Samuel gave Saul a commission from God to go and kill the Amalekites who had attacked Israel when they came out of Egypt. God had promised to wipe them off the face of the earth and it was now time to do that. Saul readily obeyed but when it came to burning all the loot, he couldn’t bring himself to kill perfect cattle so he just killed the weak ones. He also brought back the king alive. That is like casting out demons and leaving the principality.
Samuel was furious when he found out and went to talk to Saul. Saul had gone to Carmel to set up a monument in his own honor, then on to Gilgal. Carmel was the place that Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal. In Gilgal there was a school of the prophets of God. Gilgal was the first place that Abraham made an altar to the Lord. Samuel had commissioned Saul to be king here and many altars had been established in Gilgal which is in the area of Shechem. Those two different places show us a picture of Saul - he was confused between his own power and God’s.
His excuses to Samuel were lame and Samuel didn’t fall for them. Samuel told him that to obey was better than sacrifice. Saul admitted that he was afraid of the people more than God. Samuel told him that the Lord had torn the kingdom from him that day and given it to someone better than him. What a blow! Samuel put Agag to death and left for Ramah lamenting Saul’s outcome. The Lord encouraged Samuel and told him to put oil in his horn because he was going to let him anoint the next king. God took Samuel to the house of Jesse where he chose his eighth son, David to be the next king. David was not even included in the choosing at first. God always chooses the least and makes them the greatest.
God had to get David from the hills to the palace so he used his gift of playing the harp. Our gifts may seem unnoticed but there is a reason he gave them to us and he will call us up to service when he needs us. Our job is to polish the gifts we have so we will be ready whenever God needs them.
In John we have the story of the woman caught in adultery. Where is the man caught in adultery with her? Was he a priest? Jesus stood up for her because Jesus saw the injustice in their hearts. Jesus wrote something in the dust that made the accusers have a change of heart. In Jeremiah 17:13 it says, “all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.” I wonder if he didn’t start writing their own genealogies in the dirt. They were scholars of the Word and they would have known this scripture…just a thought.
When Jesus talked about being the light of the world, the Pharisees questioned the fact that he was witnessing on his own behalf. He tried to explain to him that he did have another witness and it was God, his Father. They had a hard time with this but were not allowed to seize him yet. God, his witness, was protecting him.
Lord, help us to be bold in our witness to you and know that you back us up in heaven. Let us obey you to the letter of your Word.
Monday, May 14, 2018
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Sun.’s Devo - The Power of the Word and the Spirit
Read: 1 Samuel 13:23-14:52; John 7:30-53; Psalm 109:1-31; Proverbs 15:5-7
This story is as amazing as David against Goliath and yet we don’t hear about it told much. Jonathan and his young armor bearer go against the Philistine outpost by themselves. Remember that Jonathan was the only one with a sword other than Saul and the sword stands for the Word of God. He went out and single-handedly and killed twenty Philistines causing a panic in their camp and a stampede that shook the earth as they ran away killing themselves with their own swords. This is an amazing look into spiritual warfare. The enemy might be mighty in number, but against the Word of God they are powerless. If we would realize that, we would fight more and lose less.
We see this same power in John. The people want to arrest Jesus, but no one can because God won’t let them until it is time. On the last day of the feast, the priest do this great celebration where the priests bring in huge water vessels full of water from the Pool of Siloam. They bring them up the steps of the temple and pour them on the altar. It is a huge procession of worship. It was during this event that Jesus stood on the steps to commentate the meaning of what they were doing. He said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink…whoever believes in me, streams of living water will flow from within him.” This was the meaning of their ritual. The water represented God’s Spirit that he wanted to pour out on all his people. God still wants to pour out his Spirit on his people if they are willing.
Lord, baptize us with your Holy Spirit today for the ministry you have for us today. May we wild your sword and rightly divide and conquer.
This story is as amazing as David against Goliath and yet we don’t hear about it told much. Jonathan and his young armor bearer go against the Philistine outpost by themselves. Remember that Jonathan was the only one with a sword other than Saul and the sword stands for the Word of God. He went out and single-handedly and killed twenty Philistines causing a panic in their camp and a stampede that shook the earth as they ran away killing themselves with their own swords. This is an amazing look into spiritual warfare. The enemy might be mighty in number, but against the Word of God they are powerless. If we would realize that, we would fight more and lose less.
