DCLM HIGHER EVERYDAY 10 February 2022 — Sinful friendship ends in sorrow
DCLM Higher Everyday 10 February 2022 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Sinful friendship ends in sorrow
TOPIC: SINFUL FRIENDSHIP ENDS IN SORROW
TEXT: NUMBERS 25:5-15
6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
10 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.
12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:
13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.
14 Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites.
15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.
MEMORY VERSE: “And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel” (NUMBERS 25:8).
MESSAGE:
A young lady who was attacked on Valentine’s Day by some ladies who accused her of snatching someone’s boyfriend, bled to death as a result of the injury inflicted on her.
The girls involved in this incident were said to be under 18, and had been friends for years.Yet, these friends chose to end her life with razor blade deep cuts. The incident put an abrupt end to somebody’s life and left others in deplorable states of emotional torments, having killed a friend.
In our text, the children of Israel had established immoral and idolatrous affinity with Moab, a heathen and enemy nation which attracted God’s severe wrath resulting in the loss of about 24,000 lives.
In the midst of this chaos, Zimri, a Jew, went into an immoral act with Cozbi, a Midianite lady, right in the congregation of the children of Israel who were weeping before the Lord. This act led to the premature death and eternal perdition of these sin partners as Phinehas thrusted their bellies through with a javelin. Alas! What a sinful friendship that ended in tragedy. Beware!
QUOTE: Beware!
CHALLENGE: A life without Christ is full of crises.
PRAYER: Dear Lord! Order my steps and paths.
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)
