Author: David

HIGHLIGHT

1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV): 22 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

EXPLAIN

God determined to destroy the Amalekites because of how they opposed Israel when they were in the wilderness. Samuel brought God’s message to King Saul to utterly annihilate everything of the Amalekites.

Saul, instead, saved the best of the flocks and did not kill the Amalekite king. God revealed this to Samuel and Samuel confronted Saul.

Interestingly, Saul never owned up to disobeying God’s command. Saul first claimed that he had obeyed God’s command. Later, he admitted that God’s command was not completely followed. And he insisted the spoil was saved for an offering to God.

Yet in all of this, Saul continued to insist that the people were at fault, not himself.

APPLY

Could it be that saving the spoil and the king were not Saul’s idea at first? Could some of Saul’s men, greedy for spoil, questioned the king’s command? We cannot say so with any certainty.

Regardless, Saul was at fault because he was the leader and God had given him the command to annihilate everything.

Whether our excuses are flimsy or ironclad, God sees through all of them.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me to live with integrity, obeying you fully. Amen.

HIGHLIGHT

1 Samuel 11:14 (ESV): 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.”

EXPLAIN

The people of Israel foolishly desired a king. Samuel was a godly leader, but his sons were not men of integrity. And so the people of Israel began to pine for a king.

Samuel obeyed God’s voice and found them a king, Saul, who stood head and shoulders over everyone. But at first, Saul appeared to be shy and retiring. Some did not accept him.

However, when the crisis at Jabesh-gilead occurred, with the Ammonites threatening wipe out the city unless all the men were willing for their right eyes to be gouged out, Saul rose to the occasion.

Now, the Israelites were solidly behind Saul as their king. Samuel wisely called the people to confirm Saul as king with a spiritual ceremony, making offerings to God.

APPLY

If we would have God’s favor, we must follow God’s direction and acknowledge God’s sovereignty over us in all aspects of life, business and society.

The Israelites’ desire for a man to be their king instead of God was a troubling cultural development, but Samuel sought to draw them back to following God’s leadership upon their lives. So we should also seek renewal by recognizing Christ’s lordship of our lives.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, I acknowledge you as my King. Help me to follow your precepts. Guide me each step of my way. Amen.

HIGHLIGHT

Hebrews 5:14 (ESV): 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

EXPLAIN

In Hebrews 4, the writer spoke of the Sabbath rest that is available for those who believe in Jesus. By illustration, the rebellious Israelites in the desert failed to enter that rest.

The end of Hebrews 4 into Hebrews 5 transitions, talking of Jesus as our great high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, yet did not commit sin and thus can intercede for us with the Father.

At the end of Hebrews 5, the writer again pauses to scold his readers, saying that they should to be able to teach such truths by that time, but instead needed to receive the foundational teachings again.

APPLY

If we are to grow spiritually, we must apply ourselves to study and apply God’s Word. There is a real danger for the believer of accepting God’s truth, but failing to put it into action, becoming ever more knowledgeable of truth, but denying the truth by their life.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, may I always continue to grow in both understanding and application of your truth. Amen.

HIGHLIGHT

Hebrews 2:1 (ESV): 2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

EXPLAIN

This theme of warning the readers to pay attention and have hearts and minds open to God runs throughout this letter.

Hebrews 3 ends with a similar exhortation, using the rebellious Israelites in the wilderness as an example. They were unable to enter the promised land because of unbelief.

APPLY

We should not overlook, downplay or dismiss the real danger of drifting spiritually. Probably the most effective tactic of the devil is not to tempt believers to commit outright sin – at least in the beginning – but to drift spiritually.

We may drift spiritually by not maintaining a strong relationship with Christ through daily times of prayer, reading God’s Word, memorizing scripture, meditating upon his Word, listening for the Holy Spirit’s voice, and more.

We may drift spiritually by not fellowshipping regularly with a band of believers, encouraging each other in our faith and holding one another accountable before God.

We may drift spiritually by making small compromises regarding various biblical principles, basing our decisions and lifestyle upon what works, what is popular, what will lead to success rather than upon the precepts of God’s Word.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me to live faithfully according to Your Word. May I not drift unconsciously, pulled by the current of the world. Amen.

