Fri.’s Devo - Yielding to God

Read: 2 Samuel 15:23-16:23; John 18:25-19:22; Psalm 119:113-128; Proverbs 16:10-11 As David and his followers fled Jerusalem, the people who loved him cried out. Zadok and all the priests accompanied David bringing the Ark with them. They set it down and offered sacrifices to the Lord, then David commanded that the Ark be taken back to Jerusalem. If it was the Lord’s will, God would bring him back to worship at the Ark again. *** David told Zadok and his sons where he would be hiding so they could bring him reports of what was going on in the palace. David continued in mourning to the Mount of Olives. David felt much like Jesus when he went that last night to the Mount of Olives. Both had lost their earthly kingdom and were close to losing their lives. *** David’s adviser, Ahithophel had betrayed him to follow Absalom much like Judas had betrayed Jesus to the Pharisees. David prayed that Ahithophel would give Absalom bad advice. He sent Hushai to be his spy. Hushai was an older man who had also been an advisor to David. Hushai went back and got there just before Absalom entered the city. *** Next, David met Ziba, the man David had set in place to serve Mephibosheth. He met David with two donkeys for David to ride on and food for him and his men. When David asked where Mephibosheth was, Ziba said he had stayed in Jerusalem to get back the kingdom of his grandfather, Saul. *** We are never told if this was a lie or the truth about Mephibosheth because when David returned, he was so glad to see him and said because he was crippled, he couldn’t follow David. Who knows but God! David did give Ziba all of Mephibosheth’s land. *** David next met Shimei who was from Saul’s clan. Shimei called David a murderer and told him he was getting what he deserved. He threw stones at him and cursed him. Abishai wanted to kill him but David would’t let him. He left it in God’s hands. They stopped to rest at the Jordan River. *** Meanwhile, Absalom arrived in Jerusalem with Ahithopel. Hushai met him and when Absalom asked why he abandoned David, he said he was here to support God’s chosen man, to be his advisor like he was to David. Absalom believed him. *** Absalom went to Ahithophel and asked him what he should do first. Ahithophel told him to set a tent on the palace roof and put David’s concubines in it. Then go sleep with them so all Israel could see that he had no plans of reconciling with his Father. This was an act of total disrespect and was the fulfillment of the prophecy that Nathan had given David because of what he did with Bathsheba. *** In John, Peter denied Jesus the last two times and the rooster crowed. They finished their mock trial at Caiaphas’ house early in the morning and took Jesus to Pilate. Pilate wanted to know Jesus’ crime. *** They didn’t have a good answer so they just said, “We wouldn’t be turning him over to you if he wasn’t a criminal.” Pilate told them to settle the matter themselves, but they couldn’t because the law of Mose didn’t allow them to crucify people, only Romans could do that and they wanted him crucified. *** Pilate wanted to do this legally so he set up court. He asked Jesus if he was the king of the Jews. That was the only thing he was interested in. Jesus asked him if this was his own question or did others tell him about him. Jesus knew that Pilate had his own questions about who Jesus was. Jesus was asking him a heart question, not a legal one. *** Pilate then backtracked and told him he wasn’t a Jew as if to say, don’t make this personal. He asked Jesus what he had done. *** Jesus then answered his first question. He told him that his kingdom was not on this earth. If it was, his followers would fight to keep him from being killed. His kingdom was not of this world. *** Pilate was confused, but he asked again, “So, you are a king?” Jesus said that he was born to bring the truth and all who love truth listen to him. *** Pilate went out and told the crowd that he did not find Jesus guilty of any crime. But, since they had a custom of asking him to release one prisoner each year at Passover, he could make it Jesus. *** They crowd shouted that they wanted Barabbas, the revolutionary to be released to them. *** Pilate had Jesus flogged and dressed him like a king with a crown of thorns on his head. He brought him out and presented him as the King of the Jews and told the crowd again that he found no fault in him. *** The crowd yelled for Pilate to crucify him. Pilate gave him over to them to crucify. The Jewish leaders told him that he was dying because he claimed to be God’s Son. This frightened Pilate even more so he brought Jesus back in to question him further. He asked him where he came from but Jesus wouldn’t answer him. When he told Jesus that he had the power to release him or crucify him, Jesus spoke up. He told Pilate he didn’t have any power over him unless God gives it to him. Pilate was even more afraid of what was happening and tried to release him but the people accused him of rebelling against Caesar. *** Pilate tried one last trick. He brought Jesus out and presented him as their king. When they yelled that their king was Caesar, not Jesus, he turned Jesus over to them. *** They took Jesus to Golgotha and nailed him to the cross. Two other men were crucified on either side of him. Pilate posted a sign that read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. When the leading priest objected to the sign and wanted to change it to “he said he was the king of the Jews”, Pilate refused. Hatred leads to murder. People want to kill what they don’t understand. *** Lord, help us to not be impulsive. Even David refused to take retaliation in his hands but let the Lord fight his battle for him. Jesus did the same thing as he yielded himself to shame and humiliation and being wrongfully accused and misunderstood so that we would one day see the truth and invite him into our hearts. Thank you for the momentary shame and pain you endured to gain our salvation. May we walk in your salvation and wear your righteousness like a robe.