Sun.’s Devo- A Nation that Fears the Lord

Read: 2 Kings 17:1-18:12; Acts 20:1-38; Psalm 148:1-14; Provers 18:6-7
Ahaz was ruling Judah and he was an evil king who did not follow the Lord. There has not been a good king for a while in Israel and now Hoshea became king. He was evil, too.
The king of Assyria came up against Hoshea and he had to pay him to keep him from taking over. One year he decided not to give his tribute to the king of Assyria so Hoshea was put in prison and Samaria was besieged for three years. Then all the people of Samaria were taken away to Assyria became they had worshipped other gods. Now they would live in cities that didn’t worship God at all. They were given into the hands of the spoilers.
The king of Assyria replaced the Israelites with people from Babylon, Cuthoah, Ava, Hamath and Sepharaim in the cities of Samaria. They all brought their own gods with them. This was God’s land even though his people were not there, so God fought against the gods that had come into his land. He sent lions which killed and oppressed them. They went to the king of Assyria and told him what was happening and discerned that they needed a priest to come and teach them how to serve the god of the land which was Jehovah God.
They worshipped God along with their gods because they had no concept of one god.
In Judah, Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah became king and he was a good king and the first king to remove the high places and stop Judah from being able to serve false gods. He drained the religious swamp! During his reign the kingdom prospered and he refused to serve the king of Assyria for three years.
In the fourth year, the king of Assyria came and besieged Israel and took Samaria because they had abandoned the Lord.
You can see the stark contrast between a nation that follows the Lord: Judah, and one who turns away: Israel. Judah prospers and throws off any oppression from the enemy and Israel falls beneath its power. These are our choices. We can serve the Lord with our whole hearts and prosper or add other gods and become overcome by them.
In Acts, Paul escaped the worshippers of Diana and started on his last visit to all of the churches he had been a part of and planted. Paul was bound for Jerusalem where he knew, like Jesus, that he would face persecution and trial for his testimony of Christ. He gave them his last speech and left many sad that they would never see him again, but he wanted to make Jerusalem by Pentecost which marked the birth of the Church.
In one of his visits, a man fell out of a window on the third floor because he had fallen asleep. He fell to his death but Paul prayed for him and God raised him to life. Paul lived his life saving people from a much worse death and that was eternal death. He was coming to the end of his race.
Lord, help us to be as confident as Paul was at the end of his life. He knew that he had done all he had been called to do and that is our prayer.

Sat.’s Devo - The Counterfeit Religion

Read: 2 Kings 15:1-16:20; Acts 19:13-41; Psalm 147:1-20 Proverbs 18:4-5
The kingship of Israel was like a revolving door while Azaria ruled in Judah 52 years as a god-fearing king. Not the same scenario in Israel. While Azaria was ruling in Judah, these are the kings who ruled in Israel: Jeroboam reigned 27 years, then Zacharia ruled for 6 months, followed by Jabesh that ruled one month. He was succeeded by Menahem who ruled 10 years, then Pekahiah who ruled 2 years. All of them were evil kings.
Judah’s king, Azariah was succeeded by Jotham who reigned 25 years and was also a good king while in Israel Pekah and Hoshea ruled in Israel being bad kings.
After Jotham in Judah, his son, Ahaz came to rule and he was not a good king. He followed the idolatry of the kings of Israel. God sent the king of Syria and the king of Israel against him to besiege Judah but they couldn’t overcome him. The Syrians recovered some of the cities they had lost in past battles. Ahaz appealed to the king of Assyria to come help him fight Syria and Israel. He had to pay him with the silver and gold that was in the house of the Lord and in his own palace. The king of Assyria did come and took Damascus for him and slew the king of Syria.
While Ahaz was in Assyria with the king he saw his altar and was envious to have one himself. He came home and told his priest about the altar and had him build one like it. Ahaz started using it as his altar as if he was the priest. He had the brazen altar moved and put it on the north side of this altar. Ahaz stood as the counterfeit religion that will be set up in the end times to supplant the real worship of god. He is like the false prophet bringing his counterfeit religion which looks a lot like the real.
In Acts, some of the Jewish exorcists witnessed how Paul dealt with evil spirits with the name of Jesus with great results so they decided to use his name, too. It didn’t work for them because they didn’t know Jesus. The evil spirits attacked them and they had to escape naked and wounded. I bet that was a sight to see! It did cause the fear of God to fall on the city and many believed in Jesus. Many that had followed witchcraft and satanic worship burned their books and tools of worship to worship the true God. This caused the silversmith’s to loose so much money since they made idols of Dianna for the people to worship. Since so many were being saved they no longer wanted silver Diana idols. The silversmith’s tried to sound religious and make it all about not worshipping Diana but they were really upset about their lose of income. It is always about the money. Abortion is about the money, but they will always try to hide this behind other motives to hide the greed of their hearts.
Lord, help us to guard our appetites and hunger for the true righteousness of God.

Fri.’s Devo. - The Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Read: 2 Kings 13:1-14:29; Acts 18:23-19:12; Psalm 146:1-10; Proverbs 18:2-3
Joash, king of Judah reigned for 40 years but in his 23rd year, Jehoahaz became king of Israel. Jehoahaz only reigned 17 years
Jehoahaz started out as a bad king who worshipped idols so the Lord put them under the rule of the king of Aram who severely oppressed Israel. Jehoahaz cried out to the Lord and he sent them a deliverer and once again Israel could live peacefully in their own homes, but they had lost so many men in the war for their freedom that their army was greatly reduced.
Jehoahaz died and his son, Jehoash became king for 16 years. He fell back into idolatry. One day he went to visit Elisha who was suffering from the illness that finally cost him his life. Elisha told him to get a bow and some arrows and to open the east window and shoot an arrow. It was to signify Israel’s victory over Aram. Then he told him to hit the other arrows on the ground. He was upset that the king only hit the ground three times, so that would be how many times they would succeed in battle against Aram.
After Elisha died, he was buried in a tomb. They threw a dead Israelite in his tomb and the man came back to life as soon as he touched Elisha’s bones. Elisha had asked for a double anointing of Elijah’s. Elijah had raised one man from the dead and Elisha needed one more to double his.
His son, Jeroboam succeed him on the throne.
In Acts, Paul explains something about the baptism in the Holy Spirit that is often misunderstood. When we get saved, we get the baptism of John - baptism unto repentance and our sins are washed away and we are born again into the kingdom of God. When we get baptized in the Holy Spirit we get the baptism of Christ which is by fire of the Holy Spirit. Many times when this happened to them the people spoke in tongues which is just another language and sometimes they prophesied which is just saying the words God is saying. It is a response to a river flowing inside the person. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not being immersed into a river but having the river flow through us.
People stumble over tongues because it can’t be understood in our own understanding but if you can get over that hurdle, it will open you up to believe the supernatural more easily. The whole purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is to give the believer more power to be witnesses.
Lord, help us to see that you are a supernatural God and your ways are so much higher than ours.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Rise of Joash

Read: 2 Kings 10:32-12:21; Acts 18:1-22; Psalm 145:1-21; Proverbs 18:1
As Jehu’s walk with the Lord faltered, his kingdom weakened. He started losing territory to Aram. They lost the land of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh, the three tribes that didn’t want to cross over Jordan when they were given the promised land. Jehu died and his son Jehoahaz became the king.
Yesterday, we read that King Ahaziah died and his mother, Athalia went and killed all of his sons so she could rule. One of the sons was just a baby named Joash. He was saved and hidden in the Temple where the priests raised him until he was seven. At that time, the priest, Jehoiada showed him to the officers of the government and gave them instructions of what to do. Apparently, no one liked Athalia but they had been afraid to kill her. Jehoiada had the army surround Joash as he brought him out and put a crown on his head and a copy of the law in his hand. Everyone cried, “Long live the king!” and blew the trumpets. When Athalia heard the noise, she cried, “Treason!” The officers brought her out and killed her.
Jehoiada then led Joash from the temple to the palace and set him on the throne. He was seven years old and would reign for 40 years. Joash followed the Lord as long as he had Jehoiada to instruct him. He brought back accountability to the priesthood and had the temple repaired.
This is a good reminder that when we see no hope for the future, God always has the answer though it might have been hidden away for years. He always has a way of escape and victory.
In Joash’s 23rd year of being king, Hazael king of Aram attacked Gath and captured it. He was on his way to Jerusalem to attack it. Joash gathered all of the gold in the temple and paid Hazael not to attack them and he did. I have to think that he did this after Jehoiada had died. I don’t think this was a good thing. If he had asked God to help him, I think God would have had a better plan. Joash’s own officers murdered him and his son Amaziah became the king of Judah.
In Acts, Paul met Aquilla and Priscilla while he was in Corinth. They were a married Jewish couple who had escaped Rome because Claudius had ordered all the Jews out of Italy. They were also believers in Christ. Paul and Aquilla had both been tentmakers so they became friends and Paul stayed at their house.
Silas and Timothy joined them and they all preached the gospel of Jesus Christ every Sabbath in the synagogue. Many were coming to the faith and Paul had a dream where the Lord told him not to be afraid to speak the truth because He had many people in this city and Paul would be safe. Paul stayed a year and a half to disciple the believers.
The religious Jews brought Paul to court over his preaching but the proconsul refused to hear it since it had nothing to do with Roman law. The synagogue leader was beat instead.
Paul left Corinth to go to Syria and took Aquilla and Priscilla with him. He preached in the synagogue at Ephesus and was begged to stay but he had leave to visit the other churches and left for Caesarea and Antioch.
Lord, help us to remain strong and faithful till the end. Strengthen your Church to fight the good fight.

