DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SATURDAY APRIL 11:
WORD OF WISDOM
Easter cannot be cancelled. Two thousand years ago all the forces of Hell
tried that, and they FAILED!
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DAILY DEVOTION
The Silence of the Saviour
"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes
we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one
to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was
oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought
as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so
he openeth not his mouth."
Isaiah 53:5-7
Everything in our universe was created by Jesus Christ. "All things were
made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John
1:3). It was spoken into existence, the power of His voice being enough to
bring something out of nothing, and give it shape and order and purpose.
Jesus still had that same power when He was here on Earth. He could have
summoned angelic armies to deliver Him. "Thinkest thou that I cannot now
pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions
of angels?" (Matthew 26:53).
He could have commanded those who arrested and tortured Him to release Him,
or even to drop dead on the spot. Instead He remained silent. Jesus came to
die for our sins, and He willingly laid down His life so He could be the
Saviour of all who trust Him. When Jesus did speak on the cross, it was not
to free Himself from the pain and agony. Nor was it to judge or condemn
those who put Him there. Instead He prayed for them. "Then said Jesus,
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his
raiment, and cast lots" (Luke 23:34). What Jesus said, and more importantly
what He did not say, reveals the depth of His love for us.
The loving Jesus who did not speak to free Himself does speak to invite us
to come to Him.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
1 Samuel 13-14 New King James Version (NKJV)
Saul's Unlawful Sacrifice
13 Saul [a]reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,
2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were
with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were
with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away,
every man to his tent.
3 And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba,
and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all
the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear!" 4 Now all Israel heard it said
that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had
also become [b]an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called
together to Saul at Gilgal.
5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, [c]thirty
thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is
on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to
the east of Beth Aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in
danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in
thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. 7 And some of the Hebrews
crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.
As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him
trembling. 8 Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by
Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered
from him. 9 So Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here
to me." And he offered the burnt offering. 10 Now it happened, as soon as
he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul
went out to meet him, that he might [d]greet him.
11 And Samuel said, "What have you done?"
Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you
did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered
together at Michmash, 12 then I said, 'The Philistines will now come down
on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.' Therefore I
felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering."
13 And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the
commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord
would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your
kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His
own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people,
because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you."
15 Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of [e]Benjamin. And
Saul numbered the people present with him, about six hundred men.
No Weapons for the Army
16 Saul, Jonathan his son, and the people present with them remained in
[f]Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 Then
raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One
company turned onto the road to Ophrah, to the land of Shual, 18 another
company turned to the road to Beth Horon, and another company turned to the
road of the border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the
wilderness.
19 Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of
Israel, for the Philistines said, "Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears."
20 But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each
man's plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle; 21 and the charge for
a sharpening was a [g]pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and
the axes, and to set the points of the goads. 22 So it came about, on the
day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of
any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with
Saul and Jonathan his son.
23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
Jonathan Defeats the Philistines
14 Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young
man who [h]bore his armor, "Come, let us go over to the Philistines'
garrison that is on the other side." But he did not tell his father. 2 And
Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which
is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men. 3
Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of
Eli, the Lord's priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did
not know that Jonathan had gone.
4 Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the
Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock
on the other side. And the name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other
Seneh. 5 The front of one faced northward opposite Michmash, and the other
southward opposite Gibeah.
6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, "Come, let us go
over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will
work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few."
7 So his armorbearer said to him, "Do all that is in your heart. Go then;
here I am with you, according to your heart."
8 Then Jonathan said, "Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we
will show ourselves to them. 9 If they say thus to us, 'Wait until we come
to you,' then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. 10
But if they say thus, 'Come up to us,' then we will go up. For the Lord has
delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us."
11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And
the Philistines said, "Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where
they have hidden." 12 Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and
his armorbearer, and said, "Come up to us, and we will [i]show you
something."
Jonathan said to his armorbearer, "Come up after me, for the Lord has
delivered them into the hand of Israel." 13 And Jonathan climbed up on his
hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before
Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them. 14 That
first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men
within about [j]half an acre of land.
