Tues.’s Devo - Bringing up the Ark

Read: 1 Chronicles 15:1-16:36; Romans 1:18-32; Psalm 10:1-15; Proverbs 19:6-7 David had built several buildings for himself in his city and a tent to house the Ark. He read in the law that the Levites were suppose to carry the Ark and use the poles so David was ready to bring it from Obed-edom’s house to the City of David. He called all Israel to Jerusalem to witness the Ark being brought to the City of David. He summoned the priests and they purified themselves. A choir was formed with singers, harps, lyres, and cymbals. They all went to Obed-edom’s house to get the ark. Seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed. david dressed in a robe of fine linen like the priests. The Ark was brought up with the blowing of ram’s horns and trumpets, cymbals, and our playing on harps and lyres. It was a great celebration. David danced in the streets and his wife, Michal saw him from her window and was angry with David. When they had put the Ark in the special tent David had made, the people were given gifts and were led in worship. They blessed the Lord and thanked him for all he had done for them. David had written a song of thanksgiving to the Lord which was sung. All the people responded with the shouts of “Amen!” and praised the Lord. In Romans, Paul said that people’s wickedness suppresses the truth. God has to respond to their actions. They have no excuse when they stand before God because everything God has made clearly shows his eternal power and divine nature. Because they refused to worship God for who he was, they made up who they wanted God to be and worshiped their idols they made with their own hands. God gave them over to their own imaginations and they did terrible things to each other and traded the truth about God for a lie. They worshiped the things God made instead of the Creator himself. This caused them to pervert everything God had planned for mankind. Men became lovers of men and suffered in their own bodies the penalty for their sins. The sin of those who refused to worship God caused them to become heartless and merciless. They not only did these sinful things themselves but encouraged others to do them even though they knew that the things they did caused them to deserve to die. They need to read the Psalm for today. Lord, we see the people described in Romans today and it grieves us. I can’t imagine how much it grieves You. Forgive us and heal us, Lord. We need You; You are our only hope.

Mon.’s Devo - David Sets Up His Kingdom

Read: 1 Chronicles 12:19-14:17; Romans 1:1-17; Psalm 913-20; Proverbs 19:4-5 When David was running from Saul, he joined with the Philistine army to fight their enemies. It came time for the Philistines to fight Israel, but many on the Philistine side did not want David and his men to fight in the battle because they were afraid David would defect to Israel’s side. Many from Saul’s army from the tribe of Manasseh came over to David’s army and it grew to look like the army of God. After Saul died, the tribes met at Hebron eager to make David their king. Warriors from Judah, Simeon, Levi, Benjamin, Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulun, Naphtali, Dan, Asher, Rueben, and Gad met and there were 120,000 in all. They brought food and feasted for three days. David met with the generals and officers of the tribes and agreed it was time to bring back the Ark of the Lord that had been neglected in Saul’s reign. They didn’t consult the law to read about how to transport the ark so they brought it on a cart like the Philistines had carried it. The oxen stumbled and the ark almost fell off, so one of the men reached out his hand to stead the Ark. He was instantly killed. This scared the people so much they stopped right there and left the Ark at Obed-edom’s house. It was there for three months and Obed-edom’s household was blessed. King Hiram of Tyre sent his carpenters to help David to build his kingdom. David married more wives and had 13 sons in Jerusalem. When the Philistines found that David had become the king of Israel, they mobilized their army to come to Jerusalem and capture David. David inquired of the Lord if he should go out and fight them. God said to go and he would defeat them. David went out and drove them away. They left their idols behind which David burned. After a while the Philistines came back and God told David to set up an ambush and get them from behind. David defeated them once again and news of David’s fame spread to other nations causing them to fear David. Romans was written by Paul before he ever went to Rome. He had heard from other Christians about the church at Rome. He wrote his letter to the Romans to introduce himself to them. Paul, who had been used to having slaves and being in charge, introduced himself as a slave to Jesus Christ by choice. He explained that the Old Testament foretold of the Messiah through the prophets years before he came. His coming was the Good News that the son of God came to earth to show them how to go to heaven. Paul commended them for their faith. He told them that he prayed for them and longed to see them and share stories. He made it clear to them that the Good News was for both the Jew and the Gentile. It is by faith that a person is saved, not lineage. Lord, thank you that the Good News is free to anyone who will hear it and believe. We choose to be a slave and friend to Jesus.