We see this same power in John. The people want to arrest Jesus, but no one can because God won’t let them until it is time. On the last day of the feast, the priest do this great celebration where the priests bring in huge water vessels full of water from the Pool of Siloam. They bring them up the steps of the temple and pour them on the altar. It is a huge procession of worship. It was during this event that Jesus stood on the steps to commentate the meaning of what they were doing. He said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink…whoever believes in me, streams of living water will flow from within him.” This was the meaning of their ritual. The water represented God’s Spirit that he wanted to pour out on all his people. God still wants to pour out his Spirit on his people if they are willing.
Lord, baptize us with your Holy Spirit today for the ministry you have for us today. May we wild your sword and rightly divide and conquer.
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Sat.’s Devo - Saul’s Downfall
Read: 1 Samuel 12:1-13:22; John 7:1-29; Psalm 108:1-13; Proverbs 15:4
Samuel reminded Israel of her rebellious history and now she wais adding more sin to her list by asking for a king. Israel was sad about her past, but not sad enough to repent and not take a king. Samuel gave them hope by saying that if they obeyed the Lord, even thought they had asked for a king, it would go well with them, but if they rebelled it would not. To add fear to the people, God sent thunder and rain.
Samuel told them he would never cease to pray for them because they were God’s people and he loved them. One more time he encouraged them to walk in truth with all of their hearts.
Saul chose his army and sent everyone else home. Jonathan attacked the Philistine’s outpost getting them all stirred up. Then Saul summoned the rest of Israel to fight the whole Philistine army at Micmash. Saul’s army was already getting scared and starting to flee but Saul waited for Samuel seven days just like he was told to do. On the seventh day, Saul saw his army dissipating and couldn’t wait any longer, so he offered the sacrifice only the priest was suppose to offer. As soon as he finished, Samuel arrived. This one act of disobedience cost Saul his kingship. Samuel rebuked Saul for his impatience and left. Saul’s army had shrunk from 6,000 to 600. Since the only blacksmiths were Philistines, only Saul and his son Jonathan had swords. They were a weaponless army!
In John, we see that even Jesus’ brothers were ashamed of him and taunted him. It was the Feast of Tabernacles when all the Jewish males go to Jerusalem. Jesus waited till everyone had gone and left himself. Everyone at the feast was talking about him to themselves, wondering if he would appear. Some wanted to kill him and others wanted to see a miracle. Jesus appeared half-way through the seven day feast and began teaching in the temple. The people complained that they knew where Jesus came from and there was no way he could be the Messiah, but Jesus argued that they didn’t know where he came from and they only knew how to see with natural eyes. He came from his Father in heaven but they couldn’t conceive it.
Just like Israel was a weaponless army, the children of Jesus day were a sightless army.
Lord, help us to use the weapon you have given us which is your Word and help us to have eyes to see who you are and what you are doing.
Samuel reminded Israel of her rebellious history and now she wais adding more sin to her list by asking for a king. Israel was sad about her past, but not sad enough to repent and not take a king. Samuel gave them hope by saying that if they obeyed the Lord, even thought they had asked for a king, it would go well with them, but if they rebelled it would not. To add fear to the people, God sent thunder and rain.
Samuel told them he would never cease to pray for them because they were God’s people and he loved them. One more time he encouraged them to walk in truth with all of their hearts.
Saul chose his army and sent everyone else home. Jonathan attacked the Philistine’s outpost getting them all stirred up. Then Saul summoned the rest of Israel to fight the whole Philistine army at Micmash. Saul’s army was already getting scared and starting to flee but Saul waited for Samuel seven days just like he was told to do. On the seventh day, Saul saw his army dissipating and couldn’t wait any longer, so he offered the sacrifice only the priest was suppose to offer. As soon as he finished, Samuel arrived. This one act of disobedience cost Saul his kingship. Samuel rebuked Saul for his impatience and left. Saul’s army had shrunk from 6,000 to 600. Since the only blacksmiths were Philistines, only Saul and his son Jonathan had swords. They were a weaponless army!
In John, we see that even Jesus’ brothers were ashamed of him and taunted him. It was the Feast of Tabernacles when all the Jewish males go to Jerusalem. Jesus waited till everyone had gone and left himself. Everyone at the feast was talking about him to themselves, wondering if he would appear. Some wanted to kill him and others wanted to see a miracle. Jesus appeared half-way through the seven day feast and began teaching in the temple. The people complained that they knew where Jesus came from and there was no way he could be the Messiah, but Jesus argued that they didn’t know where he came from and they only knew how to see with natural eyes. He came from his Father in heaven but they couldn’t conceive it.
Just like Israel was a weaponless army, the children of Jesus day were a sightless army.
Lord, help us to use the weapon you have given us which is your Word and help us to have eyes to see who you are and what you are doing.