15 And there was [k]trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the
people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so
that it was a very great trembling. 16 Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah
of Benjamin looked, and there was the multitude, melting away; and they went
here and there. 17 Then Saul said to the people who were with him, "Now
call the roll and see who has gone from us." And when they had called the
roll, surprisingly, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there. 18 And
Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring the [l]ark of God here" (for at that time the
ark of God was with the children of Israel). 19 Now it happened, while Saul
talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the
Philistines continued to increase; so Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw
your hand." 20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled,
and they went to the battle; and indeed every man's sword was against his
neighbor, and there was very great confusion. 21 Moreover the Hebrews who
were with the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the
camp from the surrounding country, they also joined the Israelites who were
with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Likewise all the men of Israel who had hidden in
the mountains of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they
also followed hard after them in the battle. 23 So the Lord saved Israel
that day, and the battle shifted to Beth Aven.
Saul's Rash Oath
24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the
people under oath, saying, "Cursed is the man who eats any food until
evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies." So none of the people
tasted food. 25 Now all the people of the land came to a forest; and there
was honey on the ground. 26 And when the people had come into the woods,
there was the honey, dripping; but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the
people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the
people with the oath; therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was
in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and
his [m]countenance brightened. 28 Then one of the people said, "Your father
strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, 'Cursed is the man who
eats food this day.' " And the people were faint.
29 But Jonathan said, "My father has troubled the land. Look now, how my
countenance has brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How
much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their
enemies which they found! For now would there not have been a much greater
slaughter among the Philistines?"
31 Now they had [n]driven back the Philistines that day from Michmash to
Aijalon. So the people were very faint. 32 And the people rushed on the
[o]spoil, and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the
ground; and the people ate them with the blood. 33 Then they told Saul,
saying, "Look, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating with the
blood!"
So he said, "You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone to me this
day." 34 Then Saul said, "Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to
them, 'Bring me here every man's ox and every man's sheep, slaughter them
here, and eat; and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.' "
So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night, and
slaughtered it there. 35 Then Saul built an altar to the Lord. This was the
first altar that he built to the Lord.
36 Now Saul said, "Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and
plunder them until the morning light; and let us not leave a man of them."
And they said, "Do whatever seems good to you."
Then the priest said, "Let us draw near to God here."
37 So Saul asked counsel of God, "Shall I go down after the Philistines?
Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel?" But He did not answer him
that day. 38 And Saul said, "Come over here, all you chiefs of the people,
and know and see what this sin was today. 39 For as the Lord lives, who
saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die." But not
a man among all the people answered him. 40 Then he said to all Israel,
"You be on one side, and my son Jonathan and I will be on the other side."
And the people said to Saul, "Do what seems good to you."
41 Therefore Saul said to the Lord God of Israel, "Give[p] a perfect lot."
So Saul and Jonathan were taken, but the people escaped. 42 And Saul said,
"Cast lots between my son Jonathan and me." So Jonathan was taken. 43 Then
Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done."
And Jonathan told him, and said, "I only tasted a little honey with the end
of the rod that was in my hand. So now I must die!"
44 Saul answered, "God do so and more also; for you shall surely die,
Jonathan."
45 But the people said to Saul, "Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished
this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not! As the Lord lives, not one
hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this
day." So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.
46 Then Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines
went to their own place.
Saul's Continuing Wars
47 So Saul established his sovereignty over Israel, and fought against all
his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the people of Ammon,
against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines.
Wherever he turned, he [q]harassed them. 48 And he gathered an army and
attacked[r] the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who
plundered them.
49 The sons of Saul were Jonathan, [s]Jishui, and Malchishua. And the names
of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab, and the
name of the younger Michal. 50 The name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam the
daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the
son of Ner, Saul's uncle. 51 Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the
father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
52 Now there was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. And
when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he took him for himself.