Sun.’s Devo - David Crowned King

Read: 1 Chronicles 11:1-12:18; Acts 28:1-31; Psalm 9:1-12; Proverbs 19:1-3 After Saul was killed, the people met with David at Hebron and crowned him their king. David made a covenant with the Lord to served him as a nation. David took Jerusalem from the Jebusites. He also captured the fortress of Zion which they changed it to the City of David. David had three mighty warriors who were the most famous and were part of David’s Thirty mighty warriors. The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite. He killed 300 enemy warriors in a single battle. The second one was Eleazar son of Dodai. He was famous because when Israel met the Philistines in a field full of barley, all of Israel fled, but he and David stayed and held their ground in the middle of the field. The third man of The Three is not mentioned by name. The Three overheard David commend that he would love some of the good water from the well by the gate in Bethlehem. The Philistines controlled Bethlehem at the time. The Three risked their lives to get David some water from that well and brought it to him. He refused to drink it because it was the cost of their blood. The leader of The Thirty was Abisai, who killed 300 in a single battle. Benaiah killed two campaigns of Moab and also chased a lion into a pit and killed him also. He killed an Egyptian warrior who was seven and a half feet tall. The giant had a thick spear which Benaiah wrenched from his hand and killed him with. David made him his personal bodyguard. The men who had been with David while he ran from Saul were mentioned. All of them were archers who could shoot arrows and sling stone expertly with both hands. Some of the men of Gad came to the stronghold where David was. David came out and met them to see if they were on his side. They joined him and he made them officers over his men. In Acts, Paul and his men were shipwrecked on the island of Malta. They made a fire and a poisonous snake came out of the fire and attached himself to Paul’s arm. Paul shook the snake off into the fire and nothing happened to him. The islanders went from thinking he was a murderer to thinking he was a god. The chief of the island welcomed them into his house where they healed the chief’s father who had dissentry. Many on the island were healed also. They stayed their for months then left on another ship. They finally came to Rome. Paul was put on house arrest with many freedoms. Paul had all the Jews come to his house and listen to his testimony and why he was there. He caused a stir as some believed what he said about Jesus and others didn’t. Paul stayed in Rome for two years teaching the truth to both Jews and Gentiles without anyone trying to stop him. Lord, may we be as determined as Paul to tell the truth whether we are accepted or not. May everything we do be for your glory.

