Devotions from February 2024

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 25-28 Meditation Verse: 25:17 Nabal was impossible to deal with. He was known for being harsh and evil in his dealings. He knew exactly who David was and probably why he was fleeing from Saul. He was willing to feed his…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 29 - 2 Samuel 1 Meditation Verses: 1 Samuel 30:1-6 This would be devastating, and was devastating to David and all his men. But there was also a shred of hope: no one had been killed, but all had been taken…

Passage Read: 2 Samuel 2-5 Meditation Verses: 4:11-12 David is not in a hurry to gain the whole kingdom. He understands that the Lord has promised him to rule over all Israel, so he trusts in the Lord and waits patiently for the resolution. Though…

Passage Read: 2 Samuel 6-9 Meditation Verses: 6:8-11 How often does God do something, and I see it as hostility. I get angry and I become afraid to bring the Lord near to me, for fear of what He may do to me. God killed…

Passage Read: 2 Samuel 10-13 Meditation Verse: 12:14 What enemies of God would these be, that blasphemed the Lord? Who knew about David's sin except the servants who brought Bathsheba to him and the scribe who recorded the message to Joab that told him what…

Passage Read: 2 Samuel 14-17 Meditation Verse: 16:8 This is a great example that people see what they want to see and freely ascribe to the Lord what they want to be true. The text tells us why these things happened to David, and it…

Passage Read: 2 Samuel 18-21 Meditation Verses: 19:6-7 Joab warned David that he was shaming his servants by weeping over Absalom. If he didn't speak kindly to those who risked their lives for him and his household, they would all be gone by morning and…

Passage Read: 2 Samuel 22 - 1 Kings 1 Meditation Verses: 2 Samuel 22:17-20 It's interesting how David sees his own life, especially in contrast to Jacob. Jacob endured a number of hard things, some because of his own choices, though not necessarily because he…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 2-5 Meditation Verses: 2:40-43 After the years of living in Jerusalem, knowing he wasn't to leave under penalty of death, Shimei left the city in pursuit of two runaway slaves. Solomon's men knew when he had gone and knew when he…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 6-9 Meditation Verses: 9:4-7 The obedience of Solomon and his sons allows the Lord to keep His promise to David, and allows Him to bless the nation. But if he or his sons disobey, the Lord will bring trouble on them…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 10-13 Meditation Verses: 11:6-10 The Law of God for Israel did not allow for freedom of religion in the sense that people could worship any god they desired. God commanded that Israel as a nation and a people worship only the…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 14-17 Meditation Verses: 14:15-16 The Lord ends up casting Israel out of their land because of the sins of Jeroboam. He led the people to worship images of a golden calf, hearkening back to Israel's exodus from Egypt and Aaron's golden…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 18-21 Meditation Verse: 21:29 It is hard to tell whether Ahab himself is so evil or is it all his wife? He seems like such a child at times, vexed and sullen, pouting on his bed. Every now and then he…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 22 - 2 Kings 3 Meditation Verses: 2 Kings 1:9-12 Elijah and Elisha are a lot more cavalier about the lives of others than seems right. Elijah seems to casually say that if he is a man of God, then let…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 4-7 Meditation Verse: 5:26 Gehazi didn't like that Naaman, an enemy of Israel, had received blessing from God, and Elisha didn't take any payment from him. He wanted the foreigner at least to leave a blessing in return. And of course,…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 8-11 Meditation Verse: 8:19 The Lord made this promise to David, knowing full well that some of his sons would not walk in David's righteous ways. Solomon himself was the first to fall away; it didn't take long for the sons…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 12-15 Meditation Verse: 14:10 It is so easy to give way to pride. Amaziah had success against Edom, then thought he could take on Israel. Perhaps he thought God was with him to bless whatever he decided to do, but that…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 16-19 Meditation Verses: 19:34-37 It is not good to underestimate the Lord, His reality and His power. He is not like the gods of the nations, which are but idols, wood and stone. He is the true and living God. To…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 20-23 Meditation Verse: 20:6 The Lord continues His mercy and kindness to Judah and Jerusalem because of His promise to David. Again and again, He mentions David as His reason to spare Jerusalem, even when they do wrong. Until Manasseh comes…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 24 - 1 Chronicles 2 Meditation Verse: 2 Kings 24:4 The Lord would not forgive the wickedness of Manasseh, though Manasseh himself repented late in life and was apparently forgiven, the people of Israel had pushed the Lord too far too…

Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 3-6 Meditation Verses: 5:25-26 At one point in the record, the three tribes east of the Jordan were doing valiantly, trusting in God for victory over the Hagrites, but a few sentences later, a few generations later, and they were unfaithful…

Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 7-10 Meditation Verse: 7:2 This chapter in particular makes mention of the mighty men of valor repeatedly. This generation of this family or this generation of this tribe. Of course it speaks of men of war, who are always considered men…

Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 11-14 Meditation Verses: 13:12-14 The Lord is both very good and at the same time very frightening! David has been so blessed by the Lord, now made king, prospering, and he desires to seek the Lord more and better than before,…

Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 15-18 Meditation Verses: 17:4-6 The Lord had no permanent structure within which to dwell, but went about among the people, moving from tent to tent and one dwelling to another. While His people built houses and settled down, the Lord chose…

Passage Read: 1 Chronicles 19-22 Meditation Verses: 22:18-19 With peace and prosperity come the opportunity to serve the Lord wholeheartedly and to build His house. When God brings peace to a people, and they no longer need to be worried for their own lives, then…