Read: 1 Samuel 1:1-2:21; John 5:1-33; Psalm 105:37-45; Proverbs 14:28-29
Hannah had a hard life. First she was married to Elkanah who had two wives and Hannah referred to the other wife, Peninnah, as her adversary. Peninnah had children but Hannah was barren. She cried to the Lord for a child but it looked like he wasn’t answering her prayer until one year on their yearly visit to Shiloh to bring their sacrifice to the Lord. As Hannah sat quietly praying, she made a vow to the Lord that if he would grant her a son, she would give him back to the Lord. Eli was watching her pray and thought she was drunk. When he rebuked her, she told him she wasn’t drunk but deep in prayer. He told her to go in peace because the Lord was going to give her what she asked for. Sure enough, she went home and became pregnant with Samuel.
When Samuel was weaned, she brought him to Eli to raise in the temple. I can’t imagine giving up my son like that, but she did. Samuel was a comfort to Eli who was a devout follower of God. His two sons, Hopni and Phineas were wicked and dishonored the sacrifices people brought to the Lord. They took them for themselves and treated the people with contempt as well as the Lord. Samuel was their replacement and he followed after the ways of Eli and ministered to the Lord in righteousness.
God blessed Hannah for giving her son as she had promised. she had three more sons and two daughters. God is so good!
In John, Jesus was at Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. I know that because of the places mentioned. The pool of Siloam is right next to this pool of Bethesda and it is close to the Kidron Valley. During the feast of Tabernacles, these places are very significant. When Jesus fulfills this feast it will be a Sabbath and everyone will be healed. Jesus went to the place of healing and healed a man who had been sick for 38 years. Jesus knew he had waited a long time to be healed and couldn’t help himself; he healed him then slipped away. The man didn’t even find out till later, who had healed him.
When the Judeans saw the man carrying his mat on the Sabbath, they were incensed! They asked him why he was carrying his mat on the Sabbath and he told them the man who had healed him told him to take up his mat and carry it. They were too upset that Jesus was healing on the Sabbath to see the miracle of a man who was crippled being healed. Jealousy is a blinding mote! Jesus explained that his Father always works so he does too. That just made them madder because now Jesus was saying that God was his Father, making him equal to God.
Jesus went further and told them that not only was he God’s Son, but one day he would speak to the dead and they would rise from their graves. He would also execute judgment on everyone who did not believe in him. That had to make them irate! Jesus didn’t say all that to make them mad but to make them believe and be saved.
Lord, help us to see that everything you do is for salvation. You raise the dead and give it life.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Monday, May 6, 2019
Mon.'s Devo - Don't Be Afraid
Read: Ruth 2:1-4:22; John 4:43-54; Psalm 105:16-36; Proverbs 14:26-27
God orchestrated it so that Ruth would meet Boaz in his own field. Boaz made sure she was welcomed, cared for and protected. He also made sure she went home with plenty of grain because he had heard of how kindly she had treated Naomi. Ruth had chosen to leave her homeland to come take care of Naomi.
Boaz’s mother was Rahab in the story of the spies at Jericho. She had also chosen to leave her home town to live as a Jew in a foreign culture. Boaz had compassion for Ruth because I’m sure he had listened to his own mother’s story and realized how hard this was for Ruth.
Naomi played the matchmaker and it worked. Ruth made it obvious that she had chosen Boaz and Boaz was delighted. He had done his homework and knew who was the closest relative. It was a matter of getting him to relinquish his rights to her and her property. The relative didn’t want to raise up a child for someone else so he sold Ruth and her land to Boaz. Now Boaz was free to marry Ruth. They did and even though she had been barren with her first husband, she was fruitful with Boaz and had a son right away. The people blessed Ruth with the blessing of the house of Pharez who Tamar had born to Judah to carry on his son’s lineage. Pharez was the oldest twin who pushed his brother aside in the womb to be born first. Little did they know that in five generations King David would come from their line and later Jesus!
In John, Jesus went back to Galilee to the same place he had turned the water into wine. Galilee was known as the heathen circle. Jesus wasn’t welcome among his own people so he flip-flopped from the Jews (Judea) to the Gentiles (Galilee). Today, he did another miracle to speak truth to the Gentiles. He healed a man’s son who was close to death. He didn’t even go and touch him but healed him by his word. The man believed Jesus word and received his son’s life back. His whole family became a family of faith in Jesus. The Gentiles had more faith than the Jews making it easier for Jesus to move among them.
