Topic: Repentance Is It! [Monday October 30, 2017]
Text: Jeremiah 32:1-15
Key Verse: “For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it” (Jeremiah 32:3).
Gipsy Smith, in his book, ‘The Bible Friend,’ told a story of a Dutchman, who got converted during his service in South Africa. The next morning, he returned the watch he had stolen eight years earlier from another Dutchman. When asked why he brought the watch back, he said: “I was converted last night and I have brought it back first thing this morning. If you had been up, I would have brought it last night.”
The Jews, from our text, never considered repentance to be paramount in their lives. Instead, they felt Jeremiah was a threat to their existence. God had revealed their captivity to Jeremiah who delivered the message point-blank. Zedekiah, the king of Judah, was not comfortable with this prophecy. Therefore, he got him arrested and imprisoned, so that he could not prophesy and affect the people’s courage. Instead of going back to God to repent of their evil ways, they felt that Jeremiah was their problem, not their sins. Today, that situation still plays out as there are those who accuse others of being the architect of their problems.
They hardly consider the better option of having proper self-examination and repenting where necessary. Some would even accuse an innocent elderly woman in the village as being the cause of their problem, while others would hinge their misfortune on their co-tenants or relatives. As we pass through the challenges of life, our attitude must not be one of paranoia.
There is no experience in life that God is not aware of. Even if men are responsible for the challenges we face, we must seek solace in God and commit all things to Him who can save to the uttermost and revenge on our behalf. Jeremiah was focused in serving God and refused to be bogged down by trivia. Do likewise.
Thought for the day: Repentance and remission of sin are central to God’s eternal salvation.
Bible Reading in one Year: Hosea 5-9
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.