Friday, May 11, 2018
Fri.’s Devo - The Anointing of Saul
Read: 1 Samuel 10:1-11:15; John 6:43-71; Psalm 107:1-43; Proverbs 15:1-3
Samuel anointed Saul’s head with oil and told him he was to be the leader over God’s inheritance then he told him specific things that would happen on his way home. These things would be signs to him that what Samuel said about the kingship was true. He would be given two loaves of bread from three men who were on their way to sacrifice at Bethel. He was to eat them. Then he would meet a procession of prophets coming down from Gibeah and they would be praising God and prophesying. He would be changed into a new man and prophesy right with them. Last of all, he was to wait 7 days and come to Gilgal where Samuel would tell him what to do from there.
All this happened just as Samuel said it would and when Saul got home, his father was so happy to see him. Saul didn’t tell him anything about what Samuel told him about the kingship. Samuel called a meeting at Mizpeh and called out Saul from all the tribes. He was found hiding in the baggage. Saul looked like a king. He was the epitome of what the people wanted. Samuel explained to the regulations of the king they were wanting and wrote them down on a scroll. Many of the people brought Saul gifts but some were not pleased with God’s choice.
It didn’t take long for them to need a leader. The Ammonites come up against Jabesh Gilead and threatened to kill them if they didn’t gouge out their right eyes and become their slaves. When Saul found out he summoned 330,000 Israelites and fought them. He divided them into three divisions and they attacked the Ammonite camp at night and slaughtered them.
Now, even the naysayers were on Saul’s side and Samuel reaffirmed Saul as the king.
God knows how to exalt the one he is anointing to lead. He doesn’t pick as man picks or he would have been from the tribe of Judah. Instead, God chose the tribe that was the smallest. The emphasis is not the person but the one who sent them. The mission is the Lord’s and he will make sure it gets done.
In John, Jesus culled out the crowd when he started talking about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Jesus knew this would be a stumbling block to so many of them, but he wasn’t after the crowd - he was after the remnant. The ones left when the smoke cleared were his true disciples. God always offends our flesh to speak to our spirit. We cannot understand God through carnal reasoning, we have to have spiritual eyes. God’s ways are not our ways nor his thoughts our thoughts. But the closer we get to him the more we have the mind of Christ and we understand his thoughts.
Lord, help us to stop trying to figure things out with our minds and trust in your spirit.
Samuel anointed Saul’s head with oil and told him he was to be the leader over God’s inheritance then he told him specific things that would happen on his way home. These things would be signs to him that what Samuel said about the kingship was true. He would be given two loaves of bread from three men who were on their way to sacrifice at Bethel. He was to eat them. Then he would meet a procession of prophets coming down from Gibeah and they would be praising God and prophesying. He would be changed into a new man and prophesy right with them. Last of all, he was to wait 7 days and come to Gilgal where Samuel would tell him what to do from there.
All this happened just as Samuel said it would and when Saul got home, his father was so happy to see him. Saul didn’t tell him anything about what Samuel told him about the kingship. Samuel called a meeting at Mizpeh and called out Saul from all the tribes. He was found hiding in the baggage. Saul looked like a king. He was the epitome of what the people wanted. Samuel explained to the regulations of the king they were wanting and wrote them down on a scroll. Many of the people brought Saul gifts but some were not pleased with God’s choice.
It didn’t take long for them to need a leader. The Ammonites come up against Jabesh Gilead and threatened to kill them if they didn’t gouge out their right eyes and become their slaves. When Saul found out he summoned 330,000 Israelites and fought them. He divided them into three divisions and they attacked the Ammonite camp at night and slaughtered them.
Now, even the naysayers were on Saul’s side and Samuel reaffirmed Saul as the king.
God knows how to exalt the one he is anointing to lead. He doesn’t pick as man picks or he would have been from the tribe of Judah. Instead, God chose the tribe that was the smallest. The emphasis is not the person but the one who sent them. The mission is the Lord’s and he will make sure it gets done.
In John, Jesus culled out the crowd when he started talking about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Jesus knew this would be a stumbling block to so many of them, but he wasn’t after the crowd - he was after the remnant. The ones left when the smoke cleared were his true disciples. God always offends our flesh to speak to our spirit. We cannot understand God through carnal reasoning, we have to have spiritual eyes. God’s ways are not our ways nor his thoughts our thoughts. But the closer we get to him the more we have the mind of Christ and we understand his thoughts.
Lord, help us to stop trying to figure things out with our minds and trust in your spirit.