Wed.’s Devo - Draining the Swamp

Read: 2 Kings 9:14-10:31; Acts 17:1-34; Psalm 144:1-15; Proverbs 17:27-28
Jehu’s friends had just proclaimed him king and Jehu told them that if they were really behind him then then he would secretly go to Jezebel. King Joram was in his room recovering from his wounds with King Ahaziah - Judah’s king, visiting him.
One of the watchmen in the tower announced the coming of a troop. King Joram sent out a rider to ask him if he was coming in peace but Jehu commanded him to fall in rank. This happened to the next rider because Jehu was higher in authority and he was from their country.
Jehu kept coming so both kings came to meet him in their chariot. They met at the very plot of Naboth’s vineyard that Jezebel had swindled from him and had him slanderously killed. King Joram asked if he came in peace and Jehu said, not as long as idolatry and witchcraft from Jezebel abounded. Joram cried out to King Ahaziah, “Treason!” As he tried to escape, Jehu shot him in the heart with an arrow and he died. Jehu commanded his men to throw his body on the Naboth’s land to fulfill the prophecy against him.
Ahaziah was also killed and Jezebel was thrown from her window. The dogs devoured her flesh until she was unrecognizable just like Elijah had prophesied.
Jehu sent letters to Samaria for them to find Ahab’s best son of his 70 and set him on the throne because he was coming to get him. They were too afraid to fight Jehu so they sent a letter back to him telling him that they surrendered to him and awaited his instructions. He sent word to kill the sons and cut off their heads. Then he came to Samaria, killed all of the relatives of Ahaziah that he met along the way and called a meeting of the prophets of Baal saying he was going to serve Baal. They believed him and came to meet with Jehu. Jehu had his men put robes on them to mark them so his men would know exactly who they were. Then he had them all killed and destroyed Baal worship in Israel.
Prophets of today have said that President Trump is a type of Jehu who is coming to drain the swamp in Washington D.C. just like Jehu did in Israel. I pray that he is successful. We are definitely seeing heads roll and things stirred up violently. I pray that Trump will be faithful to keep the law of the Lord and not turn away as Jehu did in the end.
In Acts, it was Paul’s custom when he came to a town to go first to the synagogue and preach. Paul was called to the Gentiles but he first would go to the Jews. This caused a breach in the synagogue. It was between religion and truth. Religion is in opposition to God. It is man’s doctrines about how to get to God on man’s terms, where the gospel is the saving grace of the cross and is rooted in relationship not rules. It is God’s way.
When Paul came to Athens which was full of Greek gods and idols, he found one that was called the Unknown God. He used this in his answer to their questions about God. He explained that God was not tangible but eternal. He was their creator and the creator of all they could see. He sent his son to earth to die and rise from the dead so we could follow in his footsteps. A few men believed and some of the top officials of the city came to be believers.
Lord, help us to be zealous in your fight for your kingdom to reign. Help us not to get caught up in religion but depend on the Holy Spirit to lead us.

Tues.’s Devo - God’s Faithfulness to His Servants

Read: 2 kings 8:1-9:13; Acts 16:16-40; Psal 143:1-12; Proverbs 17:26
Elisha warned the woman who had been so hospitable to him to flee Israel and go to the land of the Philistines for 7 years because a famine was coming. She obeyed and left.
As you recall, Gehazi had leprosy from lying to Elisha and was no longer his mentee. Sadly, he went from being trained to wear his mantle to being just a story teller because he didn’t learn to steward his appetite. He was telling “Elisha stories” to the king and was telling the one about the widow and how he prayed her son back to life when she walked into the court of justice to ask for her land to be restored. She not only got her land back but all the money that had been made from the produce from her land while she was gone.
Elisha traveled all the way to Damascus on an assignment from God. Ben-Hadad, king of Aram was sick and when he found out Elisha was near he sent his officer, Hazael to ask him if he would recover. Elisha told him to tell the king that he would recover but he would die. That is a riddle! Then he told Hazael what he saw in his future. He would become the king of Aram and do despicable things to Israel’s people.
Hazael returned to Ben-Hadad and told him he would recover. He did that night and the next morning Hazael killed him and became the king.
In Israel, Ahab’s son, Joram had become king while Jehoram, Jehoshaphat’s son became the king of Judah. This gets complicated, but Jehoram married Joram’s sister bringing all of Ahab’s demons to Judah. This began Judah’s decay. The king of Edom and Libnah rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. Jehoram tried to restore his power to no avail.
Jehoram was succeeded by his son Ahaziah as king of Judah. Ahaziah went to visit his uncle, king Joram in Israel when he heard he was wounded. Elisha sent one of his student prophets to anoint Jehu, one of Jehoshaphat’s son as the king of Israel. He would destroy the house of Ahab and avenge the blood of the prophets and God’s servants that had been shed by Jezebel.
The prophet was told to say all this and run. He did, and Jehu was immediately proclaimed the king by his companions.
In Acts, we find the reason for the angel telling them to come to Macedonia. Already a group of women had been saved, but there was a spirit of divination that needed to be cast out. It resided in a young woman who could predict the future. When Paul cast it out of her it caused a scene because the men who owned her stood to lose a lot of income. They had Paul and Silas put in prison.
That night as Paul and Silas were singing praises to God, an earthquake shook their chains off and opened the prison doors. (This is a picture of what happened in Sheol when Jesus had died and went down to preach freedom to the captives.) The jailer went to kill himself because he thought he would be tortured the next day for letting his prisoners escape. Paul stopped him and preached the good news to him. His whole family came to believe. He next day, Paul and Silas were escorted out of prison and set free. They went by Lydia’s house to encourage her and let her know what God had done for them and left.
Lord, thank you for your Word that instructs us and leads us in the way of righteousness.

Mon.’s Devo- Open Our Eyes

Read: 2 Kings 6:1-7:20; Acts 15:36-16:15; Psalm 142:1-7; Proverbs 17:24-25
Elisha saved a drowning axe-head by throwing a stick into the water. It floated to the top so the prophet was able to give it back to its owner.
Aram was at constant war with Israel but Elisha kept feeding the king of Israel with secret intel of Aram’s strategy. When the king of Aram questioned his leaders to find the mole, he found that it was Elisha who was giving away their secrets to Israel. He sent his army to surround the city that Elisha was in.
The next morning Gehazi woke to see the army of Aram on all sides. He anxiously asked Elisha what they would do and Elisha prayed that Gehazi’s eyes would be opened so he could see what Elisha saw. When God opened Gehazi’s eyes he saw the army of God surrounding the army of Aram and they were much more powerful. As the army approached the city, Elisha prayed that God would blind their eyes and he did. Elisha went out and told the army that they were at the wrong city but he would lead them to the one they were seeking. He lead them to the middle of Samaria where the king was. Then he prayed that their eyes would be opened. Elisha told the king of Israel to feed them and send them home.
Aram’s army didn’t attack again for some time. When they did, they came for Samaria and laid siege to it. This caused a severe famine for Samaria and the king blamed it on what Elisha had done to the army the last time. He sent messengers to cut Elisha’s head off but instead Elisha gave them a word that by tomorrow, a seah of flour would sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria. The officer said that even if the Lord should make windows in heaven, it could not happened. (Little did he know that there are windows in heaven. Genesis 8:2, Malachi 3:10.) So Elisha told him that since he didn’t believe, he would not live to see it.
There were 4 lepers who came to Samaria and knew that if they were allowed to come through the gates, they would die of the famine so they decided to fall on the mercy of the Armenians and turn themselves over to them. When they went to their camp they found it fully supplied with provision but fully empty of soldiers. After getting their fair share, they decided to share their bounty with the king. They sent news to him and when his scouts found out the news was true, the whole city stormed the gates. The man who hadn’t believed Elisha was put in charge of the gates and was trampled to death. Everything that Elisha had said came true.
God can do the impossible when we need him to. He made the axe-head float, saved Elisha more than once and saved Samaria even though they were a wicked city. God’s goodness and loving kindness knows no end.
In Acts we see the struggles of the early church. Even they had splits and differences of opinions. Paul and Barnabas parted but God used both of them to carry on the spreading of the gospel. Paul and Silas went through Syria and Cilicia where Barnabas and Mark went to Cyprus.
In Lystra, Paul and Silas met Timothy who had a Jewish mother and a Greek father. So that Timothy could be more effective with the Jews, Paul circumcised Timothy and he traveled with hem through out the churches encouraging them in their faith.
An angel came to Paul in his dream one night beckoning him to come to Macedonia. They went there and on the Sabbath, they went to the temple to speak. A rich woman named Lydia heard their message was saved. She invited them to her house for lunch.
Lord, nothing is impossible with you - great or small. We trust you with your goodness in our lives that all is working for our good.

