Tues.’s Devo - We Need Discernment

Read: 1 Samuel 12:1-13:23; John 7:1-30; Psalm 108:1-13; Proverbs 15:4
Samuel had lived a guiltless life himself, even though his sons had not. The people could find no fault in Samuel either, but they had wanted a king, and a king was what they would get. Samuel made it clear to them that this was the king that they had chosen and asked for.
It had been God’s heart to give them a king but his king wasn’t born yet. His king would be David, a man after God’s own heart. They wanted it now so they got Saul, a man after man’s heart. Saul’s fear of man would be his downfall though he started out well.
It was the wheat harvest when it usually didn’t rain, but Samuel said that if God sent rain and thunder it would be a sign of how wicked their request had been. It rained and thundered scaring the people and causing them to repent. Samuel told them to let it remind them of their sin and be a warning not to go back to worshipping their worthless idols.
Saul was 30 at the time and reigned for 42 years. Saul led an attack against the Philistines but it wasn’t going so well and they were hiding out in caves waiting for Samuel to show up to offer the sacrifice. On the last day at the end of the day, Saul’s army was dwindling so he decided to offer the sacrifice himself. Samuel appeared and rebuked Saul for doing this and told him that his kingdom would be turned over to someone else who would be a man after God’s heart.
Saul’s army had diminished to 300 men and only Saul and Jonathan had weapons other than their own hands. They were going up against a multitude of Philistines. Cliff-hanger. We will find our tomorrow what happens.
In John, Jesus and the disciples were on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus’ disciples wanted Jesus to prove himself to the crowds with all his miracles, but Jesus knew better. He came after them to the feast and went straight to the Temple to teach. They questioned his authority and his miracles on the Sabbath. His response was, “Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”
I think this is the word for today. The world is crying out their views very loudly, but the truth is hidden beneath the surface. We must have discernment to see the truth.
Lord, give us discernment to live on this earth and see through your eyes and know your ways.