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Thurs.’s Devo - We Want a King
Read: 1 Samuel 8:1-9:27; John 6:22-42; Psalm 106:32-48; Proverbs 14:34-35
Samuel’s sons, Joel and Abijah did the same thing that Eli’s sons did. They perverted the worship of God by accepting bribes and perverting justice. The knew that when Samuel died it would be the end of righteous leadership so they asked for a king. Samuel was devastated because he knew this was not God’s perfect will. But God assured Samuel that the people had not rejected him but God. He told Samuel to warn them of what they were asking for and if they still wanted a king, then to give them one. So Samuel laid out the cost of getting a king. The cost would be theirs and they and their posterity would pay heavily to have a king. They couldn’t see so they agreed.
Meanwhile, there was a man from the tribe of Benjamin named Saul. Saul means “asked for, or people’s choice”. He was sent be his father to find his missing donkeys. When he couldn’t find them he went to ask the seer. Instead of finding the donkeys, God found him. God sent Samuel to the city and told him he would meet Saul from the tribe of Benjamin and he was the one the people had asked for to be their king.
Saul ate with Samuel and thirty men then was taken on the roof and told to meet Samuel when they got ready to leave.
In John, the people realized that the disciples had left in the boat but they knew Jesus wasn’t with them. They went searching for him and realized he was on the other side of the lake. They asked Jesus when he got there but the real question was “how” did he get there. Jesus was translated from one place to another so many times which just kept the people wondering.
Jesus knew that these people came to him for another meal but what they needed was so much more than a temporary fix. They needed him, the bread of life from heaven.
Lord, help us to hunger for more than the temporary things of this world.
Samuel’s sons, Joel and Abijah did the same thing that Eli’s sons did. They perverted the worship of God by accepting bribes and perverting justice. The knew that when Samuel died it would be the end of righteous leadership so they asked for a king. Samuel was devastated because he knew this was not God’s perfect will. But God assured Samuel that the people had not rejected him but God. He told Samuel to warn them of what they were asking for and if they still wanted a king, then to give them one. So Samuel laid out the cost of getting a king. The cost would be theirs and they and their posterity would pay heavily to have a king. They couldn’t see so they agreed.
Meanwhile, there was a man from the tribe of Benjamin named Saul. Saul means “asked for, or people’s choice”. He was sent be his father to find his missing donkeys. When he couldn’t find them he went to ask the seer. Instead of finding the donkeys, God found him. God sent Samuel to the city and told him he would meet Saul from the tribe of Benjamin and he was the one the people had asked for to be their king.
Saul ate with Samuel and thirty men then was taken on the roof and told to meet Samuel when they got ready to leave.
In John, the people realized that the disciples had left in the boat but they knew Jesus wasn’t with them. They went searching for him and realized he was on the other side of the lake. They asked Jesus when he got there but the real question was “how” did he get there. Jesus was translated from one place to another so many times which just kept the people wondering.
Jesus knew that these people came to him for another meal but what they needed was so much more than a temporary fix. They needed him, the bread of life from heaven.
Lord, help us to hunger for more than the temporary things of this world.
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Wed.’s Devo - The Power of God's Presence 8-9-18
Read: 1 Samuel 5: 1-7:17; John 6:1-21; Psalm 106:13-31; Proverbs 14:32-33
The ark was brought to Ashdod which was one of the five Philistine satrapies. Ashdod means “I will spoil”. The ark of God was a small piece of furniture that was placed before the huge statue of Dagon, their country’s main idol. Dagon means “fish god” because of its ability to reproduce so many eggs. Dagon was like a man from the waist up and like a fish from the waist down. This huge statue fell on its face before God’s presence and was beheaded and its hands cut off. The people of the city started getting ulcers in their reproductive parts. God was showing them that this god of theirs had no power over him. The people of Ashdod sent the ark to Gath. Gath means “a winepress”. They panicked and started getting the same ulcers. They sent the ark to Ekron. Ekron means “uprooting or eradication”. God sent deadly destruction throughout that city and the ones that didn’t die were afflicted with the tumors. They were desperate to get the ark out of their country so they asked the religious leaders of their country how to send it back since it was such a powerful spiritual box. The leaders said it must be sent with a guilt offering and they came up with five golden tumors and five golden mice. The mice stood for the five lords of the Philistines. They put the ark with their gifts on a cart and sent it with two cows that had just given birth to calves and were still nursing them. They put them on the road and said that if the cows found their way back to the land of Israel, then God had heard their cry and would forgive them.
Naturally, a nursing cow would never leave it calf, but these cows marched straight to Beth-shemesh bellowing as they went.
Beth-shemesh means “house of the sun”. When the people of Beth-shemesh saw the ark returning they rejoiced! It went into the field of Joshua which is another name for Jesus.