Sun.’s Devo - God’s Healing Power

Read: 2 Kings 4:18-5:27; Acts 15:1-35; Psalm 141:1-40; Proverbs 17:23
Elijah had prophesied a son to the woman who had so graciously given Elisha and Gehazi a place to stay. One day the son cried out in pain of his head and a few hours later, he died in his mother’s arms. She knew this was not what was promised her so she went tp get Elisha to fix it.
Elisha was on Mt. Carmel and it was the festival of the new moon marking the first day of the month and it was also a Sabbath. Elisha saw her coming and sent Gehazi to ask her if all was well with her, her husband and her son. She said that all was well and kept coming. She ran and fell at Elisha’s feet. Gehazi stepped forward to get her away but Elisha stopped her because he knew she was very distraught and God hadn’t showed him what it was about. When he asked, she told him about her son. Elisha gave Gehazi his staff and told him to lay it on her son’s body, but she would not be satisfied till Elisha came too.
The staff brought no change so Elisha, himself laid on top of his body and poured his life into this boy. The boy sneezed 7 times and was healed. What a mystery and what a recovery!
Elisha returned to his school of prophets in Gilgal. There was a famine in the land because of the wickedness of the nation so Elisha had his students gathering vegetables for a big pot of stew. They accidentally picked fruit from a poisonous plant and cooked it in the stew making it deadly. When they ate it, they instantly tasted the death in the stew. Elisha told them not to worry and threw some flour into the pot making it edible and healthy. The death that Elisha had cast out of the boy had tried to return and do more damage.
Next we have the story of Naaman. Naaman was an Armenian officer who was plagued with leprosy. He had a young servant girl he had taken with the spoil from one of his battles with Israel. She took pity on Naaman and told his wife that in Israel, he would be healed of leprosy. So Naaman took the equivalent to 9 million dollars worth of gold and clothes to Israel and tried to give them in exchange for his healing. The king thought he was just trying to stir up a reason to attack them, but Elisha got wind and sent a message to the king: “Is there not a prophet in Israel that can heal leprosy? Send him to me.” So off went Naaman to Elisha’s house.
Elisha sent Gehazi out to tell him to dip in the Jordan 7 times. He was humiliated and mad that the prophet didn’t appear himself and that the Jordan was so muddy. His servant humbly presented that the assignment was not a very hard thing to do, so maybe he should give it a try. He agreed and when he came up the seventh time his skin was soft as a babies and clear of leprosy. He went back and this time Elisha met him. He offered Elisha his gold and clothing and Elisha continued to refuse it till finally Naaman left. Gehazi couldn’t stand it. He ran after him and told him a story about how two prophets had arrived and needed money so could he have some for them. Naaman gladly gave him more than he had asked and left. Elisha was waiting for Gehazi and asked him where he had been. Gehazi lied, Elisha exposed him and the leprosy that had been on Naaman came on Gehazi.
Jesus taught that evil spirits, when they leave someone have to find a place to land and in both of our stories we see that principle.
In Acts, the church was struggling over the law. Some thought the new Gentile converts needed to be circumcised but Paul set them straight. The law of circumcision was a picture of what was happening in the heart and no longer needed since it had been fulfilled in Christ. There was a constant war with the law and grace and continues to this day. Satan wants us to fall back under the yoke of slavery to the law and the Spirit wants to set us free to follow the Lord in his power.
Lord, may we not fall back into the law but fight to live according to grace.

Sat.’s Devo - God Supplies Our Needs

Read: 2 Kings 3:1-4:17; Acts 14:8-28; Psalm 140:1-13; Proverbs 17:22
Israel’s capital was Samaria and Judah’s capital was Jerusalem. At the time, Jehoram, who was an evil king was the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, who was a godly king was king of Judah. The king of Moab was Mesha who had been supplying Israel with wool every year as tribute, but decided to rebel and not pay. Jehoram asked Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom to join him in attacking Edom. They both agreed and took their armies to Edom. After traveling 7 days they ran out of water. Jehoshaphat asked if their was a prophet in Israel they could ask for help. (This is a flashback to Ahab and Jehoshaphat when Elijah was the prophet.) This time Elisha was the prophet so they sought for him.
Elisha told Jehoram that if it wasn’t for the fact that Jehoshaphat was with them, he wouldn’t have given them the time of day, but because Jehoshaphat feared God and worshipped him, he would help them. He called for some praise music and prayed. God told him to have the soldiers build trenches to hold the water because he would fill it but not with rain. Then he told them that they would totally overthrow every city in Moab.
The next day, everything happened just as he said it would. Water flowed down from Edom and when the Moabites saw the water, they mistook it to be blood and thought they could just take the plunder. They were surprised by three armies and lost badly.
Elisha did the same thing on an individual scale. There was a widow and a prophetess that was about to lose everything because she couldn’t pay her debts. All she had was one cask of oil. Elisha told her to borrow as many jars as she could and start pouring the oil into them. The oil was like the rain that God sent on the battlefield. She was able to sell the oil and pay off all her debts. God is just as concerned with our individual problems as he is national problems.
Elisha often came through Shunem where he was invited to eat at the house of a wealthy woman and her husband. This woman wanted to honor Elisha and give him a place to stay so she had a small suite built onto her own house just for Elisha and his servant Gehazi.
During one visit, Elisha asked Gehazi to find out what he might do for this kind woman who had everything money could buy. Gehazi noticed that her husband was old and they had no heir. So Elisha called her in and told her that in a year she would be holding a son. It happened just as Elisha said.
The armies of Israel, Judah and Edom needed water, the widow needed money and the wealthy Shunamite needed an heir. God took care of all these needs. Can he not take care of what concerns us?
In Acts, there was a man in Lystra who had been lame since birth. He came to listen to Paul preach and Paul perceived that he had faith to be healed. Paul called him out and told him to stand up. He leapt to his feet and began to walk! When the people saw this they attributed this great power to the gods they served. They thought Paul was Hermes incarnate and Barnabas was Zeus. Paul tore his shirt and exposed his chest which was covered with scars from beatings he had received for being a Christian to prove to them that he was a human being.
Jews came down from Antioch to sway the crowd away from Paul and Barnabas so they ended up stoning them instead of sacrificing to them. If you live for the praises of people you will come to find out they are a very fickle crowd.
Paul and Barnabas lived through the stoning and left for Derbe. They returned to Lystra, Antioch, and Iconium to encourage their people there. Paul preached that they had to go through hardships to enter the kingdom of God. They were not afraid of persecution or trouble. Reading this makes me ashamed of the things I complain about.
Lord, help us to desire your kingdom above our comfort. Thank you for loving us through eyes of grace.

Fri.’s Devo - The Power of God

Read: 2 Kings 1:1-2:25; Acts 13:42-14:7; Psalm 139:1-24; Proverbs 17:19-21
Second Kings covers the reign of 12 kings of Israel and 15 kings of Judah. Not one of the kings of Israel will be good and only a few of the kings of Judah will follow the Lord. Kings covers in detail the kings of Israel where Chronicles will cover the kings of Judah in detail. Because of their failure to follow God, the Northern Kingdom, Israel will eventually fall to the Assyrians and the Southern Kingdom, Judah will eventually fall to the Babylonians.
We begin our story with the son of Ahab, king Ahaziah. He had fallen through the lattice in his upper story and was injured. He sent some of his servants to ask Baal-Zebub if he would recover. His servants were intercepted by Elijah who told them to go back and tell the king that since he asked Baal-Zebub instead of God, he would not recover but die.
When the king verified that it was Elijah they had talked to, he sent 50 soldiers to bring Elijah to him. When they found him, he commanded fire from heaven to kill them. This happened twice. When the king sent a third group to bring Elijah back, this officer was very humble. He begged Elijah not to send fire to burn them up and an angel told Elijah that he was the man to follow back to the king. Elijah went to the king and told him the exact thing he had told his servant the first time.
When Ahaziah died, he had no heir, so his brother, Joram became king.
Meanwhile, it was time for Elijah to leave the earth and Elisha had been his mentee. Elisha knew he would leave that day and he wanted to see it. Elijah tried to get rid of Elisha so he would go to heaven secretly, but Elisha refused to give him any privacy. Finally, Elijah asked Elisha what he wanted and he said he wanted a double portion of Elijah’s mantle. Elijah told him that if he saw him leave, that would be his sign that God had granted his request. Elisha did get to see Elijah leave in God’s chariot of fire and Elijah’s mantle was left behind. Elisha picked it up and found that God had indeed given him his request. He used it to part the Jordan and walk across. The first miracle he did for the people was in Jericho. He cleansed the water that was holding back the next generation and brought healing and life. He did it with salt.
Jesus said that we are to be the salt of the earth. If we want to save the next generation and bring life, then we need to walk in all God has called us to walk in and be what God has called us to be. We have been given everything that pertains to life and godliness.
In Acts, Paul and Barnabas became so popular with their preaching about salvation that the Jews became very jealous of their popularity. They eventually kicked them out of the synagogue and went on to stir up lies about them to win back the people. They eventually persecuted them. Paul and Barnabas would continue to preach to the Gentiles which just made the Jews madder. This scenario seemed to be the norm wherever they went. Paul and Barnabas rejoiced in their persecution because many were coming to salvation and the Holy Spirit was moving in miracles and great power.
Lord, help us to read your Word with expectancy of what you are going to do through us in our generation. We pray for revival on the earth.

Thurs.’s Devo - Ahab’s Demise

Read: 1 Kings 22:1-53; Acts 13:16-41; Psalm 138:1-8’ {reverbs 17:17-18
It had been three years since the king of Aram had warred with Israel and nineteen years since Elijah had killed all the false prophets. Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came to visit King Ahab to get him to join him in recovering Ramoth-Gilead. Ramoth-Gilead had been one of the cities of refuge now owned by the Syrians. Ahab agreed to help Jehoshaphat but first, Jehoshaphat thought it would be a good idea to ask God about the outcome. Ahab had accumulated 400 new false prophets and he called on them to give him their blessing. With great theatrics, they said that Israel would prevail and win. Jehoshaphat wasn’t convinced and asked for a true prophet of God. Ahab only knew of one and didn’t like him because he never told him what he wanted to hear. Micaiah was sent for and warned on the way to say something good, so he did in a very sarcastic tone. The king saw through his lie and told him to tell him the truth. He told Ahab that he would die and Israel would be scattered on the hills in defeat.
Ahab was angry and Micaiah explained that God had told him he would deceive his prophets to entice Ahab to go to war and die that very day. This only made Ahab madder and he went into war disguised as a plan warrior. One of the Syrians shot a random arrow and it landed in the only place it could get through Ahab’s armor. He was propped up to look like he was leading the war when he was really slowly bleeding to death. His chariot was washed in the pool where prostitutes bathed because he had prostituted his whole life by leaving God and following other gods. His blood was licked up by the dogs which was exactly what Elijah had said would happen in 1 Kings 21:19 because Ahab had killed Naboth. Ahab had ruled 22 years. His son, Ahaziah ruled in his place.
Jehoshaphat came to power in Judah in Ahab’s fourth year and was a good king who loved God and followed him. We will read more about him in the Chronicles of the Kings. I did notice that he didn’t align himself with Israel again when Ahab’s son asked him to. He had learned his lesson with Israel. Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah for 25 years and his son Ahaziah ruled in his place. Sadly, Ahaziah didn’t reign in righteousness but in idolatry.
In Acts, Paul is standing before the men of Antioch both Jew and Gentile. He gave the history of Israel and the fulfillment of God’s promise through Jesus. Jesus came to bring salvation to everyone and through him everyone could be forgiven and justified of their sins. He confirmed this message through the words of David in the Psalms and the words of the prophet, Habakkuk.
Lord, thank you for your faithfulness that even if it is years later, you are true to your word and you fulfill every promise.

