DCLM Daily Manna 9 November 2021 — Blame Game
DCLM Daily Manna 9 November 2021 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Blame Game
TOPIC: BLAME GAME
TEXT: 2 KINGS 6:24-33
26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
27 And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?
28 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.
29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.
30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
31 Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
32 But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?
33 And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?
KEY VERSE: “Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day” (2 KINGS 6:31).
MESSAGE:
Many people have been misled into taking wrong decisions with terrible consequences because they easily run out of patience and blame an innocent individual to be responsible for their predicament.
Also Read: Open Heaven 9 November 2021 – We owe God Gratitude
From the text, Israel experienced a great famine in the days of Elisha. The famine was so intense that food became scarce and very expensive. When a woman narrated how they resorted to cannibalism due to the extremities of the time, the king was infuriated. He thought God was punishing the nation unnecessarily and decided to vent his anger on Elisha, the prophet of God. To facilitate his threat, the king sent an executioner to Elisha who held a meeting with the elders of the land. The king eventually came to the place where Elisha was, expressing his frustration, after the executioner was stayed through the spiritual authority of Elisha.
It is quite unclear why the king of Israel thought Elisha was responsible for the famine that ravaged the land during his reign. It is hard still to understand why he thought killing the prophet would be a solution. He appeared to forget or minimise his own contribution to the crisis, and did not acknowledge the sins of Israel which brought the displeasure of God in the first place.
Many times, we look away from our faults and begin our search for a scapegoat that can be blamed for our own inconsistencies and failure. The Syrians who imposed economic blockade on the nation were not the problem; neither was it Elisha. The sins of the people made God turn these enemies loose on them. We get our relief faster when we repent than when we continue in our rebellion and blame others for the consequences.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Stop searching for scapegoats; look inwards.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: LAMENTATIONS 1-3
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. 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)
