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Topic: Prosperity Is Double-Edged
[DCLM Daily Manna 14 March 2020 Daily Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]
Text: Isaiah 9:8-21
8 The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.
9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,
10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.
11 Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against him, and join his enemies together;
12 The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
13 For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.
14 Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
15 The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
16 For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
17 Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.
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19 Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.
20 And he shall snatch on the right hand, and be hungry; and he shall eat on the left hand, and they shall not be satisfied: they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm:
21 Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
KEY VERSE: “The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.” – (Isaiah 9:10)
MESSAGE:
Many who cry to God asking for riches and promotion do not appear to be ready for the price needed to retain the wealth while simultaneously maintaining a “meek and quiet spirit”. They do not understand that prosperous times are trial times. Will you have more or less time to serve God when riches arrive? Will your newly-found wealth replace the Lord as your new love, such that the zeal for His work will take second place as long as you are able to give the church what it needs for its building projects? Will arrogance set in?
Also Read: Open Heaven 14 March 2020 – Evangelism Tips: Show Love First
The people of the northern kingdom of Israel ran into such a challenge that became their undoing. They exhibited “pride and stoutness of heart”. They felt they did not need God. From their narrow point of view, they were self-sufficient.
But the Lord would not overlook iniquity not sincerely repented of. He pronounced punishment that would come through military attacks from Israel’s traditional enemies, Syria and the Philistines. The wickedness of Israel was widespread and God’s fury ravaged the land as the logical consequences of the people’s transgressions. He kept on reminding them that “his anger is not turned away, but his hand (of judgment) is stretched out still”.
Has God withdrawn His hand of judgment over the sinful across the world? No; because in Isaiah 13:11, He repeats what He has always told the world: “…I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible”. The only way to escape this inevitable and fast approaching day of the outpouring of the Lord’s wrath is to confess and forsake sin, accept Jesus Christ as Lord and personal Saviour, and settle for humility and righteousness.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Prosperous days are tricky times!
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Numbers 22-25
