WAS IT THE DEVIL?

 ANCHOR OF LIFE DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE for SATURDAY, 8THOCTOBER, 2022.

Author: PASTOR DR. SAMUEL AYORINDE - General Overseer

Topic: WAS IT THE DEVIL?

MEMORIZE: “"And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath" Jeremiah 21:5.

SCRIPTURE READING: JEREMIAH 21:1-14.

"¹ The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying,² "Please inquire of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all His wonderful works, that the king may go away from us."³ Then Jeremiah said to them, "Thus you shall say to Zedekiah,⁴ 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel: "Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the walls; and I will assemble them in the midst of this city.⁵ I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger and fury and great wrath.⁶ I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence.⁷ And afterward," says the Lord, "I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence and the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life; and he shall strike them with the edge of the sword. He shall not spare them, or have pity or mercy." '⁸ "Now you shall say to this people, 'Thus says the Lord: "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.⁹ He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be as a prize to him.¹⁰ For I have set My face against this city for adversity and not for good," says the Lord. "It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire." '¹¹ "And concerning the house of the king of Judah, say, 'Hear the word of the Lord,¹² O house of David! Thus says the Lord: "Execute judgment in the morning; And deliver him who is plundered Out of the hand of the oppressor, Lest My fury go forth like fire And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings. ¹³ "Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, And rock of the plain," says the Lord, "Who say, 'Who shall come down against us? Or who shall enter our dwellings?' ¹⁴ But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings," says the Lord; "I will kindle a fire in its forest, And it shall devour all things around it."" 

EXPOSITION:

Satan is blamed for everything evil. A thief who is caught red-handed with stolen items blames the 'devil' for pushing him into the act. This happens often whenever people need a convenient scapegoat to bear the blame for their shortcomings and failings in life. While there is a certain sense in which that can be true, it fails to take into consideration all the other issues, including our own personal responsibility for our actions.

Jeremiah told a stunned delegate from Zedekiah, king of Judah, that God Himself was fighting against Israel for their utter disregard for divine instructions and their willful practice of idolatry. With this revelation, Israel was now doomed to surrender to their enemies, go into captivity and have their beautiful cities and the temple burnt with fire. God promised to withdraw His protection over His own people, assist the Babylonians in gaining access into the city and ensure Israel was defeated. Only those who surrendered to the Babylonians were guaranteed their lives. The king of Judah together with his counsellors were worried about the Babylonians who were already laying siege to Jerusalem without considering that their main enemies were themselves and that God was responsible for this scourge.

Most times, we blame the devil for being behind our troubles. If it is not the devil, then it must be the work of an enemy somewhere, perhaps a witch or wizard in the village who has cast a spell on us. But the first thing to do whenever things go wrong is to look inwards, pray and find out if our ways are right with God. "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Better to first look inwards, when challenges arise.

DAILY BIBLE READING IN A YEAR – Hosea11-14.

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