Wed.’s Devo - God’s Word is True

Read: 1 Samuel 2:22-4:22; John 5:24-47; Psalm 106:1-12; Proverbs 14:30-31 Eli was very aware that his sons were doing wicked things. They were seducing the young women who assisted at the entrance of the Tabernacle. Eli confronted his sons but didn’t take them from their duty or discipline them, so God planned to put them to death. *** God sent Eli a prophet who told him the time would come when his family would no longer be priests. All the members of his family would die premature deaths. The few that would remain priests would end up blind, with heart conditions or die a violent death. To prove that his words were true, Hophni and Phinehas would both die on the same day. *** God would raise up a faithful priest to serve and do his will. Meanwhile, Samuel grew to have the favor of God and the people. *** One night Samuel was awakened in the middle of the night hearing his name called. He ran to Eli to see what he wanted. Eli was almost blind by now and they slept in the Tabernacle. Samuel slept near the Ark of the Lord. Eli told him he hadn’t called him. When it happened again, Eli perceived that it was the Lord speaking to Samuel. He told Samuel the next time he heard his name called to ask him to speak. *** Samuel did and God told him that he was about to do something shocking in Israel. All the warnings of judgment were about to come true. Since Eli hasn’t disciplined his sons, God had ordered their judgement. They would never be forgiven. *** The next morning, Samuel was afraid to tell Eli what God had said, but Eli urged him. When he did, there was nothing Eli had no defense. *** At that time, there was war between Israel and the Philistines. Four thousand Israelites were killed in the first attack. The captains of Israel’s army wondered why God was not helping them so they decided to go get the Ark and bring it with them into battle. When the Ark arrived the whole came yelled so loudly that the earth shook and the Philistines could hear it from where they were. They were so afraid of Israel’s God, they told their men to fight extra hard because they were going up against Israel’s strong God who had defeated Egypt. They didn’t know that God was no longer with Israel. *** Hophni and Phinehas went with the Ark into war the next day. The Philistines defeated Israel again and killed 30,000 of them. The Ark was captured and Hophni and Phinehas were both killed. *** When the bad news was told to Eli, he fell backward from his seat and broke his neck and died. He had judged Israel for 40 years. *** Phinehas’ wife was pregnant and went into labor when she heard the news. She began dying in childbirth but named her child Ichabod before she died. Ichabod means “Woe, where has the glory gone.” *** In John, Jesus said that those who believe in him will never be condemned for their sins but have already passed from death into life. One day, the dead will hear his voice and those who listen will live. They will rise out of their graves and those who have done good will experience eternal life and those who did evil will rise to be judged for their sins. Jesus will judge them as God instructs him at that time. *** John was the one who testified about Jesus, and his teachings and miracles also testify as to who he is. God testified about him through the Scriptures. Man’s approval means nothing if it doesn’t agree with God’s Scriptures. *** Most of the religious leaders of Jesus day couldn’t believe Jesus because they honored one another more than God. Moses, himself would stand in judgment against them because Moses testified of Jesus. They proved that they didn’t believe Moses because Moses told about Jesus and they didn’t believe him. *** Lord, we believe your testimony. Help us be an example of you to the world and our families.