Daily Devotional for Thursday 1st February
Fair shares?
The victory over the Amalekites has relevance to David’s relationship with Saul. In chapter 15 Saul was punished by Samuel for not destroying the Amalekites when he had the chance. The ancient ‘thorn in the flesh’ for the Israelites was allowed to survive and continue to cause trouble. Saul keeps plunder for himself contrary to God’s divine commands, and God’s ‘chosen-ness’ is withdrawn from him. Now we see David behaving in a more enlightened way: he acknowledges that the victory is not his but the Lord’s, and the plunder is not to be kept for the few but shared with the many. Not only with the men who didn’t fight but also with many old friends and allies who were fellow sufferers of Amalekite aggression. The final verses today are ones I wouldn’t want to have to read out in church – too many strange names of people and places! And this is a strange, distant, violent world, isn’t it? Not like our modern world at all, is it? Imagine if today Israel had to constantly fight and try to destroy an implacable enemy…. Oh sorry, maybe things haven’t changed that much...
Time to reflect…
Perhaps what we should take from today’s reading is the knowledge that evil will never fully be destroyed until Jesus returns. Victories can be won, but the dark forces of evil constantly re-emerge and have to be battled in every generation.
Pause to pray…
It was true in the time of troubles in England in the 17th century - when a Christian writer called John Bunyan wrote one of the greatest works of Christian literature – Pilgrim’s Progress. The Pilgrim in the story battles to overcome all the obstacles of life, very like Bunyan himself, who spent time in prison for his faith. And he wrote a famous hymn also, which I’m going to use as our prayer for today:
He who would valiant be, ‘gainst all disaster,
Let him in constancy follow the master.
There’s no discouragement shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent – to be a pilgrim……
….Since Lord, thou dost defend us with thy spirit,
We know we at the end shall life inherit !
Then, fancies, flee away ! I’ll fear not what men say.
Bur labour, night and day, to be a pilgrim.
