God Means What He Says

# 325 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 22:18, “And the king said to Doeg, "You turn and kill the priests!" So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests, and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod. ( 1 Sam 22:18) Saul's men had refused his order to kill the priests and so he orders Doeg the Edomite to do the job. This killing of the priests of the house of Eli, was in the cards a long time ago. If you recall, God had passed judgment on the house of Eli because he and his sons had profaned the priesthood. We read about it in 1Sa 3:12,13, "In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 "For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. This ought to be a very sobering passage for all of us. God's judgment is to be taken seriously. He means what He says! He told Eli that this would occur to his offspring and when God's timing was right, he used Saul to carry it out. One may cry “foul” at this point and protest that Ahimelech and the other priests did nothing wrong, in fact, they were just trying to protect David. “That's not fair God!” But be careful, In Ro 9:14,15 we read, “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion." Remember, our lives here on earth are but a vapor. None of us have any clue as to when God will call us home. Rather than questioning God's ways in the here and now, we should be more concerned about His final say regarding the hereafter. Though Ahimelech and the others were taken out of this world on short notice, if they had faith in the coming Messiah, (and I suspect they did) they had nothing to fear. How about you? Are you trusting Jesus? God means what He says concerning His Son. He is the way the truth and the life and no one can come to the Father except through Him! (Jn 14:6) Father, we all deserve Your judgment, spare us through faith in Thy beloved Son Jesus!