Tues.’s Devo - God’s Plan Executed

Read: 2 Samuel 17:1-29; John 19:23-42; Psalm 119:129-152; Proverbs 16:12-13 Ahithophel, Absalom’s advisor was called in to ask what Absalom should do concerning David. He told him he should take 12,000 men and take him while he was tired. They would isolate David and kill him then bring all the people back. This was great advise but God had other plans. Absalom thought he should get a second opinion and called in Hushai, David’s friend and spy. He told him just the opposite. He told him to send out for the warriors in all Israel and send the whole army after David and his men. This would give David a chance to escape with all his people over the Jordan. Absalom decided that Hushai’s advice was the best and took it. David’s two spies, Jonathan and Ahimaaz were discovered so they had to flee to Bahrain. There they were hid in a man’s well which he covered with cloth and seed. When the coast was clear they ran and told David what had been decided. When Ahithophel realized his advise had not been taken he went home and hung himself. David took his men as far as Mahanaim and was welcomed by Shobi, Makir and Barzillai who brought them abundant supplies which showed their deep respect for David. In John, prophecy continued to be fulfilled (Psalm 22:18) as the soldiers divided Jesus garments and threw dice for his robe. Jesus saw his mother and gave her to John to take care of. Jesus mission on earth was over so he spoke two last sentences: “I am thirsty” and “It is finished”. I wonder if he wasn’t thirsty for the wine of heaven and knew his life was finished on earth. He said, “It is finished” at the exact time the high priest would be saying it at the Temple. The priests had been killing lambs all day but at three, the high priest would have just killed the pascal lamb. The pascal lamb was the lamb that had been set aside to die for the nation. When he completed killing it, he would hold up his hands and say, “It is finished.” On Golgatha, the God’s lamb was dying for the sins of the whole world. Jesus wasn’t killed, he gave up his spirit, his life for us. Since it was the evening before a high Sabbath of Passover, the Jews wanted to take down the body before the Sabbath so they could wipe their sins away and be clean on the Sabbath. How hypocritical they were. They went to break the bones of Jesus but he was already dead so they didn’t have to. This was also a fulfillment of scripture. In Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12 they were told not to break any bones of their lamb. In Psalm 34:20 David sang about the righteous and of one of them he says, “God keeps all his bones and not one of them is broken”. He had no idea he was singing this about Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea had been a secret disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate to ask for his body. He put Jesus in his own tomb. Nicodemus brought 75 pounds of spices to anoint his body. This tomb was near a garden. The Bible started in a garden and will end in a garden. Lord, help us to see that everything is according to your plan. Even when we don’t understand it, you are in control.

Mon.’s Devo - David Leaves Jerusalem

Read: 2 Samuel 15:23-16:23; John 18:25-19:22; Psalm 119:113-128; Proverbs 16:10-11 Most of Jerusalem wept and mourned as David and his officers left Jerusalem. If he had stayed there would have been civil war in the kingdom and David didn’t want that so he stepped aside and let his son, Absalom have the kingdom. The priests came with the Ark of the Covenant to follow David, but David sent them back to Jerusalem and told them God willing, he would return. He told the priests to be his spies for him and send their sons to tell him what was going on. Ahithophel, one of David’s advisors had conspired with Absalom. No wonder, his name means “brother of folly.” Hushai, David’s best friend, met him with dirt on his head and torn clothing. David told him to go back to Jerusalem and be an advisor to Absalom and give him David’s advise. He would also be one of David’s spies. Ziba, the one who was in charge of Mephibosheth’s land met David with bread, raisins, fruit and wine for him and his men. When David asked him about Mephibosheth, Ziba told him he he was rejoicing about getting back the kingdom for Saul. Mephibosheth denied this later but at this point, David gave Ziba the land he had given to Mephibosheth. One of Saul’s clan, Shemei met David and cursed him and threw stones at him. Abishai, one of David’s men wanted to go cut off his head but David wouldn’t let him. He said if his own son hated him how much more would this man who was kin to Saul. David continued with his group till they reached the Jordan River where the women needed to rest. Meanwhile back at the palace, Absalom and Hushai arrived at the same time. Absalom wondered why Hushai didn’t follow his father since they were such good friends. Hushai convinced Absalom that he was with him because God was with him. Absalom followed Ahithophel’s advise and set up a tent on top of the palace where he went in to David’s concubines so all Israel could see. This was fulfillment of Nathan’s prophecy to David. This was his punishment for what he did with Bathsheba. In John, Peter denied being one of Jesus’ followers two more times before the rooster crowed. Jesus had been kept up all night in Caiphas’ house for his trial, then was sent to Pilate the Roman governor. Pilate didn’t want anything to do with condemning Jesus and told them to judge him themselves. They told them the real reason they wanted him to judge Jesus. They were not allowed to crucify a person under Jewish law, but he Romans could. They couldn’t even come up with a charge against Jesus. Pilate agreed to see Jesus and had to ask him what he was guilty of. He asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews and Jesus explained that he was king of an unseen kingdom not in this world. Pilate saw that Jesus was not guilty of anything he could sentence him with so he took him back to the people. He proclaimed Jesus “not guilty”. To calm the crowd, he called for Barabbas to stand beside Jesus. Every year at Passover, he would release a criminal from jail. He told the crowd to choose between the two. Barabbas was a total opposite of Jesus. He was an insurrectionist, murderer, and spreader of false religion. The people chose to save Barabbas. The soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus and wove a crown of thorns for his crown. They mocked him saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They let him out to the people and the priests led the people in the cry to crucify Jesus. This frightened Pilate who didn’t want to crucify Jesus but the pressure was too great and he finally caved and let them do what they wanted to Jesus. They led him to Golgatha and nailed him to the cross he carried. Two others criminals were hung with him. Pilate posted a sign that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”. The leading priest wanted the sign to say that he SAID he was the king of the Jews but Pilate refused to change it. Both David and Jesus laid down their earthly kingdom for God to give it back to them in his time and by his hand. Lord, help us to lay down our earthly kingdoms for the eternal things that can not be taken from us.

Sun.’s Devo - Exposing he Bad Actors

Read: 2 Samuel 14:1-15:22; John 18:1-24; Psalm 119:97-112; Proverbs 16:8-9 David missed Absalom and longed to see him but his pride wouldn’t let him reach out to Absalom. Joab realized this and wanted to help David so he sent a woman to act like she had a similar situation so he could see his problem from another perspective. It worked and David told Joab to bring Absalom back to Jerusalem, but he didn’t want to see his face. Absalom was handsome and also very crafty. He had beautiful long hair that grew to weigh 5 pounds before he would finally cut it. His hair would be his downfall in the end. He also had a beautiful daughter that he named after his sister who was raped…Tamar. After living in Jerusalem for two years and not getting an audience with his father, he went to Joab. When Joab ignored him and wouldn’t meet with him, he had his servants burn down Joab’s barley fields. Joab met with him. Absalom complained that he wanted to see David, so Joab went to intercede for him. David agreed to see him and they met. Now that Absalom had the audience of the king, he devised a plan to win the people over to him so he could take David’s kingdom. He hired a chariot and horses and 50 body guards so he would look important. He went to the city gate where all the legal matters took place and personally spoke to everyone seeking justice. He told them that if he was the judge, they would get justice, then he would hug them. He did all this to win their hearts and he succeeded. After two years of Absalom’s plan, he went to David and asked permission to go to Hebron and fulfill a vow to the Lord. (Hebron is the place where David was anointed king.) David gave him the okay. Absalom had asked 200 men from Jerusalem to come with him who knew nothing about his plan. He had sent secret messages to the leaders of each tribe of his desire to usurp the kingdom and they met in Hebron. At Hebron, he told his followers to yell “Absalom has been crowned king in Hebron” when they blew the ram’s horn. Some of the men from Jerusalem who had no idea this was going to happen ran home and warned David of the insurrection. David gathered his household and his followers in Jerusalem and they fled the city. He left his concubines to watch after the palace. David noticed that Ittia, a Philistine warrior who had been taken captive, was coming with him. He told him he didn’t have to come if he didn’t want to, but Ittai was a true soldier who would not abandon his leader and David was now his leader. Ittai brought 600 men with him. In John, Judas led a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to where he knew Jesus would be. Jesus knew they would come and stepped forward and asked them who they were coming for. When they said Jesus of Nazareth, he answered, “I am he”. When he did, they fell backward on the ground. We would say, they were slain in the spirit. How they could deny his power is that they were under a spirit of deception. Jesus asked that they let his disciples go free. Peter took his sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. It doesn’t tell us here, but in Luke 22:51 it tells us that Jesus touched his ear and healed him. I wonder if Malchus didn’t become a believer then. They arrested Jesus and took him to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest. He was questioned about his doctrine and Jesus responded that he spoke his doctrine publicly, there was nothing to tell them in secret. Jesus was slapped for talking to the high priest disrespectfully. Jesus told him he was only speaking truth. Simon Peter followed and listened from the courtyard. Peter denied he knew Jesus to a girl who recognized him as being a disciple. This “trial” broke all their laws which they so accused Jesus of doing. They were showing their true colors. Both David and Jesus were experiencing deception and seemingly usurpation but God had a plan in both of their lives and it was not for harm but to establish their kingdom. But first, God had to expose the bad actors. Lord, help us to be honest and upright. The truth is the truth and you guard over your truth. May we hide in you and your truth.

