DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR MONDAY APRIL 12:
WORD OF WISDOM
The more we love the Word of God the more we will love the God of the Word.
___
DAILY DEVOTION
Connecting the Dots
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to
this position so I could save the lives of many people."
(Genesis 50:20, NLT)
God gave Joseph a dream that he was destined for greatness, but
before that dream came true, he went through some very dark places. However,
today's Scripture shows how God connected the dots. Being thrown into the
pit by his brothers led to being sold to Potiphar in Egypt, which led to
being falsely accused and put in prison. In prison, he interpreted the
dreams of the butler and the baker, which led to interpreting Pharaoh's
dream and being put in charge of the nation. Every step was divinely
orchestrated and moving Joseph toward his destiny.
As was true in Joseph's life, you have to believe that a disappointment, a
betrayal, or a setback is part of God's plan. It's moving you little by
little into your destiny. God knows what He's doing. What looks like trouble
is really the hand of God. Keep doing the right thing despite the trouble,
and one day, God is going to connect the dots for you.
A Prayer for Today
"Father, thank You that what so often looks like trouble is really Your hand
moving me toward Your purpose. Thank You that it's going to push me into a
level of my destiny I could never experience without it. Help me to be
patient while You connect the dots. In Jesus' Name, Amen."
___
DAILY BIBLE READING
Gideon
Judges 8 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
8 The men of Ephraim were angry with Gideon. When they found him, they
asked, Why did you treat us this way? Why didnt you call us when you went
to fight against the Midianites?
2 But Gideon answered the men of Ephraim, I have not done as well as you.
You people of Ephraim have a much better harvest than my family, the
Abiezers. At harvest time you leave more grapes in the vineyard than my
family gathers! Isnt that true? 3 In the same way you have a better harvest
now. God allowed you to capture Oreb and Zeeb, the leaders of Midian. How
can I compare my success with what you did? When the men of Ephraim heard
Gideons answer, they were not as angry as they had been.
Gideon Captures Two Kings of Midian
4 Then Gideon and his 300 men came to the Jordan River and went across to
the other side, but they were tired and hungry.[a] 5 Gideon said to the men
of the city of Succoth, Give my soldiers something to eat. They are very
tired. We are still chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
6 But the leaders of the city of Succoth said to Gideon, Why should we give
your soldiers something to eat? You havent caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet.
7 Then Gideon said, The Lord will help me capture Zebah and Zalmunna. And
since you would not give us any food, I will come back and beat you with
thorns and briers from the desert.
8 Gideon left the city of Succoth and went to the city of Penuel. He asked
the men of Penuel for food, just as he had asked the men of Succoth. But the
men of Penuel gave Gideon the same answer that the men of Succoth had given.
9 So Gideon said to the men of Penuel, After I win the victory, I will come
back here and pull this tower down.
10 Zebah and Zalmunna and their army were in the city of Karkor. Their army
had 15,000 soldiers in it. These soldiers were all who were left of the army
of the people of the east. 120,000 strong soldiers of that army had already
been killed. 11 Gideon and his men used Tent Dwellers Road, which is east
of the cities of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the enemy at Karkor. The
enemy army did not expect the attack. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of the
Midianites, ran away. But Gideon chased and caught them. Gideon and his men
defeated the enemy army.
13 Then Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle. He and his men
returned by going through a mountain pass called the Pass of Heres.
14 Gideon captured a young man from the city of Succoth. He asked the young
man some questions. The young man wrote down some names for Gideon. The
young man wrote down the names of the leaders and elders of the city of
Succoth. He gave Gideon the names of 77 men.
15 When Gideon came to the city of Succoth, he said to the men of that city,
Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You made fun of me by saying, Why should we
give food to your tired soldiers? You have not caught Zebah and Zalmunna
yet. 16 Gideon took the elders of the city of Succoth and beat them with
thorns and briers from the desert. 17 Gideon also pulled down the tower in
the city of Penuel and killed the men living in that city.
18 Then Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, You killed some men on Mount
Tabor. What were the men like?
Zebah and Zalmunna answered, They were like you. Each one of them seemed
like a prince.
19 Gideon said, Those men were my brothers, my mothers sons! As the Lord
lives, if you had not killed them, I would not kill you now.
20 Then Gideon turned to Jether, his oldest son, and said, Kill these
kings. But Jether was only a boy and was afraid, so he would not take out
his sword.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, Come on, kill us yourself. You
are a man and strong enough to do the job. So Gideon got up and killed
Zebah and Zalmunna. Then Gideon took the decorations shaped like the moon
off their camels necks.
Gideon Makes an Ephod
22 The Israelites said to Gideon, You saved us from the Midianites. So now
rule over us. We want you, your son, and your grandson to rule over us.
23 But Gideon told the Israelites, The Lord will be your ruler. I will not
rule over you, and my son will not rule over you.
24 Some of the people who the men of Israel defeated were Ishmaelites. And
the Ishmaelite men wore gold earrings. So Gideon said to the Israelites, I
want you to do this one thing for me. I want each of you to give me a gold
earring from the things you took in the battle.
25 The Israelites said to Gideon, We will gladly give you what you want.
So they put a coat down on the ground, and each man threw an earring onto
the coat. 26 When the earrings were gathered up, they weighed about 43
pounds.[b] This did not include the other gifts the Israelites gave to
Gideon. They also gave him jewelry shaped like the moon and jewelry shaped
like teardrops. And they gave him purple robes. The kings of the Midianites
had worn these things. They also gave him the chains from the camels of the
Midianite kings.
27 Gideon used the gold to make an ephod,[c] which he put in his hometown,
the town called Ophrah. All the Israelites worshiped the ephod. In this way
the Israelites were not faithful to Godthey worshiped the ephod.[d] The
ephod became a trap that caused Gideon and his family to sin.
The Death of Gideon
28 The Midianites were forced to be under the rule of the Israelites. The
Midianites did not cause trouble anymore. And the land was at peace for 40
years, as long as Gideon was alive.
29 Gideon[e] son of Joash went home. 30 Gideon had 70 sons of his own. He
had so many sons because he had many wives. 31 He had a slave woman who
lived in the city of Shechem. He had a son by her. He named that son
Abimelech.
32 So Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age. He was buried in the tomb
that Joash, his father, owned. That tomb is in the city of Ophrah, where the
family of Abiezer lives. 33 As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites again
were not faithful to Godthey followed Baal.[f] They made Baal Berith[g]
their god. 34 The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God, who had
saved them from all their enemies living around them. 35 The Israelites were
not loyal to the family of Jerub-Baal (Gideon), even though he had done many
good things for them.
Footnotes:
a. Judges 8:4 hungry This is from the ancient Greek version. The standard
Hebrew text has chasing.
b. Judges 8:26 43 pounds Literally, 1700 shekels (19.55 kg).
c. Judges 8:27 ephod This may have been a special vest or coat like that
worn by the high priest (see Ex. 28:2-14), or it may have been a kind of
idol.
d. Judges 8:27 were not faithful
ephod Literally, acted like a prostitute
to it.
e. Judges 8:29 Gideon Literally, Jerub-Baal, a nickname given to Gideon
earlier (see 6:32). Also throughout chapter 9.
f. Judges 8:33 were not faithful
Baal Literally, they acted like a
prostitute to Baal.
g. Judges 8:33 Baal Berith A name that means Lord of the Agreement. It
shows that the people were confusing the worship of the true God with the
worship of local idols. Also in 9:4.
___
Hebrews 11:32 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
32 Do I need to give you more examples? I dont have enough time to tell you
about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.