Sat.’s Devo - God’s Salvation

Read: 1 Chronicles 9:1-10:14: Acts 27:21-44; Psalm 8:1-9; Proverbs 18:23-24 Israel was exiled to foreign lands because it was what God had promised would happen if they were unfaithful to Him and worshipped other gods. The exiles of Judah had gone to Babylon and when the 70 years was over, they were allowed to come back to their land. The first to return were the priests, Levites, Temple servants and other Israelites. They were from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. They came to settle in Jerusalem. Of all the people who returned, these were noted: 1,760 priests 956 families from Judah 212 gatekeepers Since they knew how to do their tasks, it makes me think that they had continued their duties as much as they could in the lands they had been taken to. The gatekeepers guarded the treasury rooms that were in on the four sides of the temple. They did this when the temple was a tent in the wilderness and when it was a Temple in Jerusalem. They would spend the night guarding the rooms and open the gates every morning. They were also in charge of keeping up all the supplies of flour, wine, oil and spices that the priests would need. King Saul’s family tree was given and how he died. King Saul was killed on the battlefield fighting the Philistines. He was struck by one of the Philistine archers and wounded. He told his armor bearer to kill him but when he wouldn’t, Saul killed himself. His armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, so he killed himself. The Philistines stripped Saul’s body of its armor and took off his head. They fastened his head to the temple of Dagon. This all happened to Saul because he disobeyed the Lord. Three of Saul’s sons died in the same battle but his last son, Esh-baal lived. His name means “fire of Baal.” In Acts, Paul was in the ship sailing for Rome. The commander hadn’t listened to Paul’s advice to not sail so they had met storm and disaster after disaster. They hadn’t eaten for some time because they were so busy fighting the storm. When it looked like they were coming to a shore, they put down anchors but some of the men were planning to abandon the ship and escape in a lifeboat. Paul warned them that an angel had appeared to him that night and told him that they would all make it if they all stayed in the boat. This time the listened to Paul, cut the lifeboat free and waited out the storm. At dawn, Paul urged everyone to eat and prayed a blessing to thank God for their safety. Soon they saw the shore and realized they could make it by running the boat in the sand. They cut the anchors and let the waves take the boat to shore. The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners but since they wanted to spare Paul, they decided not to kill the other prisoners because he would be able to testify to what they had done. They all swam to shore and everyone was safe. Lord, thank you for your plan that prevails against all the power of Satan.

Fri.’s Devo - Issachar Through Benjamin

Read: 1 Chronicles 7:1-8:40; Acts 27:1-20; Psalm 7:1-17; Proverbs 18:22 Today we read the descendants of Issachar, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Asher and Benjamin. From Issachar’s four sons came 87,000 mighty warriors. From Naphtali came four sons and no other descendants were spoken of. In reading about Manasseh’s tribe many women were mentioned: wives, concubines, sisters, and daughters. In Ephraim, two of his sons were killed stealing livestock from the local farmers. Ephraim mourned the loss of his two sons so much that when his wife had another son he named him a name that means “tragedy.” Another fact worth mentioning was that his daughter built two towns. Asher produced men for the military that numbered 26,000. Much was said about Benjamin’s family line. He began with five sons and we read about divorce for the first time. Shaharaim divorced two wives. One of them had two sons. Saul came from the tribe of Benjamin. In Acts, Paul and his fellow prisoners were being taken to Rome by boat. Paul had seen in the spirit that if they kept going there would be shipwreck, loss of cargo and danger to their lives. But, the officer in charge of them listened to the ship’s captain instead of the word of God. He kept going and it got worse and worse. They faced storm after storm and everything Paul had seen manifested. It got so bad they lost hope. They should have listened to Paul. Lord, help us to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in our lives today. May our descendants bring blessing to You and others.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Levites

Read: 1 Chronicles 5:18-6:81; Acts 26:1-32; Psalm 6:1-10; Proverbs 18:20-21 The tribes that wanted land east of the Jordan were Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh. They were great warriors that had defeated Og, King of Bashan and Sidon, King of the Ammorites. But they were unfaithful to God and worshiped the gods of the nations that they had destroyed. So God caused King Pul of Assyria (Tiglath-pileser) to invade their land and take their people captives. They were exiled to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the Gaza River. The tribe of Levi were the priests and were divided into three main families: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The Kohath tribe included Moses and Aaron and Miriam and were the ones who had access to the presence of the Lord. The high priests came from their family. Jehozadak was the last high priest before they went into exile under the conquest of Nebuchadnezzar. Gershon’s line included the famous judge and prophet Samuel. The musicians also came from Kohath’s line. Heman was a musician who was highlighted. His name means faithful. He was the grandson of Samuel and is believed to have written the 88th Psalm. He was one of the seers named and was over many others that he trained. Aaron and his descendants were the only priests that could present offerings on the brazen altar and the altar of incense. The tribe of Levi were not given land like the other tribes but they were given cities within every tribe so that every tribe would have priests who could teach them and remind them about the law and what God says about it. Some of these Levitical cities were assigned as cities of refuge. These were cities that would try murder cases and judge the people. In Acts, Paul gave his defense to King Agrippa. He began by giving his religious background and his training. He had served as a Pharisee and was high in the Jewish religious order. He had condemned Christians, ruled against them and had many killed for what they believed. Then the Lord appeared to him in a light and spoke to him out of the light. The voice was the voice of Jesus and it told him that he would be his witness to the Jew and the Gentiles. He was sent to bring light to the Gentiles which was what he was doing when he got arrested. After Paul gave his defense, the king, the governor and all the leaders trying the case met to discuss his case. They found no cause of death or imprisonment and if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar, he would have been released. Lord, your patience with man is beyond my comprehension. Thank you for your long suffering and love for mankind. Thank you for grace and for Jesus who died that we might have eternal life and forgiveness of our sins.