Sat.’s Devo -Amnon’s Transgression

Read: 2 Samuel 13:1-39; John 17:1-26; Psalm 119:81-96; Proverbs 16:6-7 In 2 Samuel 3:2,3 we read that David’s first born son was Amnon. His third son was Absalom whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai the king of Genshur. Ammon had a huge crush on Tamar who was Absalom’s sister. All of these are David’s children. Ammon thought he could never have Tamar since she was a virgin. Ammon must have had a bad reputation when it came to women. Amnon’s friend and cousin was Jonadab who was really crafty. He devised a plan where Amon he could have some time alone with Tamar. Ammon was to play sick and ask that Tamar come and take care of him. It all worked but Amnon couldn’t hold back his lust and raped her. She begged him to do it the right way and marry her but he refused. When it was all over, Amnon hated Tamar. Tamar went home disgraced. David was upset when he found out but Absalom was determined to get revenge when he heard. Tamar came and lived with Absalom and he told her to have patience, he would avenge what was done to her. Just a thought, I wonder if David didn’t do anything because of his guilt with Bathsheba. He had sort of done the same thing Amnon did. Maybe he didn’t feel qualified to discipline him. Absalom waited two years and then was ready to execute his plan. He went to his father David and asked if he and his whole family would come to his sheep-sheering party. David excused himself but allowed the rest of his sons to attend. Absalom had given his servants orders to kill Amnon when he was drunk. That night, they killed him and the other brothers jumped up and ran back home. The shrewd friend, Jonadab sent a message to David that his sons were all killed then ran ahead of them and told David that only Amnon was dead. Absalom had been plotting this since the day Amnon raped his sister, Tamar. Absalom fled to Geshur where his mother was from and stayed with his grandfather for three years. David reconciled Amnon’s death over that time and began to long for his son Absalom. In John, Jesus finished talking to his disciples then began to pray to his Father about them. He wanted them to hear him pray for them. Jesus knew he had completed his mission on earth so he was committing his followers to God. He prayed for their safety from the evil one. He prayed for truth and faith to lead them and guard them. He prayed not only for them but for all the followers that would come throughout the ages. He prayed for you and me. Jesus gave us his glory that we might be one and experience the unity that Jesus and the Father did. Jesus revealed God’s glory to them as he walked the earth and promised to continue to show them his glory after he had gone. Lord, your glory is revealed from the heavens and in all the earth. Let your glory be evident in us to others.

Fri.’s Devo - David’s Discipline

Read: 2 Samuel 12;1-31; John 16:1-33; Psalm 119:65-80; Proverbs 16:4-5 After David got Bathsheba pregnant and had Uriah killed so David wouldn’t have to face him and his own transgression, God had something to say about it so He sent Nathan to give David a hypothetical situation so he could see his sin from God’s perspective. He told him the story of a poor man who had a pet lamb that he loved very much. A rich man had a visitor and wanted to serve lamb. Instead of killing one of his own, of which he had plenty, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and fed it to his guests. David was appalled and ordered this man’s execution. Nathan told him that the rich man was him and he had done the same sin to Uriah by taking his wife when David could have any woman in the kingdom. Then he killed him to cover his tracks. God was not pleased with him and because of what he did, the child would die. What he did in secret would be done to him in public. Someone in his own household would rebel against him and God would give his wives to him before his very eyes and the eyes of his people. His family would also live by the sword since he had killed Uriah by the sword. This was fulfilled by David’s son, Absalom many years later. David repented and God forgave him but even after fasting a week and praying for the child’s life, he died. David went to Bathsheba to comfort her. They got pregnant again and this time God blessed the child and called him Jedidiah which means “loved by God”. He was also called Solomon. Meanwhile, Joab was fighting the Ammonites and about to take their capital. He sent message to David to come so he would get the victory. David did and took the king’s crown which weighed 75 pounds. He also took great amount of plunder from the city and made the people his slaves. In John, Jesus warned them of what was coming so they wouldn’t lose their faith. They would be expelled from the synagogue and killed for their belief in Him. The people who did this to them would think they were pleasing God by persecuting them. Jesus was leaving them so he could send them the Advocate, the Holy Spirit who would lead them into all truth. He will convict the world of its sin . He would make righteousness available to anyone who believed in Jesus and the Holy Spirit would warn of the judgment that would come on the world since the ruler of the world, Satan, has been judged. The Holy Spirit will speak for the Father and let them know what he says. Jesus went on to explain that they were going to experience great grief when Jesus leaves them but it would soon turn to great joy. They won’t have him to ask questions, but they can ask God and he will answer them. They were about to be scattered and confused but Jesus assured them, they could find peace in him. Lord, thank you that our peace is in you. Thank you for the Holy Spirit who reveals the Father and the Son to us. Thank you that you discipline those you love.

Thurs.’s Devo - David’s Transgression

Read: 2 Samuel 9:1-11:27; John 15:1-27; Psalm 119:49-64; Proverbs 16:1-3 David searched for any survivors of Jonathan’s family that he could show kindness to because of his love and the covenant he had made with Jonathan. Ziba had been a servant of Saul’s who knew of a survivor. His name was Mephibosheth. He was the little boy who had been dropped by his nurse while fleeing the palace. He was a cripple. David called in Mephibosheth and told him that he was giving him the land that his grandfather, Saul had owned but he would eat at his table every meal. He then put Ziba and his family in charge of working the land and taking care of Mephibosheth. Ziba had 15 sons. In the international news, King Nahash of the Ammonites died. His son Hanun became their king. David wanted to show kindness to him because his father had been a good ally, so he sent some of his elite warriors to offer condolences. Hanun’s commanders were suspicious and thought they were spies sent to spy out their army. They shaved their heads and cut off their robes. The men came home in shame so David had them stay in Jericho until their beards grew back. The Ammonite army realized how offended David was so they hired 33,000 soldiers from the Arameans, the king of Maacah and from the land of Tob. David sent his whole army against them and had to fight in the fields and in the cities. Joab divided his army into two groups to fight on both fronts. The Arameans realized they were no match for the Israelite army and fled. Hadadezer surrendered to Israel and they became their subjects. They vowed never to help the Ammonites against Israel again. In the spring of the year, David decided to stay home and not go to war with his army. He was walking on his rooftop terrace when he saw a very beautiful woman bathing. He found out that she was Bathsheba who was married to Uriah. David ended up sleeping with her and she became pregnant. David tried everything he could do to hide his sin. He tried different strategies to encourage Uriah to go home and have sex with his wife so he would think the child was his own. Uriah was a soldier to the core and refused to go home. David had to find a way to murder him so he sent word by Uriah’s own hand to Joab. The letter said to have Uriah put in a place where he would surely be killed. Uriah was killed. David thought he had hid his sin, but God saw everything and he was not pleased. In John, Jesus was intimately talking to his disciples before he leaves them. He told them that he is the true vine. His followers are his branches. If they don’t produce fruit, they are cut off. If they do produce fruit they are pruned so they will produce even more fruit. The ones that didn’t produce fruit will be burned as waste but his true disciples will remain on the vine and remain in his love. If we remain in his love then we will love one another. The world will hate Jesus’ followers like they hated him but the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit will testify about Jesus. He is the one we listen to. Lord, thank you for the spirit of truth that helps us remain in the Father. Thank you that we can produce fruit through love.

Wed.’s Devo - Building the Temple

Read: 2 Samuel 7:1-8:18; John 14:15-31; Psalm 119:33-48; Proverbs 15:33 Once David was settled in his new palace he began to want God to have a palace or temple himself. He told Nathan, his prophet his dream and Nathan told him to do it. Nathan answered out of his own head thinking that God would, of course, like a Temple. But, once Nathn left encouraging David to build a temple, God did speak to Nathan about building a Temple and sent him back to tell David His opinion on the matter. God had never lived in a Temple; the earth is the Lord’s Temple. God told David that He had taken David from the sheepfold to the Palace. He would be a father to David and establish his kingdom forever and make him famous. God would discipline him as a father to a son but he would never take the kingdom from him like he did to Saul. David was so humbled he went and prayed to the Lord and thanked him for all the things he had done for him and his family. He ended it with, “…when you grant a blessing…it is an eternal blessing.” David understood that God’s word is eternal and nothing can stop it from happening if he says it. David went on to defeat the Philistines by conquering Gath, their greatest royal city. He also destroyed the forces of Hadadezer. The Arameans had come to help Hadadezer but David defeated them and made them pay tribute to him. King Toi of Hamath also began to pay David tribute. David took all this tribute money and put it in the treasury of the Lord. David was going to use it to build God a temple. In John, Jesus was with his disciples giving them his last words. He was leaving them in body but not in spirit and he was sending them two helpers. The first was the Holy Spirit who would lead them into truth. The world couldn’t receive him because they weren’t looking for truth. The second gift he was leaving them was peace. This peace is a spirit. It would guard their minds and heart. So he told them not to be troubled or afraid. Jesus was leaving them to do what he came to do…to reveal the love of the Father to the world. We are building God a temple also only it is within us. We build that temple with faith, prayer, devotion, giving, and loving. Everything we do goes to building or destroying that temple. Lord thank you for the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the gift of peace. Thank you that we do not need to fear the future because you are in the future waiting for us and you have it all planned. May we continue to build your temple within our hearts.

Tues.’s Devo - David is Anointed King of Israel

Read: 2 Samuel 4:1-6:23; John 13:31-14:14; Psalm 119:17-32; Proverbs 15:31-32 Two brothers named Baanah and Recab had been part of Ishbosheth’s army. When they found out that Abner their commander had been killed, they were fearful for their own lives so they devised a plan to get ahead. They went to Ishbosheth’s house and snuck in and killed him. They brought his head to David thinking they would get a big reward and be promoted. David did not look favorably on those who took matters into their own hands especially when it came to leaders that God had anointed. David had them both killed. Jonathan had a son named Mehibosheth who had become crippled at the age of five when his nurse heard that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle. She had fled with Mephibosheth in her arms, tripped and dropped him which caused him to become crippled. We will read more about him later. The leaders of the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and anointed him king of Israel. David was thirty, the same age Jesus was when he went into his public ministry. He ruled over Judah for thirty-three years, the same age Jesus was when he died. David led him men against the Jebusites who owned the land around Jerusalem. They taunted that David would never be able to conquer them but God led David to victory over them. He made their land his home and called it the City of David. It had been the fortress of Zion which means “parched place”. Now it was the city of the beloved. King Hiram of Tyre sent him cedar and carpenters to build his palace. In Jerusalem, David married more wives and concubines and had ten sons there. When the Philistines found out David had been crowned king, they came to attack. Twice they attacked and both times God led David in victory. Once, David’s land was secure from his enemies, he wanted to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem. They placed the Ark on a new cart and brought it from Abinadab’s house. Abinadab’s two sons walked with the cart and when the oxen stumbled, Uzzah stuck out his hand to stabilize the Ark. God struck him dead right there. David was so upset he left the Ark there in Obed-edom’s house. God blessed Obed-edom greatly while the Ark was there. When David heard this, he decided to read about how to move the Ark. He had the priest use the poles to carry it on their shoulders and they brought the Ark into Jerusalem. David was so happy he danced before the Ark offering sacrifices every 6 steps. David’s wife, Michal watched from the palace window and thought David looked like a fool dancing in linen without the distinguishing robe of a king. She told him so when he got home and David let her have it. He told her that he was dancing before the Lord who had chosen him to lead Israel over her father Saul. He would make himself even more undignified than this to praise the Lord and the servants she thought he had disgraced himself in front of would think he was distinguished. Michal was barren her whole life because of this. In John, Jesus waited till Judas left to give them a new commandment. Before he had told them to love the Lord with all their heart and to love others as they wanted them to be loved. Now he gave them a new commandment to love others as he had loved them. He had set the example. He was about to lay down his life for them and he wanted them to have this same love for the world. He was entering into his glory and they would not be able to follow just yet. Peter thought he was ready to follow Jesus into death but Jesus said he wouldn’t even make it through the night without denying him three times. They had much suffering to face themselves before they were ready to follow Jesus into the eternal life. He encouraged them that they would do even greater works than he did because he was leaving. He also encouraged them to ask anything in his name. Lord, help us to realize our promises. We will one day do greater works than Jesus did. I believe that day is coming soon. Lord, may we be prepared to love others as you have loved us and courageously follow you into death.

