I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

1 Samuel 29-31:13

     This passage starts with the Philistines rejecting David from their order of battle as they prepare to go into battle against King Saul. What would David have done if the Philistines had allowed him to remain among their forces when they went to fight King Saul? Would he have done as they feared and betrayed them for the sake of King Saul and the army of Israel? Or would he have helped them defeat King Saul? We do not know. What we can know is that the hand of God was working here as well. If David had stayed and fought with the Philistines he and his men would have returned home too late to track down the Amalekite raiders who had raided their town and taken all of their goods and their families. When David’s men see what has happened to their town and realize what has happened to their families, some of them started to talk about stoning David. David acts quickly and calls the priest Abiathar to ask God what he should do. David and his men immediately begin chasing the raiders even though they had just completed from a three day march. At some point in the pursuit, one third of David’s men are too exhausted to cross a stream that is in their path. David leaves them and continues the pursuit. Shortly after that he comes upon a slave that was left behind by the Amalekites because he was too sick to keep up. David and his men give this man food and water. The man guides them to where the Amalekites are camped. When David and his men get there, the Amalekites are spread out celebrating their plunder of the Philistines and Judah, which makes them an easy target for David and his men. David and his men recover not only their own families and property but quite a bit more that the Amalekites had taken from others.
     When they return to the men who were too exhausted to continue, some of David’s men did not want to share the plunder with those men. The account tells us that these were evil troublemakers who only wanted to give those who stayed behind their wives and children. David rejects this counsel. David’s response to the troublemakers suggests that he had left some of his equipment behind for the men who were exhausted to guard. This is consistent with the fact that when he went to attack Nabal David had left a similar number behind to guard their equipment. Once they had returned to their town, David sent part of the plunder to those leaders of Judah who were his friends. These were men who had treated David and his men well when they were on the run from King Saul. With these two actions David demonstrates that he has a pragmatic streak similar to the one that got King Saul into trouble. The difference is illustrated by David’s actions on the two occasions where he had the opportunity to kill King Saul and chose not to, which can be compared to King Saul’s treatment of the priests of Nob and their families.
     Meanwhile the Philistines went into battle against King Saul and his army. The Philistines defeated King Saul in heavy fighting. Three of Saul’s sons were killed in that battle and King Saul was wounded. When Saul realized he was wounded, he asked his armor bearer to kill him to avoid capture by the Philistines, but his armor bearer was unwilling to do so. King Saul then took his own life. When the Philistines found King Saul’s body they took it and displayed it on the wall of one of their cities. The people of the city where King Saul had his first victory as king remembered what Saul had done for them and sent their warriors to recover the bodies of Saul and his sons. They took the bodies and gave them a proper burial. King Saul’s death reflects the lack of faith that had led to his downfall. King Saul saw that there was nothing he could do to save himself, so rather than rely on God to rescue him, he took his own life. You could ask what choice he had since God had told him on several occasions that he could expect no deliverance from God, but King Saul found himself in this situation because he had repeatedly relied on his own judgement of the best thing to do and his own ability to deal with the problems he faced rather than trusting God and following God’s commands. Even when he reached the end of his rope King Saul refused to turn to God. We can compare this with David who turned to God for direction, even when the answer seemed obvious (pursue the raiders who had captured their families).

John 11:55-12:19

     This passage begins with people in turmoil wondering if Jesus would come to the Passover celebration in Jerusalem and the religious and political leaders of the Jews plotting to arrest Him. Jesus comes to visit the home of Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead, Mary and Martha. Mary is so happy that Jesus has raised her brother from the dead that she washes Jesus feet with an expensive perfume in an act of worship and praise. Judas objects to this wasteful use of resources. He says that the perfume should have been sold and the money given to help the poor. The passage tells us that his real concern was that if the perfume had been sold and the money given to charity, it would most likely have passed through his hands and he would have been able to skim some of it for his own uses. This is something to be aware of. All too often, those who claim to be speaking on behalf of the poor and oppressed are only looking to line their own pockets. Jesus’ response is that there will always be an opportunity to help the poor, but sometimes there are opportunities to worship and praise God that are transient and that we must take advantage of while we have the chance.
     Next we have John’s account of the triumphal entry. John highlights something that the other Gospel writers mention but pass over lightly. Jesus chooses to ride in on a donkey’s colt. The people see Him as a king coming into his kingdom, but they miss the symbolism. A king riding in preparing to lead the people to war, would have ridden in on a war horse (probably a stallion). Jesus rides in on a donkey’s colt. This is a symbol that He is coming in peace, not in preparation for war. Jesus rides into Jerusalem as a victorious king who comes in peace, less than a week before his death and resurrection. He is already the victor, but His enemies don’t know it yet. We as Christians need to live our lives that way, as victors even when life’s troubles still loom ahead of us.

Christian Art

Psalm 118:1-18

     How appropriate that this psalm follows the previous passage. It talks about praising and worshiping God for the victories He has given us, when defeat seemed inevitable. This psalm tells us that we have nothing to fear from this world because:

“The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?”
God may punish us, but if we do our best to faithfully serve Him, He will rescue us from all threats. We must trust and rely on God, not on our own might and skill. We must, also, recognize that our victories and successes are a gift from God, not a product of our own abilities. We need to recognize that all we have in life is a product of God’s working and not a basis for self-praise.

Proverbs 15:24-26

     This passage tells us that those who seek God’s wisdom will find life in abundance. Further, it tells us that those who pride themselves on being able to take care of themselves no matter what life throws at them will suffer calamity, while those whom this world views as powerless will be protected by the Lord.