Lord, help us to be bold in our testimony because the world is hungry for what we have. Thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit that we can walk in. May we prosper your kingdom today.
God orchestrated it so that Ruth would meet Boaz in his own field. Boaz made sure she was welcomed, cared for and protected. He also made sure she went home with plenty of grain because he had heard of how kindly she had treated Naomi. Ruth had chosen to leave her homeland to come take care of Naomi.
Boaz’s mother was Rahab in the story of the spies at Jericho. She had also chosen to leave her home town to live as a Jew in a foreign culture. Boaz had compassion for Ruth because I’m sure he had listened to his own mother’s story and realized how hard this was for Ruth.
Naomi played the matchmaker and it worked. Ruth made it obvious that she had chosen Boaz and Boaz was delighted. He had done his homework and knew who was the closest relative. It was a matter of getting him to relinquish his rights to her and her property. The relative didn’t want to raise up a child for someone else so he sold Ruth and her land to Boaz. Now Boaz was free to marry Ruth. They did and even though she had been barren with her first husband, she was fruitful with Boaz and had a son right away. The people blessed Ruth with the blessing of the house of Pharez who Tamar had born to Judah to carry on his son’s lineage. Pharez was the oldest twin who pushed his brother aside in the womb to be born first. Little did they know that in five generations King David would come from their line and later Jesus!
In John, Jesus went back to Galilee to the same place he had turned the water into wine. Galilee was known as the heathen circle. Jesus wasn’t welcome among his own people so he flip-flopped from the Jews (Judea) to the Gentiles (Galilee). Today, he did another miracle to speak truth to the Gentiles. He healed a man’s son who was close to death. He didn’t even go and touch him but healed him by his word. The man believed Jesus word and received his son’s life back. His whole family became a family of faith in Jesus. The Gentiles had more faith than the Jews making it easier for Jesus to move among them.
Lord, help us to be bold in our testimony because the world is hungry for what we have. Thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit that we can walk in. May we prosper your kingdom today.
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Sun.’s Devo - Life from Death
Read: Judges 21:1-Ruth 1:22; John 4:4-42; Psalm 108:1-15; Proverbs 14:25
After the great battle with Benjamin, the people of Israel realized that they had sworn themselves into a box. They had pronounced a curse on anyone who gave their daughters to the sons of Benjamin and now that all of the women and children of Benjamin had been killed, there was no way to continue their tribe and the tribe of Benjamin would eventually die out. To remedy this they found one town, Jabesh Gilead who did not meet with them. Since they had to be punished for not meeting, they killed all the people that were not virgin women in Jabesh Gilead and gave the 300 virgins to the Benjamites. It still wasn’t enough so they remembered a festival in Shiloah where the virgins would come and dance in remembrance of Jepthah’s daughter who never got to marry. Since they couldn’t “give” their daughters to the Benjamites, the Benjamites would have to “take” them and that would be their solution. I’m sure if they had asked God what to do, he could have come up with a better plan but everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes. So that was their plan and the tribe of Benjamin continued to be.
That is why there was a famine in the land in Ruth. Every time the people strayed from the Lord, the curses he promised fell on them and famine was one of the curses. Naomi and Abimelech with their two sons moved to the land of Moab to find food. While they were there Abimelech and their two sons who had married Moabite women, died. Ruth was left husbandless and childless but heard their was bread once again in Bethlehem so she decided to go home. She told her two daughter-in-laws to stay with their families and gave them her blessing to remarry as they chose. They both wanted to go with her, but only Ruth remained with her. Ruth gave her famous speech that is used in many weddings: ...”where you go I will go and your God will be our God.”
When they returned home, the whole city was stirred with excitement over them. Naomi quenched their excitement when she told them her state. She was bitter and empty. It was the beginning of barley season which means it was Passover season. Passover is about life coming out of death. Naomi was going to experience salvation of her soul.
The story of Ruth is the picture of Jesus going to the Gentile nation when his own rejected him and getting a bride from the Gentiles. Naomi is the picture of the Jew who abandons Israel in her time of discipline to a foreign land but she ushers in the bride. Ruth actually is Naomi’s salvation just like the Gentile will provoke the Jew to jealousy in the end and they will return to the Lord and God will take them back. God’s plan is always redemption for anyone who will come.
