Devotional Guide, Today’s Reading – Monday, November 23, 2020

Theme: The Vice of Slander

Text: “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” – Matthew 12:35-37.

Comment:  Slander carries with it other vices such as whispering, evil surmising and so forth.  To surmise is to conclude that something is true on the basis of only limited evidence or information. It is mere guess work. And some of those who indulge in these things call themselves Christians. See Luke 6:46. The words in the text for today were stated by our Lord Jesus Christ in reaction to the blasphemies of the religious leaders of his time in regard to the source of his powers.  It was because they did not have faith in what our Saviour was doing that they were making blasphemous statements. “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.” (Matthew 7:16, 17)  Thus, except such slanderers repent, they shall bear their own judgment.

 

It is because of  evil heart condition that people wish other people evil and go on to spread damaging stories about them. See Proverbs 17: 5; Proverbs 24:17, 18.  Nobody is free from trouble in this world of sin. No one should therefore rejoice that someone else is facing difficulties. No one should make himself an enemy of another person, when such ones had done them no wrong.   “An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.” – Proverbs 11:9

Theme: COMMENTARY ON HEBREWS 11:32 - 40

Text:“For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.” – Jeremiah 32:3.

Comment: Because the king and people of Judah had given themselves to the worship of the devil, God Almighty used Jeremiah the prophet to warn them, telling them that if they would not repent, He would make Jerusalem and the temple they took pride in to suffer the fate of Shiloh, where the name of God was in earlier times before it was destroyed and abandoned. (Joshua 18:1; 19:51; 1Kings 14:2.) For warning the people against sin the leaders determined that Jeremiah must die. (Jeremiah 26:1-10) However, some of the elders, together with Ahikam, an officer of the king, intervened to prevent them from their wicked plot.

 

Again, when the Chaldeans besieged Jerusalem, Jeremiah was instructed by God to tell them to submit to their rule to avoid death and destruction. This was  seen as treason for which the leaders of the people convinced King Zedekiah to cast Jeremiah into.a well. But God also delivered him. When we stand up for the truth, even in the face of danger, God will give us victory in the end. St. Paul in his writings recalled God delivered them “from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us” (2 Corinthians 1:10).. He added that God Almighty shall deliver him “from every evil work, and will preserve him unto his heavenly kingdom. –  2 Timothy 4:18

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