HIGHLIGHT

1 Samuel 3:9 (ESV): 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

EXPLAIN

There is great irony in this verse. Samuel had been taken in by Eli and was growing up in the Tabernacle. Meanwhile, Eli’s grown sons were corrupt and doing wicked things.

Eli knew about their wickedness, but did virtually nothing to stop them. A man of God had already prophesied doom upon Eli’s household because he allowed his sons to continue in their wickedness.

Now, God was calling to Samuel, who didn’t recognize his voice. Samuel would go on to obey God and live for him faithfully. Meanwhile, Eli recognized that God was calling Samuel, yet he had failed to obey God.

APPLY

It is truly sad when we, like Eli, can recognize God’s voice, but we fail to respond and obey Him. Instead, we should endeavor to be like Samuel, learning to recognize and obey the word of God.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, tune my ears to your voice. Train my feet to follow your path. Amen.

HIGHLIGHT

Titus 3:8 (ESV): 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

EXPLAIN

Titus 3 begins with the admonition to remind the people to be submissive to rulers and authorities so that they might be ready for every good work. There are a variety of other admonitions about how to get along well with others.

This is set in the context that once they were disobedient and slaves to sin, but then by God’s grace they were saved and became heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

This is the saying that Paul said Titus must insist on so that God’s people would be careful to devote themselves to good works.

Paul warned again about foolish controversies that take people’s attention away from Christ, and his final instruction in verse 14 is again that the people should learn to do good works to help people in need.

APPLY

God’s people should be known for doing good works. Rather than stirring up trouble, arguing over theological intricacies or being focused on oneself, we should seek to help people in need.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me to live out my faith by doing good works, helping others who are in need. Amen.

HIGHLIGHT

Ruth 2:12 (ESV): 12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”

EXPLAIN

These words were spoken by Boaz in his first conversation with Ruth, as he commended her for taking care of her mother-in-law, and leaving her parents and homeland in her dedication.

Some time later, when Ruth came to Boaz in the night, she proposed to him by asking him to spread his wings over her, as he was a redeemer.

APPLY

This play on words seems to recognize the reliance and trust of both Boaz and Ruth upon the Lord, but also the role God has humans play in his plans.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, thank you for the redemption you provide us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. May we be used to you to proclaim that grace to others. Amen.

HIGHLIGHT

Ruth 1:16 (ESV): 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

EXPLAIN

Judges ends with really nasty stories of sexual exploitation of various kinds, war and revenge. Ruth begins with a family “giving up” on God’s people and becoming part of the “world”, only to experience disaster as the husband and both sons die prematurely.

Yet Ruth, the Moabite wife of one of those sons, experienced the truth and grace of God through the life of her mother-in-law. When Naomi would return to Israel, Ruth insisted on going with her.

APPLY

The story of Ruth gives us hope that even though our world may be dark and ugly with sin, God creates beauty through people who respond to his call.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me to be one of the few who choose to follow you fully, even though the world may be caught up in sin, doing what is right in their own eyes. Amen.

HIGHLIGHT

2 Thessalonians 3:7 (ESV): 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you,

EXPLAIN

Paul was closing this letter to the church, and did so warning them to keep away from any brother who was being idle.

Apparently, due to anticipation of the second coming, some in Thessalonica church stopped working and doing anything useful to wait for Christ to appear.

Paul condemned this, and gave as an example his own life how that he worked night and day not to be a burden to the church, even though he could have insisted on the church to support him.

APPLY

A key principle in disciple-making is that we should not only imitate or follow the words of Jesus, but we should also follow the ways of Jesus.

It is not enough to know correct doctrine; we must live out our faith in imitation of Jesus.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me as a disciple of Jesus to follow both his words and his ways, his teachings and his methods. Amen.

HIGHLIGHT

2 Thessalonians 1:3 (ESV): 3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

EXPLAIN

Paul wrote his first letter to this church to encourage them in their faith, to correct misunderstandings about the Lord’s return, and to emphasize the need for holiness.

In that letter, he commended them for their faith, hope, and love that reverberated as a witness of Christ throughout the region.

Now in this second letter, Paul again gives thanks for their faith and love that is increasing, even though they were experiencing difficulties as they lived for Jesus.

APPLY

Paul commended these churches for increasing faith and love. For what do we commend churches today?

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me to value what you value. Help me to view life as you do. Help me to seek what is most important. Amen.