DCLM DAILY MANNA DEVOTIONAL FOR TODAY

TOPIC: Steadfastness Demanded “

Text:  Deuteronomy 13:1-18 (KJV)

If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,

2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;

3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;

7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;

8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:

9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.

12 If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,

13 Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;

14 Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you;

15 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.

16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the Lord thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.

17 And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;

18 When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God.

KEY VERSE: “Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.” – (Deuteronomy 13:4)

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DCLM DAILY MANNA FOR TODAY

The book of Deuteronomy is a detailed summary of the children of Israel’s journeys from Egypt to the Promised Land. From the passage before us, Moses reminded them of the need for resolute steadfastness – a virtue God demands from all his children. They were to resist all attempts by false prophets to lure them away from true worship.

The warning accompanied this injunction and the consequences stipulated against defaulters showed the importance God attaches to steadfastness. No exception was given; all who attempt to draw away God’s people from the faith were to be resisted and exposed. Such a deceiver could be a brother, son, daughter, wife or a dear friend; that is not an excuse to concede. It was an obligation upon every Israelite to report such an individual to the elders for appropriate discipline.

It is very encouraging to find saints in Bible day who demonstrated unwavering steadfastness, as part of the cloud of witnesses. Joseph resisted the advances of Potiphar’s wife. Daniel and his Hebrew friends refused to eat the portion of the king’s meat, in order to keep themselves from being defiled. And young Samuel would not imbibe the corrupt and immoral practices of Eli’s sons.

The call to steadfastness remains the same. God wants believers to avoid false preachers who preach the incomplete gospel, which lacks the essential ingredients about God’s requirements from His people. Some of them are fully rooted in occultism in their quest for popularity, power and influence. As believers, we must remain vigilant and pay attention to the word of God, which gives us guidance and illumination.

DCLM DAILY MANNA THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Watch against error in the guise of truth.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 12-14

DCLM Daily Manna is the daily devotional of the Deeper Christian Life Bible Ministry (DCLM) written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi. It is an extraction of God’s Word designed to draw the sincere seeker closer to God on a daily basis through an insightful exposition and analysis of God’s Word.