Mon.’s Devo - Trust God’s Plan

Read: 2 Samuel 2:12-3:19; John 13:1-30; Psalm 119; 1-16; Proverbs 15:29-30 Ishbosheth’s army, led by Abner met David’s army, led by Joab at the pool of Gibeon. Abner suggested that 12 of his best warriors should go up against 12 of Joab’s best warriors. They each grabbed their opponent’s hair and drove their spear through them, killing all 24 of them. The battle began. Joab had two younger brothers, Abishai and Asahel who were fighting that day. Asahel was a very fast runner and ran after Abner, determined to kill him. Abner was much older and more experienced in war. He tried to get Asahel to stop chasing him but Asahel was relentless. Finally, Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Ashael’s stomach. It went all the way through his body and came out the other side. When Asahel’s two brothers found out what had happened they went after Abner with a vengeance and caught up with him on the hill of Ammah. Abner called down to them and begged them to stop warring brother against brother. Joab called a truce and everyone went home but Joab didn’t forget what Abner had done to his brother. When they assessed their casualties, Joab (David’s side) had only lost 19 men where Abner had lost 360 men. For years Israel fought against Judah. Israel becoming weaker and weaker while Judah becoming stronger and stronger. It all came to a head when Abner went in to one of Ishbosheth’s concubines and Ishbosheth reproved him for it. Abner didn’t like being scolded by a weak king so he rebelled against Ishbosheth and went over to David and offered him his loyalty. All David required of him to show his allegiance was to bring back his wife Michal. Abner brought her back to him with her husband crying all the way. Abner then went and campaigned throughout Israel for David and won the people over to David. Joab came back from war and found out Abner had been conspiring with David and was filled with rage. He went and killed Abner out of revenge for what he did to his brother. David was very mad at Joab and mourned greatly the death of Abner. All the people saw that David had no hand in the death of Abner and loved David. David cursed Joab and every generation of his family with a man who has open sores or leprosy or who walks on crutches or dies by the sword or begs for food. It makes me wonder if some of these people were the ones that Jesus came and healed many years later. In John, Jesus was celebrating his last Passover as he was to be the Passover lamb on this one. Jesus knew that Satan had set his trap and was using Judas to betray him. He also knew that he was about to leave and go back to his Father in heaven so he chose to wash his disciples’ feet. He was washing away their sins. Then, Jesus explained to his disciples that what he did for them, they were to do for others. Judas was in the group while he did this which troubled Jesus greatly. He told them that one of them would betray him. When John asked Jesus who it was that would betray him, Jesus said it was the one who he gave the bread to that was dipped in the bowl. He then dipped the bread in the bowl and gave it to Judas Iscariot. Once Judas ate the bread, Satan entered him and Jesus told him to leave. Jesus was in control of everything, even his enemies. Judas didn’t take his life, Jesus gave it. His disciples didn’t understand what was happening at the time, but later they were able to piece it together and realize that Jesus was in full control the whole time. He understood everything that was happening and was at peace with it. Jesus was setting the example of how to die and they would follow his example in this also. Lord, help us to be at peace with all that is happening around us, knowing that we can only do what you tell us to do. You have the whole situation in your hands and you are not anxious or afraid. May we enter into your peace.

Sun.’s Devo - David Becomes King in Hebron

Read: 1 Samuel 29:1-31:13; John 11:55-12:19; Psalm 118:1-18; Provers 15:24-26 David stayed with his newly captured family for two days and on the third day, he was visited by a man who had escaped the Israelite camp. He came to David for refuge. He told David how the battle had gone. Israel was defeated. Concerning the details of Saul’s death, the man gave David a completely different story than the one we read yesterday. The truth was that Saul was injured and asked his own body guard to kill him. When he wouldn’t do it, Saul fell on his own sword and died. When the body guard saw he was dead, he fell on his own sword also. This man claimed to be the one that Saul asked to kill him which he did, and then escaped. He thought David would spare his life and reward him. Instead, David killed him for killing God’s anointed. David and his men mourned Saul, his sons and all of Israel. David composed a song for Saul and Jonathan and taught it to the people of Judah. Then, David asked the Lord if he should move back to Judah and where he should move. God told him to move to Hebron which means “communion”. It was time to commune in his own land. The people of Judah made David their king. David sent word to Jabesh-gilead asking them to be his subjects and acknowledge him as their king. Abner, Saul’s commander had already crowned Saul’s son Ishbosheth king over Gilead, Jereel, Ephraim, Benjamin, the land of the Ashrites and all the rest of Israel. That was everyone north of Judah. Ishbosheth ruled from Mahanaim for 2 years. Ishbosheth means “man of shame”. David was king in Hebron for seven and half years. In John, we see the beginning of the harvest as Greeks came to worship God at the Passover and to see Jesus. Jesus agonizes leaving now when many are coming to believe, but he realizes that like a grain of wheat that doesn’t bear fruit until it dies, he came to die. He will bear much more fruit in his death than in his life. The people couldn’t understand him dying since they had read that the Messiah would live forever. Jesus explained that his light would shine on earth in his earthly form just a little longer and if they walked in his light, the darkness would not overtake them. Then Jesus hid himself from them. Many didn’t believe even when they couldn’t deny his miracles. Some of the believers included the Jewish leaders but because of their pride, they wouldn’t make it public. They chose the praises of men over the praises of God. Jesus submitted to God’s plan even if it meant he would be misunderstood. He left his life in God’s hands. Lord, we submit our lives into your hands even and especially when we don’t understand.