Wed.’s Devo - Ask God First

Read: 1 Kings 20:1-21:29; Acts 12:24-13:15; Psalm 137: 1-9; Proverbs 17:16
I have to say that Ahab surprises me with his response to Ben-Hadad. He agrees to let him have any of his wives (I would have offered Jezebel), his children and his money but when he says Ben-Hadad threatened to do the same to the people, Ahab drew the line. I would have thought it would have been the other way around with Ahab, so he got my respect on that one.
I love his response to the arrogant Ben-Haddad, “One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.” In other words, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”
God sent Ahab a prophet to tell him that He would deliver Ben-Hadad’s army into his hands. When Ahab asked by whom, he said to send the young officers of the provinces to lead in battle and then the army behind them. There were 232 officers and 7,000 in the army against a multitude of Ben-Hadad’s men. They won that battle, but he prophet warned them Ben-Hadad would return in the spring.
Ben-Hadad’s men did return and they tried the same tactic that they thought had given Israel their victory. They put their officers out front and then the army. Little did they know that it had nothing to do with their strategy, it had to do with their God. Once again God gave them victory and Ben-Hadad bet on the mercy of Ahad and surrendered. Instead of putting him to death, Ahab foolishly made a covenant with him and let him go.
Ahab was severely rebuked for letting Ben-Hadad go free and was told it would cost him his own life. It did not happen immediately so Ahab went back to life as usual. There was a vineyard outside his palace owned by Naboth and Ahab coveted it. He tried to buy it from him but Naboth refused since it was his inheritance and it belonged to his family. Jezebel convinced Ahab to get it underhandedly so they paid false accusers to testify that Naboth had cursed God. They stoned him and took his vineyard. God was not happy. He sent Elijah to Ahab to rebuke him. God was going to cut off everyone from Ahab’s family so that there was not an heir left. Ahab repented in sackcloth so God, in his lovingkindness sent Ahab the news that it would not happen during his lifetime. God is much more merciful than me.
In Acts we see that many of Herod’s leaders had turned to the Lord and were now leaders in the church. They fasted and prayed and felt that Paul and Barnabus should leave and go out to proclaim the gospel to other nations. They came to Salamis and ended up in a town called Paphos. They met a Jewish sorcerer named Bar-Jesus who opposed everything they taught. No surprise, with a name like that! Because he was spiritually blind, Paul sentenced him to physical blindness. I have to think that Paul hoped that like himself, his blindness would lead him to enlightenment. We aren’t told if it worked on Bar-Jesus or not. They left and sailed to Perga then Antioch where they were asked to give a word from the Lord which we will read about tomorrow.
Lord, help us never get so comfortable in our walk with you that we think we can make a single decision without your counsel. Save us from ourselves. Thank you for your Holy Spirit that leads us in the way that we should go and is our constant companion.

Tues.’s Devo - On Angel’s Wings

Read: 1 Kings 19:1-21; Acts 12:1-23; Psalm 136:1-26; Proverbs 17:14-15
When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything that happened on Mt. Carmel. Elijah had returned to the city because he thought it was safe and he thought he would be a hero. That couldn’t be further from he truth. Jezebel was furious that Elijah had killed all her prophets and she sent word to him that his life would end as theirs did. He fled to Beersheba. He went into the desert and sat down under a broom tree and prayed to die. If he really wanted to die he could have stayed in Jezreel and Jezebel would have obliged him. He really didn’t want to die, he just wanted God to know how disappointed he was in the outcome. We can relate!
An angel woke him up and had a cake of bread and water for him to eat. He ate it and went back sleep but the angle woke him again and told him to eat more because he would need the strength it would give him for the journey he was about to encounter. He did and the journey lasted 40 days. It ended at Mt. Horeb. Horeb is a mountain range that has Mt. Sinai on it. I would bet that Mt. Sinai was the mountain he climbed. God asked him what he was doing there and Elijah complained of his zeal for the Lord and how he was the only one fighting for God. (Can you hear God giggle?)
God told him to stand on the mountain and watch because the Lord was going to pass by. A powerful wind came, then an earthquake, then fire, but God was not in either of them. Then God came in a gentle whisper. God asked him the same question and got the same answer. God told him to go back to the Desert of Damascus and there anoint Hazael king over Aram and Jehu king over Israel and Elisha to succeed him as His prophet. God was going to use these three people to rid the nation of evil. Then he told Elijah that he had 7,000 people in Israel who had not bowed to Baal and still worshipped him.
Elijah found Elisha and threw his mantle on him and left. I know you have heard the expression, “don’t burn your bridges behind you” just in case you need to walk back on them. Well, Elisha did exactly that. He burned his plow and sacrificed the oxen he was using to plow. He was saying that he would never return that way again. He would never come back to farming because being a prophet was his destiny and there were no Plan B’s.
In Acts, our reading begins with Herod killing James the brother of John and ends with God killing Herod. Vengeance is the Lord’s and he does repay.
When Herod saw how pleased the Jews were when he killed John, he caught Peter and put him in jail till after Passover when he was going to kill him also. God had other plans for Peter. God sent his angel to rescue Peter from jail. Peter stopped by Mary’s house and told the disciples of his miraculous escape before leaving town. The next morning the jail was in an uproar. The jailers lost their lives because they couldn’t save Peter from angels. How funny! Herod gave up finding Peter and went to Caesarea where the people called him a god. He accepted their praise only to be struck down in front of them. Long live the king!
I can’t help but see what an important role angels have in both of our stories. Angels are at work all through our day to protect, lead and guide us to our destiny. Thank an angel today!
Lord, thank you for our angels that are assigned to us. Thank you for your great government of heaven that rules the earth. You are in control of every nation, tribe and people. To your name be the glory!

Mon.’s Devo - Revival

Read: 1 Kings 18:1-46; Acts 11:1-30; Psalm 135:1-21: Proverbs 17:12-13
It had been three years since Elijah had told Ahab it would not rain until he said it would. Ahab had sent men to look for Elijah and he was never found. It was now time for rain, so Elijah sought Ahab out. He sent a message through Obadiah. Obadiah was Ahab’s top official yet he was a devout worshipper of God. God has his people in strategic places. Obadiah was able to secretly hide 100 prophets of God when Ahab went on a campaign to kill all the prophets of God. Elijah knew he could trust Obadiah with his message. Ahab was to come to Mt. Carmel with all 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah and the people of Israel.
They came and Elijah proposed a showdown between their idols of Baal and Asherah and the true God. Elijah presented two bulls and they were to choose which one they wanted for their sacrifice. Then they would go first and the god who answered in fire would be the true God. The prophets of Baal cut themselves, danced, chanted and prayed from 9-3 in the afternoon with no response. Then it was Elijah’s turn. He sacrificed his bull and prepared his altar. He built a trench around the animal and asked for three large jars of water to be poured on the offering till it was swimming in water. How appropriate to sacrifice the only water they had since what he was praying for fire, then rain.
Elijah prayed and fire came down from heaven, burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil. It licked up the water in the trench! God was very thorough and determined to show them his power. The people fell on their face in worship and the prophets of Baal ran. They were captured and Elijah killed them all.
Once the place was cleansed of false prophets, Elijah bent down in a fetal position to birth a storm. It took 7 times of praying and looking before they saw the first sight of a cloud, but that was all Elijah needed. He sent word to Ahab to hurry home because a storm was coming. Sure enough the clouds multiplied and rolled in quickly and rain fell in buckets. Elijah outran the chariot and got to Jezreel first. Jezebel was 25 miles from Mt. Carmel!
In Acts, Peter had returned to Jerusalem and the Christians had already gotten news of his visit at Cornelius’ house. They were upset that he would eat with a Gentile. Peter gave them the whole account and then they were enlightened and happy that God was saving Gentiles also.
When the persecution started many of the Christians had fled for their lives. Some of them had gone to Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch which were Greek cities. They began to tell them about the Lord and man of them believed and turned to God. These stories also made their way back to Jerusalem, so the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabus to mentor them. Barnabus went to Tarsus where Saul was and asked him to come and help him.
A prophet named Agabus also came from Jerusalem to Antioch. He prophesied a great famine that would come to the whole Roman world. This happened later when Claudius ruled. Many of the churches sent supplies to Paul and Barnabus. The gospel was spreading like fire.
Lord, may this be a picture of what is happening in our world. May the fire of God burn up our chaff and ignite our souls so that the rains of revival will fall on thirsty hearts.

