Thurs.’s Devo - God’s Perfect Timing

Read: 1 Samuel 29:1-31:13; John 11:54-12:19; Psalm 118:1-18; Proverbs 15:24-26 The Philistine armies met at Aphek to plan their attack on Israel. When Achish showed up with David and his men with him, the other commanders wanted to know why he had brought David. Achish defended David as a loyal ally, but the other officers remembered him as a fierce competitor. They refused to let David and his men fight with them. They feared he would side with Saul and turn against them in the midst of the battle. *** Achish had to call David in and tell him that the other officers refused to let them fight, so he and his men would need to go home, peacefully. David and his men left early the next morning to go back to Ziklag. When they got there, they found that Amalekites had raided their city and burned it with fire. They had taken all their women and children with them. David’s men were so upset with David, they talked of stoning him. *** David was in distress also, but he strengthened himself in the Lord. He told Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod and ask the Lord if they should pursue the Amalekites and if they would be successful. The Lord told him to go and he would be successful. *** David’s 600 men left to rescue their families, but when they came to the brook Besor, 200 of his men were too exhausted to keep going. They stayed there and the other 400 continued. *** They found an Egyptian who had been left there by his Amalekite master because he had become sick. He hadn’t eaten in three days. David fed and him and found out he had been with the ones who raided their city. David promised not to kill him if he would take them to where the Amalekites were. He agreed. *** He took them to where the Amalekites were camped. They were eating and drinking and celebrating over their great spoil. David and his men attacked and fought them all day. He and his men recovered everything the Amalekites had stolen and took their spoil. *** They came back to where the 200 were that had been too exhausted to go on. Some of his worthless men didn’t want to share their spoil with these men, but David made it a statute that those who go to battle share their spoil with those stay with the baggage. David also sent presents from the spoil to all the places his men had stayed to thank them. *** Meanwhile, back at the battle between the Philistines and Israel. Saul and his three sons were killed in the battle. Israel fled. The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the ones who had died, they found the bodies of Saul and his sons. They cut off their heads and stripped them of their armor. They put Saul’s armor in the temple of Ashtaroth and fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what they had done, they came by night and stole Saul’s body and the body of his sons and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted for seven days. *** In John, it was not safe for Jesus to walk openly among the Jews so he went to a town near the wilderness called Ephraim and stayed there with is disciples. *** It was the time of the Passover and the Jews had many looking for him so they could arrest him. 
 *** Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany to visit Martha, Mary and Lazareth. After dinner, Mary took a pound of expensive ointment and anointed Jesus feet and wiped it with her hair. When Judas saw this, he asked why her perfume wasn’t sold and the money given to the poor instead of wasting it on Jesus’ feet. Judas wasn’t worried about the poor, he was a thief and was in charge of the money bag, so he saw this as a lost opportunity *** Jesus told Judas to leave her alone because she would use the rest for his burial. He added that they would always have the poor to help, but they would not always had him. *** A large crowd heard that Jesus was at Lazareth’s house and they came not only to see Jesus, but to see the man that he had risen from the dead. The chief priest realized that they wold need to put Lazareth to death also. *** Many learned that Jesus was coming to the feast and took their palm branches and laid them at his feet crying out 
Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel.” This is the song they would sing every year while walking to Jerusalem, only this time they sang it to him. *** Jesus rode in on a donkey. His disciples understood later, that the prophets had said this about him. The Pharisees saw that the whole nation was going after Jesus and he had to be stopped. *** Lord, your timing is perfect. It was perfect that David and his men were not allowed to go to battle against Israel. Many would have blamed David for Saul’s death, but not they couldn’t because he wasn’t there. Thank you that you see the end from the beginning and you save us from many troubles. Your timing in Jesus’ life was also perfect. Every act was orchestrated to teach us about you and your ways. May we always praise you and worship you.