DCLM Daily Manna 17 November 2025 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Is The Bible Cruel?

TOPIC: Is The Bible Cruel? (DCLM Daily Manna 17 November 2025)

KEY VERSE: “But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth” (Deuteronomy 20:16).

TEXT: Deuteronomy 20:10-20 (KJV)

10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.

11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.

12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:

13 And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:

14 But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.

15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.

16 But of the cities of these people, which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee:

18 That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the Lord your God.

19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life) to employ them in the siege:

20 Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.

DCLM Daily Manna For Today MESSAGE:

Robert Edward Lee, a Confederate General in the American Civil War, seemed invincible as he won a string of victories in 1862 and 1863. But two years later in 1865, he and his troops were routed and surrendered to Gen. Ulysses Simpson Grant, effectively ending the war. Reflecting later, Lee had this to say about the cruelty of war: “What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbours, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world.”

In today’s passage, God told the children of Israel they were to spare nations offering to surrender and make peace with them among those outside the circumference of the Promised Land. But those within the Promised Land zone were to be destroyed, including women, children, and everything that breathed. The reason was to keep away evil influence from the nation of Israel. Economic trees were commanded to be preserved.

Many Bible critics have wondered how a holy God would be associated with the brutal murder of innocent women and children in Canaan. Atheists and scoffers have also raised much dust about it. But they lack understanding that God loves sinners but punishes their sins according to the statutes and judgments contained in His word. The destruction of the nations in the Promised Land was an act of God’s judgment on the most terrible, heinous and detestable depravity you can ever imagine. They sacrificed their children to their abominable gods and practised unprintable acts of immorality. God gave them thousands of years to repent and return to His ways, but they continued in their sins and had to suffer the consequences (Leviticus 18:6-23).

The Bible isn’t cruel—it is honest. Uncontrollable depravity results in judgment and destruction. Sinners face destruction because of the depravity of their wickedness and sins. God has sent a Saviour, Jesus Christ, to the world, and those who repent and return to Him will receive forgiveness and mercy.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Sinners are to blame for their predicaments.

THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Ezekiel 22-24

Deeper Life Daily Manna For Today 2025 was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.