Sat.’s Devo - It All Came to Pass

Read: 1 Samuel 29:31:13; John 11:55-12:19; Psalm 118:1-18; Proverbs 15:24-26 As the Philistines were marching out to war against Israel, David and King Aphek took up the rear. The other Philistine kings greatly opposed David and his men being a part of the battle. They demanded that they leave lest they turned and fought against them in battle to win back favor with Saul. David and his men were offended but it was a blessing because David could never be accused of killing Saul and they might never have seen their families again. As it was, they returned to Ziklag to find it burned to the ground and all their people taken captive by the Amelekites. David’s men were so upset they turned against David. David turned to the Lord for strength. He sought God’s will and went after his family. They found a man who had been the servant of one of the Amelekites who had become sick so they left him on the side of the road to die. He told David where the Amelekites were going so they were able to overtake them. They fought all night and recovered all. Nothing was missing plus they got all the spoils of their conquests. David sent some of the plunder to all the towns they had visited and had helped him. Back at the battle between Saul and the Philistines, the Philistines were winning. Saul and his three sons were killed. They beheaded him and fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan, The men of Jabesh-gilead went and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall and buried them under the tree at Jabesh. They fasted for seven days in mourning. Every word that Samuel had said came to pass. Six days before the Passover, Jesus, the lamb of God entered Jerusalem. He was there to be examined by the leaders of the world just as the passover lamb was to be examined by the priest. Mary anointed his body for his journey from this world to his heavenly home. Judas was exposed as being a thief and a robber. The people praised Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. All of this was fulfillment of prophecy. Every word of God that had been spoken about Jesus throughout time came to pass. The Pharisees had planned to arrest him but when they saw the crowds around him they couldn’t. Lord, thank you that when we trust in you, You move heaven and earth to bring about your purposes which are always best.

Fri.’s Devo -Walking in the Light

Read: 1 Samuel 26:1-28:25; John 11:1-54; Psalm 117:1-2; Proverbs 15:22-23 Once again, Saul is chasing David and once again, David has the opportunity to kill him and refuses. David and Ahimelech stole into Saul’s camp at night and took his water jug and his sword which were right by Saul’s head. David waited till he was safely away before he woke Saul up to tell him he could have killed him. David blames Abner, Saul’s commander and body guard for not protecting the king. Saul ends up blessing David and prophesying over him. This time he tells him that he would do many heroic deeds and surely succeed. Saul promised to let David come home in peace and to stop trying to kill him but David knows Saul will never give up trying. David defects to the Philistine army. He surrendered to Achish the king of Gath. When Saul learned David had gone to the Philistines, he no longer chased him. David lived in Gath for over a year before he asked the king if he and his men could have their own city. They were given Ziklag. Now David could fight the Philistines and not get caught. He would go out every day and attack lone cities, killing everyone so that there was no one to get word back to Achish. When Achish asked David where he raided that day, David would tell him a place in Judah. The day came when the Philistines were going against Saul and his army. King Achish asked David and his men to join them and for David to be his personal body guard. Meanwhile, back in Saul’s camp, Saul is very nervous about going against David and the Philistines. Saul asked his spiritual advisors what God was saying about the battle and they got nothing. He was desperate so he asked if there were any mediums he could ask. He had rid the land of mediums but they found one medium who was hidden away. They went to see her in Endor. Saul disguised himself so she wouldn’t be afraid. Saul promised not to harm her if she would bring someone up from the dead for her. She finally agreed to bring up Samuel. When Samuel came up, she knew she was speaking to Saul. She was petrified but Saul kept asking what she was seeing. She described Samuel so that Saul knew it was him then Samuel rebuked Saul for disturbing him. He told him that everything he had told Saul was about to happen. God was taking his kingdom away from him because he had not killed all the people when God told him to destroy all the Amelekites. Samuel also said that his kingdom was being given to David. Israel would not win the battle against the Philistines and he and his sons would join Samuel in death tomorrow. Saul was so disturbed he had to be forced to eat. Yesterday, we read in John where Jesus was teaching the people about his Father and they wanted to stone him. He had left there and gone to the Jordan River to stay for a while. He got word that Mary and Martha’s brother, Nazareth was dying. When Jesus heard, he commented that Lazarus’s sickness would not end in death. He continued to stay where he was another two days then announced to his disciples that they were going back to Judea where they wanted to kill him. The disciples were not happy about this. Jesus told them that there were 12 hours of daylight every day. During the day, you can walk safely because you have the light of this world. What he wanted them to understand was that he was the light and to walk with him was to walk in safety no matter what the sun was doing. Thomas said, “Let’s go, too - and die with Jesus.” Jesus said, “Let’s go wake Lazarus up.” By the time they got there, Lazarus had been dead in his grave for four days. Everyone was sad and grieving but Jesus was there to demonstrate resurrection. When Jesus saw the mourners and heard their comments he was angry and sad. He had them roll Lazrus’s stone away. He prayed and then called Lazarus to come out. He came out bound in his grave clothes. Jesus told the people to unwrap him and let him go free. They did and many who were watching believed in Jesus. Others went to the Pharisees and tattled on him. They complained that it they didn’t stop Jesus, the Romans would take it out on them. Caipas, the high priest said, “…it is better for you that one man should die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed.” Little did he know he was prophesying Jesus’ whole mission, only Jesus was not going to die just for the Jewish nation but for the whole world. Jesus left to hide out in a village in Ephraim. David and Jesus were both hunted men, hunted by the elite who were afraid of their anointing and power. We are promised that this world will hate us but we are not to be afraid because Jesus has overcome the world. Lord, may we walk in boldness and the power of your Holy Spirit.

