Thursday Devo
Scripture:
1 Samuel 7:9-10
9 So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered him.
10 Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them.
9 So Samuel took a young lamb and offered it to the Lord as a whole burnt offering. He pleaded with the Lord to help Israel, and the Lord answered him.
10 Just as Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines arrived to attack Israel. But the Lord spoke with a mighty voice of thunder from heaven that day, and the Philistines were thrown into such confusion that the Israelites defeated them.
Commentary:
9–11. The whole burnt offering in this instance was offered in penitence and as a gift to secure the Lord’s favour, ‘a pleasing odour to the Lord’ (Lev. 1:13). Though the approaching Philistines threatened to interrupt the worship, and action seemed imperative, faith held out, and the Lord thundered with a mighty voice. The weather frequently played a part in the outcome of a battle (Josh. 10:11; Judg. 5:4, 20, 21; cf. 1 Sam. 2:10; Ps. 18:13). It is surprising that, in a land subject to earthquakes, more frequent reference is not made to this alarming phenomenon as an instrument of the Lord’s intervention (though Amos, cf. Amos 1:1; 8:8, etc., and other prophets do so use it). Intimidated by the thunder-storm that broke up their battle lines, the Philistines fled downhill towards their own territory, while the Israelites had the double advantage of height from which to hurl their missiles on the enemy below, and growing confidence in their likely victory. Beth-car, mentioned only here, has not been identified. The enemy was decisively defeated.
Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 85–86.
Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 85–86.
Questions:
Samuel offered a lamb as a sacrifice for Israel’s sin, but it was never meant to be the final answer. The sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed forward to something greater. Hebrews tells us that they had to be offered again and again because they could never completely remove our sin. Then Jesus came.
Jesus didn’t offer another animal, he offered Himself. He became the final sacrifice for sin, once and for all. Hebrews 10 points out that the priests had to stand and offer sacrifices over and over, but Jesus offered one sacrifice and then sat down at the right hand of God. There was nothing left to add. Nothing left to finish.
When we approach God after we sin, we don't have to clean ourselves up first. We don't have to punish ourselves enough to feel forgiven. We don't have to prove that we're sorry before God will listen. Jesus already made the way back, even before we were ready to come back. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
In grace, God made the first move. That is the gospel. We do not do better or try harder. We aren't working our way toward God, hoping that eventually we'll be good enough for Him to accept us. God came toward us. Jesus pursued us, died for our sin, and opened the way for us to come near. Our hope is found in what Jesus has already finished.
Jesus didn’t offer another animal, he offered Himself. He became the final sacrifice for sin, once and for all. Hebrews 10 points out that the priests had to stand and offer sacrifices over and over, but Jesus offered one sacrifice and then sat down at the right hand of God. There was nothing left to add. Nothing left to finish.
When we approach God after we sin, we don't have to clean ourselves up first. We don't have to punish ourselves enough to feel forgiven. We don't have to prove that we're sorry before God will listen. Jesus already made the way back, even before we were ready to come back. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
In grace, God made the first move. That is the gospel. We do not do better or try harder. We aren't working our way toward God, hoping that eventually we'll be good enough for Him to accept us. God came toward us. Jesus pursued us, died for our sin, and opened the way for us to come near. Our hope is found in what Jesus has already finished.
- When you sin, what do you feel like you need to do before you can go back to God? Where did you learn to respond to failure that way?
- Jesus made the first move toward you when you were still a sinner. How does that challenge the idea that you need to get yourself together before you can come close to God?
- Grace can start to feel like God gives us a fresh start, and then it’s up to us to prove ourselves again. Where are you most tempted to measure your standing with God by how well you’re doing?
- You can believe that Jesus completely forgives you and still spend years punishing yourself for something He has already forgiven. What past sin or failure do you have the hardest time leaving at the cross, and why?
Prayer Topics:
- Thank Jesus for coming toward us when we were far from Him and making a way for our sin to be forgiven.
- Confess the ways you try to earn God's acceptance or clean yourself up before coming to Him. Ask Him to help you trust His grace instead of trying to prove yourself.
- Ask God to help you rest in the finished work of Jesus.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
2. Are there sources outside the Bible that confirm the Biblical account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? Many Roman and Jewish historians have confirmed that the apostles died as martyrs for preaching that they saw Jesus risen from the grave. No one dies for something they know to be a lie.
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
(Luke 1:1-4; Acts 26:26; 1 John 1:1-4, Josephus, Clement, Hegesippus, Tertullian, Origen, Polycarp)
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