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The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 19 July 2022 – All Souls’ Belong To God

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TOPIC: All Souls’ Belong To God

READ: Ezekiel 18:1-20 (NKJV)

  1. The word of the LORD came to me again, saying,
  2. “What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
  3. “[As] I live,” says the Lord GOD, “you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.
  4. “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.
  5. But if a man is just And does what is lawful and right;
  6. If he has not eaten on the mountains, Nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, Nor defiled his neighbor’s wife, Nor approached a woman during her impurity;
  7. If he has not oppressed anyone, [But] has restored to the debtor his pledge; Has robbed no one by violence, [But] has given his bread to the hungry And covered the naked with clothing;
  8. If he has not exacted usury Nor taken any increase, [But] has withdrawn his hand from iniquity [And] executed true judgment between man and man;
  9. [If] he has walked in My statutes And kept My judgments faithfully — He [is] just; He shall surely live!” Says the Lord GOD.
  10. ” If he begets a son [who is] a robber Or a shedder of blood, [Who] does any of these [things]
  11. And does none of those [duties,] But has eaten on the mountains Or defiled his neighbor’s wife;
  12. If he has oppressed the poor and needy, Robbed by violence, Not restored the pledge, Lifted his eyes to the idols, [Or] committed abomination;
  13. If he has exacted usury Or taken increase — Shall he then live? He shall not live! If he has done any of these abominations, He shall surely die; His blood shall be upon him.
  14. ” [If,] however, he begets a son Who sees all the sins which his father has done, And considers but does not do likewise;
  15. [Who] has not eaten on the mountains, Nor lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, Nor defiled his neighbor’s wife;
  16. Has not oppressed anyone, Nor withheld a pledge, Nor robbed by violence, [But] has given his bread to the hungry And covered the naked with clothing;
  17. [Who] has withdrawn his hand from the poor [And] not received usury or increase, But has executed My judgments And walked in My statutes — He shall not die for the iniquity of his father; He shall surely live!
  18. “[As for] his father, Because he cruelly oppressed, Robbed his brother by violence, And did what [is] not good among his people, Behold, he shall die for his iniquity.
  19. ” Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?’ Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live.
  20. “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

THE MESSAGE:

In the passage for today, God points the attention of Jeremiah to a wrong notion among the people of Israel: That children bear the guilt and are punished for the offences of their parents. This is not true. God is not unjust to punish the good father for the offences of a sinful son or the righteous son for the wickedness of an evil father. He is particular about every soul. The reason is simple – All souls are His. Beloved, we all belong to God and He desires our well-being. He delights in seeing us prosper and be in health even as our souls prosper. The prosperity of our souls lies in our right standing with God. There is no reason to doubt that God delights in the prosperity of His servants. Scripture affirms that it shall be well with the righteous (Isaiah 3:10).

God is just, He will by no means absolve the guilty but He will save the righteous. God punishes successive generations of those who despise Him, yet He shows mercy on thousands of those who love, fear and keep His commandments (Exodus 20:4-6). God will have mercy on you and cause your soul to prosper as you make up your mind to hold on to His righteousness.

PRAYER: Lord, I hold on to the righteousness in Jesus Christ. Have mercy on me. Amen.

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