Whose will be done?

New Guest: Like this one, most posts are devotional; those related to CAR BIZ can be found by searching for that title. You might start with 'Welcome,' the first post, dated November 12, 2008, in the archives, where I introduce myself and the blog.

Thursday, July 2, 2009
Devotions: Ps 131-35; 1 Sam 13:5-18; Acts 8:26-40; Lk 23:13-25

Lord, I keep a low profile; I have calmed and quieted my soul like a child near its mother’s breast. I will trust You and wait for Your initiative. With Your faithful ones, I wait upon You. You have sent Your Son to us, and He will come again. Lord, come; Marana tha! How good when Christians live in unity! It is like the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and beard, like the dew on Mount Hermon—the anointing is evidence of God’s power and goodness. Let all who serve God bless Him! Lift up your hands and praise God—and may He bless us! We praise God and His Name. He is good and gracious, loving and mighty. God does what He chooses; all creation depends on His management and wisdom. YHWH, Your name endures forever. Other ‘gods’ are lifeless idols, but our God is alive and sovereign. Praise YHWH!

Early in Saul’s reign, his son Jonathan defeated a Philistine garrison at Geba, and this triggered armed hostilities between the Hebrews and Philistines. Israel mustered at Gilgal, and the Philistines marched on them with overwhelming force, setting their camp at Michmash east of Beth-aven. The Israelites realized their peril, and were peril-ized, so to speak. The waiting was torture; for seven days, Saul and his forces awaited Samuel’s coming. By then, Saul’s forces began to melt away. So Saul decided to take matters into his own hands. He ordered that the burnt offering and peace offering be brought to him, and the king offered the burn offering himself. Shortly after that, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to greet the prophet, and Samuel asked, ‘What have you done?’ Saul explained himself, concluding, ‘I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.’ Samuel replied, ‘You have done foolishly! You have not kept the command of YHWH your God. He would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now, your kingdom shall not continue. YHWH has sought out a man after His own heart; and YHWH has appointed this man to be prince over His people, because you have not obeyed what YHWH commanded you!’ And Samuel departed, going up from Gilgal to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. Saul counted his forces: 600 men. They huddled in camp at Geba, while Philistine raiding parties attacked Beth-horon, Ophrah, and the border overlooking the Zeboim Valley.

Amid great evangelical success in Philip’s mission to Samaria, the Lord’s angel came to Philip and told him: ‘Get up and go to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ [ Now, this is a desert road, unpopulated, and to get there, Philip had to traverse hostile territory where he faced capture and execution.] And he rose and went. When he got to the Gaza road, he encountered an Ethiopian eunuch, minister in charge of the treasure of The Candace [a title for Ethiopia’s queen, as The Christ is a title for Jesus, God’s Anointed]. The man had come to Jerusalem to worship, and now was returning to Ethiopia. He was reading aloud from the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit directed Philip, ‘Go up and join this chariot.’ So Philip ran up to the chariot, and overheard the man reading from Isaiah. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ he asked the eunuch. ‘How can I understand, unless someone guides me?’ the minister replied; and he invited Philip to join him in the chariot. The passage he was reading was this: “As a sheep led to the slaughter, or a lamb before its shearers is dumb, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken up from the earth” [cf Isa 53:7b and following]. The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Is the prophet referring to himself, or to someone else?’ Then, beginning from this scripture and this question, Philip told the eunuch the good news of Jesus. As they proceeded, the chariot came near some water; the eunuch said, ‘Look! Here is water! What is to prevent my being baptized?’ He commanded the chariot to stop, and Philip and the minister went together down into the water, and Philip baptized the man. When they came up from the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more, but continued his journey rejoicing. Philip turned up in Azotus, and continued preaching to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

After Herod returned Jesus to him, Pilate convened the chief priests and rulers and people. He told them, ‘You brought me this man as one troubling and perverting the people. I examined him in your presence, and I found him not guilty of any of your charges. Neither did Herod, for he returned the man to us. Look: he has done nothing deserving a death sentence. Therefore, I will chastise him and release him.’ But they all cried out together: ‘Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us.’ [Jesus Barabbas was a brigand imprisoned for insurrection and murder.] Pilate spoke once more, desiring to release Jesus; but they shouted out, ‘Crucify! Crucify him!’ A third time Pilate addressed them. ‘Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no crime deserving death; I will therefore chastise him and release him’ But they were urgent, demanding that Jesus be crucified; and in the end, their will prevailed. Pilate released Barabbas, the rebel and murderer whose freedom they demanded; and Pilate delivered Jesus up to their will.