Sun.’s Devo. - God’s Love for the World

Read: 1 Kings 15:25-17:24; Acts 10:23B-48; Psalm 134:1-3; Proverbs 17:9-11
Judah had a good king, Asa who followed the Lord while Israel had bad king after bad king, each getting worse than the last. They are always compared with Jeroboam since he was the one who started idol worship in Israel when he set up the golden calves.
Baasha was a wicked king of Israel that reigned for 24 years. He was so bad that God sent him a message that, like Jeroboam’s family, Baasha’s family would be eaten by birds and dogs. His son, Elah became the next king but only reigned two years. While he was drunk, Zimri, one of his own officials came in and killed him to become king. As soon as he took the throne, he had all of Baasha’s family killed just like the prophet had prophesied. When the army found out that Zimri had killed Baasha and appointed himself the king, they took their commander, Omri and proclaimed him king. Israel was split. Omri and his men attacked the city of Tirza where Zimri lived. They surrounded the city and when it was obvious they would take the city, Zimri went into the royal palace and set it on fire so he would die in the fire.
Tibni took over after Zimri and the kingdom was still split. Omni’s side was stronger so Tibni died and Omni became king. He bought a hill in Samaria and called the city Samaria. Omni was a bad king who worshipped idols and continued to lead the people into sin. When he died, his son, Ahab became king. Ahab married a woman named Jezebel who led him into the worship of Baal. Ahab built a temple for Baal in Samaria. He also began the worship of Asherah in Israel. He was the worse king yet in worshipping idols.
During Ahab’s day, Hiel financed the rebuilding of Jericho. He lost his firstborn son when he laid the foundation and his youngest son when he set up its gates just as Joshua had said when he cursed the city in Joshua 6:36. That curse still stands. In our day, a man wanted to rebuild Jericho, but his firstborn son died when he poured the foundation. His youngest son begged him to stop and he did.
Sin brings lack, so God raised up Elijah as a prophet and sent him to Ahab to tell him that it would not rain until God said so through him. Then God told Elijah to go hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. There he would drink from the brook and the ravens were ordered to feed him. When the brook dried up, God sent Ahab to a widows house. She was preparing her last meal for her and her son, then they would die. Ahab told her to add him in on the last meal and it would not be her last meal. God said that her flour would not run out or her oil.
Some time later, her son became fatally ill and died. She ran to Elijah for answers. He came and prayed that the boy’s life would be returned to him. It was and Elijah was able to give her son back to her.
In Acts, Peter went to Cornelius’ house even though it was unlawful for a Jew to associate with a Gentle. He had had three visions to help him over this hurdle. Cornelius shared with Peter his vision and how the angel had given him Peter’s name to meet with. Peter realized what God was doing and shared with Cornielius and his household about Jesus. While he was sharing Peter and his disciples witnessed these Gentiles being filled with the Holy Spirit. They spoke with tongues and praised God. Then Peter thought they should be baptized with water also. God was revealing his plan to save the whole world to his disciples and it still stands today.
Lord, help us not to judge as the world judges but to see every soul as a potential brother in Christ.

Sat.’s Devo - Godly Encounters

Read: 1 Kings 14:1-15:24; Acts 10:1-23A; Psalm 133:1-3; Proverbs 17:7-8
Jeroboam, king of Israel had a son who became deathly sick. He sent his wife to the prophet, Ahijah who had prophesied his kingship. Jeroboam told his wife to disguise herself so Ahijah wouldn’t recognize her. Jeroboam was probably felling quilty over the way he had abandoned God. Even though Ahijah was physically blind, he was spiritually acute. God told him she was coming and what to say.
As she approached his house, he called out to her by name and told her why she was there and what would happen to the boy. He would die the moment she set foot in her house. He was the only thing good about Jeroboam’s off-spring so he would be buried, but the rest of his family would be eaten by birds and dogs because of the sin he had led Israel into.
It all happened as Ahijah had said.When Ahijah died, his son, Nadab became king.
In Judah, Rehoboam ruled 17 years and led Judah into sin. They set up high places where they worshipped every god except the only true God. In his fifth year of reigning, the king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and carried away the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the kings palace. The king replaced the gold shields with bronze ones. When he died, his son, Abijah became king. He did not follow after the Lord either.
Abijah only reigned two years and the next king was Asa who was a good king. He cleansed the land of idolatry and stayed true to the Lord all his life. He brought back the silver and gold into the temple.
Throughout this time, Israel and Judah were enemies and fought against each other. Baasha, king of Israel, fortified Ramah which was the gateway into Judah. No one was allowed to travel to and from their kingdoms. Asa sent gold and silver to Ben-Hadad the king of Aram to break his treaty with Baasha and make one with him. Ben-Hadad agreed and helped Judah conquer the land of Dan and Naptali. This discouraged Baasha from building Ramah and caused him to retreat. King Asa had all the fortifications Baasha had built to be torn down. Asa built two other cities: Geba and Mizpah.
Asa died of foot disease and his son, Jehoshaphat became king.
In Acts, God sent his word to an Italian officer who loved God and gave much of his money to help the poor. He had not heard about the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. God gave him a vision and in it an angel told him to send for Simon who would be in Joppa and hear what he had to say.
In the meantime, God put Simon Peter in a trance and showed him a sheet coming down from heaven with all the unclean animals on them and told him to kill them and eat them. Peter was appalled and didn’t want to eat them became they were unclean. God told him not to call unclean what he had called clean. God was ushering in a new covenant that was higher than the law. It was grace. He repeated the vision three times so Peter would get the point. While Peter was contemplating the meaning of the vision, God spoke to him and told him that three men were looking for him so he needed to go downstairs and go with them.
We can expect to have these kind of encounters in the days ahead. God is ushering in a new kingdom on earth that is his heaven coming down to earth. Everything is changing and we need to see that light conquers darkness. This is not a time to look to the end in fear but with great expectation of God’s spirit leading us into wonderful adventures with him.
Lord, awaken our spirits to hear your softest whispers.

Fri.’s Devo - The Downfall of Israel

Read: 1 Kings 12:20-13:34; Acts 9:26-43; Psalm 132:1-18; Proverbs 17:6
God controls who rules on the earth but he chooses according to the condition of the people’s hearts. If they are serving him, he gives them a king like David. If they aren’t he gives them a king like Jeroboam. Rehoboam was chosen by God to rule Judah and Benjamin but Jeroboam was chosen to rule the other ten tribes. The kingdom was divided and Jeroboam’s nation was called Israel and Reoboam’s nation was called Judah.
Jeroboam realized that if his people had to travel to Jerusalem to worship in the temple and was afraid that they would eventually become loyal to Rehoboam, so he erected two golden calves and put one in Bethel and the other in Dan. He appointed priests that weren’t Levites to officiate the worship of these calves. This was an abomination to the Lord.
God responded by sending his prophet from Judah to Bethel to cry out against the altar they had set up. He prophesied that a son named Josiah would be born from David’s line who would one day sacrifice the false priests on this very altar. The sign that this would happen would be that the altar would split apart and the ashes on it would be poured out.
King Jeroboam heard the man’s prophesy and stretched out his hand to have the prophet killed, when his hand shriveled up and wouldn’t bend or move. The altar split and the ashes were poured out. Jeroboam begged the prophet to pray for his arm and when he did, it was healed. This saved the prophet’s life and the king wanted to feed and reward him. He refused saying that God had told him not to eat or stay in Israel, but return to Judah.
An old prophet heard what happened and tricked Judah’s prophet into coming home with him. He lied to the true prophet and told him that an angel had told him to feed him. When he ate, he told him he would die. He was killed by a lion before he reached Judah.
How do you explain all this? The prophet from Judah went with a word from the Lord and explicit instructions to preserve his own life. He delivered the word but didn’t follow through on the last part and it cost him his life. What a lesson to learn. When we enter into Satan’s arena we have to stay alert and not be deceived, he is the great liar and deceiver.
In Acts, we follow the lives of Peter and Paul. Great miracles were done during that time. Peter found himself in a scenario much like Jesus did when Lazareth had died. Peter stepped out in faith and raised the woman from her grave! Many people heard about this miracle and believed. That is the purpose of miracles - to show God’s power so that people will come to salvation.
Lord, help us to have faith to step out and do whatever you put in our hearts to do. It is you who will do the miracle.

Thurs.’s Devo - God’s Sovereignty

Read: 1 Kings 11:1-12:19; Acts 9:1-25; Psalm 131:1-3; Proverbs 17:4-5
Solomon did not obey the Lord and do what he had commanded. Israelites were not to intermarry with the nations they had driven out of the land, but Solomon did. By marrying them he was making a covenant with their people and their gods. He allowed them to bring in their gods and even built temples for their gods and worshipped them, himself. God was not pleased with Solomon and told him that because he had done this, his kingdom would be taken away from his son and given to one more worthy. His family would keep two tribes because of David’s loyalty, but the rest of Israel would leave.
This is exactly what happened when Solomon died. His son Rehoboam came to power and in one speech, lost ten tribes. God had been working behind the scenes for years setting up people where they needed to be. He rose up two adversaries to Solomon who opposed his kingdom and one of them was Hadad from the palace of Edom and the other was Rezon from Zobah. Both of them caused Solomon trouble during his reign. But a more personal enemy was Jereboam who had been one of Solomon’s trusted officials in charge of the whole labor force. It was prophesied of him that he would reign over the eleven tribes.

In Acts, Saul was on a tirade to rid the earth of Christians. He left Jerusalem with papers from the synagogue giving him permission to kill any believers in Jesus. On the way, he was blinded by a light and heard God’s audible voice . He told him he was persecuting the Lord. This was revelation since Saul thought he was persecuting for the Lord. God told him to go to Damascus and then he would be told what to do next.
Saul was led by his men to the city and stayed there blind and fasting for three days. God spoke to Ananias to go to the house of Judas on Strait Street and ask for Saul of Tarsus. He was to pray for him to receive his sight. All Christians had heard of Saul of Tarsus and were terrified of him. God assured Ananias that this was not a set up for him but for Saul. Saul had been chosen by God to take his gospel to the Gentiles. Ananias obeyed and when he laid his hands on his eyes and prayed for him, Saul was healed and could see.
Convincing Ananias was one thing, but convincing the other Jews that the man they feared the most was now one of them was a little more difficult. They decided to kill Saul at night but Saul learned of their plan and escaped through the city wall in a basket.
Satan might have taken one of God’s best, Stephen, but God repaid him when he rescued Saul out of Satan’s kingdom.
If there is one thing you can see through reading the whole Bible it is that God is in total control of everything. He can raise up men over night and put them down just as quickly. If we are his children, we need never be afraid.
Lord, thank you that you do everything for the good of your people and your kingdom. Help us to trust you in the everyday things of our lives as well as the large things in this world.

