DCLM Daily Manna 16th September 2020 [Wednesday] – No Respecter of Persons

 

Topic: “No Respecter of Persons” By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi

DCLM Daily Manna Key Verse: 2 Kings 15:8-10 (NIV)

“In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned six months. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his predecessors had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He attacked him in front of the people, assassinated him and succeeded him as king.”

DCLM Daily Manna Text: 2 Kings 15:1-12  (NIV)

1 In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. 

2 He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 

3 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done. 

4 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 

5 The LORD afflicted the king with leprosy until the day he died, and he lived in a separate house. Jotham the king’s son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land. 

6 As for the other events of Azariah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 

7 Azariah rested with his ancestors and was buried near them in the City of David. And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.

8 In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned six months. 

9 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his predecessors had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. 

10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah. He attacked him in front of the people, assassinated him and succeeded him as king. 

11 The other events of Zechariah’s reign are written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel. 

12 So the word of the LORD spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: “Your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”

DCLM DAILY MANNA FOR TODAY 16TH SEPTEMBER 2020 – NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS

Matthew Henry said, “The greatest of men are not only subject to the common calamities, but also to the common infirmities of human nature; and, if they be guilty of any heinous sin, they lie as open as the meanest to the most grievous strokes of divine vengeance”. And because sin is like leprosy, even kings are not immune from its effect.

Our passage today tells us the stories of two kings, one in Judah and the other in Israel. The first is Azariah (also known as Uzziah) the son of King Amaziah of Judah who reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. He started as a good king “And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done” (2 Kings 15:3). The book of 2 Chronicles chapter 26 gives more details of his prowess and achievements.

However, in today’s reading no such information is given to us except about the leprosy that affected him. The Bible says God smote him with leprosy till his death. He started so well but ended poorly. The second king, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam, reigned only for six months over Israel. He started as a bad king and ended still a bad king. He was assassinated by Shallum, who took over the kingdom after his death.

The story of the two kings reminds us of the reality of divine judgment awaiting everyone. Kings wield such great power that they could assume they are beyond divine rebuke. A leper is a leper, even if he becomes a king. As Azariah was unceremoniously bundled out of the palace, so will God remove every leper from His presence.

The only solution to treating the sin of leprosy is through repentance and confessions of sin to the Lord Jesus. He is the Lamb of God who died to take away the sins of the world. Anyone, big or small, who comes to Him in humility, will receive pardon and cleansing from stains and blemishes of sins.

DCLM THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Sin destroys; Jesus delivers.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Proverbs 1-3

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.