1 Samuel – Chapter 14

So Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, without coming into the king’s presence. 2 Samuel 14:28 – Absalom, one of King David’s sons, murdered his brother after his brother violated his sister. His father, the king, did nothing about the violation, so Absalom took justice into his own hands. Yet after the murder Absalom flees to a neighboring land to some relative to hide out and escape punishment. He is there three years, then after the events we read about in our chapter today returns to the royal city of Jerusalem. As we see though from our verse above, he didn’t return to open arms of reconciliation. Absalom spent two more years in the city without coming before his father the king to heal and make things right. Five years went by without reconciliation, and do you know what grew as a result of that extended time? Bitterness. Absalom grew more and more bitter at his father for how he handled this whole situation and grew more justified in his actions. Such bitterness would lead the terrible events that follow in the next few chapters, and much could have been resolved if reconciliation was sought quickly. Do not let years go by to find healing with someone. Do not let months, weeks, days, or even hours go by. What grows within that time of brokenness is nothing healthy for any relationship. All we see grow are things like bitterness, hatred, and disgust. Absolutely it is difficult to initiate talks of reconciliation, especially if you feel you weren’t the one who caused the divide. God makes it clear in scripture that His heart is for us to reconcile and seek peace as far as we can find it. Whether we created the divide or not, we are called to begin the healing and called to begin now. Don’t allow the enemy to further the divide by waiting to reconcile. Make the selfless choice today to set aside the bitterness and seek out that first conversation for healing. Let this story between David and Absalom be proof that waiting to reconcile is never the right choice. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3033

1 Samuel 14 Daily DEVO Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.” 1 Samuel 14:29-30 – Sometimes our leaders will make poor decisions. The words they say and the directions they give can lead those under them into some terrible times. That’s exactly what we see unfolding in our story when Saul makes this rash vow. While you and I will never have perfect leaders who will always make the right decisions, we can know that God always leads us correctly. He never makes the wrong choice and never gives bad directions. Never is His commands done out of selfishness and never are they given carelessly. He is our perfect leader. Know that in our world our leaders will fail, but the leadership that God gives will always be true. Be sure to follow His lead however He gives it to you and to wherever it takes you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 414

Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light; let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” But the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” 1 Samuel 14:36 – Who is someone like this for you? Saul wanted to go down after the enemy and the masses were saying “Sounds good to us, let’s go!” The priest though stood in the way a reminded Saul to seek out God’s direction first before taking a step. So who is a “priest” like this in your story? Someone that isn’t afraid to speak up to remind you to keep your focus on Jesus? Message them a thank you for being there for you and ask them to continue. Now for us to be this for others it will take us investing in other’s lives now to have the sort of relationship needed where we can speak up. Maybe that’s a coffee date and listening to all that’s going on with them. Maybe it’s a call on the phone. We see the priest was already moving with Saul so when the time came to speak up he was there. Let’s be the one who redirects the focus back on Jesus for someone. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1639

One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. ²Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave at Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men, 1 Samuel 14:1-2 – This chapter highlights the difference between King Saul and his son Jonathan. We have a massive enemy army that has come against the Israelites, and the choice of King Saul was to hide in the caves until the enemy left. Jonathan though, knowing the strength of the Lord, went up against the enemy himself while his father remained hiding in a cave. Each step of the way we see Jonathan behaving in a faithful manner, seeking God’s direction on what to do, yet with Saul we see him foolishly make decisions that either were absent of God’s leading or made with the impression of wanting God’s direction. Let us see from Jonathan’s example what God can do when we trust him with our enemies. He can provide wonderous victory, He can provide the sustenance we need to brighten our eyes in battle, and He can surround us with the support we need to protect our life. Yes, when the enemy comes, we can make the choice to sit in fear, forgetting the power of God and trusting in our own hands to provide our victory. What a foolish choice to make though when we have the God who provided such victory for Jonathan in our story with us today. Be willing each step of the way to seek out God’s direction, and when the path is towards the enemy, boldly take that step knowing the Lord is with you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2891