Wed.’s Devo - Making God Known

Read: 1 Kings 9:1-10:29; Acts 8:14-40; Psalm 130:1-8; Proverbs 17:2-3
Solomon built everything in his heart to build then the Lord appeared to him again and told him that as long as he worshipped the Lord and followed his commands, everything would go well for him and his family. If he didn’t, Israel would become a byword and people would joke about its ruin.
Solomon’s reign is a picture of the millennium reign here on earth where Jesus is king and the splendor of the Lord is on the earth. Over and over it talks about the amount of gold that he had. Hiram gave him as much gold as he wanted. The Queen of Sheba brought tons of gold, and he received tons of gold a year in taxes from enemy nations. His kingdom glistened with glory.
God gave him wisdom to rule his kingdom with excellence. He used non-Jewish people to do his forced labor and his own people to be in his army and rule in governing positions. He was world renown for his wisdom and his riches. His kingdom greatly prospered. This is a picture of God making his enemies to be his footstool and us ruling and reigning with him.
In Acts, the people of Samaria had experienced a great revival when they heard the news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There was a sorcerer named Simon who had wowed the city with his sorceries. Peter and John arrived and told them about receiving the Holy Spirit since they hadn’t been told about the Holy Spirit yet. When Simon saw the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, he asked if he could buy this ability of laying hands on people to receive the Holy Sprit. This was a power greater than he possessed. Peter and John told Simon to repent of thinking the Holy Spirit was something that could be bought. It sounds like he did repent.
An angel came and told Phillip to travel south to a road that went to Gaza. He did and on his way met an Ethiopian eunuch who was an important official of the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had come to worship in Jerusalem and had a campy of the book of Isaiah. God told Philip to run up to the chariot and listen to what he was reading. When Philip heard him read from Isaiah, he asked him if he understood what he was reading and the man said, No. He invited him up on his chariot to explain it to him. He happened to be reading Isaiah 53 which the description of Jesus’ life and destiny. Phillip was able to explain the scripture to him and tell him the good news of salvation through Jesus. The eunuch wanted to be baptized immediately and there happened to be water on the side of the road, so he asked Phillip to baptize him right then and there. Phillip did and as soon as he came out of the water, Phillip was translated to Azotus where he continued to preach. The eunuch carried the gospel home to his nation.
Lord, help us to be carriers of your good news to the nations.

Tue.’s Devo - The Dedication of the Temple

Read: 1 Kings 8:1-66; Acts 7:51-8:13; Psalm 129:1-8; Proverbs 17:1
Everything in God’s kingdom is timed and orderly. Solomon brought the ark, God’s presence, into his man-made building on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. That feast was to represent how God tabernacled with the children of Israel as they traveled from Egypt to the promised land. It was a feast of how God comes down to earth to live among men.
The transformation on the mountain happened on this day and we know that because Peter wanted to build booths for Elijah and Moses (Luke 9:23-33). Jesus came to earth and embodied the tabernacle of the Lord. When he died he sent his Spirit so that his presence would always dwell in us. Now, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Solomon made it clear that this was an everlasting covenant we had with God. We could break our end of the covenant but God’s would always stand and we could always go back to it. Repentance is the way back to God.
The Feast of Tabernacles lasted a week and in this week they worshipped and offered sacrifices to the Lord. Solomon consecrated his temple to the Lord.
In Acts, we are in part three of Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin. Part one and two was the history lesson of Israel, but part three went for the jugular. Stephen had reached his crescendo and he blasted the religious leaders for being just like their fathers who had the law, but killed everyone who obeyed it. They had killed all the prophets in the past who had come to them and tried to show them the truth so their could repent. They killed the ones who spoke about the Messiah that was to come and now he had come and they had killed him also.
As they rushed at Stephen with rage and hatred, he saw the heavens open and the throne of God. This just made the religious hypocrites madder. They threw Stephen’s robe at the foot of Saul. Little did he realize they were transferring Stephen’s mantle to him in this act.
Stephen was the church’s first martyr and after that persecution broke out agains the church in Jerusalem with Saul being the leader of it. The apostles scattered and took the good news to other nations. The people saw that the power of God out-powered the power of their greatest sorcerers.
Lord, may we go out with the power of the Holy Spirit to bring down strongholds.

Mon.’s Devo - The Presence of the Lord

Read: 1 Kings 7:1-51; Acts 7:30-50; Psalm 128:1-6; Proverbs 16:31-33
It took Solomon 7 years to build the temple for the Lord and 13 to build his own palace. The temple was 60x20x30 and his palace was 100x50x30 in cubits which were larger than feet. One hundred cubits = 175 feet. Solomon also built a throne hall called the Hall of Justice where he would judge the people. His palace and the palace he built for his Egyptian bride was built like the hall with cedar walls. The foundation was made of smoothed stones.
Solomon sent for Hiram or Huram from Tyre whose father was from Tyre and his widowed mother from the tribe of Naphtali. He was not the same Hiram who was the king of Tyre. Hiram was very skilled in metal and woodwork. He was commissioned to carve the capitals of the columns and all the decorative work in the palaces and the temple. There were two main pillars in the temple that stood on both sides of the entrance. Solomon named the south pillar Jakin, which means “he establishes” and the north one Boaz which means “in him is strength.” They were to be a constant reminder to the people that when they pass through these gates of praise to meet with the Lord they become established and strengthened.
A huge round bowl was fashioned that measured 45 feet in circumference. It held 11,500 gallons of water. This is where the priests would wash their hands after sacrificing. It represents the place where our sins are washed away. Today we would call it the baptistry.
He had ten movable stands with smaller basins to be set at every entrance so the people could wash their hands as the came in. They were to enter into God’s presence with clean hands and a pure heart.
Hiram made all the furniture for the temple also.
In Acts, Stephen was at the part in his history lesson where God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush and told him to go back to Egypt and deliver his people. The people rejected Moses at first just like they rejected Jesus who came to deliver them. Moses did lead them out of Egypt but became of their unbelief, they had to wander in the wilderness for forty years till a new generation had grown up who would believe. Moses prophesied that God would send a prophet one day from their own people.
Joshua would be the one to bring the people into the promised land of Israel and through David and Solomon a physical temple was built to house the presence of the Lord. But, Stephen went on to say that the presence of the Lord doesn’t dwell in a building but in the whole earth.
Lord, thank you that your presence isn’t in a box but it consumes the earth. It is unstoppable, and will never be defeated or taken away.

Sun.’s Devo - Seeing the Bigger Picture

Read: 1 Kings 5:1-6:38; Acts 7:1-29; Psalm 127:1-5; Proverbs 16:28-30
David in his God-given wisdom knew how to use his enemies for good. They served him. Hiram was the king of Tyre and David had had a good relationship with him so he passed it down to Solomon. Solomon made a deal with Hiram to supply him with wood to build the kingdom and in return he would give Hiram food. It worked perfectly. Then, Solomon used the people who they had taken from enemy nations as booty to be his forced labor. They worked at importing and exporting supplies and building the temple. We are to do the same in the spirit.
We can use what the enemy plans for harm, for our good. We can command the enemy to be our slaves and work for us. We can turn our weaknesses into our strengths through Jesus.
It took Solomon seven and a half years to build the temple. It was to look like the garden of Eden on the inside with flowers and cherubim and palm trees carved on the walls and doors. They were all overlaid with gold to show the glory of the place. It was heaven come down to earth in a physical expression.
Everything about the temple was a spiritual picture. The windows were wide on the inside but narrow on the outside which doesn’t make much sense if you want to see outside, but perfect sense if you want to see inside. The levels got bigger and bigger as you went up, indicating that revelation is greater at every level. There is always more, the higher you go with the Lord. The closer we get to heaven, the more things there are to learn and know and experience.
Even the wood he used had meaning. He saved the cedar wood for the holiest place where the ark would rest. Cedar wood is scented the heaviest of all wood. The aroma of God is tangible.
In Acts, Stephen was asked if the accusations about him were true. Was histeaching contrary to Moses’ law? Stephen was able to give them an account of their national history starting with Abraham. Abraham was called by God out of a heathen nation to be the father of God’s people. God sent him to Canaan and gave him the covenant of circumcism. He also gave him an heir which was Isaac. Isaac had Jacob who was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph was one of his sons that God picked out of the twelve to preserve the family. He sent him to Egypt to find favor and bring his family there to escape the famine. They prospered until a king came to power who didn’t know the story of Joseph. He only saw a people that were growing so rapidly they proposed a threat to Egypt’s kingdom. He abused them and made the Israelites his slaves. This went on for years until the people’s cry reached God’s ears. God sent Moses to deliver them. Moses was saved from slaughter by the daughter of the Pharaoh of Egypt. When Moses was 40 years old, he decided to visit his Hebrew brothers and witnessed their abusive slavery. He killed an Egyptian who was mercilessly killing a Hebrew and had to flee for his life. He ended up in Midian and had two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.
In Acts, Stephen was building up to the story of Jesus. It was the culmination of their history. Everything in their past was leading up to their very day when the Messiah would come again to earth.
Lord, help us not to be afraid of what the devil or the world can do to us. They can take our physical bodies but they can not take our souls. Help us to see with open eyes because in your sanctuary the vision is bigger and much higher.

