Beware of Distraction

734 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ki 1:15-21, “So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) 16 And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, "What is your wish?" 17 Then she said to him, "My lord, you swore by the LORD your God to your maidservant, saying, 'Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.' 18 "So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know about it. 19 "He has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited. 20 "And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 "Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders." (1 Kings 1:15-21) Bathsheba, following the advice of the true prophet of God (Nathan) takes immediate action. She enters the kings chamber, and what's this? What's this Shunammite woman doing here? This was cause for a major distraction from the business at hand, but Bathsheba ignores the distraction and immediately carries out Nathan's instructions. This is a good reminder for all of us. Know that the devil is in the business of distraction. In 2 Cor 11:3 we read, “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, , your thoughts will be led ASTRAY (distracted) from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” And later in that same chapter, 2Co 11:14, “ And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” Light attracts and diverts our attention, and we need to keep focused on the One True Light, Jesus Christ. Jesus warned us about distraction in Mt 24:23 "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.” Bathsheba, ignored the distraction and kept her focus on the Word of the true prophet of God and her mission was completed. Let us learn to do the same. Father, there is so much that distracts us in this world, help us to keep a sincere and simple devotion to Jesus.

Protective Measures

733 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ki 1:9-14, And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel; he also invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants. 10 But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon his brother. 11 So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, "Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? 12 "Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. 13 "Go immediately to King David and say to him, 'Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, "Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne"? Why then has Adonijah become king?' 14 "Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words." (1 Kings 1:9-14) The drama continues to unfold. Adonijah throws a pretentious feast complete with sacrifices to the Lord in an attempt to show others that the people and the Lord are on his side. But Solomon would later write in Ps 127:1, “ Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it;” Meanwhile, Nathan the true prophet of God, knows that it is Solomon whom God has chosen to be king, and as a true prophet is wont to do, takes action. Lives are at stake here! The business of kings is often not pretty as they will do whatever it takes to remove any rivals in the family. Bathsheba and Solomon are in great danger and Nathan knows it! And so he takes action! David is weak and restricted to bed rest, so Nathan suggests that Solomon's mother go to David and inform him of Adonijah's plan to take the crown. Then Nathan would come to David and confirm what Bathsheba was saying (this is the biblical procedure of a matter being settled by the testimony of two witnesses.) Nathan speaking up on behalf of Solomon and Bathsheba shows that he also understood the principle of Pr 24:11,12, “ Deliver those who are drawn toward death, And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. 12 If you say, "Surely we did not know this," Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds? Bless you Nathan and when it comes to protecting others, may God give us your wisdom and courage!

Jots and Tittles

732 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ki 1:5-8, Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king"; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6 (And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, "Why have you done so?" He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.) 7 Then he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed and helped Adonijah. 8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah. (1 Kings 1:5-8) As you and I read the Word of God we need to pay attention even to the tools of the grammarian. Concerning the Word of God, Jesus said in Mt 5:18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Jots, tittles, commas, periods, and even the parenthesis we find in our text today are all used to enhance our understanding of the Word of God. For instance, in our text today, we could read it just fine without the parenthetical words of v6. It is just an added sentence used by the Holy Spirit to provide a little more background on why Adonijah acted the way he did. He was a good-looking spoiled brat much like his brother Absalom, who wanted to take over the throne from his father. But you could read this passage without v6 and it flows nicely. Adonijah sought to be king. He enlisted the help of important military and religious figures, and was opposed by Shimei, David's mighty men, a priest and the mighty prophet Nathan, The stage is set for the inevitable conflict that will occur. Parenthetical statements are very useful and should be studied carefully as you read the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit could've thrown them out, but He keeps them in to help fill in our gaps of understanding! Father, thank You for your every expression in the Bible, truly, nothing is wasted and may Your every jot, tittle, and words help us on our road to spiritual maturity.

Discipline Your Children

731 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ki 1:5,6 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king"; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. 6 (And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, "Why have you done so?" He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.) Adonijah. The fourth son of David, born from his 5th wife Haggith. A handsome young man, with plenty of clout, and with Absalom out of the way. He assumed that he would ascend to the throne occupied by his father. The only problem with his assumption is he forgot the word of the Lord that came to David concerning Solomon. 1Ch 22:9,10 says, “'Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. 10 'He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.' Quick lesson for all of us. How quick we can be to forget the Word of the Lord when it interferes with our own desires for self advancement and pleasure. How blind we can be even to lessons from the past. Adonijah's story is a mirror image of the story of Absalom which had a tragic ending, but it did not stop Adonijah from pursuing the same course. He, like Absalom, prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. The people would see this display of self-importance, and certainly notice how handsome he looked, and how he would be like Saul, a king to be desired. Things were looking good for still another spoiled child of David's. For we are told that David never corrected his behavior. The end result though was an untimely death for Adonijah. Parents. It can be difficult to discipline our children, we want them to have the world, but sometimes we need to learn to say no to their unhealthy desires and behaviors. Pr 29:17 says, Correct your son, and he will give you rest; Yes, he will give delight to your soul. Father, help us to understand the importance of loving discipline.