Thurs.’s Devo - Tests

Read: 1 Samuel 24:1-25:44; John 10:22-42; Psalm 116:1-19; Proverbs 15:20-21 God put David through many tests to prepare him to be the king and today we read about two of them. God brought Saul to David in the cave. He gave him the choice of killing Saul or trusting him. David went against the desires of his heart and the encouragement of his friends and chose not to harm Saul. The kingdom was in his hands to take but he wanted the kingdom to be given him. He passed the first test. Saul had to face his deception and speak the truth. The deception was that David was his enemy and that he could defeat God’s purpose by killing David. The truth was that David would be the king to succeed him. He even spoke it with his own mouth in verse 20. David’s second test was with Nabal. Nabal was a foolish angry man with no self-control. David’s men had protected Nabal’s sheep for him while they were out to pasture and now that it was sheep-sheering time, they were entitled to be invited to the celebration. Everyone in town would be coming. It was tradition to invite all who shared in the responsibility to a celebration and feast. Nabal brought a curse down upon himself. Abigail, his sensible, god-fearing wife took matters into her own hands and took off after David to supply his men with food. She came with humility and apologies. David passed the test and chose to have mercy. He accepted her gifts and didn’t return evil for evil. God took care of Nabal and he died a humiliating death. Abigail then became David’s wife and got a good husband instead of a foolish one. Meanwhile, back in the kingdom of Saul, he gave David’s wife to Palti. David lost one wife and gained two as he married Ahinoam also. In John, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Festival of Dedication or Hanukkah. Hanukkah commemorated the time when the Maccabee’s retook the kingdom from Antiochus Epiphenes and cleansed the Temple and rededicated it to the Lord. They had only found enough oil to keep the lamp in the Temple going for one day but miraculously he stayed lit for seven days so they had time to make new oil. They celebrated this every year. It was the day evil fell and righteousness reigned. The people came to back Jesus into a corner and have him publicly proclaim to be the Messiah. He refused to do this because he knew their hearts. These were not his followers who were trying to force this. They wanted to stone him but he asked them which good act were they stoning him for. They weren’t stoning him for things he did but for claiming that he was God. Jesus brought out that their laws called their magistrates “God”. He was only claiming to be God’s son. He did all his miracles through God who was in him. They still wanted to kill him so Jesus escaped and went to John’s old stomping grounds. He found many who believed in him there. John had paved the way for them. Lord, may we be used to pave the way for others to come to know you. May we not repay evil for evil but have mercy on those who hate us and despitefully use us.

