DCLM Daily Manna Thursday 23 May 2024

TOPIC: Mercy Goes Beyond Justice

TEXT: Genesis 3:13-24 (KJV) 
¹³ And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

¹⁴ And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

¹⁵ And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

¹⁶ Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

¹⁷ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

¹⁸ Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

¹⁹ In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

²⁰ And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

²¹ Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

²² And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

²³ Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

²⁴ So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

KEY VERSE
“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”
Genesis 3:21

DCLM Daily Manna 23 May 2024 MESSAGE

In his book, Experiencing God’s Forgiveness, famed Evangelist Luis Palau told the story of a mother who approached Napoleon seeking pardon for her son. The Emperor replied that the young man had committed a particular offence twice and justice demanded death. “But I don’t ask for justice,” the mother exclaimed. “I plead for mercy.” “But your son does not deserve mercy,” Napoleon replied. “Sir,” the woman cried, “it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.” “Well, then,” the Emperor said, “I will have mercy.” And he spared the woman’s son.

READ DCLM Daily Manna Wednesday 22 May 2024 – Retribution for Rebellion

Considering the gravity of the sin of Adam and Eve in the text, they deserved to be judged. God had expressly commanded them not to eat the fruit of the tree at the center of the Garden of Eden. But Satan deceived Eve and she fell under his subtle serpentine spell and even persuaded her husband to join in the forbidden feast. However, God responded with mercy. Yes, He sent them out of the garden so that they would not access the tree of life and the last state worsens. However, God clothed them in their inglorious state of nakedness. That was unexpected, but that is our God – merciful, gracious and long-suffering.

God did not clear Adam and Eve of their iniquity, but He showed them mercy through the redemptive work of the promised Seed, Jesus Christ. This mercy is still available to everyone who will come to Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of the world and surrender to be saved.

This mercy has no bounds. It is for everyone – all categories of sinners. It is available even for the worst of sinners that the world will not offer hope of mercy. The only condition is to receive it willingly through genuine repentance.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Rejecting God’s offer of mercy confirms a sinner’s hopeless doom.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Galatians 1-3