February 6, 2021 CAC Living Water Devotional : Topic – WAR AGAINST RAPE

By | February 6, 2021

February 6, 2021 CAC Living Water Devotional : Topic – WAR AGAINST RAPE


Read previous CAC Living Water Devotionals here

LIVING WATER CAC DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE

Saturday, February 6, 2021 – International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation

WAR AGAINST RAPE

Read: Deuteronomy 22:13-29

Deuteronomy 22:13-29  If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,

And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid:

Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel’s virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:

And the damsel’s father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;

And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.

And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him;

And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.

But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel:

Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.

If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;

Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.

But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die:

But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter:

For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.

If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;

Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.

MEMORISE:

But if a man finds betrothed young woman in the countryside, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die (Deuteronomy 22:25).

EXPOSITION

Despite government’s, corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations incessant efforts against rape, the menace seems alarmingly escalating! The worst is that rapists now target minors! Incestuous rape is also on the increase, where a father rapes his own daughter, or brother rapes his own sister! Everyday, rape-related cases are reported in the tabloids! Honestly, as today is the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, not only should the world fight vehemently against female genital mutilation, everything should be done to silent rape and rapists. Even God’s Word frowns totally at it.

It is not only a constitutional violation but also scripturally criminal to have carnal knowledge of the opposite sex without his or her consent. Recently, some states in Nigeria prescribed castration, public media disgrace, and even death penalty for rapists. With this, one expects that rape would reduce if not totally eradicated. The reverse is the case!

What today’s devotional piece is saying to its users is that we have to be proactive, rather than being reactive to rape. There were some rape cases that could have been averted, if the victims had been proactive. Indecent dressing is undoubtedly an open and cheap invitation to rapists. Parents’ carelessness in exposing their children indiscriminately to the opposite sex can also be responsible (Prov. 22:6). While some cases at times may defer any form of proactiveness, the fact still remains that so many others are avoidable.

Rape victims, no doubt, suffer psychological trauma. We can help them by our undiluted love and affection. Sufficient sex education must be instilled in our children as early as possible. Stop leaving and exposing your children to the opposite sex, indiscriminately. As for the rapists, though God’s mercy is still available should they repent, yet, no sinner will go unpunished (cf. Prov. 16:5)!

PRAYER POINTS

1. Lord, deliver us from the ravaging scourge of rape.

2. God, help the parents and the leaders of the Church to do all you have asked them to do over their children.

3. All unrepentant rapists would not go unpunished in Jesus’ name.

EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Exodus 28:11 – 29:31; Matthew 23:19 – 24:1

Leave a Reply