DCLM Daily Manna – 9th August 2025 Devotional Message Written By Pastor W.F Kumuyi
Read DCLM Daily Manna – 9th August 2025, Saturday Devotional Message.
TOPIC: Stay Within Your Boundary
KEY VERSE:
“Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?” – (1 Kings 2:43).
READ: 1 Kings 2:36-46 (KJV)
MESSAGE:
Luis Palau, in his “Experiencing God’s Forgiveness”, writes of Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. She was reminded one day of a vicious deed that someone had done to her years before. But she acted as if she had never even heard of the incident. “You remember it?” her friend asked. She replies, “I distinctly remember forgetting it.” Unlike Barton, King David forgave Shimei but did not forget it. He asked his son, Solomon, to avenge him.
In today’s passage, King Solomon continues to strengthen his kingdom. After dealing with Abiathar and Joab, he shifted attention to Shimei, a wealthy relative of Saul, who had insulted David during Absalom’s rebellion. Although Shimei appeared repentant and recanted when David regained the kingdom (2 Samuel 16:5-13); (2 Samuel 19:18-23), he was no longer trustworthy.
Shimei was angry with David and resentful of Solomon’s reign. To cut Shimei off from his fellow Benjamites and prevent the possibility of him rallying them against the kingdom, Solomon confined him to Jerusalem. Although Shimei deserved to die for cursing the king (Exodus 22:28); (1 Kings 21:10-13), David forgave him. Solomon gave him another chance, with a proviso that he would be executed if he left Jerusalem. Shimei agreed, but after three years, he overstepped his boundary and chased after his runaway servants across a nearby international border. That infraction cost him his life. Thus, Solomon eliminated another potential security risk to his kingdom and fulfilled his father’s request to get rid of Shimei.
The account of Shimei and his tragic end teaches us to take God seriously. Whenever we ask for mercy, and He forgives us, we must keep our promises and refrain from sinning. Remember that true reconciliation with God is not possible without genuine repentance. There is always a price to pay for breaking God’s law. Therefore, avoid Shimei’s kind of sin and keep God’s word, which prohibits cursing or speaking evil of our leaders. David’s method of exacting vengeance on Shimei through a surrogate reminds us of our need for sanctification. The experience will enable us to forgive and deliberately forget the offences of others without seeking revenge with subtlety.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Learn to keep agreements and stay within the boundaries of God’s grace.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Esther 1-5
About Author – Pastor W.F. Kumuyi
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.