DCLM Daily Manna Friday 22 December 2023
TOPIC: Our God Cares
TEXT: EXODUS 23:1-13
23 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
4 If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
KEY VERSE
“Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment”
(Exodus 23:2).
DCLM Daily Manna Friday 22 December 2023 MESSAGE
When God told Moses to write a song (Deuteronomy 32), it reminded the children of Israel how much He loved and cared for them. That song shows the deep affection God has for His people and His great desire for them to obey Him and prosper. He said, “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end! How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?”
The same God cares about the interpersonal relationships among His people. They must avoid bearing false witness, following the multitude to do evil, discriminating against the poor by denying him justice or abandoning a straying animal belonging to an enemy. They must not accept bribes, kill an innocent person or ill-treat strangers. The climax of it is that the seventh-year produce must be left for the poor, the widows and other less privileged persons. Israelites also must avoid idol worship; they must rest on the seventh day, being the Sabbath, and be refreshed.
READ DCLM Daily Manna Thursday 21 December 2023 – What Praises Can Do
What a caring God we have! Even slaves and animals are included in God’s plan. This brings a big challenge to the Christian today, to care for others. Every gift God gives – among them, wealth, wisdom, skill, education, and strength – is meant to be used to uplift others. Our Lord Jesus Christ made it clear that this will be a requirement for entering into heaven.
Whatever we possess in this world comes from the Lord, for the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. How can we, recipients of grace, shut the bowels of mercy from the needy? Our lives must touch others in more than a telling manner.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: True Christians care as God does.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: MALACHI 1 – 4
