*DAILY ⓂANNA*WEDNESDAY 16TH NOVEMBER, 2022*TOO PURE TO BEHOLD EVIL*

🗣️TOO PURE TO BEHOLD EVIL💫

It is advisable you read the text first

📜TEXT:HABAKKUK 1:12-17📜

🔑📖KEY VERSE: "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?" (HABAKKUK 1:13).

According to A. W. Tozer, "God's first concern for His universe is its moral health; that is, its holiness. Whatever is contrary to this is necessarily under His eternal displeasure. To preserve His creation, God must destroy whatever would destroy it. When He arises to put down iniquity and save the world from irreparable moral collapse, He is said to be angry. Every wrathful judgment in the history of the world has been a holy act of preservation. The holiness of God and the wrath of God are inseparably united. God's wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. He hates iniquity as a mother hates polio that would take the life of her child."

The text for today highlights the complaint of Prophet Habakkuk when Israel was under the siege of the Chaldeans. The prophet had earlier cried to the Lord because he was surrounded by a culture of irreparable moral collapse, injustice and violence. The Lord's response was that He would use the Chaldeans, a fierce and violent people, as His instrument of judgment. But God's plan to use such an ungodly people seemed to Prophet Habakkuk somewhat inconsistent with His holy nature. So, the prophet reminded Him of His nature and prayed for mercy upon Israel.

All over the world, a culture of irreparable moral collapse, injustice and violence pervades. Unlike Prophet Habakkuk, many are not disturbed over these conditions, as long as they do not threaten their comfort in any way. They have learnt to live with unrighteousness and have come to look upon it as something natural and expected. Though wickedness may thrive a while, God will surely judge the wicked.

God's judgment will come upon all wicked people. He will not hesitate to destroy a whole nation if it remains in wickedness, like Sodom and Gomorrah. He, however, delights in the salvation and well-being of man. He will readily forgive a sinner who repents and turns to Him.

✍🏽THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The holiness of God and His wrath are inseparable.

📜THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 KINGS 9-10📜

    *MEDITATION*

How God sees things

The passage centres on the holiness and justice of God.

1. The holy nature of God
God is too holy to look at sin, v13. What are the implications of this?
a. Anyone living in sin with the mind that it does not matter is under self delusion.
b. Anyone that thinks God should be able to tolerate 1% of sin since his 99% of righteousness weighs greater is deceiving himself.
c. Anyone that thinks God can be bribed by service, praise worship and giving while he lives in sin is ignorant.
d. Any assembly or group of people where repentance and holy living is not emphasised and yet they are prophesying, performing miracles and claiming the presence of God is a scam👌
e. Anyone that derives pleasure in looking at sin or evil even though he is not personally doing it with them is not godly.
f. Any place where they claim the move and the presence of God wherever carnality is giving a free flow is mere emotional deception👌

Questions
What are other implications of the fact that God is too holy than to look at sin or evil?

2. The Justice nature of God
a. How can God use the idol worshipping Babylonians to judge and rule over Judah who, though sinful, but are not as sinful as the Babylonians?, v13. Is God just?
b. The one who knows the truth but does not do it will get a heavier judgement that the person doing the same evil ignorantly or with less exposure to the truth. Read Luke 12:47,48 for divine principle of justice.
c. God can use an unbeliever to judge or rule a believer who is not living according to the knowledge he knows as a believer.
d. The same sin, negligence or disobedience will not attract the same severity of judgement from God in this world and in the world to come. It is relative to the degree of knowledge. Is God not just?
e. The false sense of "I am holier than thou" by informed people over uninformed or not well taught people is pride.

Qeustion
What are the other implications of this justice of God?

Prayer points
Praise God for the holiness and the justice of God🙏
Pray that God will free and cleanse you from all things that puts off God in your life 🙏
Ask God to plant hatred and abhorrence of all evils in your heart so that you will be like God🙏
Pray that we will not be deceived by false security and pride of knowing the truth without doing them faithfully🙏

HYMN Holy Holy Holy

Remember the content a got from the DEEPER CHRISTIAN LIFE MINISTRY daily-manna in October

[Source of the content]: Daily Manna