Sunday, May 20, 2018

Sun.’s Devo - God’s Redemptive Plan

Read: 1 Samuel 26:1-28:25; John 11:1-53; Psalm 117:1-2; Proverbs 15:22-23
Today we read about two mean who rose from the grave: Samuel and Lazareth. David spared Saul’s life which was a life spared from the grave. After revealing to Saul that he could have killed him David gave Saul back his water bottle and his spear. Saul provoked a blessing on David telling him he would do great things and surely triumph. Saul wanted David to come home but David knew better than to trust Saul. Instead, David went to Achish of Gath, the very king he had acted insane in front of and asked if he could join forces with him. I wonder what Achish thought when he saw David standing before him totally sane. Instead of punishing David for deceiving him, he gave him the city of Ziklag. When the day came to fight against Israel, Achish wanted David to be his personal bodyguard. All I can say is that when God wants to hide you, he can hide you and when God wants to give you favor, he can give you favor.
Saul would face the Philistines the next day and he was not feeling very confident so he had his men search for a living medium since he had had them all killed. They found one in Endor. Saul tried to hide his identity, but God exposed him. He had to promise not to kill her and then admit that he wanted her services. He broke his own law to bring up Samuel because he knew he couldn’t hear God’s voice for himself. Saul always trusted in man more than God. Samuel was mad about being woken up and he didn’t have anything good to say to Saul. He told him that God had torn his kingdom from him and given it to David because Saul didn’t obey Him. He also told him that God was going to turn him over to the Philistines on the next day and his sons would die. After his devastating news, the medium fixed Saul his last supper.
In John, Jesus brought Lazareth back from the grave and he got to continue living on earth. Jesus used this as an illustration that he was the resurrection and the life. This was too much for the Jewish hierarchy and they met to decided what to do about Jesus. Caiaphas, the high priest prophesied that it would be better for one man to die for the whole people than that the whole nation perish. How true! That was exactly why Jesus came, only they would not be on the receiving end of that salvation. They used the excuse that if they let Jesus continue then the Romans would come and take away their place and their nation. I think they were more interested in their place than the nation.
God used all their scheming to bring about his redemptive plan because that is what God does. He works all things for his and our good.
Lord, we trust that all the things we are going through are working for your redemptive plan.

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