Wed.’s Devo - God’s Army

Read: 1 Chronicles 11:1-12:18; Acts 28:1-31; Psalm 9:1-12; Proverbs 19:1-3
Hebron was the place where kings were anointed. It is also the place that Abraham stayed much of his life and bought the cave to bury Sarah. All the patriarchs were buried near Hebron which later became a city of refuge. Hebron means “a community; alliance” Here David made an alliance with the community of people before the Lord to lead them according to the Lord’s ways. They anointed him king over Israel just as Samuel had prophesied when he anointed him. He then had to fight and capture Jerusalem from the Jebusites. The Jebusites told David, “You will not get in here,” so David told his men that whoever lead the attack would be his commander in chief. They took Jerusalem. David’s mighty men equated to his guardian angels that were there to help him fulfill his destiny. We have mighty men appointed to us too.
Some of the men who were in his company when he was fleeing from Saul were actually Saul’s kinsmen. God promises to make even our enemies to be at peace with us (Proverbs 16:7). We are all enemies of the cross until we die to our sins and become a son of God’s.
These men were converts. David accepted their confession and made them leaders of his army. Paul was an enemy of God who converted and became a leader in God’s army.
In Acts, Paul and his fellow prisoners and captains landed safely on the island of Malta which means “escaping”. Paul and his men had just escaped death.
The people of the island were very hospitable to the men until they saw a snake come out of the wood and attach itself to Paul’s arm. They took it as a sign that he was a murderer. But as they waited for him to die and nothing happened, they changed their verdict to thinking Paul was a god. God gave Paul favor and he was able to pray and witness God heal the chief’s father who was dying. He was able to pray for many others on the island and see them healed as well.
After three months, they were able to leave and arrived at Rome where Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him. How awesome is that! He not only was free but protected. God promises to prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Paul was able to stay there and preach the kingdom without any hindrance. He went to the Jews first but most of them chose to remain blind.
Lord, help us to have eyes to see. Thank you for the great company of your army that surrounds us and fights for us.