Mon.’s Devo - Trust God’s Plan

Read: 2 Samuel 2:12-3:19; John 13:1-30; Psalm 119; 1-16; Proverbs 15:29-30 Ishbosheth’s army, led by Abner met David’s army, led by Joab at the pool of Gibeon. Abner suggested that 12 of his best warriors should go up against 12 of Joab’s best warriors. They each grabbed their opponent’s hair and drove their spear through them, killing all 24 of them. The battle began. Joab had two younger brothers, Abishai and Asahel who were fighting that day. Asahel was a very fast runner and ran after Abner, determined to kill him. Abner was much older and more experienced in war. He tried to get Asahel to stop chasing him but Asahel was relentless. Finally, Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Ashael’s stomach. It went all the way through his body and came out the other side. When Asahel’s two brothers found out what had happened they went after Abner with a vengeance and caught up with him on the hill of Ammah. Abner called down to them and begged them to stop warring brother against brother. Joab called a truce and everyone went home but Joab didn’t forget what Abner had done to his brother. When they assessed their casualties, Joab (David’s side) had only lost 19 men where Abner had lost 360 men. For years Israel fought against Judah. Israel becoming weaker and weaker while Judah becoming stronger and stronger. It all came to a head when Abner went in to one of Ishbosheth’s concubines and Ishbosheth reproved him for it. Abner didn’t like being scolded by a weak king so he rebelled against Ishbosheth and went over to David and offered him his loyalty. All David required of him to show his allegiance was to bring back his wife Michal. Abner brought her back to him with her husband crying all the way. Abner then went and campaigned throughout Israel for David and won the people over to David. Joab came back from war and found out Abner had been conspiring with David and was filled with rage. He went and killed Abner out of revenge for what he did to his brother. David was very mad at Joab and mourned greatly the death of Abner. All the people saw that David had no hand in the death of Abner and loved David. David cursed Joab and every generation of his family with a man who has open sores or leprosy or who walks on crutches or dies by the sword or begs for food. It makes me wonder if some of these people were the ones that Jesus came and healed many years later. In John, Jesus was celebrating his last Passover as he was to be the Passover lamb on this one. Jesus knew that Satan had set his trap and was using Judas to betray him. He also knew that he was about to leave and go back to his Father in heaven so he chose to wash his disciples’ feet. He was washing away their sins. Then, Jesus explained to his disciples that what he did for them, they were to do for others. Judas was in the group while he did this which troubled Jesus greatly. He told them that one of them would betray him. When John asked Jesus who it was that would betray him, Jesus said it was the one who he gave the bread to that was dipped in the bowl. He then dipped the bread in the bowl and gave it to Judas Iscariot. Once Judas ate the bread, Satan entered him and Jesus told him to leave. Jesus was in control of everything, even his enemies. Judas didn’t take his life, Jesus gave it. His disciples didn’t understand what was happening at the time, but later they were able to piece it together and realize that Jesus was in full control the whole time. He understood everything that was happening and was at peace with it. Jesus was setting the example of how to die and they would follow his example in this also. Lord, help us to be at peace with all that is happening around us, knowing that we can only do what you tell us to do. You have the whole situation in your hands and you are not anxious or afraid. May we enter into your peace.

Sun.’s Devo - David Becomes King in Hebron

Read: 1 Samuel 29:1-31:13; John 11:55-12:19; Psalm 118:1-18; Provers 15:24-26 David stayed with his newly captured family for two days and on the third day, he was visited by a man who had escaped the Israelite camp. He came to David for refuge. He told David how the battle had gone. Israel was defeated. Concerning the details of Saul’s death, the man gave David a completely different story than the one we read yesterday. The truth was that Saul was injured and asked his own body guard to kill him. When he wouldn’t do it, Saul fell on his own sword and died. When the body guard saw he was dead, he fell on his own sword also. This man claimed to be the one that Saul asked to kill him which he did, and then escaped. He thought David would spare his life and reward him. Instead, David killed him for killing God’s anointed. David and his men mourned Saul, his sons and all of Israel. David composed a song for Saul and Jonathan and taught it to the people of Judah. Then, David asked the Lord if he should move back to Judah and where he should move. God told him to move to Hebron which means “communion”. It was time to commune in his own land. The people of Judah made David their king. David sent word to Jabesh-gilead asking them to be his subjects and acknowledge him as their king. Abner, Saul’s commander had already crowned Saul’s son Ishbosheth king over Gilead, Jereel, Ephraim, Benjamin, the land of the Ashrites and all the rest of Israel. That was everyone north of Judah. Ishbosheth ruled from Mahanaim for 2 years. Ishbosheth means “man of shame”. David was king in Hebron for seven and half years. In John, we see the beginning of the harvest as Greeks came to worship God at the Passover and to see Jesus. Jesus agonizes leaving now when many are coming to believe, but he realizes that like a grain of wheat that doesn’t bear fruit until it dies, he came to die. He will bear much more fruit in his death than in his life. The people couldn’t understand him dying since they had read that the Messiah would live forever. Jesus explained that his light would shine on earth in his earthly form just a little longer and if they walked in his light, the darkness would not overtake them. Then Jesus hid himself from them. Many didn’t believe even when they couldn’t deny his miracles. Some of the believers included the Jewish leaders but because of their pride, they wouldn’t make it public. They chose the praises of men over the praises of God. Jesus submitted to God’s plan even if it meant he would be misunderstood. He left his life in God’s hands. Lord, we submit our lives into your hands even and especially when we don’t understand.

Sat.’s Devo - It All Came to Pass

Read: 1 Samuel 29:31:13; John 11:55-12:19; Psalm 118:1-18; Proverbs 15:24-26 As the Philistines were marching out to war against Israel, David and King Aphek took up the rear. The other Philistine kings greatly opposed David and his men being a part of the battle. They demanded that they leave lest they turned and fought against them in battle to win back favor with Saul. David and his men were offended but it was a blessing because David could never be accused of killing Saul and they might never have seen their families again. As it was, they returned to Ziklag to find it burned to the ground and all their people taken captive by the Amelekites. David’s men were so upset they turned against David. David turned to the Lord for strength. He sought God’s will and went after his family. They found a man who had been the servant of one of the Amelekites who had become sick so they left him on the side of the road to die. He told David where the Amelekites were going so they were able to overtake them. They fought all night and recovered all. Nothing was missing plus they got all the spoils of their conquests. David sent some of the plunder to all the towns they had visited and had helped him. Back at the battle between Saul and the Philistines, the Philistines were winning. Saul and his three sons were killed. They beheaded him and fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan, The men of Jabesh-gilead went and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall and buried them under the tree at Jabesh. They fasted for seven days in mourning. Every word that Samuel had said came to pass. Six days before the Passover, Jesus, the lamb of God entered Jerusalem. He was there to be examined by the leaders of the world just as the passover lamb was to be examined by the priest. Mary anointed his body for his journey from this world to his heavenly home. Judas was exposed as being a thief and a robber. The people praised Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. All of this was fulfillment of prophecy. Every word of God that had been spoken about Jesus throughout time came to pass. The Pharisees had planned to arrest him but when they saw the crowds around him they couldn’t. Lord, thank you that when we trust in you, You move heaven and earth to bring about your purposes which are always best.

Fri.’s Devo -Walking in the Light

Read: 1 Samuel 26:1-28:25; John 11:1-54; Psalm 117:1-2; Proverbs 15:22-23 Once again, Saul is chasing David and once again, David has the opportunity to kill him and refuses. David and Ahimelech stole into Saul’s camp at night and took his water jug and his sword which were right by Saul’s head. David waited till he was safely away before he woke Saul up to tell him he could have killed him. David blames Abner, Saul’s commander and body guard for not protecting the king. Saul ends up blessing David and prophesying over him. This time he tells him that he would do many heroic deeds and surely succeed. Saul promised to let David come home in peace and to stop trying to kill him but David knows Saul will never give up trying. David defects to the Philistine army. He surrendered to Achish the king of Gath. When Saul learned David had gone to the Philistines, he no longer chased him. David lived in Gath for over a year before he asked the king if he and his men could have their own city. They were given Ziklag. Now David could fight the Philistines and not get caught. He would go out every day and attack lone cities, killing everyone so that there was no one to get word back to Achish. When Achish asked David where he raided that day, David would tell him a place in Judah. The day came when the Philistines were going against Saul and his army. King Achish asked David and his men to join them and for David to be his personal body guard. Meanwhile, back in Saul’s camp, Saul is very nervous about going against David and the Philistines. Saul asked his spiritual advisors what God was saying about the battle and they got nothing. He was desperate so he asked if there were any mediums he could ask. He had rid the land of mediums but they found one medium who was hidden away. They went to see her in Endor. Saul disguised himself so she wouldn’t be afraid. Saul promised not to harm her if she would bring someone up from the dead for her. She finally agreed to bring up Samuel. When Samuel came up, she knew she was speaking to Saul. She was petrified but Saul kept asking what she was seeing. She described Samuel so that Saul knew it was him then Samuel rebuked Saul for disturbing him. He told him that everything he had told Saul was about to happen. God was taking his kingdom away from him because he had not killed all the people when God told him to destroy all the Amelekites. Samuel also said that his kingdom was being given to David. Israel would not win the battle against the Philistines and he and his sons would join Samuel in death tomorrow. Saul was so disturbed he had to be forced to eat. Yesterday, we read in John where Jesus was teaching the people about his Father and they wanted to stone him. He had left there and gone to the Jordan River to stay for a while. He got word that Mary and Martha’s brother, Nazareth was dying. When Jesus heard, he commented that Lazarus’s sickness would not end in death. He continued to stay where he was another two days then announced to his disciples that they were going back to Judea where they wanted to kill him. The disciples were not happy about this. Jesus told them that there were 12 hours of daylight every day. During the day, you can walk safely because you have the light of this world. What he wanted them to understand was that he was the light and to walk with him was to walk in safety no matter what the sun was doing. Thomas said, “Let’s go, too - and die with Jesus.” Jesus said, “Let’s go wake Lazarus up.” By the time they got there, Lazarus had been dead in his grave for four days. Everyone was sad and grieving but Jesus was there to demonstrate resurrection. When Jesus saw the mourners and heard their comments he was angry and sad. He had them roll Lazrus’s stone away. He prayed and then called Lazarus to come out. He came out bound in his grave clothes. Jesus told the people to unwrap him and let him go free. They did and many who were watching believed in Jesus. Others went to the Pharisees and tattled on him. They complained that it they didn’t stop Jesus, the Romans would take it out on them. Caipas, the high priest said, “…it is better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” Little did he know he was prophesying Jesus’ whole mission, only Jesus was not going to die just for the Jewish nation but for the whole world. Jesus left to hide out in a village in Ephraim. David and Jesus were both hunted men, hunted by the elite who were afraid of their anointing and power. We are promised that this world will hate us but we are not to be afraid because Jesus has overcome the world. Lord, may we walk in boldness and the power of your Holy Spirit.

