violence is a clear evidence of an unregenerate soul and it is reflected when an individual is glad at the misfortune of others, or tries to take advantage of a vulnerable person. A believer must not take advantage of others in his workplace, business, church or the neighbourhood and should not join others in riotous behaviour that could lead to the destruction of life and properties.
Deliverance and freedom from violent acts lie in approaching the Saviour who gives pardon and releases from guilt with the privilege of holiness of life and recovery of lost grounds. Repentance from violence will definitely avert the retribution that awaits all wicked souls.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Violence is alien to those who have visited Calvary.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Kings 24-25
DCLM 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.
