365 Reflections

1 Samuel 18:12–16 (ESV) Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. 13 So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him. 15 And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them. There are some key statements about Saul's attitude toward David in this passage. It is mentioned throughout the chapter that Saul is afraid of him. Then it's "fearful awe of him." Saul sees David's great success and grows more afraid.  Saul can read the signs. Things are bad for him and he will take this out on David for the next several chapters. The lesson David is about to learn is one he will later write about: Psalm 146:3 (ESV) Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in...

The episode of Balaam has proven one thing to Israel - they cannot be cursed. Balaam tried hard to resist God but was stopped and instead followed God and blessed Israel several times. God's people cannot be cursed by the forces of this world. What a privilege. However, there is something that Balaam's people do to Israel. More specifically, it is something Israel allows to be done to them. They conform to the sexual promiscuity of Moab. Numbers 25:1–3 (ESV) While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. This is a sad episode. As Israel is protected by God on the mountain as blessed by Balaam, they follow the foreign gods of the Moabites. Numbers 31 gives us more information: Numbers 31:16 (NLT) “These are the very ones who fo...

Genesis 45:24 (ESV) Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.” This last command of Joseph concerning his brother's travels back to get their father and come with him to Egypt has a twinge of humor. He knows these guys. He understands they have been liars and deceivers for years. He knows they tend to look out for number one. So before they leave to go get dad one little admonishment is tossed out there: "Don't fight on your way back to dad." Joseph knows they are going to have to come clean to dad. They are going to have to confess that the robe they dipped in blood out of jealousy was their doing. They are going to have to let him know that his preference for Joseph irritated them to no end. It's going to be tempting for them to go back to dad and start making excuses. Reuben would be able to tell how he wanted to save the boy. Judah will try to tell him how he stopped them from killing him and ins...