Sat.’s Devo - The Wisdom of God

Read: 1 Kings 3:4-4:34; Acts 6:1-15; Psalm 126:1-6; Proverbs 16:26-27
Solomon went to Gihon to worship the Lord. There was no formal temple so the main place of worship was at Gihon. While Solomon was there he had a dream where God came to him and asked him for a request. He would give him anything he asked for. It was a test and Solomon passed it with flying colors. Solomon admitted his need for help in ruling the people and asked God for an understanding heart able to administer justice to God’s people. God was so pleased with his answer that he gave him all the things he didn’t ask for also. He told him he would be the wisest man ever and he would also be the richest. If he lived for the Lord, he would give him a long life also.
It wasn’t long before he got to prove his gift of wisdom. Two prostitutes came to him for judgement. They had both had a baby and one of them had died in the night. The mother of the dead baby was being accused of switching babies so that she had the live baby. Solomon saw that the only way he could find out the real mother was to put the live baby on the altar and see which one would save it. The real mother stepped forward to beg for its life letting Solomon know the true mother. She got her baby returned to her. All Israel heard of the story and were amazed and recognized that his wisdom came from God.
We are given a list of Solomons high officials or governors and I noticed that none of them were his own sons. Two of them were his sons-in-law.
In Acts we see the growing pains of the church. The Greek-speaking Christians were complaining that the Hebrew-speaking widows were treated better than theirs. Paul saw that this was not his gift so he anointed other men to help him in meeting the needs of the people. Stephen was one of the ones anointed to help. Stephen moved in the gifts of miracles and signs which made the members of the Synagogue of the Freed Slaves jealous.
They tried humiliating him in public, but Stephen was given the right answers and it made them look foolish. Next they brought him before the Sanhedrin with false accusations about his teaching. They claimed that Stephen taught against the Torah and the laws of Moses. As they accused him falsely, Stephen’s face transformed into what looked like the face of an angel. It glowed with the glory of God. Stephen fulfilled Matthew 10:18-20.
Lord, we ask you for discernment to see what you are doing and join in your work. Give us wisdom to make right choices and give the right answers.

Fri.’s Devo - Time for Justice

Read: 1 Kings 2:1-3:3; Acts 5:1-42; Psalm 125:1-5; Proverbs 16:25
Before David died he encouraged Solomon to be strong and follow after the Lord and keep his commands. If he did this, God would establish his kingdom forever. He also gave Solomon instructions about some loose ends that needed tying. There were people who needed to be honored and people that needed to be judged for their actions. Joab had killed Abner, the army commander of Israel and Amasa, the army commander of Judah. David had not sanctioned any of these murders and Joab had killed in a time of peace because they were a threat to his job. He had also conspired with Adonijah to take over the kingdom. He would need to pay with his own life.
Shimei was the man who had cursed David as he fled from Absalom. David had promised to let him live, so he told Solomon to get creative in how to punish him. Solomon moved Shimei to Jerusalem and told him that if he ever left Jerusalem, he would kill him. Shimei agreed until three years later when his slave escaped to another city. He went after him which gave Solomon the opportunity to kill him.
David told Solomon to honor the sons of Barzillai who had fed David and his army when they fled Absalom. Now, Solomon had done all David had asked of him.
He also killed his brother, Adonijah when he used his own mother, Bathsheba to get him a royal wife. Solomon saw that Adonijah was still manipulative and would always be a threat to his kingdom if he didn’t do away with him, so he killed him.
Solomon defrocked Abiathar from the priesthood because he had sided with Adonijah and sent him home. Zadok became the official priest. Solomon had now drained his swamp and his kingdom was established. He had used Benaniah to help him so he became the commander of his army. His name means “built of Jehovah.”
The last few verses we read today are the saddest. Solomon had established his kingdom and loved the Lord, but he made an alliance with the Pharaoh of Egypt and married his daughter bringing her into his palace. This particular wife represents the Church who has been ransomed out of a heathen nation and betrothed to the king of kings.
Yesterday, the last thing we read was about a man named Joseph who had sold a piece of land and brought all the money and gave it to the apostles. Today, we read the story of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira. They apparently wanted the same glory that went to Joseph, only Ananias and his wife had schemed that they would keep some of it but not tell that part. They didn’t have to give it but when they lied about it and said they were giving all of it to the church, God was not pleased and killed them on the spot.
When God is moving greatly like he was during their time, there is great responsibility required. They had tried to deceive God and man but it didn’t work.
The apostles went out and did the same works Jesus had done. They preached the kingdom of God and the resurrection of Jesus and they followed it with healing the sick and doing miracles. The Sanhedrin now had their hands full of twelve “Jesus’s”. Filled with jealousy, they threw the apostles in jail. That night God’s angel rescued them and told them to stand in the temple courts and proclaim the good news about Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
When the Sanhedrin arrived at the jail to get the apostles out for questioning they found an empty jail. They got news of where the apostles were and had them called in. When questioned, the apostles told them they had to obey God instead of man. The religious leaders didn’t know what to do with these apostles.
Gamaliel, a teacher of the law explained that it would be better to let them go than to kill them. If they were from man then their zeal would fizzle out on its own but if they were from God, then there was no fighting God and winning. That was wise advise so they had the apostles flogged and sent home. The apostles went home rejoicing at the privilege of being able to suffer for the sake of Christ.
Lord, may we have that attitude about our lives and the kingdom.

Thur.’s Devo - The Clash of Kingdoms

Read: 1 Kings 1-53; Acts 4:1-37; Psalm 124:1-8; Proverbs 16:24
Today we begin reading 1 Kings. First and Second Kings was probably written by Jeremiah and covers the 400 years of the kings of Israel and Judah up to the destruction of the first temple. First and Second Kings were once in one big volume named “Book of Kingdoms.” It begins with the end of David’s kingdom and beginning of Solomon’s.
David had promised Bathsheba that her child would be the next king after him to pay her back for what he did to her. Another of David’s sons, Adonijah had other plans. He though he should be the king so he gathered support from the priest, Abiathar and Joab, the army commander. He took chariots and horses and fifty men to sacrifice sheep and cattle at the Stone of Zoheleth which means “the serpent’s stone”. It overhangs the Kidron Valley which was a dumping place for idols.
When David learned of what Adonijah had done he told Bathsheba to take Solomon to the Gihon Springs and anoint him king. The Gihon Spring is a natural spring called “the Fountain of the Virgin.” It would become the official place to crown kings.
The people celebrated Solomon’s crowning and saw that David approved. Adonijah’s followers fled and he went to take hold of the horns of the altar for mercy. Solomon sent word that he could live as long as he didn’t cause any trouble.
The devil is going to fight every major promotion in our lives. We should not be surprised when we face opposition. If we don’t give up, God will come to our defense and put us where we are suppose to be.
In Acts, Peter had just healed the crippled man and took the opportunity to stand up in the temple and preach a sermon about Jesus being resurrected and exalted to the right hand of God. Jesus had come first to bless them and if they put their trust in him, he would be their savior.
The Sadducees who were there and other leaders were irate at Peter especially when he talked about the resurrection. The Sadducees didn’t believe in a resurrection and the others didn’t want to hear that Jesus was the Messiah because they had killed him. There solution was to put Peter and John in jail. This didn’t stop Peter from proclaiming Jesus to be the Messiah. The leaders were astonished at their boldness and speech since they were not schooled in their schools. They couldn’t deny the miracle so they warned them not to talk about Jesus anymore and let them go.
This did not deter them from continuing to speak about what Jesus did and was still doing through them. More and more people were coming into the kingdom and the people were totally devoting their lives and their possessions to the cause of Christ.
Lord, help us to walk in the same boldness that the early disciples did.

Wed.’s Devo - Power and Fire

Read: 2 Samuel 23:24-24:25; Acts 3:1-26; Psalm 123:1-4; Proverbs 16:21-23
David’s thirty-seven most valiant warriors were listed and Uriah, the Hittite was one of them. That shows how powerful lust can be and how it can cloud the best judgment. It wins when we get distracted and are asleep spiritually. When our guard is down the enemy will come in like a flood.
God got mad at Israel so He gave David a plan that would break his law and he could judge them. Usually the saying…”as the leadership goes, there goes the people.” But in this case it was the other way around. Apparently the sin of the people was pride because that was what God used in David’s life. God only stirred up what was already there and brought it to the surface. David sent his men to number the people. God had made a provision for numbering the people in Exodus 30:14, and everyone that was numbered had to pay a cost for their life to the Lord. David did not require that or offer it himself. In Exodus 30:12 it says that the ransom money the people give when they are numbered will keep the plague from coming among them.
A plague was the punishment David chose for the people. I wonder if he knew this verse and that he was fulfilling the law by choosing it. The plague lasted three days and David saw it with his own eyes as it approached him. It stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah. Araunah means “I shall shout for joy and make you to shine.” David bought the land and oxen to sacrifice and many years later, Solomon built the temple there. It was the place of mercy and forgiveness - the light of the world.
The disciples were at the Temple because it is the Sabbath and that is what they did every Sabbath. Everything was back to normal except them. They were baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire. They saw the crippled beggar who had sat there every Sabbath of their lives. Only this time, they were not the same people. The Holy Spirit compelled Peter to speak to this man. After seeing Jesus heal person after person when he walked on the earth, suddenly Peter had the urge to do the same thing he had seen Jesus do. Peter took him by the hand and lifted him up. Strength came to his legs and he was able, for the first time in his life, to enter into the temple. When he drew a crowd, Peter took the opportunity to preach the good news of Jesus crucified and resurrected.
I truly believe that this is a picture of the power and fire we are to be walking in in our day. We are going to see this kind of thing happening more and more as we step out in faith with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Lord, may we act on your impulses and do what you are wanting us to do.

