DCLM Daily Manna 8 January 2022 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — No Time For God?
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TOPIC: No Time For God? (DCLM Daily Manna 8 January 2022)
TEXT: Exodus 5:1-14 (KJV)
1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.
3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.
4 And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.
5 And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.
6 And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,
7 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8 And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
9 Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.
10 And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.
11 Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.
12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
13 And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.
14 And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?
KEY VERSE: “And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God” (EXODUS 5:8).
MESSAGE:
Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world, is known to be decidedly non-religious. In a televised interview in 1995, he said he believed in the values derived from religion, though not in the ritual itself. The following year, he drew worldwide criticism, especially from devoted Christians, when he told Time Magazine that he found organised religion a waste of time.
Pharaoh’s attitude and utterances in our text likewise shows complete disregard for God and His worship. When Moses told him to grant the Hebrews leave to enable them go three days into the wilderness to worship God, he was furious. He concluded the people were idle and punished them for thinking of worship and religion. Pharaoh’s officers and taskmasters were given orders to increase the burden and tasks assigned to the Hebrew slaves. They were required to provide straw by themselves to make the bricks. When the Jews could not meet up with the required quantity of bricks, they were flogged mercilessly.
Pharaoh’s response to the demand for the Jews to worship their God was intended to weaken Moses’ leadership of Israel at this time. It was also meant to break the will of the people and force them to submit to him instead of God.
Some organisations use higher pay on Sundays as inducement to make Christians abandon church service to work for more money. We must resist those who think we worship God because we are idle. Our devotion to God comes from the understanding that we are from Him and for Him; and at the end of everything, we will return to Him to give account.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Give God the best, not the rest.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Matthew 17-19
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.
