Elements of right judgment

Thursday, August 24, 2017 - Devotions: Ps 131-35; 2 Sam 19:1-23; Acts 24:1-23; Mk 12:28-34

Lord, I focus on things at my own level, not those too great and marvelous for me.  I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child near its mother's heart.  Our hope, as always, is in the Lord.  Let God be Judge, and do not turn me away.  God is altogether faithful and righteous.  He has chosen Zion as His resting place and the sprout of Jesse, the son of David, to be His Messiah, Whom God will crown with glory and might.  How pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live in unity; in this God blesses human life for ever.  Let all who serve and worship YHWH lift our hands and praise the Lord of glory, Maker of heaven and earth.  YHWH Is good, supreme above all other gods, Maker and Master of creation.  He has chosen and delivered His people Israel, that through them, He may bless all peoples. Your Name, O Lord, endures forever.  All other objects of worship are mere idols, man-made trinkets; and those who worship idols become like them.  So let God's people praise YHWH--Aaron's children and Levi's offspring.  Let all that has breath praise our God!

Jonathan warned David when Saul planned to kill him.  He tried to praise David and bring his father to another viewpoint--and Saul relented, saying 'As the Lord lives, David shall not be put to death.'  So Jonathan brought Saul and David together again.  When war sprang up between Israel and Philistia, David went to battle and defeated his king's enemies.  But an evil spirit 'from the Lord' came upon Saul, and he took up his spear and tried to impale David with it.  David eluded the attack and escaped.  David's wife Michal, warned him against her father's murderous intent, and David fled through a window and escaped.  She delayed the king's discovery of his absence, and then told her father that David had threatened her life, to assure her assistance in his escape.  David fled to Samuel at Ramah, and together they journeyed to Naioth in Ramah. Receiving word of this, Saul sent three groups of messengers in turn to take David prisoner; each group was overtaken by the Spirit of God and failed in their hostile mission; then Saul himself journeyed to Naioth in Ramah, but he also was overtaken by God's Spirit, stripped off his clothing, and lay naked, exposed and powerless for a day and a night.
 
When assassins threatened his life, Paul had been sent with armed escorts from Jerusalem to Felix in Caesarea. Five days later, Paul's accusers arrived, representatives of the high priest Ananias, with the lawyer Tertulllus as their spokesman.  Tertullus charged Paul as an agitator and 'ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,' who had profaned the Temple.  The Jews sent from Ananias affirmed these charges.  The governor then directed Paul to respond.  He made his defense cheerfully--he had gone to Jerusalem and the temple to worship; he had disputed with no one.  Paul affirmed that 'according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law or written in the prophets.'  He shared with his accusers a confident hope in the resurrection of the just and unjust. 'So I keep my conscience clear before God and man.'  He had come to offer alms to support the Jews.  He was falsely accused 'by some Jews from Asia,' who 'ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, if they have anything against me.'  Paul claimed he was accused because of his position concerning the resurrection of the dead.  Felix delayed his verdict, and kept Paul in custody, granting him some liberty and the care of his friends in attending to his needs.

A Jewish scribe overheard Jesus disputing the Sadducees over the resurrection.  The scribe asked Jesus, 'Which commandment is the first of all?'  And Jesus quoted the Shemah 'Hear, O Israel: YHWH our God is One!  And you shall love YHWH your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength'  'And,' Jesus continued, 'the second is this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." No commandment is greater than these.'  The scribe agreed: 'You are right, Teacher; truly you said that He Is one and there is no other god but He; and to love Him with all the heart, and understanding and strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself--is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.'  Jesus saw that the man spoke wisely, and said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.'  And after that, no one dared to question Jesus further.