Fri.’s Devo - Jesus, the Ladder to God

Read: Judges 13:1-14:20; John 1:29-51; Psalm 102:1-28; Proverbs 14:15-16 Israel went into idolatry again, so the Lord gave them over to the Philistines who oppressed them for 40 years. *** God was ready to begin delivering Israel. God went, in angel form, to a barren woman married to Manoa from the tribe of Dan. He told her that she would have a son. She was to drink no wine or strong drink and eat only what was clean. He would be born a Nazarite and stay one until he died. He would begin to save Israel from the Philistines. *** She told her husband what the angel had said. Manoa prayed that the angel would return and tell him what the mission would be for their son. The angel did return and told him just what he had told his wife. Manoah wanted to feed the angel, but God told him that he could offer a burnt offering, instead. Manoah asked the angel what his name was so that when what he said happened, he could honor that name. God told him that his name was a wonderful secret. Then he wondrously disappeared into heaven in the flames of the sacrifice. *** Manoah’s wife did have a son and they named him Samson which means “little sun.” When you think of God being “the Sun,” then Samson was His light dawning on the earth. We are God’s little suns and we are to walk in the power of the Lord like Samson did. *** Samson liked to hang out in the Philistine towns and fell in love with a Philistine woman. When he told his parents, they were not happy he had chosen a Philistine woman instead an Israelite, but they agreed to go meet her and her family. On their way, a lion attacked Samson. The Spirit of the Lord came on him and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands. He told no one about it. *** When Samson returned he saw the dead lion beside the road, and bees had made honey in its carcass. He scraped some of it and ate it. This gave him an idea about a riddle for his wedding. *** At the wedding feast, Samson proposed his riddle to the 30 friends. He gave them 7 days to answer it, and the loser would give the winner 30 linen garments and 30 changes of clothes. *** Around the fourth day, when they still hadn’t figured out his riddle, the men went to Samson’s fiancé and told her that if she didn’t tell them the answer, they would burn her and her father’s house down. She nagged Samson day after day till he finally broke on the last day and told her. She quickly told her friends and they brought their answer to Samson. *** Samson knew where they had gotten their answer and was so mad, he went to Ashkelon and killed 30 men and took their clothes and brought them to the 30 “friends.” Then he went home very angry. The woman’s father gave Samson’s fiancé to his best man to wed. *** In the New Testament, John had just told the Pharisees that he was not the Christ, but the Christ was coming. The next day, John saw Jesus and proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” This was the man he was talking about the day before. He told them how when he baptized Jesus, he saw the Spirit of God descend on Jesus and remained there. *** The next day, John saw Jesus again and told his two disciples that he was the Lamb of God. John’s two disciples then began following Jesus. When Jesus noticed them following, he asked them what they were looking for. One of these men was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. Andrew went and got Peter and when Jesus saw Peter he told him he would be called Cephas which means “a stone.” *** Just like Samson was the little sun, Peter was the little stone from Jesus, who was the Rock. *** The next day, Jesus went to Galilee and found Philip to be his disciple. Philip went and got Nathanael, but Nathanael was hesitant when he learned Jesus was from Nazareth. When Jesus told Nathanael he had seen him under the fig tree, this meant something so profound to Nathanael that he professed that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus told him he would see greater things than that. He would see heaven opened and God’s angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. *** Remember when Jacob saw angels ascending and descending on the ladder. Jesus is the ladder between heaven and earth. He is the only way to God. *** Lord, thank you that we have a ladder to you and his name is Jesus. Thank you that you have called us to be your disciples, your children and your friend.