Medical Decisions

730 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ki 1:1 Now King David was old, advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. 2 Therefore his servants said to him, "Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm." 3 So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. 4 The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her. I have had several surgeries and one of the things I appreciated after surgery was the heated blankets. I'm not sure of the why as it concerns the healing process of application of heat, but I sure appreciated it. Well, in David's day they didn't have blankets with these kind of thermal properties and so they relied on the truth of Ec 4:11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone?” This is a fact of course, a natural truth and at the same time a biblical truth. But there is a greater biblical truth at stake here. The question begs to be asked, “where is Bathsheba?” She is David's wife and this is to be her role, not the role of yet another concubine! The Bible is clear on the matter of one spouse till death do us part. As bizarre as this incident is, we should remember that David's servants thought they were applying sound medical advice to his situation. He was cold, and this was evidently an accepted medical practice to keep him warm. It was a way that they saw to keep him as comfortable as possible until he passed. This would be a good time to pause and consider our own choices of medical treatment. Are they ethical? How do they measure up with Scripture. Are we choosing medical treatments that extend our life at the price of the lives of others. Do we really want to start creating embryos, so they can be destroyed for the sake of using them as spare parts? The time to answer these questions is now, before you find yourself in a crisis medical situation. Be informed about available treatments and (more importantly) be informed about God's view of life.

I'll Fly Away

729 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ki 1:1 Now King David was old, advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. Without skipping a beat, the story of David is picked up in 1 Kings. He is old, advanced in years, probably about 70 years old because we are told that he was thirty years old when he began his reign and he reigned for 40 years. (2 Sam 5:4) By biblical standards he seems young, yet the 90th Psalm, which is attributed to Moses, we read in v 10, “The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. “And we fly away.” Barring accidental deaths and death by disease we will all reach that point of “flying away” typically between 70 and 80 years of age. In 2012 the average life expectancy in the United States was at 78.8. One of the things that accompany old age is the inability to stay warm. Sweaters, afghans, sweatshirts, extra blankets, and cranked up thermostats are all part of the aging process. Feeling a bit old? Then the question begs to be asked, “Where do we fly to?” We fly to our God who then passes judgment on us. As the Bible says in Heb 9:27, “ And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” Of course we should always be ready for that moment when God calls us home, but when we find ourselves reaching for an extra blanket, or slipping on sweaters, or turning up the thermostat, it might be a good time to reflect on your readiness to “fly away” and meet your Maker. The thief on the cross flew away before his time of 70 years, but he made ready for his trip to paradise, with his simple confession that Jesus was a King who would rise again. It is as it is stated in Ro 10:9, “ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”Have you made that confession? Then you have been properly prepared to “fly away.”

The Sword Is Sheathed

728 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 24:24 Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel. And so we end the Books of 1 and 2 Samuel. The threshing floor purchased by David which will become the future site of the temple and the hill on which the Savior of the world, God's only Son, Jesus Christ would die once and for all for our sins. Charles Spurgeon, commenting on this verse said, “Thus was the site of the temple marked out in a very special manner. Zion, the church of God, of which the temple was the type, is founded on the hill of sacrifice; it is a monument in praise of sparing mercy; and there the sword of justice is for ever sheathed. Have we come unto Mount Zion? Are we resting upon the precious blood of sprinkling? These are grave questions, which it behooves each one to answer on his own account as before the great heart-searching God.” Well said, Mr Spurgeon. Leave us not forget that the angel who was executing justice through this plague was at the ready with his sword ready to bring more death, but God accepted the sacrifice of David and commanded the angel to sheath his sword. 1Ch 21:27 says, “So the LORD commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath. God's wrath was satisfied! And as Jesus died on the cross, on the hill of the threshing floor His last words included, “It is Finished!” It's a banking term that means the debt has been paid! The wrath of God against sin completely appeased. The sword is sheathed! The question is, will you receive this free gift of God or reject Jesus and face the angel of death on Judgment Day when his sword will once again be unsheathed?