Daily Manna TOPIC: No Room For Hatred TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 19:11-21 Key Verse: “But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities” (Deuteronomy 19:11). The twin sin of hatred and dishonesty (perjury) account for a high percentage of evil befalling the world today. While hatred is responsible for numerous bodily harm and death, dishonesty has caused a lot of injuries to individuals, organisations and states. In our text, God reveals murder as a major product of hatred and prescribes death as penalty. Although God instructed Israel to separate some cities for refuge into which slayers were permitted to flee, murderers were precluded from that privilege. Removal of another person’s landmark in order to make fraudulent gain was also frowned at; for such an act was a product of a dishonest heart; ditto for bearing false witness. To this extent, God required that every accusation be thoroughly investigated before anyone accused was condemned. Where an accusation was however found to be baseless and malicious, God demanded that the false accuser be equally punished. In fact, God demanded that the punishment to be meted to the false witness be precisely the one that would have been meted to the accused had the accusation been proved (Deuteronomy 19:19). We should be aware that killing a fellow human being physically is not the only act regarded by God as murder. The Bible says, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life in him” (1 John 3:15). That is the more reason we should endeavour to have genuine love for others. If by any chance we allow the pains of offence to drag us to the enclave of hatred, danger looms as it may foreclose our access to eternal rest with God. Believers should examine their heart, watch their dispositions towards others and also make concrete effort to eliminate any kind of animosity or thought that could create a wedge between them and God. In the same vein, Christians should not be parties to false accusations against others. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Beware, hatred is a forerunner to murder. Dont forget to SHARE!
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 06:51:11 +0000
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