Lord, thank you for your great unending kindness and love for your people.
After the great battle with Benjamin, the people of Israel realized that they had sworn themselves into a box. They had pronounced a curse on anyone who gave their daughters to the sons of Benjamin and now that all of the women and children of Benjamin had been killed, there was no way to continue their tribe and the tribe of Benjamin would eventually die out. To remedy this they found one town, Jabesh Gilead who did not meet with them. Since they had to be punished for not meeting, they killed all the people that were not virgin women in Jabesh Gilead and gave the 300 virgins to the Benjamites. It still wasn’t enough so they remembered a festival in Shiloah where the virgins would come and dance in remembrance of Jepthah’s daughter who never got to marry. Since they couldn’t “give” their daughters to the Benjamites, the Benjamites would have to “take” them and that would be their solution. I’m sure if they had asked God what to do, he could have come up with a better plan but everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes. So that was their plan and the tribe of Benjamin continued to be.
That is why there was a famine in the land in Ruth. Every time the people strayed from the Lord, the curses he promised fell on them and famine was one of the curses. Naomi and Abimelech with their two sons moved to the land of Moab to find food. While they were there Abimelech and their two sons who had married Moabite women, died. Ruth was left husbandless and childless but heard their was bread once again in Bethlehem so she decided to go home. She told her two daughter-in-laws to stay with their families and gave them her blessing to remarry as they chose. They both wanted to go with her, but only Ruth remained with her. Ruth gave her famous speech that is used in many weddings: ...”where you go I will go and your God will be our God.”
When they returned home, the whole city was stirred with excitement over them. Naomi quenched their excitement when she told them her state. She was bitter and empty. It was the beginning of barley season which means it was Passover season. Passover is about life coming out of death. Naomi was going to experience salvation of her soul.
The story of Ruth is the picture of Jesus going to the Gentile nation when his own rejected him and getting a bride from the Gentiles. Naomi is the picture of the Jew who abandons Israel in her time of discipline to a foreign land but she ushers in the bride. Ruth actually is Naomi’s salvation just like the Gentile will provoke the Jew to jealousy in the end and they will return to the Lord and God will take them back. God’s plan is always redemption for anyone who will come.
Lord, thank you for your great unending kindness and love for your people.
Saturday, May 4, 2019
Sat.’s Devo - Points of View
SatRead: Judges 19:1-20:48; John 3:22-4:3; Psalm 104:24-35; Proverbs 14:22-24
The story of the concubine always makes me sick to my stomach. It is the picture of the mind of man when he becomes perverted in his thoughts; everything is upside down. The concubine left her Levite husband to go back to her family, probably because he was abusive (just my opinion). He went to get her back and the father did everything he could to give his daughter a few more nights at home. When the Levite couldn’t be stopped, he left with his “wife”. He refused to stay in a town that wasn’t an Israelite town, so they walk on till they come to Gibeah which is a small town in the tribe of Benjamin. Then we see a rerun of Lot in Sodom (Genesis 19). He sat at the city square waiting for someone to invite him to stay at their house and no one did. Finally, an old man from Ephraim who was temporarily working there saw him and invited him to his house.
That night, just like in Sodom, the men of the city surrounded the house and wanted the Levite to have sex with him. He made his concubine go out to them and they raped her to death. The next morning when he saw her on the doorstep and told her to get up. When he realized she was dead, he cut her into 12 pieces and sent the body parts to all the tribes to fight for him.
First of all, it was all his fault. He should have laid down his life for her, not vice versa. Then he should have taken responsibility for her life himself and repented. But, this is how sin twists our thinking. This is how the government can have laws to protect murderers of innocent babies. It is all centered around rebellion from God and selfishness. We have to worship something, and if it isn’t God; then it is ourselves.
This led to a civil war which was a war of numbers. Thirty thousand Israelites lost their lives in this battle and 25,000 Benjamites! The tribe of Benjamin was not very big to begin with. This all happened over very confused morals.
In John, his disciples were concerned that Jesus was becoming more popular than John and asked him about it. John explained to them that Jesus was the bridegroom coming for his bride and he, John, was a friend of the bridegroom’s. He was thrilled just to hear his voice. What a servant’s heart. John went on to explain that he taught from an earthly point of view because he was born on this earth, but Jesus taught from heaven’s point of view because he came from heaven. They needed to listen to Jesus.
