- And they told the king, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed before the king, with his face to the ground. 1 Kings 1:23 – We have a biblical game of thrones happening in this chapter. One of David’s son is seeking to take advantage of his father’s old age and slip into the seat of Israel’s throne as its new king. We see though in this chapter David discovers this and handles it, anointing Solomon instead as his successor. What’s unique though about this situation is how David came to the knowledge of this initial scandal. As we see in our verse above, Nathan the prophet was invited into the kings chambers and welcomed by the king to speak to him. Keep in mind the last time Nathan is recorded in scripture is when he boldly condemned the actions of King David surrounding Bathsheba. One might think David would be bitter, even possibly hating Nathan for speaking against him like this. That though isn’t the image we see, instead David welcomes Nathan’s input. So should our posture be with the people who love us enough to speak the words that are difficult for us to hear but we need to hear. We could grow bitterness and hatred towards them because they are saying such hard things to us, or we could celebrate that we have someone bold enough to say the hard things we need to hear. Welcome then the “Nathans” in your life. If someone is willing to speak hard things to you out of love for you, they are demonstrating they actually care about you and your life with the Lord. Welcome that person, that “Nathan,” and be willing to listen to what they have to say. Count it as a blessing from the Lord if you have a “Nathan” like this in your story. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3044
- 1 Kings 1 Daily DEVO Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 1 Kings 1:5 – This first chapter in our new book is a perfect example of the truth Luke 14:11 speaks of. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Adonijah found himself humbled quickly when the true king got word of what was happening. Let’s make sure we let God deal out the lifting up of ourselves when He sees fit and we use our efforts instead to lift His name higher. When we use our talents, time, and resources to lift God’s name up, you can be assured God sees that and will honor that. Trust your promotion to God. Where you need to be is where He’s taking you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1002
- As the Lord has been with my Lord the king, even so may he be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my Lord King David. 1 Kings 1:37 – Already in chapter one of our new book there is drama over the throne. Yet here we have a verse spoken by a close advisor of King David concerning the soon to be King Solomon. The hopes was that King Solomon would have an even greater throne and reign than that of King David. This was not to trash the reign of King David, but to speak blessing over the reign to come. Our hearts should always seek the best for those who come after us. Our desire should be that the church after us is better and healthier than it is today. Our hopes should be whoever takes our position after us finds more blessing there than we did. Our goal should be to be that those after us should have it better than we did. That they experience more of God’s blessings of peace, joy, and strength. Rather than having a heart of jealousy and pride, let those go and pray for the best of those after you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2185
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