Devotions from January 2024

Passage Read: Numbers 32-35 Meditation Verse: 35:33 The blood of murder pollutes the land, and there is no other way to cleanse the land than by the death of the murderer. No ransom shall be offered or taken for the life of a murderer or…

Passage Read: Numbers 36 - Deuteronomy 3 Meditation Verse: 3:26 The Lord is gracious, and He does appear to change His mind on occasion. But not here. No amount of pleading would change His mind. He loved Moses and honored him, but He had declared…

Passage Read: Deuteronomy 4-7 Meditation Verse: 7:16 The Israelites were to have no pity on anyone or any people which the Lord singled out for destruction. The danger was that the Israelites would learn from those who should have been destroyed to follow other gods…

Passage Read: Deuteronomy 8-11 Meditation Verse: 8:16 The people of Israel were stubborn and resistant to the Lord's word and will. He planned to give them the land of Canaan, not because they were a righteous people, but because the Canaanites had so sinned against…

Passage Read: Deuteronomy 12-15 Meditation Verses: 13:3-11 The Lord desires His people to love Him more than even other people, even members of their own family. So if even a son or daughter, a wife or husband should counsel rebellion against the Lord, encourage worship…

Passage Read: Deuteronomy 16-19 Meditation Verses: 17:19-20 The way to humility and fearing God is pretty simple: read and obey God's Word all the days of your life! Simple and complete obedience guards a heart from pride and teaches it to fear the Lord. That…

Passage Read: Deuteronomy 20-23 Meditation Verses: 23:21-23 It is better not to vow than to vow and not fulfill it. In fact, a vow should be fulfilled as quickly as possible. It is sin to fail to fulfill a vow, but it is not sin…

Passage Read: Deuteronomy 24-27 Meditation Verse: 26:17 So basically what it means to declare the Lord to be my God is that I walk in all His ways. I submit myself fully to His command and leadership. If I do not completely submit myself to…

Passage Read: Deuteronomy 28-31 Meditation Verse: 31:21 The people were already developing their plans for rebellion, before the Lord even brought them into the land. Yet the Lord still brought them in. He intended to do good to them and prosper them, and let them…

Passage Read: Deuteronomy 32 - Joshua 1 Meditation Verses: Deuteronomy 32:19-21 We are the Lord's people and possession, but when we ignore His word and go our own way, He is provoked to anger. He withdraws from us, withdraws His protection and care, and leaves…

Passage Read: Joshua 2-5 Meditation Verses: 2:10-13 The only right response to the news that the Lord is coming to claim the land is to humble yourself and plead for your life, and to serve the servants of God in whatever way you can. This…

Passage Read: Joshua 6-9 Meditation Verses: 7:11-12 God's response was immediate, though the people didn't realize it until later. Things went badly at Ai, and then they were afraid that the Lord had given them over to destruction. But the Lord had simply withdrawn His…

Passage Read: Joshua 10-13 Meditation Verse: 11:20 The Canaanites received no mercy from God. They were to be completely destroyed. Some however would receive mercy from the Israelites, not for love of them, but because they chose to enslave them rather than destroy them. Perhaps…

Passage Read: Joshua 14-17 Meditation Verses: 17:14-15 The sons of Joseph were not content with the land they had been allotted; it wasn't enough for them. Joshua didn't dispute them or rebuke them, but acknowledged that what they said was true and right, so he…

Passage Read: Joshua 18-21 Meditation Verse: 21:44 Oh to have rest from all my enemies. It is a promise but not for this life. Unless I make peace with all my enemies. Which would require giving in to their way of thinking and living. The…

Passage Read: Joshua 22 - Judges 1 Meditation Verses: Joshua 23:6-7 The Israelites didn't drive out all the Canaanites at once, but many were left to be conquered after Joshua's death. Joshua warns them to remain faithful to the Lord and He will give them…

Passage Read: Judges 2-5 Meditation Verses: 2:21-22 The Israelites fail over and over again. They intermarried with the Canaanites, so the relationships were very close with the people the Lord had commanded they destroy. The Israelites failed to walk in God's ways, but adopted the…

Passage Read: Judges 6-9 Meditation Verse: 6:13 Gideon doesn't seem aware of the reasons for God abandoning the people to the power of Midian. He speaks as if God just decided one day to give them up and ignore them. But a prophet was just…

Passage Read: Judges 10-13 Meditation Verses: 11:1-2 Jephthah was the son of Gilead by a prostitute, so Gilead was not a faithful believer in God, at least in his youth. He apparently married after that and had other sons by his wife. Those sons drove…

Passage Read: Judges 14-17 Meditation Verse: 14:4 Samson is no paragon of virtue, yet he is chosen by God to plague the Philistines, who rule over His people. He is no model of godliness. Instead, he is ruled by his passions. What were his parents…

Passage Read: Judges 18-21 Meditation Verses: 19:29-30 There are so many problems with this story that no one in it seems aware of; it perfectly illustrates the moral lostness of the nation at this time. The Levite apparently had no normal wife, so he buys…

Passage Read: Ruth 1-4 Meditation Verse: 3:11 Ruth was a woman of excellence, because she was willing to give up the life she could have had in her own country to return to Israel with Naomi and care for her. She was a woman of…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 1-4 Meditation Verse: 2:30 God makes promises to people, but they must honor Him in order to see those promises fulfilled. He will not bless men who treat Him with contempt, even though He has promised to them, to their family…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 5-8 Meditation Verse: 8:18 A formal government, a king and all he requires for ruling the people, judging them and fighting their battles, eventually becomes a heavy burden on the people. And invariably, the king becomes insensitive to the people and…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 9-12 Meditation Verse: 12:14 It is interesting that Samuel places responsibility for walking in God's ways in the hands of the people, not the king. They chose to have a king, and the king would walk with God if they walked…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 13-16 Meditation Verse: 15:24 God's appointed leader is expected to lead according to God's commands. He is not supposed to listen to his people, but to lead them. He should consider their needs and weaknesses, rather than make rash curses as…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 17-20 Meditation Verses: 17:26-28 Speaking what is true about the Lord and about how we can and should trust Him can make others jealous, especially when they don't have the same faith. David knew God would be with the man who…

Passage Read: 1 Samuel 21-24 Meditation Verse: 22:8 Saul was speaking lies about David and later about the priests who helped David without knowing what was going on. Neither David nor the priests had a platform to defend themselves, though the priests tried. Yet it…