Thurs.’s Devo - The Gift Promised

Read: 2 Samuel 20:14-21:22; Acts 1:1-26; Psalm 121:1-8; Proverbs 16:18 Joab chased Sheba to the town of Abel-beth-maacah which means “house of oppression.” Joab’s army surrounded the town but a wise woman went to the wall and called down to Joab and asked him why he was destroying a town in Israel. Joab explained that it wasn’t the town he wanted, it was just Sheba. She told him she would send his head over the wall. Then she went to the men in the city and convinced him to save their town by killing Sheba. They threw his head over the wall and Joab and his men went home. There was a famine in the land for three years and there is always a reason for a famine. David knew this and went to the Lord to ask him how they had offended him. He said that Saul had zealously killed the Gibeonites who Joshua had made a covenant with. David needed to make amends with them if he wanted the famine to lift. David went to the surviving Gibeonites and asked them how he could make amends. Since it was Saul that had killed their people, they wanted Saul’s family to suffer the consequences. They asked for seven of Saul’s sons so they could execute them at Gibeon. David agreed but spared Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth. They were all killed at the beginning of the barley harvest. This was Passover season making the death of these seven atone for the sin of Saul just as Jesus would one day die at that same time and atone for the sins of the whole world. The mother of two of the sons’ stayed with her son’s bodies and kept the birds from eating them during the entire harvest season. When David heard what she had done, David sent for the bones of Saul’s sons and Saul and Jonathan to be buried in their family tomb in Zela. When he did that, the famine ended. David went to war with the Philistines and got cornered by a giant. He would have been killed if Abishai hadn’t come to his rescue. David’s men told David he could not go to war again; they didn’t want to risk losing their king. Four times David’s men fought giants from Gath, descendants of Goliath, and defeated them. David had taught them well how to fight a giant and win. The book of Acts and the gospel of Luke were written by Luke. He wrote them both addressed to Theopolis, his young mentee. Jesus appeared to his disciples often during the 40 days after his crucifixion and spoke about the Kingdom of God. He instructed them not to leave Jerusalem until God had given them the gift he promised…the Holy Spirit. It would come on Pentecost which is always 50 days after Passover. Jesus was taken up in a cloud after 40 leaving them 10 more days to have to wait for their gift. During that time 120 of them met daily in an upper room to pray and fellowship. They voted in a new disciple to take the place of Judas Iscarot. The lot fell on Matthias. Lord, thank you for your faithfulness to show us what we have done wrong, so we can repent and be blessed once again. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit.