Topic: Can You Blame God? [DCLM Daily Manna 18 December 2020 Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]

Text: Job 34:18-30 (KJV)

18 Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?

19 How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.

20 In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand.

21 For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.

22 There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

23 For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God.

24 He shall break in pieces mighty men without number, and set others in their stead.

25 Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed.

26 He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others;

27 Because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways:

28 So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.

29 When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:

30 That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.

Key Verse: “How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.” – (Job 34:19)

MESSAGE:

Sometimes, what we consider well intentioned are unhelpful to people facing challenges. This was the failings of Job’s friends. They took turns to speak to him. They were touched with his condition but they misdiagnosed the source of his woes.

From the text, Elihu, a companion of Job, did not actually understand the rationale behind Job’s suffering. Although he did not understand the reason for Job’s predicament, he aptly identified God’s character and nature. Job’s life and righteousness are exemplified in the first two chapters of the book of Job. While chapter one exemplifies his righteousness and way of life, chapter two dwells specifically on the personality behind his sufferings. Elihu describes God as the right Judge in whom no evil or iniquity can be found. He is holy, just and perfect.Elihu sees God almighty as able to deal with anyone, however strong or powerful he may be. God does not need the help of anybody to accomplish His purpose on earth. He also sees God as the Omniscient who knows the secret of any man, the purpose of his heart and the intent of his thought. His eyes are upon the ways of man and no thought could be hidden from Him.

Two lessons are evident in Elihu’s thought. First, he misunderstood some salient things about Job’s predicament. As believers, we may not understand the challenges our fellow brethren may be facing. So, we should not condemn or judge them as Elihu did. Our duty is to pray for them. Second, God is a just and righteous Judge. He can never ascribe good for evil or evil for good. In any situation, we should not question or blame Him for our predicament. But we are to pray and thank Him irrespective of our condition in this present world.

Thought For The Day: Blame doesn’t help, prayer does.

The Bible In One Year: Haggai 1-2

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.

Topic: Danger Of Overconfidence [DCLM Daily Manna 16 December 2020 Devotional By Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]

Text: Isaiah 36:11-22 (KJV)

11 Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.

12 But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?

13 Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.

14 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.

15 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

16 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;

17 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?

20 Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?

21 But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.

22 Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

Key Verse: “Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?” – (Isaiah 36:20)

MESSAGE:

Charles Spurgeon, in one of his exhortations, said: “Give a man wealth; let his ships bring home continually rich freights; let the winds and waves appear to be his servants to bear his vessels across the bosom of the mighty deep; let his lands yield abundantly; let the weather be propitious to his crops, and the skies smile pleasantly upon his enterprise… let uninterrupted success attend him; let him know no sickness; I say the consequence of such a state to a man, will be presumption; and he will say, ‘I stand in my prosperity… I shall never be moved.”

Rabshakeh, the emissary of Sennacherib king of Assyria boasted as if he had won the battle against Jerusalem already. While shouting his message across the walls of the city, he reproached the officers of Israel, the king as well as God before the ordinary people sitting upon the walls. He implored them to offer no resistance to the Assyrian army. This he said to show them the impossibility, as he supposed, of being delivered from the arm of the king of Assyria. He had conquered other nations; even the gods of the nations had been unable to rescue their lands from the Assyrians. He inferred, therefore, that the god of Palestine could not save their land; thus blasphemously setting the Lord God of Israel upon a level with the fictitious gods of the Gentiles.

If you are in such a state, beware! The Scripture says, “pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Learn from the eventual destruction of the Assyrian army and put your confidence only in God.

Thought For The Day: God always humiliates the proud.

The Bible In One Year: Habakkuk 1-3

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.