Thurs.’s Devo - Tests

Read: 1 Samuel 24:1-25:44; John 10:22-42; Psalm 116:1-19; Proverbs 15:20-21 God put David through many tests to prepare him to be the king and today we read about two of them. God brought Saul to David in the cave. He gave him the choice of killing Saul or trusting him. David went against the desires of his heart and the encouragement of his friends and chose not to harm Saul. The kingdom was in his hands to take but he wanted the kingdom to be given him. He passed the first test. Saul had to face his deception and speak the truth. The deception was that David was his enemy and that he could defeat God’s purpose by killing David. The truth was that David would be the king to succeed him. He even spoke it with his own mouth in verse 20. David’s second test was with Nabal. Nabal was a foolish angry man with no self-control. David’s men had protected Nabal’s sheep for him while they were out to pasture and now that it was sheep-sheering time, they were entitled to be invited to the celebration. Everyone in town would be coming. It was tradition to invite all who shared in the responsibility to a celebration and feast. Nabal brought a curse down upon himself. Abigail, his sensible, god-fearing wife took matters into her own hands and took off after David to supply his men with food. She came with humility and apologies. David passed the test and chose to have mercy. He accepted her gifts and didn’t return evil for evil. God took care of Nabal and he died a humiliating death. Abigail then became David’s wife and got a good husband instead of a foolish one. Meanwhile, back in the kingdom of Saul, he gave David’s wife to Palti. David lost one wife and gained two as he married Ahinoam also. In John, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Festival of Dedication or Hanukkah. Hanukkah commemorated the time when the Maccabee’s retook the kingdom from Antiochus Epiphenes and cleansed the Temple and rededicated it to the Lord. They had only found enough oil to keep the lamp in the Temple going for one day but miraculously he stayed lit for seven days so they had time to make new oil. They celebrated this every year. It was the day evil fell and righteousness reigned. The people came to back Jesus into a corner and have him publicly proclaim to be the Messiah. He refused to do this because he knew their hearts. These were not his followers who were trying to force this. They wanted to stone him but he asked them which good act were they stoning him for. They weren’t stoning him for things he did but for claiming that he was God. Jesus brought out that their laws called their magistrates “God”. He was only claiming to be God’s son. He did all his miracles through God who was in him. They still wanted to kill him so Jesus escaped and went to John’s old stomping grounds. He found many who believed in him there. John had paved the way for them. Lord, may we be used to pave the way for others to come to know you. May we not repay evil for evil but have mercy on those who hate us and despitefully use us.

Wed.’s Devo - The Betrayers

Read: 1 Samuel 22:1-23:29; John 10:1-21; Psalm 115:1-18; Proverbs 15:18-19 I was amazed to read about so many people who were willing to betray David to Saul. David had few people who were loyal to him with Jonathan being number one. David’s family supported him finally. His brothers joined his army of patriots and so did his extended family. Others who were dissatisfied with the way Saul was running the kingdom came and joined with David until he had a small army of 400 men. They hid in the caves in the land of Philistia. David took his parents to Moab to ask the king of Moab to hide them. The prophet, Gad, told David to go back to Judah but as soon as he got them Saul found out. Saul met with his men and told them all the things he had done for them and how David had no power to give them anything. He accused them of conspiring with David against him because none of them had told Saul about the pact Jonathan had made with David. Out of fear, Doeg then came forward with his information about what he had witnessed at Nob. Doeg means “fearful”. He lived out what fear will do to a person it controls. Saul called all the priests of Doeg to him and accused them of treason. They explained they knew nothing about David’s betrayal and had acted innocently. Saul condemned them to death but his own soldiers refused to kill the priests. He told Doeg to do it. Doeg killed 85 priests dressed in their holy garments then went to Nob and killed all their relatives and children and livestock. Fear leads to murder. Abiathar, one of the priests escaped and went to David to tell him what happened. David told him to stay with him and he would protect him. Abiathar had brought the ephod of God so they had the Ummin and the Thummin to ask God questions. David learned that the Israelite town of Keilah was being oppressed by the Philistines so he and his men attacked it and saved the people. Saul found out where David was and came to trap him. The priest asked God if the men of Keilah would betray David to Saul and the answer was “yes”, so they left. Saul found out they had left Keilah and went searching for him. Jonathan found David and encouraged him in the Lord. He told him that he knew David would be the next king and so did Saul. When David became king, Jonathan would serve beside him. They made another pact of friendship and Jonathan left. The men of Ziph betrayed David to Saul and told Saul where he was. Saul tracked him till he was on one side of the mountain and David was on the other side of the same mountain. God came through for David and sent word to Saul that the Philistines were attacking Israel. Saul and his men had to leave and go fight them. Phew! That was a close call! Jesus gave the people a parable about a sheepfold. Thieves and robbers tried to get in over the wall but the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gate keeper opens the gate for him and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. This parable explained the kingdom of God. The sheepfold was God’s kingdom. The thieves and robbers were the teachers of the law that perverted it and made themselves a god to the people. He was the shepherd who entered through the gate the right way. The true disciples would recognize his voice and follow him. That was exactly what was happening. The people were recognizing truth and following it. Jesus as the good shepherd would lay down his life for his sheep. A hireling would betray the sheep to the wolves to save their own hide like the betrayers in David’s life. No one would be able to take Jesus’ life, he would lay it down voluntarily for his sheep. Jesus told these controversial stories to weed out the good from the bad. The ones who couldn’t hear what he said were not his sheep. The ones who heard, even if they didn’t understand, and believed were his true sheep. Lord, help us to be faithful to You as You are always faithful to us.

Tues.’s Devo - Fearless

Read: 1 Samuel 20:1-21:15; John 9:1-41; Psalm 113:1-114:8; Proverbs 15:15-17 David went to find Jonathan so he could find out why Saul was trying to kill him. Jonathan argued he wasn’t but said he would test his father to find out. They came up with a plan and found out that Saul indeed wanted to kill David. He accused Jonathan of wanting David to become king to humiliate his family. David and Jonathan met one last time and said their good-byes and renewed their covenant of friendship. David fled to Nob where he met with the priest, Ahimelech. When David was in trouble he had gone to see Samuel, the prophet; Jonathan, who stood for the king and now the priest. David was all three. He was a prophet, priest and king. Jesus was also. Ahimelech gave him bread and a sword. He gave him last week’s shew bread that only the priest were suppose to eat. This should have cost him his life since he wasn’t a Levite or a priest but instead it gave him strength for his journey ahead because he was a priest in God’s eyes. Saul’s head herdsman was there and saw the transaction between David and Ahimelech. His name was Doeg which means “fearful”. In John, healing the man born blind was no small miracle. The Pharisees took this one very seriously and investigated it thoroughly. The reason was because they had written in their laws that only the Messiah could cleanse a Jewish leper, heal a deaf and dumb man and heal a man born blind. Jesus was going through their check list and doing all of these things. Jesus came to be the light of the world and he gave physical and spiritual light to this man who had been born blind. They all had been spiritually blind from birth and needed to be born again to see. This man was healed of his physical blindness then Jesus helped him see spiritually. The blind man’s parents were afraid of the Pharisees because they didn’t want to be thrown out of the synagogue but the blind man wasn’t afraid of the religious leaders and stood up to them. They threw him out of the synagogue but Jesus went to find him and gave him entrance into God’s synagogue. Lord, thank you for entrance into your presence. Help us to be fearless like this blind man who stood against religion and the world and was not afraid of the outcome.