Tue.’s Devo - The Holy Spirit is Given

Read: 2 Samuel 22:21-23:23; Acts 2:1-47; Psalm 122:1-9; Proverbs 16:19-20
David tells us when he finishes this beautiful song that God put the words in his mouth. It is Jesus’ last song to his father when he was finished with his life on earth. It is a list of all that Jesus accomplished and how he finished well. He secured an everlasting covenant for us of salvation and kindness.
Those who reject his kindness will be punished and destroyed. It is their choice.
David then honored all the ones who were faithful to him and stood with him to do valiant acts of service. We will be rewarded for the things we do for the Lord. David had three that were his mightiest men just as Jesus had his three that were his closest. We can be as close to Jesus as we want to be.
In Acts, it was the day of Pentecost. Pentecost means “fiftieth”. Jesus died on Passover and two days later was First Fruits. On this day the priest would go out to the field and cut the first fruit of the wheat harvest and bring it into the temple. He would take a seed or omer from the plant and every day add another seed, counting them until he had a bowl of fifty. That day would be Pentecost and they would celebrate the harvest.
So, on the day that God had appointed to fulfill Pentecost, he sent his Holy Spirit so that he could reap a harvest of souls. Pentecost was fulfilled in the Old Testament when Moses went up on the mountain and received the law. It was the marriage contract for Israel. The Holy Spirit is the marriage contract for the Church. It is our seal of covenant with God. The Holy Spirit came down on a group of men and broke their language barrier. They could now speak the language of people who before they could have not been able to reach. That is what the Holy Spirit does. He allows us to speak to people we have nothing in common with. The Holy Spirit bridges the “language barrier”.
When the law was given, three thousand people died because they sinned. In the New Testament, when the Holy Spirit was given, three thousand sinners were saved. The Holy Spirit came to give us grace which is the ability not to sin but to overcome all sin. It was the game changer.
Lord, help us to see that when we let the Holy Spirit out, we have no barriers. He speaks the language of the heart.

Mon.’s Devo - David’s Last Battle

Read: 2 Samuel 20:14-22:20; Acts 1:1-26; Psalm 121 1-8; Proverbs 16:18
Sheba fled with his army to Abel Beth Maacah. Joab and his troops surrounded the walled city and besieged it. No one could come in or out so they would eventually die of lack of water and food. A very wise woman asked to talk to Joab to find out why they were there. When she found out it had to do with one man, she told him that they would throw his head would over the wall. She convinced the city to kill Sheba to save their lives. When they did, Joab left them alone and went home.
A famine came on the land of Israel which is a sign of disobedience to God. David knew this so he asked the Lord, why he was angry with them. God told him it was because Saul had killed the Gibeonites in his zeal for Israel. The Gibeonites had been friends of Israel who aided them in passing into the promised land. God had told Israel not to hurt them, but Saul had tried to annihilate them.
David went to the Gibeonites and asked how he could atone for their loss. They wanted seven of Saul’s male descendants so they could kill them themselves. David spared Mephibosheth for Jonathan’s sake. When they killed them they left their bodies out in the open for the birds and the wild animals to eat. Rizpah, one of the daughters of the slain went out every day and kept the birds from eating them during the day and the wild animals from eating them at night. David found out about it and gathered their bones along with Saul and Jonathan’s and had them buried in Zela, Saul’s hometown.
Once again, David and his men went to war with the Philistines. When David was almost killed by a giant, Abishai rescued him and decided David did not need to be fighting anymore. He was too old. Four giants were killed in different battles with the Philistines.
David had written a song when he was delivered from Saul and sang it at every victory. It is a Messianic Psalm which means that it was a song written about Jesus also. (It is also word for word again in Psalm 18.) If you study it closely you will see it is the picture of what happened when the lights went off for 3 hours on the cross. God came down wrapped in a dark cloud and ministered to Jesus. It talks about the thundering and the lighting and the earthquake that happened at the cross.
Today we start reading the acts of the apostles. Jesus had appeared to many of his followers for forty days after his resurrection. During this time he instructed them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the gift. The gift was to baptize them with the Holy Spirit. All the the gospels talked about this baptism which was different from John’s baptism in water. This would be a baptism of fire. It would give them power to be witnesses to the world.
When Jesus went up to heaven, they saw him ascend through the clouds. Two angels told them that one day he would come back the same way. They went back to Jerusalem where they hid out upstairs in a room. There they stayed in constant fellowship and prayer. There were 120 of them and Peter stood up to report the death of Judas. His body was thrown into a field where his blood was spilled. They needed to replace him so there would be 12 again. They drew lots and it fell on Matthias.
Jesus, like David had come to the end of his fighting. He could now rest in heaven just as David would rest in his palace. It was time for an new army to arise and take over.
Every generation produces a new crop of soldiers for the army of God. It is our job to equip them and make them ready. We are all at different stages of our development but this is our time to live the kingdom of God on the earth.
Lord, let your kingdom shine through us.

Sun.’s Devo -David Restores His Kingdom

Read: 2 Samuel 19:11-20:13; John 21:1-25; Psalm 120:1-7; Proverbs 16:16-17
David sent a message to the palace to ask Zadok why he was the last person to bring the king back to his palace. David told him to tell Amasa that he would be in charge of his army instead of Joab. Joab had killed Absalom against David’s command and
Amasa was his nephew so he was related by blood.
The palace sent back word to David to return home. He got to the Jordan and the first person he met was Shimei, who was accompanied by the men of Judah who had cursed David and his men as they had passed by days earlier. He came to ask forgiveness and plead for his life. Abishai wanted to kill Shimei for cursing God’s anointed but David didn’t want to make adversaries of them so he spared their lives.
Next he met Ziba who had lied to David about Mephibosheth. He was there with his 15 sons and 20 servants to welcome the king home.
When Mephibosheth came, he hadn’t shaved or washed his clothes since David had left. David asked him why he didn’t come to him and he explained that Ziba had lied about him and with his disability, he couldn’t travel. David believed him and gave half of the land he had given to Ziba back to Mephibosheth.
David wanted to make sure he didn’t lose any friends in his homecoming. He wasn’t coming to make war but to bring reconciliation and peace. He made that clear in how he came back.
He couldn’t keep the peace between Judah and Israel. Israel had followed after Absalom and Judah had followed David. When the men of Judah brought David back, there was a big argument between them. They fought over who had more rights to David’s favor.
Sheba, a Benjamin saw this as a great opportunity to promote himself so he blew a trumpet and called all of Israel to himself. Judah clung to David. David came home to a divided kingdom. He took his concubines who were suppose to have remained faithful to him but didn’t and put them in a separate room where they lived apart from him. Then, David gave Judah three days to assemble an army to pursue Sheba and his army.
David’s army met and Joab killed Amasa to become the uncontested army commander.
In John, Jesus appeared to the disciples again while they were fishing. He told them to throw their nets on the other side of the boat. Even though they didn’t know who he was then, they obeyed and it yielded so many fish they could hardly lift it. John, then. knew it was Jesus.
When they got to the shore, Jesus was cooking fish and bread on a fire, but he didn’t look like himself. The disciples were afraid to ask him if he was Jesus but they knew inside that he was. Mary hadn’t recognized Jesus in the garden either. She had thought he was the gardener. The body of the resurrected Jesus was different than the one they had walked with on earth.
Jesus appears on earth in so many forms. He comes in the forms of people who embody his presence. He tried to get this point over to Peter when he told him three times to feed his sheep. He wanted Peter to see that he was to go and do the same things he had seen Jesus did. He wants us to do the same.
Lord, may we embody your spirit and do the things that you did on earth until you come or until we die and come to you.

Sat.’s Devo - Absalom’s Death and Jesus’ Resurrection

Read: 2 Samuel 18:1-19:10; John 20:1-31; Psalm 119:153-176; Proverbs 16:14-15
In preparation of fighting Absalom, David divided his army into three groups under the commands of Joab, Abishai, and Ittai. They convinced David not to go out with them because if he died their whole cause would be over. David agreed but gave them one last order: don’t kill Absalom but deal kindly with him. All the men heard the order as they marched out to war.
The forest was so hazardous that it accounted for more casualties than the sword. Absalom’s great head of hair was caught in the branches of a tree while his donkey kept walking, leaving him suspended in the air. One of David’s men saw him and ran and told Joab. Joab was angry that the man wouldn’t kill Absalom so he came and did it himself. They took his body down and threw it in a ditch and covered it with stones. Then they sounded the trumpet and everyone retreated. The war was over.
Joab sent a Cushite runner to tell David what had happened but Ahimaaz begged to run also. He beat the Cushite and got to David first. He wanted to soften the blow of the truth about Absalom. He told David that he heard a commotion and wasn’t sure. The Cushite arrived and told him the rest. David went into great mourning and cried like a baby over Absalom.
Joab had to go in and speak the hard truth to him. If David didn’t get up and thank his army for risking their lives to give him back his kingdom, he wouldn’t have a kingdom to go back to. He finally did.
Absalom was a type of the Anti-Christ who is always trying to usurp God’s kingdom. He had no son, so he had erected a monument to himself so people would remember him. The devil has no son because there is no love in him or ability to produce life. He is only about promoting himself.
In John, it was the day after the Sabbath so Mary had gotten up before it was light and gone to the tomb. When she got there the stone was rolled away so she ran back and got Simon Peter and John. They saw the open grave and the grave cloths lying there but the one that had been around his head was folded up as if it had never been used. I have heard many theories about this but the one I remember is that a carpenter would fold up his towel when he had finished a piece of furniture to show that it was finished and he was pleased at his work.
Peter and John went back home wondering but Miriam stayed outside the grave crying. Two angels appeared in the tomb where Jesus had been and asked Miriam why she was crying. Miriam explained that they had taken Jesus body but she didn’t know where. She turned to see a man she thought to be the gardener. When Jesus spoke to her, she ran to embrace him. He wouldn’t let her touch him because he hadn’t ascended to heaven yet. She had caught him on his way up.
She ran and told the disciples what had happened and that night Jesus appeared to them also. Jesus breathed on them the Holy Spirit and told them that now they would be able to forgive others sins.
Thomas was the only one who was not there and when they told him about it he said he would have to see for himself to believe. So Jesus appeared so Thomas could see him himself and believe. Thomas gets a bad rap for not believing by their testimony but Jesus wanted Thomas to be an eye witness of his resurrection so he came back to show Thomas.
Jesus said, “blessed are those who won’t see and yet believe” which is referring to us who believe by faith.
Lord, thank you for giving us the faith to believe in what we have never seen with our eyes. Your existence is obvious in creation and all the things you do for us. Thank you!