September 27, 2006 Daily Readings

Readings: I Samuel 23-24, Psalm 129, Romans 12
I Samuel 23-24: Yesterday, I found it amazing that Saul's hatred and jealousy toward David turned him to evil. Today I read that Saul decided to sneak into a cave to...ahem...relieve himself, giving David the perfect opportunity to kill him. Most people, including David's men and even David for a moment (& me) would think that David was perfectly justified in killing Saul. After all, Saul had been hunting him, trying to kill him, and God had promised David that he would be the future king of Israel. Yet David resorts to cutting off a piece of Saul's robe and chastising him later. Here, we see two hearts laid bare. Until Saul's hatred of David, he never really did anything wrong in the sight of man. (In the sight of God, he did, but that doesn't enter here.) Saul's heart, however, was twisted and evil; it only needed his hatred of David to bring it out and to take him beyond trying to kill David to killing innocent women and children. David's heart, on the other hand, was pure, and when given a chance to kill Saul, David declined. That must be why Paul said that David was, "A man after God's own heart."

Romans 12: Romans has some good stuff today. (It always has good stuff, but I can't write a doctoral thesis every day.) Some of the stuff I never realized was in verse 19. Michelle's Translation: Don't take revenge. Let God do it for you. Sounds kind of mean, but hey, Paul said it, not me. I also like verse 18, "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." Note that Paul does not say, "Live at peace with everyone." Paul recognizes that sometimes force is necessary. Then there's verse 16 that says, "Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position." That was probably the most convicting verse I've read today. I think I harbor more conceit in my heart than I realized. I'll have to work on that.