Mon.’s Devo - The Truth Will Set You Free

Read: 1 Samuel 18:5-19:24; John 8:31-59; Psalm 1121-10; Proverbs 15:12-14 After David killed Goliath and gave Israel the great victory over the Philistines, Saul made him a commander over the men of war. Saul returned home to hear the women singing, “Saul has killed his thousands, David his ten thousands,” and became insanely jealous of David. He tried to pin him with his sword the next time he played his harp for him but David dodged his spear twice. Saul knew that God was going to take his kingdom and give it to another, so he was extremely paranoid of who that might be. It became obvious that it might be David. It was also obvious that God was with David in all he did. Saul had promised to give his daughter in marriage to the one who killed Goliath, so he planned to give David his older daughter, Merab, but put a stipulation on it. David must prove himself a real warrior by fighting his battles. Saul was hoping David would be killed by the Philistines. David had already proved himself with Goliath. When it came time to give Merab to David, Saul gave her to another man instead. Saul’s other daughter, Michal was in love with David. Saul saw this as another opportunity to get David killed in battle. He told him he would give David his daughter if he brought back 100 Philistines foreskins. David loved the challenge and brought him 200 foreskins. Nothing Saul planned was working. Saul then tried to get his men to assassinate David. Jonathan found out and went to his father and reminded him all David had done for Israel. Jonathan had a kingdom mindset where Saul had a ME mindset. Saul relented on killing David for the time being. The Philistines attacked and David went off to war again. When he returned victorious, Saul tried to pin him to the wall again with his spear but David escaped at night. He and his wife put an idol in his bed to look like he was there sick. This bought him enough time to get out of town. David went to Ramah to find Samuel. He told him everything and Samuel hid David and himself in Naioth in Ramah. Saul found out and headed there but the closer he got to Samuel the stronger the Spirit of God was. It finally struck Saul to the ground where he lay naked prophesying. This was the second time Saul had been overwhelmed by the spirit of prophecy. The first time was when he had met Samuel for the first time and was told he would be the leader of Israel. In John, Jesus has his most poignant conversation with the Pharisees. He was trying to explain that to be a son of God is to be free. To be a son of God you must accept and obey his teachings. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. They didn’t know they were not free. They thought that just because they were Jews and sons of Abraham that they were free. Jesus told them that to be a slave to sin was not freedom. The Son was the only one who could set them free. When they insisted they were Abraham’s children, Jesus told them they were illegitimate children. Their father was the devil! They should see this since he was a murderer and all they could think about was murdering him. They argued back and forth who was from the devil and who was possessed by a demon. When Jesus told him that their father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to his coming, they were baffled. When Jesus told them before Abraham was I AM, they picked up stones to stone him. Jesus was so bold with the Pharisees. The spirit they possessed was Jesus’ enemy even more than the Romans who were their natural enemies. Jesus came to defeat and call out religion for its hypocrisy and lies. The Pharisees had the same spirit of murder that Saul had. Religion always tries to kill truth. Lord, thank you for the truth that sets us free to walk righteously before you. May our lives today further your kingdom.

Sun.’s Devo - David and Goliath

Read: 1 Samuel 17:1-18:4; John 8:21-30; Psalm 111:1-10; Proverbs 15:11 The Philistines met the Israelites on opposite hills. In the valley below, their champion, Goliath would come out every day and taunt Israel. He challenged an Israelite to come fight him. The one who won would rule over the other nation. Goliath was a nine foot giant armed and suited with armor. Goliath means “stripped as a captive”. This would be his fate. None of the Israelites had the courage to fight Goliath so this had gone on for forty days. Meanwhile, back in Bethlehem lived Jesse whose son, David had been secretly anointed by Samuel to be the next king. Jesse had three sons fighting in the army and often sent David to check on them and see how the fighting was going. He sent David with food to his brothers. When he arrived, he assessed the situation and kept asking what reward the person would get who fought Goliath and won. He was told that the victor would be given Saul’s daughter in marriage and his whole family would be exempted from paying taxes. Word got to Saul that David was asking about the reward and Saul sent for him. Remember that David had been Saul’s armor-bearer and Saul had been told that David was a warrior. He had just never seen him in battle. David convinced Saul by telling him of how he killed a lion and a bear with his bear hands. Saul had no other offers. He tried to dress David in his own armor with his own sword since he and Jonathan were the only ones with swords. David wasn’t used to having them so he refused them. He went out to face Goliath with five smooth stones and his shepherd’s staff. Goliath met him with a sword, a spear and a javelin. Goliath laughed and taunted him for coming out with a stick. David taunted Goliath for coming out in full gear. He told Goliath exactly what was going to take place. The Lord was going to conquer him and he, David would kill him and cut off his head. Then the Israelites would defeat his army. Goliath started slowly approaching David, but David ran toward Goliath and hurled one stone with his slingshot. It sunk into his head and he fell face down. David ran over, took Goliath’s sword and killed him and cut off his head. The Philistine army then ran in fear and the Israelite army took off after them killing them as they fled. Saul watched in amazement and asked who David’s father was. When the battle was over, Abner, Saul’s commander brought David to Saul carrying the head of Goliath. He asked David who his father was. He told him he was Jesse and they lived in Bethlehem. David was introduced to Jonathan and they had an immediate bond between them. David came to live with Saul and wasn’t allowed to return home. Jonathan made a pact with David because he loved him. He took off his robe and gave it to David to seal the pact. He also gave David his tunic, sword, bow and belt. Jonathan, who was a mighty warrior himself realized that one more honorable than himself was standing before him. The story of David and Goliath is such a powerful story. David proclaimed what God was going to do and his faith was much more powerful than the greatest weapons and defense the world could muster. Goliath was the epitome of the world’s strength. David was the example of great faith. David annihilated Goliath with one stone. One word, spoken by God can put a giant on his face. David came with that one word. Jonathan was like John the Baptist who realized he must decrease and Jesus must increase. In John, Jesus kept teaching them that he was going back to his Father where he came from. They wouldn’t understand but if they only believed they would be able to follow him and be where he was. Some did believe. He said that others would believe when they saw him on the cross and many would never believe. The same is true today. Lord, help us to be a warrior like David and tell the devil just what God is going to do to him. May we never fear what may happen but proclaim what your Word says will happen.

Sat.’s Devo - The Light That Leads to Life

Read: 1 Samuel 15:1-16:23; John 8:1-20; Psalm 110:1-7; Provers 15:8-10 Samuel went to Saul with a command from the Lord for him. God was ready to take vengeance on the Amelekites who attacked Israel when they first came out of Egypt. He was to completely destroy the entire nation and their animals. Saul mobilized his army of 210,000. First he warned the Kenites who lived around the Amelekites to flee if they didn’t want to be killed. The Kenites were the ones who tricked Israel into making a covenant of peace with them. They packed up and left. Instead of killing all the Amelekites, Saul captured the king, Agag and let him men keep anything of value along with the best of the cattle. Samuel found out what Saul had done and went looking for him. He was up on Mt. Carmel Samuel asked him why he had let the animals and the king live and his answer was he had kept the best animals to sacrifice to the Lord. Samuel told him that God was not impressed with sacrifices of disobedience. Killing all the people and leaving the king alive was like casting out the demons and leaving the principality. Agag’s name means “I will overtop.” He would have done just that if Samuel hadn’t killed him. Saul was desperate for Samuel’s approval and begged him to stay and go up and worship with him so the people could see that he had the honor of the prophet. Samuel pitied Saul and stayed for the sacrifice. When Samuel had finished, he returned the Ramah and never saw Saul again. After a while, the Lord spoke to Samuel and told him it was time to stop mourning for Saul and anoint the king God had chosen. He gave him instructions and told him to take a lamb for a sacrifice so Saul wouldn’t suspect anything. He called Jesse to the sacrifice and performed purification rites for Jesse and his sons. When Samuel saw Eliab, the oldest son he thought for sure he was the one God had chosen, but God told him not to look on the outside of man. Saul had looked like a king on the outside but he was not a king on the inside. When Samuel worked his way through all his sons, God hadn’t chosen any of them. Samuel was baffled and asked Jesse if he had any more sons. Jesse admitted he had another son, David. David was out tending sheep and hadn’t been invited or ritually made clean. When Samuel saw him, God said that he was the one. Samuel anointed him with oil and the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. The Spirit of the Lord left Saul and was replaced with a tormenting spirit. His advisors suggested they find a person who could play the harp to calm him down. They found David who came to the palace to play when Saul was upset. Saul so loved David that he made him his armor bearer and came and lived with Saul in the palace. In John, it was the day after the Feast of Tabernacles was over. This was a celebration day also called Simbat Torah where they would celebrate the Torah and begin reading the creation story in Genesis. They would also read the portion at the end of Deuteronomy. They brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery to Jesus to see what he would do. He asked them what Moses said to do and they said to stone her. In Deuteronomy at the end of the book it talks about what to do if a MAN is caught in the act of adultery. Deuteronomy 22:22, “If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil.” Jesus stopped and wrote in the dust like the finger of God that wrote the law. I wonder if he wrote this verse. When they demanded an answer, he stood and said, “all right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” They started leaving the oldest to the youngest. When they were all gone, he stood and asked her where her accusers were. Then he told her to go and sin no more. During the Feast of Tabernacles they would light these huge bowls of oil that were 70 feet high. The young priests would climb the pole with oil and light the wicks at night. Being up on a hill, the light went out for miles and miles. They called Jerusalem “The light of the world” during this festival. Jesus told them that he was the light of the world and those who follow him won’t walk in darkness because they would have the light that leads to life. Lord, thank you for your light that illuminates our path and leads us to life.

Fri.’s Devo - Living Water

Read: 1 Samuel 14:1-52; John 7:31-53; Psalm 109:1-31; Proverbs 15:5-7 Jonathan was the only shining light in Saul’s heritage. Saul’s father was Kish which means “a snare” and Saul means “requested”. So by the people’s request for a king, they got a snare. Jonathan means “Jehovah is giver” and he gave his life over and over for Israel’s victory. Today we read where Jonathan took his armor bearer to an outpost of the Philistines. He understood that God could deliver with one or many, it didn’t matter. He stood between two cliffs Bozez which means “surpassing white: glistening” and Seneh which means “thorn”. He was standing between the blessing and the curse. Michmash was behind Bozez which was where the outpost of the Philistines were. Jonathan decided that if they asked them to come up and fight this would be God’s sign he was going to give them victory. That was just what happened and Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed 20 Philistines. Then God shook the earth with an earthquake and caused great panic in the Philistine camp and all of their outposts. Saul’s army watched as they saw the Philistines running for their lives in every direction. To find out what happened he did a roll call and found that the only soldier missing was his own son, Jonathan and his armor-bearer. Saul started to ask God what to do but everything happened so fast he just told his men to go and fight. Many Israelites who had defected to the Philistine’s army came back to fight with Saul. Many who had been hiding in the hills and had not been a part of the fighting joined to save Israel that day. Saul, in fear and desperation, had proclaimed a curse on anyone who ate that day. Jonathan had not been there to hear the curse so when he saw some honey, he ate it. Saul’s men also saw honey and refused to eat it because of the curse. When Jonathan heard about his father’s curse he said that his father’s curse had brought trouble to Israel and kept them from a greater victory. The army was so exausted and hungry by the end of the day that when the fast was lifted they ate animals with blood still in them. This was a sin against the Lord. Saul offered a sacrifice to the Lord and wanted to continue fighting during the night. He asked the priest what God wanted them to do but God was not answering. They knew they had offended the Lord. By lot Jonathan was chosen and it was made known that he ate honey and because of the curse Saul had given, God was not speaking. Instead of going to the Lord and interceding for Jonathan’s life like Moses would have done, Saul declared that Jonathan must die. The army disagreed and they stood up for Jonathan and saved his life. They saw the injustice of Saul’s curse. The Philistines were Saul’s enemy during his reign so whenever he saw a strong man he would draft them into his army. Saul ran his kingdom with force and demand. In John, many believed Jesus was the Messiah because of all the miracles he did. When the Pharisees realized the people believed Jesus was the Messiah, they wanted even more to arrest him. Jesus told the Pharisees that he was leaving soon and they wouldn’t be able to find him. He was going back to the one who sent him. They were confused by this. On the last day of the feast of Tabernacles they would do a water libation where the priests would bring water in pitchers from the Siloam springs up to the altar. While this was being done the people would sing, “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of Salvation,” As they were doing this Jesus stood up and said if anyone was thirsty they could come to him and drink. His waters were rivers of living water that flow from the heart. Jesus was speaking of the Spirit which would be given at Pentecost. The crowd was divided. Some thought Jesus was The Prophet they were waiting for; some thought the Messiah and some wanted him arrested. The Pharisees sent men to arrest him but they couldn’t because no one spoke like Jesus. They had the fear of God on them. The Pharisees mocked anyone who defended Jesus, even Nicodemus who was a leader in the Pharisee sect. Lord, thank you for giving us the living waters of your Spirit. Thank you for the wells of salvation.