Lord, may we see our life from heaven’s point of view and love like you do.
The story of the concubine always makes me sick to my stomach. It is the picture of the mind of man when he becomes perverted in his thoughts; everything is upside down. The concubine left her Levite husband to go back to her family, probably because he was abusive (just my opinion). He went to get her back and the father did everything he could to give his daughter a few more nights at home. When the Levite couldn’t be stopped, he left with his “wife”. He refused to stay in a town that wasn’t an Israelite town, so they walk on till they come to Gibeah which is a small town in the tribe of Benjamin. Then we see a rerun of Lot in Sodom (Genesis 19). He sat at the city square waiting for someone to invite him to stay at their house and no one did. Finally, an old man from Ephraim who was temporarily working there saw him and invited him to his house.
That night, just like in Sodom, the men of the city surrounded the house and wanted the Levite to have sex with him. He made his concubine go out to them and they raped her to death. The next morning when he saw her on the doorstep and told her to get up. When he realized she was dead, he cut her into 12 pieces and sent the body parts to all the tribes to fight for him.
First of all, it was all his fault. He should have laid down his life for her, not vice versa. Then he should have taken responsibility for her life himself and repented. But, this is how sin twists our thinking. This is how the government can have laws to protect murderers of innocent babies. It is all centered around rebellion from God and selfishness. We have to worship something, and if it isn’t God; then it is ourselves.
This led to a civil war which was a war of numbers. Thirty thousand Israelites lost their lives in this battle and 25,000 Benjamites! The tribe of Benjamin was not very big to begin with. This all happened over very confused morals.
In John, his disciples were concerned that Jesus was becoming more popular than John and asked him about it. John explained to them that Jesus was the bridegroom coming for his bride and he, John, was a friend of the bridegroom’s. He was thrilled just to hear his voice. What a servant’s heart. John went on to explain that he taught from an earthly point of view because he was born on this earth, but Jesus taught from heaven’s point of view because he came from heaven. They needed to listen to Jesus.
Lord, may we see our life from heaven’s point of view and love like you do.
Friday, May 3, 2019
Fri.’s Devo - You Must Be Born Again
Read: Judges 17:18-31; John 3:1-21; Psalm 104:1-23; Proverbs 14:20-21
Judges is a picture of what man does without godly leadership and when he is left to make his own laws. Micah, a man from Ephraim stole 1,100 shekels of silver from his own mother and aive it back when he heard the curse she put on the one who stole it. Instead of disciplining him, she blessed him and wanted to give it back to him to make an idol! (What would James Dobson say about that?) This poor woman had very weak parenting skills. The son did give his mother all but 200 shekels back and with those 200 shekels he had a shrine and an ephod made and put one of his sons as the priest.
A real Levite happened upon Micah’s house and was looking for a place to stay. Micah offered to house him and pay him to be his priest. The Levite agreed. Everything seemed to be going well, but you will reap what you sow. Micah had sown seeds of robbery and deceit so he reaped it. The Danites came in and took his shrine, his ephod, and his priest.
The Danites had never taken land in the promise land as their own. They came upon an isolated Sidionite settlement with great land and no fortification or reinforcements around. They took the land as their own. This is a great reminder that when we isolate ourselves from the body and feel secure, be sure we have become easy picking for the devil. God made us to be tribes who need each other and will stand in prayer and fight for one another.
The Danites, who had stolen the shrine, ephod and priest from Micah’s house and put it in their new land which became a thorn in their side and brought a curse upon them…probably the same curse Micah’s mom had pronounced!
In John, Jesus is confronted by Nicodemus at night. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who was humbly seeking truth. He told Jesus he knew he was from God and that his works were from God. Jesus told him he had to be born again to see the kingdom of God. I love how Jesus never really answers the questions they ask but answers the questions that they should be asking.
They have a long talk about what it means to be born again. Jesus explains that the first time we are born we are born naturally, but to be born again means we are spiritually born. You can sense the frustration of Jesus as he realizes that a leader of the law has no idea how to understand the spirit. Jesus gives the example of the spirit being like the wind. Then He patiently tells Nicodemus God’s plan of redemption for the world. The way it would be saved is by Jesus coming down from heaven to earth and being lifted up on a pole like the serpent was in Moses’ day. I don’t know if Nicodemus understood it that night, but he did eventually. I love that about Jesus, he didn’t worry about if they believed right then. He gave them time for his words to sink in and eventually they would die or bear fruit.