Thurs.’s Devo - The Battle is the Lord’s

Read: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37; Acts 21:1-17; Psalm 149:1-9; Proverbs 18:8 King Hezekiah had rebelled against Sennacherib, the king of Assyria and refused to pay tribute. Sennacherib came to attack Lachish and the fortified towns. King Hezekiah repented of not paying him and offered to give him anything he wanted. He asked for eleven tons of silver and a ton of gold. King Hezekiah had to take all the silver and gold in the treasury and strip the gold from the Temple doors. He gave it all to the king of Assyria but the king still sent a huge army to Lachish. Hezekiah went to meet him. The king of Assyria sent him a message which he shouted to his army. It was very intimidating and told him that trusting in Egypt or God was not going to save them. He went so far as to say that God had told them to destroy Israel. The messenger shouted it in Hebrew so that all of Hezekiah’s army could hear and be afraid. He also offered the people land and provisions once they came to Assyria. He told them not to believe Hezekiah’s promise that God would help them. Other nations had thought that their gods would save them and they couldn’t. When Hezekiah heard what they said, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple to pray. He sent two of his top men dressed in burlap to Isaiah to ask him what they should do. Isaiah sent back the Lord’s reply. They were not to worry about their blasphemous speech because God was going to move against him and the king would hear that he was needed at home. He would return and be killed with the sword. Soon, Sennacherib got news that Ethiopia was leading an army to attack his land so he had to leave. Before he left he sent a message to Hezekiah saying that he was not to think that his God had come through for them because they had destroyed everyone who got in their way. They would be back to finish the job. Hezekiah took his letter and spread it out before the Lord. The Lord replied that truly Sennacherib had conquered all those nations because the Lord had ordained to use him to do that. It was the Lord who fought those battles and won - not Sennacherib. Sennacherib had blasphemed the Lord and his arrogance had determined his demise. As for Israel, the ones who lived through the siege would put down roots in their own soil and grow and flourish as God’s remnant. They would spread out from Jerusalem. Sennecherib’s army would not even shoot an arrow at them. God would defend and protect his city. That night the angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 of the Assyrian soldiers. When the survivors woke up the next morning their were corpses everywhere. King Sennacherib returned home to his capital in Nineveh. One day as he was worshipping in his temple to Nisroch, his two sons killed him with their swords and escaped to the land of Ararat and his son, Esarhaddon became the next king of Assyria. In Acts, Paul and his companions sailed to Tyre where the ship docked to unload its cargo. Paul and his friends found the local believers and fellowshipped with them. There were many with the spirit of prophesy. One told them that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem but Paul continued. They stopped at Ptolemais and on to Caesarea and stayed with Philip in his home. Philip had four unmarried daughters who operated in the gift of prophesy. A man named Agabus prophesied that Paul would be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles. The believers begged Paul not to go but Paul was ready and willing to suffer for the Lord’s sake. They left and finally made it to Jerusalem where the believers met them with open arms. Lord, help us to be willing to suffer for your sake. This life is a breath in eternity and we want to spend it living for you.