Thurs.’s Devo - Saul’s Impatience

Read: 1 Samuel 12:1-13:23; John 7:1-30; Psalm 108:1-13; Proverbs 15:4 Samuel stood before the people and proclaimed his own innocence. They had chosen a king and God would give them a king. Samuel took Israel through their history of rebellion against the Lord and told them to fear and worship the Lord and stop rebelling. Samuel told them that God was going to manifest his disapproval of what they were doing by asking for a king by sending rain and thunder during their wheat harvest when it usually didn’t rain. It terrified the people to where they cried out in fear but Samuel told them not to be afraid. They had done wrong but God would not abandon them. He warned them against returning to their idol worship and promised to pray for them as long as he had breath. Saul was thirty years old when he became king. He ruled for 42 years. Saul took 2,000 warriors with him to fight the Philistines in the north and gave his son, Jonathan 1,000 warriors to fight in the south. As the war got heavier Saul petitioned for more men to fight with him. The Philistines came out in hordes with chariots and scared the Israelites into caves. Saul had gone to Gilgal where Samuel had told him to wait for him 7 days. His men were frightened and leaving him. When the seventh day came and Samuel hadn’t showed up, out of desperation, Saul offered the sacrifice himself. As soon as he had finished, Samuel appeared and was very upset with what Saul had done. He told him that if he had waited, God would have established his kingdom forever but since he didn’t, God had already chosen his replacement. He would be a man after God’s own heart. Saul left with his troops though 600 had defected out of fear. The Philistines sent out three raiding parties to the north, west and south. The Philistines had made sure there were no blacksmiths in Israel so that they had to go to the Philistines to have any of their plows or instruments sharpened. It cost them so much they couldn’t afford weapons. Only Saul and Jonathan had weapons. How do you fight without weapons? In John, Jesus stayed in Galilee and avoided going to Judea where they were plotting his death. The Feast of Tabernacles was coming and everyone would be going to Judea. Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him and told them he would come later. He came secretly and stayed hidden till the middle of the festival when he went to the Temple and began teaching. The ones listening were surprised that he wasn’t a teacher of the synagogue and yet he knew so much about God. Jesus told them that he was speaking God’s words and not his own. The people who want to know God’s will will hear his words and believe they came from God. Those who don’t only speak for themselves and want all the glory for themselves. He told them that Moses gave them the Law, but none of them obeyed or they wouldn’t be wanting to kill him. The people wouldn’t believe that anyone wanted to kill Jesus. Jesus went on to explain that they would circumcise their sons on the eighth day, even if the day fell on the Sabbath and yet they condemned him for healing on the Sabbath. The people had a hard time believing he was the Messiah because of their preconceived ideas about the Messiah. Jesus was trying to get them to discern spiritually what the truth was, not with their heads. The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus but God didn’t allow them to succeed because it was not the right time. Lord, help us to discern spiritually instead of trying to understand spiritual things with our heads.

Wed.’s Devo - Saul Becomes King

Read: 1 Samuel 10:1-11:15; John 6:43-71; Psalm 107:1-43; Proverbs 15:1-3 Samuel had walked with Saul to the outskirts of town where no one could see him. He took a flask of oil and poured it over Saul’s head and kissed him. He told them that because God had chosen him to rule Israel, he was also God’s chosen possession. He then told him three signs that would happen at strategic places along his way home. The last one was that he would prophecy and get a new heart. God fulfilled every sign and he did give Saul a new heart. Samuel also told him after all these things happened he was to meet Samuel in Gilgal where he would offer sacrifices. Saul would have to wait seven days for him to come. When Saul began prophesying the people wondered how someone who was not a prophet could prophecy. Saul called all the people of Israel to Mizpah to show Israel who their king was but when he went to present Saul he was hiding among the baggage. They found him and stood him before the people. He was head and shoulders above anyone else. The people rejoiced and Saul wrote down his duties as king on a scroll and placed it before the Lord. All the people went home. Some of the men followed Saul but others doubted his authority and refused to give him gifts. Saul chose to ignore them. Meanwhile, Nahash the king of the Ammornites was oppressing the tribes east of the Jordan. He gouged out the right eye of the Israelites. Seven hundred of them had escaped and gone to Jabesh-gilead. When Nahash came to them they begged for a peace treaty. The only way Nahash would give it to them was if they let them gouge out their right eye. Jabesh-gilead sent news to Gibeah where Saul was to ask if they would help them. Saul got so angry, he took his two oxen and cut them into pieces and sent the pieces to all Israel saying this is what would happen to their oxen if they didn’t come help. They came, all 330,000 of them. Saul sent word to the people of Mizpah that they would rescue them by noontime tomorrow. They were so happy. They sent word to the Ammonites to come and do whatever they wanted to them. Saul’s army arrived early that next morning and were ready for the Ammonites. They killed them all morning. Saul had a great victory. Samuel called them all to Gilgal where they would anoint Saul as king. In John, Jesus continued to teach about the bread that came from heaven as being himself. They were having a hard time with this so he threw in the kicker: “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But none who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day.” Even his disciples had a hard time with this teaching. He had already said that no one could come to him except the Father draws them. Jesus knew the ones who would accept them and the ones who wouldn’t. He wasn’t afraid of offending people. He was exposing their hearts. Lord, help us not to be offended in You and what you choose to do in our lives. We trust that you way is better than ours.

Tues.’s Devo - Israel's King

Samuel made his sons judges in Israel. His two oldest sons, Joel and Abijah held court in Beersheba but they were not like Samuel. They took bribes and perverted justice. The people complained to Samuel about it. They knew that Samuel was getting old and they didn’t want his sons to be left in charge. The wanted a king like all the other nations had. Samuel was displeased with their desire and went to the Lord about it. God said that they were not rejecting Samuel, but they were rejecting the Lord as their king. Samuel told them all the consequences of having a king. He would control their money, their land and their very lives. They wouldn’t listen, they still wanted a king. So God told Samuel to give them a king. God had always known he would give them a king, but he was raising up one. They wanted one now, so they got what they wanted. They got Saul, the people’s choice. David was God’s choice. Saul was from an influential and wealthy family. He was tall and handsome and looked like a king…just what the people wanted. One day, his father lost some donkeys and sent Saul and his servant to look for them. He ended up in the land of Benjamin. They were about to give up and go home when the servant remembered that Samuel lived there. He suggested they ask him since he was a seer. They would pay him for using his gift. That morning, God had told Samuel that he was sending him the man that would be the king. Saul walked right up to him to ask him if he knew where the seer was. God told Samuel that this was the one who would be king.. He told him his donkeys had been found and he and his family were the focus of all Israel’s hopes. Saul complained that he had his family were from the smallest tribe of Benjamin and that his family was the least important of all the families in that tribe. This was not true, but Saul clearly didn’t want the responsibility that Samuel was putting on him. Samuel invited Saul to a special meal with him. He also invited thirty guests and honored Saul above them all. The next morning he walked Samuel to the edge of town then told Saul more about what God had in store for Saul in his future. In John, Jesus had gone to Capernaum during the night by walking on the water. His disciples crossed in their boat. When the people realized where he was, they came also. They had all missed the significance of what Jesus did when he fed the 5,000 the bread and fish. They kept wanting to see a sign like the miracles in Moses’ time, so he gave them the sign. It was the bread he multiplied. It came from heaven just like the manna did in Moses’ time, but they all missed it. He explained that he was the bread sent down from heaven and his bread would bring them eternal life. Lord, help us not to miss the everyday miracles you do for us over and over. Thank you that you are the bread of life that sustains us and gives us life.