Lord, help us to be like Jesus and scatter your seed and let the Holy Spirit bring in the results.
Judges is a picture of what man does without godly leadership and when he is left to make his own laws. Micah, a man from Ephraim stole 1,100 shekels of silver from his own mother and aive it back when he heard the curse she put on the one who stole it. Instead of disciplining him, she blessed him and wanted to give it back to him to make an idol! (What would James Dobson say about that?) This poor woman had very weak parenting skills. The son did give his mother all but 200 shekels back and with those 200 shekels he had a shrine and an ephod made and put one of his sons as the priest.
A real Levite happened upon Micah’s house and was looking for a place to stay. Micah offered to house him and pay him to be his priest. The Levite agreed. Everything seemed to be going well, but you will reap what you sow. Micah had sown seeds of robbery and deceit so he reaped it. The Danites came in and took his shrine, his ephod, and his priest.
The Danites had never taken land in the promise land as their own. They came upon an isolated Sidionite settlement with great land and no fortification or reinforcements around. They took the land as their own. This is a great reminder that when we isolate ourselves from the body and feel secure, be sure we have become easy picking for the devil. God made us to be tribes who need each other and will stand in prayer and fight for one another.
The Danites, who had stolen the shrine, ephod and priest from Micah’s house and put it in their new land which became a thorn in their side and brought a curse upon them…probably the same curse Micah’s mom had pronounced!
In John, Jesus is confronted by Nicodemus at night. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who was humbly seeking truth. He told Jesus he knew he was from God and that his works were from God. Jesus told him he had to be born again to see the kingdom of God. I love how Jesus never really answers the questions they ask but answers the questions that they should be asking.
They have a long talk about what it means to be born again. Jesus explains that the first time we are born we are born naturally, but to be born again means we are spiritually born. You can sense the frustration of Jesus as he realizes that a leader of the law has no idea how to understand the spirit. Jesus gives the example of the spirit being like the wind. Then He patiently tells Nicodemus God’s plan of redemption for the world. The way it would be saved is by Jesus coming down from heaven to earth and being lifted up on a pole like the serpent was in Moses’ day. I don’t know if Nicodemus understood it that night, but he did eventually. I love that about Jesus, he didn’t worry about if they believed right then. He gave them time for his words to sink in and eventually they would die or bear fruit.
Lord, help us to be like Jesus and scatter your seed and let the Holy Spirit bring in the results.
Thursday, May 2, 2019
Thurs.’s Devo - The Best is Yet to Come
Read: Judges 15:1-16:31; John 2:1-25; Psalm 103:1-22; Proverbs 14:17-19
After Samson got over his anger of being tricked at his wedding he went to get his wife only to find they had dishonored him again and given his wife to his best man. Now, he felt justified for revenge and caught 300 foxes and tied their tails together in pairs, lit their tails and set them free in the middle of the Philistines wheat fields. The stalks of wheat burned quickly and luckily for Samson there was no animal protection agency in place.
Samson fled to a cave at the Etam Rock. He had put his whole nation in peril so his own people asked him to surrender to the Philistines. He did, but only to kill a thousand more with the jawbone of an ass. For the first time, we see Samson cry out to the Lord for some water. Samson does give God the credit for his strength and Samson does know that he is part of God’s family. But…Samson lives a life of being a slave to his passions and being very selfish. He doesn’t fight the Philistines for his nation but for revenge for himself. God uses his weaknesses for His purposes even though Samson is not a good role model in his personal life or the motives of his heart.
He is brought down by a woman named Delilah, which means “weak”. She was his weakness and her power of persuasion caused him to lose his power of strength. He was blinded to her wiles and ended up blinded and weak.
The good news is that the Philistines didn’t watch over what they had gotten and Samson’s hair began to grow. He must have felt his power being renewed because he asked to be taken to the columns that supported the building. Once again his motive was for revenge for his two eyes, but God used it to bring down 3,000 more enemies.
Samson is mentioned in the “hall of faith” in Hebrews because he believed in the gift God had given him and used it. He did recognized it came from God and never shrunk back in fear.
