Wed.’s Devo - Our “Work” is to Believe

Read: 1 Samuel 8:1-9:27; John 6:22-42; Psalm 106:32-48; Proverbs 14:34-35 Samuel’s sons perverted justice much like Eli’s sons perverted worship. They took bribes and did not have a heart for the Lord like their father, Samuel. The people came to Samuel to complain. They knew Samuel was growing old and they did not want to be led by his sons. They told Samuel to give them a king like other nations. *** Samuel was sad that they wanted a king and took their request to the Lord. God said that they were not rejecting Samuel, but Him. He told them to give them what they wanted, but warn them first what a king would do to them. *** Samuel told them that a king would end up making them all his slaves. He would take their sons and daughters, their property and their wealth. They didn’t care; they wanted a king to lead them into war like other nations and to judge them. *** God found exactly what they were looking for. Saul was tall and handsome and from an elite family of Benjamin. His father’s name was Kish which means “a snare”. Saul means “requested”. He was the “people’s choice”. David would be “God’s choice”. *** God told Samuel that he was sending a man to him on his way to sacrifice at the celebration and he would be the one he was to anoint to be their king. Saul had been sent by his father to find some stray donkeys and had been looking for them for days. His servant suggested they ask Samuel, the seer, so they set out to find him. *** When they met up, Samuel told him that his donkeys had been found 3 days ago and he and his family were the focus of all Israel’s hopes. Saul was humbled at this statement but Samuel didn’t have time to explain. He brought him to the place where they were going to eat the sacrificial meal and placed Saul at the head of the table as his guest of honor. He fed him with the special portion of meat and had him stay at a place he had prearranged. *** In the morning, Samuel woke Saul telling him it was time he left. He sent his servant on ahead and asked to speak to Saul alone. He had a word from the Lord for him. *** In John, Jesus and his disciples had ended up on the other side of the Jordan in Capernaum. Jesus had walked on the water and the disciples had taken the boat. When the people he had fed on the other side realized where he was, they soon followed. Jesus told them that they should be hungering for more than food, but what only God could give them. They replied that they wanted to do the works of God also. Jesus told them the only work God wanted them to do was to believe in Him who God had sent to them. They told him that if he would do a miracle they would believe. (What had he been doing all this time?) *** Jesus said that God had given the people manna from heaven in Moses’ day and now God was giving them the true bread of God sent from heaven. This bread would give life to the world. He explained that he was the bread of life and all they had to do is to believe. He had come down from heaven to do whatever God told him to do. If they believe in him, he would give them eternal life and raise them up the last day. *** The people couldn’t get past the physical to believe the spiritual. This was indeed their work to do. *** Lord, may we have our spiritual eyes opened to see what you see and believe when we don’t see it manifest. May we work on believing what You say.