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.