In John, it is important that we know the timing. It is right before the Passover feast, three years before Jesus will become the Passover lamb. He and his family is invited to a wedding. They run out of wine and when his mother wants him to do something about it, he replies that his time is not yet come. What he is saying is that it is not time for him to die and pour out his blood so that the Holy Spirit can turn it to wine. Jesus was saving the best wine for last and he would have to die to bring that wine. That wine will be poured in clay vessels (us) and through the power of salvation, be turned to wine for all to drink.
Jesus went to the temple and cleansed the temple because it was the feast of Unleavened Bread. That is what the people do in that feast. They get all the leaven out of their house…all the sin out of their lives. Jesus was cleansing all the leaven out of his Fathers’ house. Jesus did many things that no-one understood until after he had died, then it all made sense.
It is the same in our lives. We go through things that don’t make sense to us why God is letting things happen the way they do, but afterwards, we can look back and see it from a different perspective. God is working everything for our good.
Lord, thank you for your wisdom and interaction in our lives. Your ways are always best.
After Samson got over his anger of being tricked at his wedding he went to get his wife only to find they had dishonored him again and given his wife to his best man. Now, he felt justified for revenge and caught 300 foxes and tied their tails together in pairs, lit their tails and set them free in the middle of the Philistines wheat fields. The stalks of wheat burned quickly and luckily for Samson there was no animal protection agency in place.
Samson fled to a cave at the Etam Rock. He had put his whole nation in peril so his own people asked him to surrender to the Philistines. He did, but only to kill a thousand more with the jawbone of an ass. For the first time, we see Samson cry out to the Lord for some water. Samson does give God the credit for his strength and Samson does know that he is part of God’s family. But…Samson lives a life of being a slave to his passions and being very selfish. He doesn’t fight the Philistines for his nation but for revenge for himself. God uses his weaknesses for His purposes even though Samson is not a good role model in his personal life or the motives of his heart.
He is brought down by a woman named Delilah, which means “weak”. She was his weakness and her power of persuasion caused him to lose his power of strength. He was blinded to her wiles and ended up blinded and weak.
The good news is that the Philistines didn’t watch over what they had gotten and Samson’s hair began to grow. He must have felt his power being renewed because he asked to be taken to the columns that supported the building. Once again his motive was for revenge for his two eyes, but God used it to bring down 3,000 more enemies.
Samson is mentioned in the “hall of faith” in Hebrews because he believed in the gift God had given him and used it. He did recognized it came from God and never shrunk back in fear.
In John, it is important that we know the timing. It is right before the Passover feast, three years before Jesus will become the Passover lamb. He and his family is invited to a wedding. They run out of wine and when his mother wants him to do something about it, he replies that his time is not yet come. What he is saying is that it is not time for him to die and pour out his blood so that the Holy Spirit can turn it to wine. Jesus was saving the best wine for last and he would have to die to bring that wine. That wine will be poured in clay vessels (us) and through the power of salvation, be turned to wine for all to drink.
Jesus went to the temple and cleansed the temple because it was the feast of Unleavened Bread. That is what the people do in that feast. They get all the leaven out of their house…all the sin out of their lives. Jesus was cleansing all the leaven out of his Fathers’ house. Jesus did many things that no-one understood until after he had died, then it all made sense.
It is the same in our lives. We go through things that don’t make sense to us why God is letting things happen the way they do, but afterwards, we can look back and see it from a different perspective. God is working everything for our good.
Lord, thank you for your wisdom and interaction in our lives. Your ways are always best.
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Wed.’s Devo - The Lamb of God Revealed
Read: Judges 13:1-14:20; John 1:29-51: Psalm 102:1-28; Proverbs 14:15-16
Today we read the story of the beginning of Samson. I can’t help but see the similarities in the birth of John the Baptist. An angel proclaimed that these barren women would have a son and he would be a Nazarite from the womb. Samson was to deliver Israel from the Philistines and John was to prepare the way of the Lord.
Samson needed some prodding to fulfill his destiny so God used a Philistine woman to get him mad enough to fight the Philistines. Samson fell for a Philistine woman and wanted to marry her. Samson proposed a riddle with a price attached. His Philistine wedding attendants were to figure it out or pay with fine expensive clothing. When they couldn’t answer it on the seventh day, they threatened his bride with her life and the life of her family. She enticed Samson into telling her and she told the men. Samson knew what had happened when they came with the answer. He went and killed 30 of their men and gave their clothes to the wedding party. Then he went home enraged. They gave his wife to Samson’s best man.
