DCLM Daily Manna Saturday 30 December 2023
TOPIC: Never Question God
TEXT: Jeremiah 12:1-6 (KJV)
12 Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?
2 Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins.
3 But thou, O Lord, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
4 How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.
5 If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?
6 For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.
KEY VERSE
“How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.”
(Jeremiah 12:4)DCLM Daily Manna 30-12-23 MESSAGE
Some preachers are disturbed when, in the evangelism field, they face opposition from the elite of society. They are driven to question the justice system of God. They challenge the wisdom and the notion of the impartiality of the Creator as they conclude that the ‘prospering’ unbelievers are enjoying a reign of impunity and they fear these sinners would be left unpunished by the God of all creation. Prophet Jeremiah was similarly agitated.
He approached the Lord with posers as to why the way of the evil was thriving, even though they dealt “treacherously”. He even charged God with being responsible for the situation. “Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit”. According to Jeremiah, among these wicked people were his relatives and neighbours, who polluted and depleted the environment with their avaricious lifestyle. They boasted “(God) shall not see our last end”.
READ DCLM Daily Manna Friday 29 December 2023 – His Message, Not Ours
The prophet then prayed the Lord to “pull them out like sheep for the slaughter”. Jeremiah was a young prophet at the time. He did not perceive the greater work that lay ahead in his ministry. God compared what he was complaining of at that stage to battling footmen. What would he do if he confronted chariots? What would he do in raging storms like the swelling of River Jordan? These were the bigger tasks waiting for Jeremiah.
God was preparing His servant to scale these mountains, not to complain or flee from them. Having received the mandate to go into the spiritual war front to win souls for the Lord, we must not permit distractions to discourage us. We must confidently trust the Lord to save sinners through our preaching and deliver them from the wrath to come.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: We must never query heaven’s justice system.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelation 18-20
