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Topic: Merciful, Yet Vengeful
[DCLM Daily Manna 10 July 2020 Daily Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]
Text: Jeremiah 26:1-11
1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the LORD, saying,
2 Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD’S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:
3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.
4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,
5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;
6 Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.
8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
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9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD’S house.
11 Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
Key Verse: “If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings” (Jeremiah 26:3).
MESSAGE:
A man decided one day to play a joke on 12 of his friends; he sent them each a note that read as follows: “flee at once, all has been discovered about you”. To his shock, he discovered that 7 had fled the country within 24 hours of receiving that note, while the other 5 proved adamant, awaiting whatever betides. With this, he achieved a purpose: reaction of a heart willing to perish despite a way out, and a heart willing to escape from the wrath to come.
In our passage, God gave Prophet Jeremiah a message of warning to all the inhabitants of Judah of His impending judgment. Through him, the Lord pleaded with them to turn away from their evil ways so that He would avert the evil which He purposed to do unto them. But instead of repenting to receive God’s mercy, the people of Judah and their princes arrested and decided to kill the prophet.
The unconcerned attitude of the people of Judah to the warning of the impending doom for the godless and wicked is not new. From time immemorial, man has always trifled with the warning to escape God’s wrath and receive His mercy. The people suffered terrible consequences for neglecting repentance and refusing God’s mercy.
One would think that with all the tragic historical examples, things would be different in our time. Unfortunately, the story is still the same, if not worse. Yet, God keeps watching, warning and waiting. He is merciful to those who come to Him in repentance no matter how heavy their sins are. He is against the sinner who refuses to repent (Psalm 7:11). “To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart”. Be wise; take advantage of God’s provision of salvation in order to gain eternal life.
Thought For The Day: God is merciful towards the repentant but angry with the unrepentant.
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