Nothing in this story is right. No one acted out of wisdom but that was the way of the times. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes and not in God’s.
In John, we see John pointing out Jesus to his disciples. He tells them that Jesus is the lamb of God, the one he had told them would come to take away the sin of the world. He reminisces over seeing the Spirit come like a dove and remaining on Jesus when he was baptized. God had told John that that would be a sign of the Messiah.
Andrew was one of John’s disciples but when he heard what John said, he ran and got his brother Simon Peter and told him that he had found the Messiah. They became Jesus first two disciples. Jesus went and found Andrew, a man also from Bethsaida and told him to become his disciple. Andrew ran and found Nathaniel who had been awaiting the coming of the Messiah. Nathaniel had a hard time thinking the Messiah would come from Nazareth, especially since the prophets said he would come from Bethlehem. Little did they know, he did. Sometimes Jesus hid the truth so they would act out of faith instead of facts. He does that in our lives too. He knows the future and exactly how he has worked everything out but instead of giving us the blueprint, he asks us to walk by faith.
When Jesus told Nathaniel that he saw him under the fig tree, he was revealing Nathaniel’s heart. Rabbinical students would pray under the fig tree. They believed that prayer was not real prayer unless you were praying for the return of the Messiah. So Nathaniel must have gotten interrupted by Andrew while he was praying for the Messiah. This also tells me that Nathaniel must have been studying for the priesthood. God saw his desire to see the Messiah come and took him straight to the Messiah. When Jesus said this to Nathaniel he was instantly changed. He went from skepticism to total faith.
Lord, I am so grateful that you remain the same. You still call us by name and love us as a father. Thank you for your lovingkindness. Help us to give that lovingkindness to others today.
Today we read the story of the beginning of Samson. I can’t help but see the similarities in the birth of John the Baptist. An angel proclaimed that these barren women would have a son and he would be a Nazarite from the womb. Samson was to deliver Israel from the Philistines and John was to prepare the way of the Lord.
Samson needed some prodding to fulfill his destiny so God used a Philistine woman to get him mad enough to fight the Philistines. Samson fell for a Philistine woman and wanted to marry her. Samson proposed a riddle with a price attached. His Philistine wedding attendants were to figure it out or pay with fine expensive clothing. When they couldn’t answer it on the seventh day, they threatened his bride with her life and the life of her family. She enticed Samson into telling her and she told the men. Samson knew what had happened when they came with the answer. He went and killed 30 of their men and gave their clothes to the wedding party. Then he went home enraged. They gave his wife to Samson’s best man.
Nothing in this story is right. No one acted out of wisdom but that was the way of the times. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes and not in God’s.
In John, we see John pointing out Jesus to his disciples. He tells them that Jesus is the lamb of God, the one he had told them would come to take away the sin of the world. He reminisces over seeing the Spirit come like a dove and remaining on Jesus when he was baptized. God had told John that that would be a sign of the Messiah.
Andrew was one of John’s disciples but when he heard what John said, he ran and got his brother Simon Peter and told him that he had found the Messiah. They became Jesus first two disciples. Jesus went and found Andrew, a man also from Bethsaida and told him to become his disciple. Andrew ran and found Nathaniel who had been awaiting the coming of the Messiah. Nathaniel had a hard time thinking the Messiah would come from Nazareth, especially since the prophets said he would come from Bethlehem. Little did they know, he did. Sometimes Jesus hid the truth so they would act out of faith instead of facts. He does that in our lives too. He knows the future and exactly how he has worked everything out but instead of giving us the blueprint, he asks us to walk by faith.
When Jesus told Nathaniel that he saw him under the fig tree, he was revealing Nathaniel’s heart. Rabbinical students would pray under the fig tree. They believed that prayer was not real prayer unless you were praying for the return of the Messiah. So Nathaniel must have gotten interrupted by Andrew while he was praying for the Messiah. This also tells me that Nathaniel must have been studying for the priesthood. God saw his desire to see the Messiah come and took him straight to the Messiah. When Jesus said this to Nathaniel he was instantly changed. He went from skepticism to total faith.
Lord, I am so grateful that you remain the same. You still call us by name and love us as a father. Thank you for your lovingkindness. Help us to give that lovingkindness to others today.
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