Sun.’s Devo - Obedience Brings God’s Favor

Read: 1 Chronicles 12:19-14:17; Romans 1:1-17; Psalm 9:13-20; Proverbs 19:4-5 When David was hiding out from Saul with the Philistines, the Philistines were about to go into battle against Saul (1 Samuel 30). David and his men were going to fight with them against Saul but the Philistines were afraid David and his men would change their minds in the middle of the battle and fight for Saul, so they sent them home. When they arrived back at Ziklag they found that their homes had been burned to the ground and all their families taken by the Assyrians. All of David’s men wanted to kill David but God raised up fighting men from all the tribes to come and help him recover his families and all their things. The warriors that came from the different tribes were a great army - like the army of God. So we have a description of the army of God. It is armed with shields and spears, brave warriors, prepared for battle and completely loyal to God. We are also given some information about the men from Issachar. They understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take. That is a great definition of discernment. All of Israel wanted David to be their king instead of Saul so when Saul died, David became the king. The first thing David wanted to do was to bring back the ark of the Lord to Jerusalem. All of Israel was coming to welcome David as the king and David thought this would be the perfect time to bring the ark. He brought it down on a cart like the Philistines had carried it. If David had read the law he would have known that they were to carry the ark on the shoulders of the priests, using the poles. No one was to touch the ark. But, they brought it on a new cart and when the cart hit a rock, Uzzah stuck out his hand to steady the ark and immediately fell dead. This was a celebration-stopper and David just left the ark where this happened, at Obed-edom’s house in Bath. It stayed there for 3 months blessing Obed-edom in all he did. David settled in Jerusalem and built his palace. He had many sons and fought the Philistines twice with God’s guidance and help. He defeated them both times. Today we begin to read the book of Romans. Paul was sent to the Gentiles and the Romans were in control at the time. Paul especially wanted to win them to Christ so it will go well for everyone. He wrote to the believers in Rome that he had wanted to come to Rome but never could make it till the opportunity arose for him to get an escorted, Roman-payed, trip to Rome. He begins his letter telling them how excited he is to finally get to come and preached to them the good news about the kingdom. In both Testaments today, we see what happens when you walk in obedience and when you presume you know the path and walk in your own wisdom. David loved God with all his heart and asked him about his battles but presumed that God would be pleased when he moved the ark. God was pleased that he wanted to restore the ark to the people, but He had given his way to do it and David didn’t inquire of God first. It was a lesson that David had to learn. He was God’s choice to be the king, but that didn’t mean that everything he did would be automatically sanctioned by God. God was in control, not him. A great lesson for us in our walk with God. We can walk in his favor, but his obedience is the only thing that will keep that favor. Lord, may we remember to ask you about every decision we have to make and never assume we know best.