In John, Jesus fed 5,000 with 5 barley loaves and two small fishes. There were enough left overs to fill 12 baskets. That is a miracle! When Jesus realized they were about to take him by force and make him king, he left and went to a mountain to be with his Father. His disciples left in a boat.
Tomorrow, we will continue the story and see the significance of it all.
Lord, help us to see that you are more than enough for every thing we need. You protect and provide for your children and there is nothing we need to fear.
The ark was brought to Ashdod which was one of the five Philistine satrapies. Ashdod means “I will spoil”. The ark of God was a small piece of furniture that was placed before the huge statue of Dagon, their country’s main idol. Dagon means “fish god” because of its ability to reproduce so many eggs. Dagon was like a man from the waist up and like a fish from the waist down. This huge statue fell on its face before God’s presence and was beheaded and its hands cut off. The people of the city started getting ulcers in their reproductive parts. God was showing them that this god of theirs had no power over him. The people of Ashdod sent the ark to Gath. Gath means “a winepress”. They panicked and started getting the same ulcers. They sent the ark to Ekron. Ekron means “uprooting or eradication”. God sent deadly destruction throughout that city and the ones that didn’t die were afflicted with the tumors. They were desperate to get the ark out of their country so they asked the religious leaders of their country how to send it back since it was such a powerful spiritual box. The leaders said it must be sent with a guilt offering and they came up with five golden tumors and five golden mice. The mice stood for the five lords of the Philistines. They put the ark with their gifts on a cart and sent it with two cows that had just given birth to calves and were still nursing them. They put them on the road and said that if the cows found their way back to the land of Israel, then God had heard their cry and would forgive them.
Naturally, a nursing cow would never leave it calf, but these cows marched straight to Beth-shemesh bellowing as they went.
Beth-shemesh means “house of the sun”. When the people of Beth-shemesh saw the ark returning they rejoiced! It went into the field of Joshua which is another name for Jesus.
In John, Jesus fed 5,000 with 5 barley loaves and two small fishes. There were enough left overs to fill 12 baskets. That is a miracle! When Jesus realized they were about to take him by force and make him king, he left and went to a mountain to be with his Father. His disciples left in a boat.
Tomorrow, we will continue the story and see the significance of it all.
Lord, help us to see that you are more than enough for every thing we need. You protect and provide for your children and there is nothing we need to fear.
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Tues.’s Devo - The Word of the Lord
Read: 1 Samuel 2:22-4:22; John 5:24-47; Psalm 106:1-12; Proverbs 14:30-31
How sad to read: “It was the Lord’s will to put Hophni and Phinehas to death.” But while God was judging them for their sin, he was blessing Samuel for his obedience. Samuel was growing in the natural and in the spiritual.
God sent a prophet to Eli to tell him that because he honored his own sons more than God’s altar, God was going to cut his family line short. None of his line would live to be old and his two sons would die on the same day. God would raise up an anointed man to take his place. This man would be Samuel who was living in his very house. Eli was able to witness God speaking to Samuel and mentor him in hearing God’s voice even when what he heard was for Eli.
Everything that the prophet and Samuel said happened. Hophni and Phinehas were both killed on the same day and the ark of the Lord was taken by the Philistines after a heavy defeat. God had told Israel that He would not fight for them any more and he proved it on this day.
In John, Jesus explained eternal life was for all who heard his voice and believed in him. In him is resurrection power. He went on to teach them that he was more important than Moses and John because they were just leaders to lead the people to Him.
Lord, help us to believe your Word and honor You above all.
How sad to read: “It was the Lord’s will to put Hophni and Phinehas to death.” But while God was judging them for their sin, he was blessing Samuel for his obedience. Samuel was growing in the natural and in the spiritual.
God sent a prophet to Eli to tell him that because he honored his own sons more than God’s altar, God was going to cut his family line short. None of his line would live to be old and his two sons would die on the same day. God would raise up an anointed man to take his place. This man would be Samuel who was living in his very house. Eli was able to witness God speaking to Samuel and mentor him in hearing God’s voice even when what he heard was for Eli.
Everything that the prophet and Samuel said happened. Hophni and Phinehas were both killed on the same day and the ark of the Lord was taken by the Philistines after a heavy defeat. God had told Israel that He would not fight for them any more and he proved it on this day.
In John, Jesus explained eternal life was for all who heard his voice and believed in him. In him is resurrection power. He went on to teach them that he was more important than Moses and John because they were just leaders to lead the people to Him.
Lord, help us to believe your Word and honor You above all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)