Wed.’s Devo - God’s Sovereignty -

Read: 1 Samuel 26:1-28:25; John 11:1-53; Psal 117:1-2; Proverbs 15:22-23 The Ziphites came to Saul and told him where David was camping. Saul took 3,000 men to find him. When David saw Saul and his men he knew that Saul still wanted to kill him. He waited till night time and took Abishai with him to Saul’s camp. God had caused the men in Saul’s camp to go into a deep sleep. David and Abishai stole Saul’s sword and water jar. They put some distance between them and Saul before they woke them up. *** David yelled to Abner, Saul’s bodyguard and leader of his army and asked why he didn’t protect the king. David showed him his sword and water jar and told him he could have killed him but didn’t want to kill God’s anointed. He stated that as he had mercy on Saul and didn’t kill him, he prayed the Lord would return the favor and deliver him out of all his tribulation. (His tribulation had to do with Saul.) *** Saul prophesied that David would do many things and have success. They parted. *** It was obvious to David that he would never be able to live in Israel as long as Saul was alive, so he moved his 600 men to the land of the Philistines. He went to Achish, the same king he had acted like a mad man in front of and lived there with his household. Saul didn’t want to pursue David in the land of the Philistines. *** After living with Achish for a while, he asked him if he might have a city for him and his men to live in. Achish gave him the city of Ziklag. David lived there for a year and four months. *** David would take his men out to raid the Geshurites, the Girizites, and the Amalekites (Israel’s enemies). He made sure he killed everyone in the city so there would be no witness to tell Achish what he had done. When Achish asked him where he had been that day, he would tell him he had raided a city in Israel. So, Achish believed that David hated his land and his people. *** The Philistines came up to fight Saul and Achish told David that he and his men would be expected to fight with him. He wanted David to be his bodyguard for life. *** Saul was afraid to go out to war without asking the Lord if they would be successful. He didn’t have Samuel to ask and God wasn’t responding through the priest or the prophets, so he asked if anyone knew of a sorcerer to ask. He had had them banned from Israel, but one of his servants knew of a medium who lived in Endor. *** Saul discussed himself so she wouldn’t know he was the king and be afraid since mediums had been banned from Israel. He went to her and asked her to bring up a spirit from the dead. He assured her he wouldn’t kill her. *** She brought up Samuel for him. Immediately, she knew he was Saul. Saul promised again not to kill her. He asked Samuel if they would be successful the next day in battle against the Philistines. He explained that the Lord had turned away from him and he had no one else to turn to. Samuel told him the Lord had become his enemy and has torn the kingdom out of his hands and given it to David. He didn’t obey the voice of the Lord to kill all the Amelekites that day, so this is his consequence. He would die along with his sons, and the army of Israel would not succeed against the Philistines. *** Saul fainted on the ground in fear. The woman gave him some food and his men urged him to eat it. She fixed him his last supper - a lamb and unleavened bread. It must have been the season of Passover. The death angel would come for him the next day. *** In John, Lazareth, Mary and Martha’s brother became deathly ill. They sent word to Jesus to come and heal him. Jesus said that his illness would not lead to death, but the Son of God would be glorified in it. *** God had him wait till Lazareth had died before he sent him to where Lazareth was in Judea. His disciples discouraged him against going back to the town where they were trying to kill him. He told them that he must walk in the day (God’s light). Those that stumble are those who walk in darkness. He added that Lazareth had fallen asleep, but he was going to wake him up. He meant that he had died. *** When they got to Bethany, they found that Lazareth had been in his tomb dead for four days. Martha met him and told him that if he had been there, Lazareth would’t have died. Jesus said he would rise again because He was the resurrection and the life and anyone who believes in him will never die. He asked her if she believed in him. She proclaimed he was the Christ, the son of God. *** Martha went and got Mary who quickly came to Jesus. She fell at his feet and told him if he had been there, Lazareth would’t have died. Jesus asked where the tomb was that he had been laid. They took him there where Jesus wept. *** Jesus asked them to take the stone away and when Martha questioned this, he told her that if she believed she would see the glory of God. Then he prayed aloud to God. He then spoke to Lazareth and told him to come out. Lazareth came out with his death clothes on. Jesus told the people to take the linen strips off of him and set him free. *** Many believed in Jesus this day, but some of them went and told the Pharisees what he had done. The Pharisees gathered the council to talk about what their response would be to this. They knew that if they continued to let him do these signs, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and unseat them as the leaders of the Jews. *** Caiaphas, the high priest said, “Do you not understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, instead of the whole nation?” Little did he understand that he was prophesying exactly what Jesus would do. He would not only die for the nation but the whole world. From that day on they made plans to kill Jesus. *** God is sovereign, and it was his will that David become the king. No matter what Saul did, he could not kill David. The same was happening in Jesus’ day. They could not kill Jesus, no mater what they planned until God said it was time for Jesus to give up his life. God is the one in control, not man. *** Lord, it is easy to see that we are living in the same scenario. Those who are opposing what you are doing on the earth today are doing all they can do to kill our President who you have anointed. Obviously, his time has not come to leave the earth because God has protected him and kept him alive. May we be on the side of good and not evil in the days we are living. We trust in your plan.