Topic: Weighed And Found Wanting [DCLM Daily Manna Monday February 5th, 2018]
Text: Jeremiah 7:16-28 (KJV)
Key Verse: “Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee” (Jeremiah 7:16)
MESSAGE:
“When God measures a person, He places the measuring-tape around the heart and not the mind” – Augustine (early Christian theologian and philosopher).
God told Prophet Jeremiah in the Bible passage under consideration not to bother himself praying for Israel because He would not answer. Thus, their access to God was effectively blocked because of their idolatry. The indictment was brought upon all Israelites including fathers, mothers and children who offered sacrifices to the queen of heaven and to other deities. In his fury, God threatened judgment that would completely devastate the land and wipe out even the trees and vegetation. Their attempt to invoke His blessings through animal sacrifices was useless because God demands obedience rather than sacrifice.
Israel’s existence and continued progress depended on the presence of God in their midst to deliver them from surrounding stronger nations who opposed and often attacked them. They have had outcomes of battles miraculously decided in their favour because God fought for them. They had enjoyed much favour through His help, usually secured through prayers offered by their priests and prophets. With that avenue of getting divine help now blocked, the road became wide open for the predicted Babylonian captivity to take effect.
We should be careful not to turn around to the sins we left behind. Allowing the old sins to come back in any form attracts God’s judgment. This accounts for the difficulty some unstable believers are having today in securing answers to their prayers because access to the throne of mercy and grace where prayers are answered will be denied once sin is accommodated. The way to restore divine pleasure is through repentance, cleansing and obedience to God.
Thought For The Day: Backsliding will deny you access to God.
Bible Reading in a Year: Exodus 19-21.
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.
