DCLM Daily Manna 31 January 2021 – Harmless Threat
Topic: Harmless Threat
Text: Isaiah 7:1-9 (KJV)
1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.
2 And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.
3 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field;
4 And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.
5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,
6 Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:
7 Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.
8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.
9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.
Key Verse: “Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass” (Isaiah 7:7).
MESSAGE:
One of the common tools the enemy uses against his opponent is the attempt to weaken his confidence through intimidation and threats. He knows that once the enemy is made to bow to fear, conquest becomes very easy. As a result, he brags about what he has done in the past to defeat his previous opponents. In many cases, this form of propaganda, even though to a large extent may be mere harmless threats, has been found to work against the unsuspecting foe.
The young King Ahaz of Judah and the entire people of Judah were already reeling with fear because of the threat and confederacy of the kings of Syria and Israel against Judah. At this point, the Lord sent Isaiah to Judah to caution them against being fearful and fainthearted. He described the threats of the two enemy nations as “tails of smoking firebrands”. They were empty threats and incapable of causing any harm. All they needed to do now was to believe in order for them to be established.
It is possible that so many negative prophecies, predictions of economic depressions following the pandemic of the previous year, threats of job cuts, etc., may be looming as realities that threaten your peace, joy and life’s progress. Apart from these, there may be individuals and groups that have taken you as an enemy and ganged up with the determination to stop your progress and bring about your downfall. The Lord is assuring you today to be fearless. All their threats are empty and harmless. All you need to do is believe the Lord and have confidence in His promises for you.
Faith and confidence in the Lord are all you need to triumph over all the threats of the enemy. As long as you keep faith in Him and walk by His words, no threat of the enemy can stop you. Rather, you will see them come to shame and disgrace. Fear not; only believe!
Thought For The Day: If you believe, you will be established!
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