Wed.’s Devo - The Betrayers

Read: 1 Samuel 22:1-23:29; John 10:1-21; Psalm 115:1-18; Proverbs 15:18-19 I was amazed to read about so many people who were willing to betray David to Saul. David had few people who were loyal to him with Jonathan being number one. David’s family supported him finally. His brothers joined his army of patriots and so did his extended family. Others who were dissatisfied with the way Saul was running the kingdom came and joined with David until he had a small army of 400 men. They hid in the caves in the land of Philistia. David took his parents to Moab to ask the king of Moab to hide them. The prophet, Gad, told David to go back to Judah but as soon as he got them Saul found out. Saul met with his men and told them all the things he had done for them and how David had no power to give them anything. He accused them of conspiring with David against him because none of them had told Saul about the pact Jonathan had made with David. Out of fear, Doeg then came forward with his information about what he had witnessed at Nob. Doeg means “fearful”. He lived out what fear will do to a person it controls. Saul called all the priests of Doeg to him and accused them of treason. They explained they knew nothing about David’s betrayal and had acted innocently. Saul condemned them to death but his own soldiers refused to kill the priests. He told Doeg to do it. Doeg killed 85 priests dressed in their holy garments then went to Nob and killed all their relatives and children and livestock. Fear leads to murder. Abiathar, one of the priests escaped and went to David to tell him what happened. David told him to stay with him and he would protect him. Abiathar had brought the ephod of God so they had the Ummin and the Thummin to ask God questions. David learned that the Israelite town of Keilah was being oppressed by the Philistines so he and his men attacked it and saved the people. Saul found out where David was and came to trap him. The priest asked God if the men of Keilah would betray David to Saul and the answer was “yes”, so they left. Saul found out they had left Keilah and went searching for him. Jonathan found David and encouraged him in the Lord. He told him that he knew David would be the next king and so did Saul. When David became king, Jonathan would serve beside him. They made another pact of friendship and Jonathan left. The men of Ziph betrayed David to Saul and told Saul where he was. Saul tracked him till he was on one side of the mountain and David was on the other side of the same mountain. God came through for David and sent word to Saul that the Philistines were attacking Israel. Saul and his men had to leave and go fight them. Phew! That was a close call! Jesus gave the people a parable about a sheepfold. Thieves and robbers tried to get in over the wall but the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gate keeper opens the gate for him and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. This parable explained the kingdom of God. The sheepfold was God’s kingdom. The thieves and robbers were the teachers of the law that perverted it and made themselves a god to the people. He was the shepherd who entered through the gate the right way. The true disciples would recognize his voice and follow him. That was exactly what was happening. The people were recognizing truth and following it. Jesus as the good shepherd would lay down his life for his sheep. A hireling would betray the sheep to the wolves to save their own hide like the betrayers in David’s life. No one would be able to take Jesus’ life, he would lay it down voluntarily for his sheep. Jesus told these controversial stories to weed out the good from the bad. The ones who couldn’t hear what he said were not his sheep. The ones who heard, even if they didn’t understand, and believed were his true sheep. Lord, help us to be faithful to You as You are always faithful to us.

Tues.’s Devo - Fearless

Read: 1 Samuel 20:1-21:15; John 9:1-41; Psalm 113:1-114:8; Proverbs 15:15-17 David went to find Jonathan so he could find out why Saul was trying to kill him. Jonathan argued he wasn’t but said he would test his father to find out. They came up with a plan and found out that Saul indeed wanted to kill David. He accused Jonathan of wanting David to become king to humiliate his family. David and Jonathan met one last time and said their good-byes and renewed their covenant of friendship. David fled to Nob where he met with the priest, Ahimelech. When David was in trouble he had gone to see Samuel, the prophet; Jonathan, who stood for the king and now the priest. David was all three. He was a prophet, priest and king. Jesus was also. Ahimelech gave him bread and a sword. He gave him last week’s shew bread that only the priest were suppose to eat. This should have cost him his life since he wasn’t a Levite or a priest but instead it gave him strength for his journey ahead because he was a priest in God’s eyes. Saul’s head herdsman was there and saw the transaction between David and Ahimelech. His name was Doeg which means “fearful”. In John, healing the man born blind was no small miracle. The Pharisees took this one very seriously and investigated it thoroughly. The reason was because they had written in their laws that only the Messiah could cleanse a Jewish leper, heal a deaf and dumb man and heal a man born blind. Jesus was going through their check list and doing all of these things. Jesus came to be the light of the world and he gave physical and spiritual light to this man who had been born blind. They all had been spiritually blind from birth and needed to be born again to see. This man was healed of his physical blindness then Jesus helped him see spiritually. The blind man’s parents were afraid of the Pharisees because they didn’t want to be thrown out of the synagogue but the blind man wasn’t afraid of the religious leaders and stood up to them. They threw him out of the synagogue but Jesus went to find him and gave him entrance into God’s synagogue. Lord, thank you for entrance into your presence. Help us to be fearless like this blind man who stood against religion and the world and was not afraid of the outcome.