Mon.’s Devo - God’s Presence Restored

Read: 1 Samuel 5:1-7:17; John 6:1-21; Psalm 106:13-31; Proverbs 14:32-33 The Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant and placed it in their Temple of Dagon in Ashdod. Dagon means “little fish” and is the statue of a fish with man’s hands and head. It was the official god of the Philistines. In the morning they found the statue of Dagon face down before the Ark. They stood him up but the next morning they found him on his face before the Ark and his hands and his head broken off lying at the threshold. The people of Ashdod and its surrounding towns were overran with rats and the men started getting tumors. Ashdod means “I will spoil.” God was spoiling the town without a fight. The elders of the towns got together and decided that their curse came the day the Ark came so they decided to send it to Gath. Gath means “a winepress”. They were about to be pressed through God’s grate also. The people of Gath experienced the same curse and panicked. They sent the Ark to Ekron. Ekron means “uprooting”. They were about to experience that. They begged the Philistine rulers to send the Ark back to Israel or it would kill them all. God had unleashed a deadly plague and land were dying. After the Ark had been in Philistia for 7 months they called their priests and sorcerers to ask them how they should send the Ark back. They told them that they had to send a guilt offering with it. Each of the five rulers should put a golden rat and a golden tumor in a chest and construct a cart to carry them and the Ark. They should take a mother cow who had just had a calf to pull the cart while the baby was locked in a barn. Naturally the mother calf would hav knocked down the barn to get to her calf, but this was a supernatural act. Then they were to just watch and see where the cows took the cart. They did all of this and watched as the cows took the ark to the land of the Israelites. It went to the border of Beth-shemesh where the people were harvesting wheat. They rejoiced when they saw it coming. It came into the field of Joshua and stopped at a large rock. The people took the wood of the cart and made a fire, killed the cows and sacrificed them to the Lord. Several Levites lifted the Ark of the Lord along with the golden objects and placed them on the rock. The five Philistine rulers watched from afar, then returned to Ekron. God killed 70 men from Beth-shemesh who looked into the Ark. This made them afraid to have the Ark. They sent messengers to the people at Kiriath-jerim and told them to come and get it. The men of Kiriath-jerarim came and took the Ark to the home of Abinadab, a Levite. They ordained Eleazar, his son, to be in charge of it. It remained there for 20 years. Samuel addressed the people and told them that if they wanted to return to the Lord, they needed to get rid of their idols and rid their nation of the images of Baal and Ashroreth. They could only worship the Lord. They did this, so Samuel told them to meet him in Mizpah and he would pray for them. They fasted all day and confessed their sins to the Lord. The Philistines found out they were meeting in Mizpah and set out to attack them. They arrived just as Samuel was offering the sacrifice to the Lord. God thundered down his response to the Philistines which threw them into such confusion that the Israelites were able to defeat them. Samuel took a huge stone, the stone that had been named Ebenezer when they lost the Ark and set it upright and renamed it Ebenezer “a stone of help”. Ekron and Gath and the rest of the territory the Philistines had taken was restored to Judah. Samuel judged Israel from Ramah but traveled to other towns to judge them also. The Ark was returned during the season of Pentecost which represents God giving his Spirit to man. The return of God’s presence was a fulfillment of this feast. He fulfilled it again on the Pentecost in Acts when the Holy Spirit came down and rested upon man once again. In John, Jesus had been teacher by the Sea of Galilee. Over 5,000 people had come to listen. Jesus asked Philip where they could buy bread to feed them all. Phillip couldn’t fathom the cost of feeding all of them. Andrew spoke up and said he had found a boy with a lunch of five barley loaves and two fishes. That was all Jesus needed. He told his disciples to have them all sit down. He took the loaves and fish and blessed them and gave thanks to God. Then he distributed them to the people. They all ate and there were twelve baskets full. When the people realized what had happened, they wanted to make Jesus their king right then and there. Jesus slipped away into the hills. The disciple couldn’t find Jesus so they got into their boat and sailed for Capernaum. A storm blew up while they were out in the middle of the lake. They looked up to see Jesus walking across the water. He told them not to be afraid. They helped him into the boat and the storm immediately died. Thank you for your presence that is always with us. We need never be afraid.

Sun.’s Devo - Ichabod - The Ark Was Taken

Read: 1 Samuel 2:22-4:22; John 5:24-47; Psalm 106:1-12; Proverbs 1:12 Eli’s sons were not only taking the Lord’s portion of the sacrifice for themselves but they were also seducing the young women who served at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. Eli knew about this and rebuked them but didn’t discipline them or punish them for it. God sent a prophet to tell Eli that God had chosen him and his family to serve him but He was removing that from them because they refused to honor Him. All the members of his family would die prematurely. Some would be blind, their hearts would break and their children would die a violent death. Hophni and Phineas would die on the same day. God would raise up a faithful priest who would serve God and do what he desires. His family would be established and Eli’s family would bow before him, begging for money and food. They will beg to be priests again so they could eat. Meanwhile Samuel grew up with Eli and served the Lord. One night, God began speaking to Samuel, but he kept thinking it was Eli. When he had woken Eli up three times, Eli realized it was God speaking and told him it was the Lord so he just needed to listen. In the morning Eli threatened Samuel with his life if he didn’t tell him everything God had said to him. So Samuel did. God said that He was going to bring his judgment upon Eli’s family because of their sins. No amount of sacrifices could stop what God was going to do. Israel was at war with the Philistines and were camped near Ebenezer. The Philistines attacked and killed 4,000 Israelites. The elders met and thought if they brought the Ark of the Covenant with them into war they would surely win. They sent for the Ark and Hophi and Phineas came with it. The warriors in the camp shouted so loud when the Ark came that the Philistines could hear it. It frightened the Philistines, but instead of making them weaker with fear, it made them more determined than ever to fight so they wouldn’t be made to serve the Israelites. The next day the Philistines killed 30,000 Israelites, Hopni and Phineas were killed, and the Ark was taken. Eli had been anxiously awaiting to hear what would happen to the Ark and when a man from the battle told him, he fell back off his seat, broke his neck and died. He was 98 years old and had judged Israel for 40 years. Phineas’ wife had been pregnant and about to deliver. When she heard the news, she went into labor and died. She had named the child Ichabod meaning “where is the glory”. The glory had departed from Israel. In John, Jesus said that all who believe in him will never be condemn of their sins but they have already passed from death to life. One day even the dead would hear Jesus voice and be able to believe. Jesus made it clear that his words were not his words alone, but God’s. Heaven and earth testified who Jesus was. John the Baptist was the witness on earth and God was the witness in heaven. The words that Jesus brought were more powerful than John’s because he spoke as a man and Jesus spoke as God. All the scriptures pointed to Jesus but the ones who knew them so well, refused to see. Moses would testify against them. Since they couldn’t believe what Moses wrote, how could they believe by what Jesus said. They loved the honor of man more than the honor of God. Lord, may we rejoice that your glory can never be taken from us. We believe and therefore have life and are justified in You. Thank you for life - here and in heaven.

Sat.’s Devo - The Birth of Samuel

Read: 1 Samuel 1:1-2:21; John 5:1-23; Psalm 105:37-45; Proverbs 14:28-29 It seemed that most of the patriarchs came from women who were barren and then God touched them and they had children. Samuel was no different. His father was Elkanah who had two wives. Peninnah had many children and taunted Hannah who had none. Every year they traveled to Shiloh to offer sacrifices. Elkanah would give Peninnah a larger portion to offer since she would be given some of it back, cooked to feed her children. Hannah would be given a smaller portion since all she had to feed was herself. The priest in charge was Eli who had two evil sons - Hopni and Phnehas. They would take the best meat for themselves and take it before the meat had boiled so the fat was still on it. The fat was the portion that was to be given to the Lord. They wanted the fat still on it because they were going to bar-b-que theirs. In this way they showed disrespect and contempt for the Lord. One year, while they were there. Peninnah had taunted Hannah to tears and she prayed to the Lord at the altar. She prayed for a son and promised to give him to the Lord and never cut his hair. Eli saw her mouth moving and no words and thought she was drunk. He rebuked her until he found out she was praying and very distraught. Then he turned his rebuke into a blessing. She went home happy and fulfilled. She soon had a son and brought him to Eli when he was weaned. Every year she brought him a coat she had made. Every year Eli would bless them with more children. Hannah did have three more sons and two daughters. In John, it is a feast day. (Most believe it is Passover.) Jesus was in Jerusalem for it and people were everywhere. Jesus went down to the pool of Bethesda where he found a crippled man. He had been lying there for 38 years waiting for the water to stir so he could step in and be healed. He had no one to put him there and he was crippled so it was absolutely hopeless situation for him. Jesus came and offered him healing and he walked. He took his mat because Jesus told him to. The Pharisees saw him carrying his mat on the Sabbath and questioned him. He told them that the man who healed him told him to carry it. They wanted to know who did this but he didn’t even know. Jesus found him in the crowd later and told him not to go back into sin or something worse might happen to him. Apparently his crippled state had been the result of being in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing. He went and told the Pharisees who it was who healed him and they came to Jesus with their accusations. Jesus told him that he and his father worked on the Sabbath as they did every day. He was just doing what he saw his Father doing and his Father had given him the power to judge man. If they wanted to honor the Father then they must honor the son. This went over like a lead balloon. Everything Jesus said was truth. He didn’t care how it was received; he was speaking it to them then and to us now. It is the Word of Life. Lord thank you for your boldness and your lack of fear of man. May we follow in your footsteps. Thank you, Lord that your blessing follow those who believe. Thank you that when we cry out to you, you hear us.

Fri.’s Devo - The Kinsman Redeemer

Read: Ruth 2:1-4:22; John 4:43-54; Psalm 105:16-36; Proverbs 14:26-27 Everyone loves the story of Ruth because it is the Cinderella story of the Bible. Today we see the pauper become the queen. Naomi and Ruth had come to Bethlehem at the time of the barley and the wheat harvest. It was customary for the poor to walk behind the reapers and pick up what they dropped. Ruth went to do this so she and Naomi could have food. She just happened to reap in Boaz’s field. Boaz was the son of Salmon whose wife was Rahab. Rahab had been the prostitute who hid the spies when they came into Jericho (Matthew 1:4). So his mother had been a Canaanite who chose to leave her people and become a Jew. Boaz saw his mother in Ruth and greatly admired her for giving up her people and her culture to take care of her mother-in-law and become an Israelite. He noticed her right away. I would think that her nationality made her look different from the Hebrews. He made sure his men didn’t tease her or abuse her in any way and Boaz spoke to her directly. He told her to continue in his fields and he would make sure she was protected. He even told her to reap along with his women and told them she would be doing that so there would be no problems. He also offered her their food and water. Ruth was amazed at his kindness and the favor she was getting. When she told Naomi everything Boaz had said to her, Naomi got on her match-making hat. She told Ruth exactly what to do to let him know she was available and interested in him as her husband. Since he was related to Naomi he would qualify as a kinsman redeemer. When Boaz saw her intention, he was thrilled. He had already found out who was next in line to redeem her and went to the city gate to transact with him. He told the man that he was next in line to redeem Elimelech’s property if he wanted to buy it. He did. Then Boaz told him that he would be obligated to marry Ruth, the Moabite and have children in the name of her husband. He was not willing to do that. Boaz gladly bought the land and redeemed Ruth as his bride. They married and had a son and named him Obed which means “serving”. He became the grandfather of King David. Naomi had a baby boy to love and care for to help the pain of losing her own husband and sons. Ruth got to experience the love of God and the love of a husband and the joy of a son. In John, Jesus was on his way back to Cana where he had turned the water to wine. This was near his hometown where they had a hard time believing he was anyone but Mary’s son. There was a government official who lived near Cana who’s son was very sick. He heard that Jesus was on his way so he went to meet him to beg him to heal his son. Jesus saw this man’s heart and said, “will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?” I wonder if this man hadn’t told himself that if Jesus would heal his son, he would believe in him or if he was saying that to the people who were just wanting to see something spectacular. Jesus didn’t do anything spectacular. He just told the man to go home and his son would be healed. The man did believe and went home. On his way he received news that his son was healed the very hour Jesus proclaimed it. This was the second miracle that Jesus did in Galilee. He had done many miracles in Jerusalem but these two miracles were specific. Both the turning water to wine and healing this man’s son were miracles where Jesus didn’t do anything but speak. He told the men to fill the pitchers with water and he told the man his son would be healed. Jesus did nothing physical and wasn’t even in the vicinity for the son. Lord, thank you for showing us the power of the spoken word. When it is Your word it is filled with power and it reaps results. Thank you for being our kinsman redeemer.

