Category: Bible Reading & Meditation

“Why do You hide Your face, forgetting our woe and our oppression?” –Psalm 44:25 The Israelites, God’s chosen people, refused to repent of sin. So four thousand Israelites were killed in battle, as they were defeated by the Philistines (1 Sm 4:2). “The wages of sin is death” (Rm 6:23). Then the Israelites decided not to repent but rather to bring forth the ark of the covenant to lead them into another battle. “Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured” (1 Sm 4:10-11). God’s chosen people were made “the mockery and the scorn” of their...

“Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’ ” –1 Samuel 3:9 Because the Lord “gives to His beloved in sleep” (Ps 127:2), sleep is one of the most important aspects of our lives. Therefore, the devil tries to disturb our sleep with sexual temptations, fears, or anxieties. We are also tempted to misuse sleep to escape from our responsibilities. We can let the sloth of sleep keep us from answering God’s call (see 1 Sm 3:6ff) and from giving ourselves prime-time to pray (see 1 Sm 3:2; Mk 1:35). The devil...

“Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him.” –1 Samuel 1:17 Because of her barrenness, Hannah had been downcast for years. Finally, she thought it was time to settle the matter. “In her bitterness she prayed to the Lord, weeping copiously, and she made a vow” (1 Sm 1:10-11). This broke the gridlock. Hannah conceived and bore a son (1 Sm 1:20). King Hezekiah was being terrorized by the Assyrian king, Sennacherib. Finally, he took a nasty letter from Sennacherib, “went up to the temple of the Lord, and spreading it...

“Hannah was childless.” –1 Samuel 1:2 “Hannah would weep and refuse to eat” (1 Sm 1:7). Bearing a child meant more to her than anything else in the world. We too should weep and fast for any lack of spiritual fruitfulness in our lives. If last year we only led fifty people to new life in Jesus when we had the opportunity to be more fruitful, we should weep and fast. “Those that sow in tears will reap in joy” (Ps 126:5, our transl). Paul was in “great grief and constant pain” (Rm 9:2) because his kinsmen, the Israelites, had...

“The people were full of anticipation.” –Luke 3:15 Many people expected John the Baptizer to be the Messiah (Lk 3:15). Their expectations for a Messiah were too low because Jesus, “Who is mightier” than John, is the Messiah (Lk 3:16). Peter had seen God work through him to raise Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:40). Under these circumstances, he expected his initial visit to the house of a Gentile to be significant. However, God far exceeded his expectations by pouring out the Holy Spirit on the Gentile, Cornelius, and his entire household (Acts 10:45). Today, on the last day of...