Devotions from January 2023

Passage Read: Joshua 10-13 Meditation Verse: 11:20 The Lord hardened the hearts of the Canaanites so that they would fight against Israel so He could exterminate them without mercy. That is a brutal statement. The time had arrived when the Lord destroyed the Canaanites from…

Passage Read: Joshua 14-17 Meditation Verses: 17:16-18 This is like us, when dealing with a difficult sin: We say we cannot get victory, but God says we can. We don't believe or don't try, but instead we make peace with the sin and let it…

Passage Read: Joshua 18-21 Meditation Verses: 21:4-7 According to Jacob's prophecy or blessing, the Levites were scattered among Israel. They were given towns and villages from each of the other tribes. What seemed like a curse was actually meant to be a safeguard. The Levites…

Passage Read: Joshua 22 - Judges 1 Meditation Verses: Joshua 24:19-20 What does God require of His people that is so hard to do? The Israelites in this moment have complete confidence that they can and will follow the Lord. The main danger Joshua points…

Passage Read: Judges 2-5 Meditation Verse: 2:10 How could a generation grow up not knowing the Lord or what He had done for Israel? Their fathers knew Him and His deeds, didn't they teach their children? They were supposed to! Why were the fathers so…

Passage Read: Judges 6-9 Meditation Verse: 8:18 So Gideon who was the smallest in his own eyes, when he believed the Lord and attacked the Midianites, was transformed in bearing to that like a prince. He was at first very timid, and asked for proof…

Passage Read: Judges 10-13 Meditation Verse: 13:16 The Lord had said that the people were to offer their sacrifices at that place he would choose. They were not to do as the Canaanites did or as they were doing in the wilderness, every man sacrificing…

Passage Read: Judges 14-17 Meditation Verse: 17:6 There is value in having a clear leader who will uphold the word of the Lord and promote His ways. The priests should have been sufficient, but there appears to be little evidence that they taught the people…

Passage Read: Judges 18-21 Meditation Verses: 20:4-7 How easy it is to conceal information that could make me look bad, that could complicate matters when an issue of injustice arises. There was a serious problem with the men of Gibeah, and another problem with the…

Passage Read: Ruth 1-4 Meditation Verses: 1:16-17 This is what it looks like to surrender our life for the good of another. Ruth could have returned to her own people and found a new husband and been taken care of, but she understood the situation…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 1-4 Meditation Verse: 4:3 Why were the Israelites defeated in battle? Because the Lord intended to kill Eli's sons and send the ark into captivity, to fulfill His promise to Eli. Eli did nothing more than warn his sons of danger…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 5-8 Meditation Verses: 6:19-20 How sad that when the Lord strikes the people for doing something they weren't supposed to do, their first response is to send Him away. They recognized that the Lord was a holy God, but instead of…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 9-12 Meditation Verse: 12:22 The Lord was pleased to make me His own, so He will not reject me. That promise should amaze me and fill me with gratitude and security, such that I am glad to do anything He asks.

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 13-16 Meditation Verse: 16:7 The Lord looks at the heart; men look on the outward appearance to determine who should lead, who to follow, who is worthy of honor. The Lord looks on the heart, for a man after His own…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 17-20 Meditation Verse: 18:8 Saul already had problems with the Lord and with humility before Him. He knew the Lord planned to hand the kingdom over to another, but he was determined to keep it. He should have known better, but…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 21-24 Meditation Verse: 24:15 The Lord preserved David time and again, in small ways vindicating him. It would be some time before he cleared David's name and exalted him for all his righteous choices, all his goodness to Saul, Israel and…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 25-28 Meditation Verse: 25:39 If I am faithful to walk in the Lord's ways, then I can be sure that I never need to take vengeance on those who insult me. The Lord will do it. I need to defend the…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 29 - 2 Samuel 1 Meditation Verse: 1 Samuel 30:8 This was a tragedy, especially before they knew they would recover everything. Their city was burned and all their people and goods were plundered. But the Lord promised they would overtake…

Passage Read: 2 Samuel 2-5 Meditation Verse: 5:12 When God exalts a leader, it is for the good of his people, not just for the benefit of the leader. The leader needs to remember that good comes to him for the benefit of his people.

Passage Read: 2 Samuel 6-9 Meditation Verse: 6:22 David was accused by his wife of being undignified and shameful for how he worshiped and celebrated the Lord, but David insisted that he would gladly embarrass himself in his zeal for the Lord, and further humiliate…

Passage Read: 2 Samuel 10-13 Meditation Verse: 12:14 What enemies of God would show contempt because of what David did? From the sound of it, the only person who might piece together what happened would be Joab, since he arranged Uriah's death and then saw…

Passage Read: 2 Samuel 14-17 Meditation Verses: 16:11-12 David's humility and faith are remarkable. He is willing to be cursed, because he knows his own sin has brought about these circumstances. He is willing to suffer whatever consequences the Lord determines for Him, trusting that…

Passage Read: 2 Samuel 18-21 Meditation Verses: 19:7-8 David was overwhelmed with grief over Absalom's death; his rebellion and death were two more consequences of David's sin against Uriah. How discouraged he must have been! How ready to give up and be done with everything.

Passage Read: 2 Samuel 22 - 1 Kings 1 Meditation Verse: 2 Samuel 24:16 What provoked the Lord to punish Israel like this, so much that even He was grieved over the calamity? In spite of David's leadership, many of the people must've continued to…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 2-5 Meditation Verse: 2:40 Shimei had agreed to the terms to never again leave Jerusalem, but perhaps after three years he'd forgotten why he always remained in Jerusalem. Or maybe he thought just one little trip to fetch his runaway slaves…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 6-9 Meditation Verses: 8:38-42 Whenever trouble comes and people pray to the Lord for deliverance, each man knowing his own heart and his own afflictions, then may the Lord forgive and deal with each one according to his deeds, that each…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 10-13 Meditation Verses: 13:16-18 How easy it is to doubt a word of God, especially when it makes my life a little inconvenient or uncomfortable. Scripture doesn't say how long the journey was for this prophet from Judah, but he was…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 14-17 Meditation Verses: 15:3-4 The Lord is gracious even to sinners, but it is usually not because of them, but because of a promise He made to a previous generation. Indeed, His loyalty to Israel is not so much because of…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 18-21 Meditation Verse: 20:28 Elijah succeeds against the prophets of Baal, then twice the Lord gives Israel success over the Arameans, all to show Ahab that the Lord is God. Yet Ahab makes no changes. Three significant miracles and Ahab continues…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 22 - 2 Kings 3 Meditation Verses: 2 Kings 1:9-10 This is probably what James and John were thinking of when the Samaritan town refused Jesus passage and they wanted to call down fire on them. Elijah twice called down fire…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 4-7 Meditation Verse: 4:7 It is a hard thing to get into debt, because it is hard to get out of it. This prophet had felt compelled to go into enough debt that his sons were going to be taken as…