Daily Thoughts From God's Word

Who doesn’t know, even if only in its broad strokes, the story of David’s sin with Bathsheba! It’s a story of a king who, while lounging safely in his palace sent his men to die on the battlefield. Catching a glimpse of Bathsheba and infatuated with her, David not only committed adultery with her but concocted a plan to have her husband, Uriah, killed so that he could marry the widow. Just an awful story. But who also does not know the rest of the story! David, broken an

Chapter 8 lists military victories David enjoyed over his and Israel’s enemies. But his greatness was not found merely in the fact that he delivered, always with God’s help, Israel from her enemies: “So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people” (8:15). David’s greatness is so powerfully displayed as he asks, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (9:1). There wa

Chapter 5 tells the story of David being anointed king over Israel, and the remaining chapters tell us much about his rule, his accomplishments, his failures, his battles, etc. In the midst of all the details, one verse stands out above all others. God entered into covenant with David and promised him, “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever” (7:16). Know what this means? Well, it means that there exists

Saul had fallen in the battle with the Amalekites. He was close to death and in much anguish when an Amalekite man came by. Saul asked this man to kill him and so he did. The man took Saul’s crown and armlet and took them to David, perhaps thinking he could curry favor with the man who would become king. David’s response? “Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Sa

I have often told the story about teaching “Intro to Old Testament” at the Baptist seminary in Bandung, Indonesia. We were in 1 Samuel 28 and the story of Saul and the medium of En-dor. Samuel, Saul’s trusted advisor, had died and now Saul was unsure as to whether or not he should go up to fight against the Philistines. Now, Saul had “inquired of the LORD, [but] the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets” (28:6). We should not be surprised f

An amazing story of trust (in God) and loyalty (to the king) on David’s part. Saul was told, “’Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.’ Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David [to kill him]” (24:1-2). The story goes like this: Saul went into a cave to relieve himself and, unknown to Saul, David was hiding there. David’s men saw a great opportunity for David to kill Saul and escape but David stealthily cut off a corner of Sa

“And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. And Jonathan told David, ‘Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning’” (19:1-12). Saul was so jealous of David’s popularity that he sought to kill David. Jonathan, though, spoke well to his father about David, and “Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before” (19:7), well, for

“The LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons” (16:1). Of course, that son was David. Have you ever had the experience of someone apologizing for something, apology being accepted by you, and the apology repeated several more times. A good response seems to be, “We’ve alread

Chapter 8 tells the story of Israel’s demand for a king, and the succeeding verses tell about Saul and his anointing as king. Before Samuel died, he addressed King Saul and the people, declaring, “If you will fear the LORD and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God, it will be well. But if you will not . . .” (12:14-15). Well, if not, things would not go

Eli and his sons were gone. Now, Samuel began to judge Israel: “And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, ‘If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’ So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the LORD only’” (7:3-4). Now, we know that Israel had gr

Important matters going on, here: Eli and his sons, the ark and the Philistines, etc. God was about to act, and he called, “’Samuel! Samuel! And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant hears.’ Then the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle’” (3:10-11). Now, the specific thing God was about to do was to judge Eli and his sons and to raised up Samuel. The specifics are important but I am str

Elkanah’s wife, Hannah, had no children, a situation that grieved her terribly, not only because she longed to be a mother but also because of the taunting Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah. Hannah “was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly” (1:10). To the priest, Eli, who had accused Hannah of being drunk (being that she prayed silently in her heart though her lips moved), Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither

Remember the kinsman redeemer from yesterday? The near relative, when approached about his responsibility, replied, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it” (4:6). His selfishness – “lest I impair my own inheritance” – resulted in a lost heritage. His name is lost but Boaz’s name, and his faithfulness in taking Ruth as his wife, has left a power legacy. “So Boaz took Ruth, and she becam

Ruth went to Boaz’s place and, when he discovered her, he asked, “’Who are you?’ And she answered, ‘I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer’” (3:9). All this is taking place according to the Old Testament “Law of the Kinsman Redeemer” in which the nearest male relative would marry a childless widow so that a child could be raised with the name of the deceased husband and, thus, the family name and inheritance would be carried fo

The heading for chapter 2 in my Bible reads “Ruth Meets Boaz.” I thought I would take a look at the internet to discover other life changing meetings between people, and I came up with “10 Chance Meetings That Changed the World.” Among the encounters were F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. From these “chance” encounters emerged changes that have shaped our contemporary