Thur.’s Devo - Ruth and the Woman at the Well

Read: Judges 21:1-Ruth 1:22; John 4:4-42; Psalm 105:1-15; Provers 14:25 The tribe of Benjamin had been reduced to 600 men who had fled to the rock at Rimmon. The leaders of the other tribes had vowed a curse on anyone who gave their wives to anyone from the tribe of Benjamin which meant that Benjamin would become extinct. The other tribal leaders met at Bethel and cried out to the Lord for Benjamin. They offered sacrifices to God and asked for wisdom. They asked around to see if anyone of the towns had not come to their mandatory meeting and they found that no one from Jabesh-gilead had attended the assembly. They sent warriors to kill everyone except the virgin women. They found 400 virgins to be wives of the Benjamites. They still needed 200 so they remembered a festival in Shiloh every year. The virgins of the town would dance a special dance. They told the remaining Benjamites to hide in the bushes and when they performed the dance, they were to go in and steal a bride. Since they wouldn’t be giving them as wives, they would be free of the curse. This satisfied their problem. “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” A famine came upon the land of Israel. Elimelech lived with his wife Naomi in the town of Bethlehem. The famine was so severe that they left to go to Moab to live till the famine was over. They had two sons, Malon and Kilion. Elimelech died in Moab and his two sons married Moabite wives: Orpah and Ruth. Naomi heard that the famine was over and God was blessing Israel once again. She wanted to go back to Bethlehem. Naomi’s two daughter-in-laws started out with her but she stopped them and told them to return to their own homes. She was too old to marry and they would have a better chance at marriage if they stayed in Moab. They both cried but Orpah returned to her family. Ruth insisted on going with Naomi and becoming an Israelite. When they got to Bethlehem everyone was glad to see Naomi but sad to hear she had lost her husband and sons. It was the beginning of the barley harvest so it was right after Passover and almost Pentecost. In John, Jesus came alone to Jacob’s well. He sat there tired and thirsty waiting for the Samaritan woman to come to the well to draw water. She was his assignment for the day. When she arrived, Jesus asked her for a drink. She was amazed that he would speak to her since she was a much hated Samaritan and he was a Jew. She asked him why she would want a drink from her. He told her that if she knew who he was and what God had for her, she would be asking him for a drink. He would give her living water. She asked how he would do this since he had no rope or bucket. How could he offer better water than from Jacob’s well? Jesus explained that when she drank from this well, she would soon be thirsty again. The water he was offering was a fresh, bubbling spring from with in and would give her eternal live. She would never thirst again. She wanted this water so Jesus told her to go and get her husband. She didn’t have one. Jesus knew this. He knew that five men had married her and divorced her or put her away. She came from a line of rejection and the man she was with now didn’t even care to marry her. Jesus perceived this and told her. She realized she was speaking to a prophet so she asked him a religious question about where the proper place to worship was. Jews said Jerusalem and Samaritans said Mt. Gerizim. Jesus explained that the time was coming when it wouldn’t matter where you were when you worshipped God. What was important was if you knew God in spirit and in truth. She said she knew that when the Messiah came, he would explain everything to them. Jesus told her that he was the Messiah. At that moment, the disciples returned. She ran into town telling everyone about the man who told her everything about herself. Could this be the Messiah? The disciples tried to get Jesus to eat but he had just been refreshed by doing God’s will in talking to the woman. He was filled. The harvest of souls was ripe and he was harvesting the crops. Many of the Samaritans came to hear Jesus because of what the woman at the well had told them. They became believers themselves. Lord, may our sustenance be to do your will. Fill us with your Holy Spirit.

Wed.’s Devo - The Evil of Gibeah

Read: Judges 19:1-20:48; John 3:22-4:3; Psalm 104:24-35; Provers 14:22-24 This story is one of my least favorite stories in the Bible. It is all upside down and shows the depravity of man’s sins. It proved what life was like when everyone does what is right in their own eyes. It begins with the statement: “Now in those days Israel had no king.” This was so true. God was suppose to be their king but they used him as a military officer who they called upon when they needed help fighting an enemy. They didn’t seem to involve God in their every day life. Women were property who got no respect. Our story is about a man from Ephraim who brought home a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. She became angry at him and ran back home. He went to get her and ended up staying for a while feasting with her father. Finally, he took his concubine and left. They needed to stop for the night but wanted to make sure they stayed in a town in Israel so they traveled to get to Gibeah which was in the territory of Benjamin. They sat in the town square hoping someone would invite them to stay with them but no one did. That evening, and old man who was also from Ephraim met them and invited them to stay with him. He told them it was not safe to stay in the square at night. While they were enjoying his hospitality, evil men from the town beat on his door and demanded give them the man who had come to stay with him so they could have sex with him. Instead, he threw out his concubine. They raped her to death that night and in the morning her husband found her outside the door. He put her body on his donkey and went home. At home, he cut her body into twelve pieces and sent them to each of the tribes of Israel. He called them to fight the town of Gibeah. Everything was wrong about this. He lied and told the tribes that his life was threatened and that they forced his concubine. All of this is half truths. He should have been tried for murder himself. He killed his concubine by not protecting her. Then he defiled her body by cutting it up into pieces. His dramatic appeal stirred up 400,000 armed warriors from all over Israel. They came against Gibeah and lost 26,000 the first day and 18,000 the next. Everyday they cried out to the Lord for help and guidance. God told them to attack every day and on the third time he told them they would win. On the third day, they attacked then ran, driving them out of the city. Another group came into the city from behind and ambushed them. They killed 25,100 of the Benjamite’s strongest warriors and destroyed and killed all in the town. About 600 men escaped to the rock of Rimmon where they lived for four months. The Israelites burned down many towns around Gibeah all belonging to Benjamin. In John, John was approached by one of his disciples who had noticed that people were leaving John’s ministry and going to Jesus to get baptized and hear his teachings. John told the man he was not jealous because he was like the friend of the bridegroom who was thrilled to listen to the vows. Jesus is the bridegroom and he was the one John was pointing everyone to. Jesus was the only one who came down to heaven from God as his son. John told the man that everyone should listen to Jesus; He speaks the words of God. Lord, may we be as humble as John who was not interested in worldly position or fame. May we lift your name high and boast of your power and love.

Tues.’s Devo - Micah and Nicodemus

Read: Judges 17:1-18:31; John 3:1-21; Psalm 104:1-23; Proverbs 14:20-21 In the times of the judges, men did what was right in their own eyes, not what was right in God’s eyes. Both our Old and New Testament scriptures begin with “there was a man named…” In Judges the man’s name was Micah. He confessed to his mother that she had stolen 1,100 pieces of silver from her and gave it back when he heard the curse she had put upon the one who stole it. It doesn’t tell us what the curse was but I think it came to pass. Micah’s mother was elated he gave her back her money and used 200 pieces of silver and had an idol cast from it. Micah made a sacred ephod and added some household idols and installed one of his own sons as priest. A young Levite came through their town looking for a place to serve and Micah offered him 10 pieces of silver and a change of clothes and food to stay and become his priest. The Levite agreed. This all happened in the land of Ephraim. The clan of Dan had never taken their land and were looking for a place to settle. They sent out five spies who came to Micah’s house. They saw who peaceful and secure they were and how Micah had his own priest. There were several towns like the one Micah lived in. The spies took back the report of the land and decided to attack and take from their brothers what they had instead of fighting the “ites” of the land and taking their land. They sent 600 armed men and began taking their towns. When they arrived a Micah’s house, they offered the priest to come and be the priest over their whole tribe. He agreed and they took all of Micah’s worship paraphernalia. When Micah opposed, they threatened him and his family. He had no power over them so they took all he had. They burnt down the town and renamed it Dan after their ancestor. They set up the carved image and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses presided over them as priest until the Exile. They worshipped this idol instead of God. In John, there was a man named Nicodemus. He was a Pharisee who came to Jesus after dark and called him “Rabbi”. He SAID he knew God had sent him to teach them about God. Jesus told him that to see the Kingdom of God he had to be born again. Nicodemus had no idea how that could happen. Jesus explained that he was talking about a spiritual rebirth, not a natural one. He rebuked Nicodemus for not being able to see these things. He explained that just like the bronze serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, he would be lifted up. (He was speaking of the cross.) He continued that anyone who believed in him would be saved. God sent him into the world to save it not condemn it. This was the opposite of the priest’ message which was one of judgement and condemnation. Jesus pointed out that there were some who loved darkness more than light because they don’t want their sins exposed. This could not have fit the Pharisees better. We don’t know what happened to Nicodemus but the next time we hear of him was at the Feast of Tabernacles when Jesus stood up and said, “Come to me all who are thirsty…he that believers on me,…out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” John 7:37-38. In verse 50 of the same chapter, Nicodemus was mentioned as “being one of them”. I’m not sure who “them” was but after Jesus died, he showed up with 100 pounds of spices to help Joseph prepare his body for burial. (John 19:39). Everything Nicodemus did was in the night. Jesus had told him that Those who do what is right come to the light so others can see what they are doing what God wants. Nicodemus didn’t want his colleges to know what he was doing though it was right. This was probably because he feared man and feared the loss of his position and reputation. Lord, may we find our identity in You and not in ourselves. May we chose what is right in your eyes instead of what is right in ours.