Scripture:
1 Samuel 31:7-13; 11:1-11
Fri, 17 December 2021

A Love Shining in Disgrace

Observation:

What significant observations can you make about the people of Jabesh-gilead?

Deeper Reflection
WHEN THE ISRAELITES living in the Jezreel valley area in Issachar and Manasseh “beyond the Jordan” saw that their king had died and Israel’s army had fled, “they abandoned their cities and fled”, which were then occupied by the Philistines (v.7). But the people of Jabesh-gilead in Transjordan Gad did not. More than that, when they “heard what the Philistines had done to Saul”, they “rose and walked all night”, taking a “difficult and dangerous”16 trek by fording the Jordan River and entered a territory held by the Philistines, about fifteen miles away,17 to retrieve the bodies of Saul and his sons (v.12). They found the bodies and “burned” them (v.12). Burning the bodies was not normal Hebrew practice, but it might have been judged necessary, for by then the bodies would have been considerably damaged by decomposition.18 They took their “bones” and trekked another difficult and dangerous fifteen miles back home. They gave Saul and his sons a proper burial, and out of respect for their fallen leaders they “fasted seven days”19 (v.13). The people of Jabesh-gilead did all this because they remembered how Saul had delivered them from Nahash the Ammonite king (1 Sam 11:1-11). 1 Samuel does not end with the disgrace of Gilboa that resulted in the glory of pagan gods. It ends with a “debt of gratitude”20 expressed in an act of love. A love worth all the risks to be taken to show – even to one who has failed and fallen in disgrace.
16 Robert D. Bergen, 283 17 Robert D. Bergen, 283 18 Dale Ralph Davis, 328, footnote 8 19 Robert D. Bergen, 284 20 Dale Ralph Davis, 328
Application:

What are the risks that I may have to take to love certain people around me right now?

Prayer:
Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.
Prayer Pointers:
  • Give thanks and praise:
  • Pray for SGI leaders: To love people like Christ loved through the cross
  • Pray for significant people:
  • Pray for those in need:
  • Pray for self:

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Daily Devo
Daily Devotional Journal
Scripture:
Daniel 7:13-18, 25-27; 11:29-36
Sat, 2 December 2023

The Triumph

Observation:

What characterises the triumph of God’s people in tribulations under tyrants?

Deeper Reflection
God’s people living under tyrants and suffering tribulations under them can triumph – whether we are delivered from or destroyed in tribulation. The triumph rests on a threefold confidence.We know the conclusion of evil. It is repeated in manifold ways in Daniel that evil that comes through inhuman kings – no matter how great and how long – will definitely come to an end: “he will be broken” (Dan 8:25), “he will be found no more” (Dan 11:19), “yet he will come to his end” (Dan 11:45) and “all these events will be completed” (Dan 12:7).We know God’s calling for us: To be a suffering people – to be captured, plundered, burned or killed (Dan 11:33). But in our suffering, we can be strong as “people who know their God” (Dan 11:32), knowing that God is purging and purifying us to become a sanctified (Dan 11:35; 12:10) and shining people who “shine brightly” with heavenly brightness in the hostile world (Dan 12:3). And we will be a steadfast people who “keep waiting and attain to the 1,335 days” (Dan 12:12) – until we become a sovereign people who “receive and possess the kingdom forever” from “the Ancient of Days” (vv.13-14, 18, 27).We know who is in control. The tribulations under the tyrants in Daniel 7 to 12 are all subject to and subsumed under “that which is decreed will be done” (Dan 11:36; 9:26, 27) “at the appointed time” (Dan 11:27, 29, 35).We conclude Daniel with this theological-discipleship summary statement: We can triumph in tribulations under tyrants when we trust with tenacity in the One who is on the throne.
Application:

How can I triumph in tribulations?

Prayer:
Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.
Prayer Pointers:
  • Give thanks and praise
  • Pray for Church Board: To grow in the faith and perseverance of overcomers in Christ
  • Pray for significant people
  • Pray for those in need
  • Pray for self

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