Author: Scott Lane

Re:Verse passage – 2 Samuel 18:6-11 (day five)

David was a good king but not a perfect king. There was still sin and depravity in his life.  Part of God’s plan is to convince Israel (and us) that what we really need is a king to lead and love us perfectly. To restore and rescue us. (Pointing to Jesus) God is showing us that only Jesus can lead and love us perfectly. There’s a small narrative before our Re:Verse text that demonstrates the difference and need (2 Samuel 14).

After rebelling and publicly humiliating his father, Absalom returns back to Jerusalem. Yet David (the father), refuses to see his son. David could have met Absalom at the gates, forgiven and restored him.  But he chose not to do so. Jesus tells the story of a rebellious son who returns to his father. And the father runs to meet him (at the gates) and forgives and restores him.

We can rejoice that in spite of the fact, like Absalom, we have rebelled against and humiliated a Holy God with our sin, our Heavenly Father loves and leads us perfectly, taking the initiative (thru Christ) to restore us into a right relationship with Him.

I’m thanking God for His wise and patient plan to show us our need and provide for us, a king to lead and love us perfectly!!

Re:Verse passage – 1 Samuel 17:38-51 (day five) “This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you.”
What David did was incredible. No doubt about it. Killed Goliath with a sling and a stone. We know from reading 1 Samuel 17, that what actually happened was that God used David to kill Goliath. VS 46.
The biggest battle David fought (that day and often) was his inner fear (that the Israel armies had succumbed to). To them, Goliath seemed larger than God (fear). To David, God was larger than Goliath (faith). So, where did David’s faith come from?  I believe it came from “repeating and remembering”. Repeating God’s promises. And remembering God’s power. Something the Israelites failed to do. Just 3 chapter earlier in 1 Samuel, many of those same soldiers saw God use Jonathan to defeat a Philistine garrison. Yet, they forgot. That experience had left their minds.  Not David. He repeated God’s promise (anointed as king) and remembered God’s power (bear and lion). It was a constant battle and discipline for David. Read the first 25 Psalms. Fear creeps in. David prays (repeats and remembers). Finds faith. Should be for us too. Daily repeating God’s promises found in scripture. Remembering God’s power working in, around, and through us.
Being thankful to God helps shape these disciplines. When we can’t be reminded of God’s promises and God’s power, we most likely are in a place of great despair and fear. (Israelite Army) We should learn from David’s example. We find faith and courage. For the Glory of God!!

Re:Verse passage – 1 Samuel 16:5-13 (day five)  “And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.”
God was already  preparing David to be His King. Amazingly, David’s best training and preparation came in a pasture not a palace. The gifts, skills, attitudes, and perspectives that were needed to be King were being developed and honed as a child in the field. Care, courage, faithfulness, determination were some of the lessons David was learning while tending the sheep (remember Jesus’ words to Peter).
There were no robe fittings yet. There were no interviews or press releases. Samuel goes to Ramah and David goes back to the sheep.
What lessons and insights are God teaching in the ordinary and routine things of life? (great opportunity for parents and grandparents to help children sense and see God at work)

Re:Verse passage – Judges 16:15-21 (day five)  

Samson’s story is tragic to say the least. Yet, he is listed in the “Hall of Faith” found in Hebrews 11 (vs 32). Wait? Wasn’t Samson faithless?  Well, he believed the prophesy and promise of God. Samson knew his strength came from God. He trusted that God would provide that strength when he needed it. Every act Samson did could have been seen as an act of faith. But in the midst of his faith, Samson began to think more highly of himself than of God. So what was missing??  I believe it was love. “And if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭2‬  Samson didn’t have a love for God, which produces the fruit of obedience.

I close with a quote from Jon Bloom, “So let Samson’s faith soberly remind us that our spiritual or talent gifts are not God’s endorsement of us, that faithful obedience is better than impressive giftedness.” And that faith must be governed and balanced by a vibrant and deep love for the Lord.

They returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.”
What’s missing from the plan?  Did you catch it? In the previous battle  of Jericho, God was drawing up the battle plans- down to the last detail. They sought His guidance and leadership. They had an overwhelming victory. Yet, just 1 chapter later, no mention of God at all in the planning or preparation.
What if Joshua had stopped after hearing the “scouting report” and prayed?  Asked God for His wisdom and direction? Think the Lord would have confronted them about the sin problem? I do. Joshua and his leaders forgot. They were planning and fighting by sight, not faith. Dangerous. Easy to do. Forgetting how finite and prone to sin and disobedience we are. That’s one of the reasons Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me”. A visual and verbal reminder of our sin and need for a savior. Whatever our plans or activities or priorities, we must ask the Lord to lead and guide us- checking our hearts daily, hourly, at every step. We need that because we are sinners saved by grace.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭7‬

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 5:13-15; 6:1-5 (day five) “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭33‬:‭11‬.
It’s my favorite scripture about Joshua- being in the Tent of Meeting with Moses and the Lord. Moses leaves. The Lord stays. Joshua stays.
Ever been in a Bible Study or Worship Service when the presence of the Lord was so near and almost tangible?  Made you wanna stay so you didn’t miss anything the Lord might say or do?  That was the young person Joshua.
Decades later, same man (Joshua) same presence (Captain of the Lord’s Army) same response (Joshua falls face first and worships). There was something happening very familiar to Joshua. He knew what he must do. So, Joshua stops. Joshua stops scouting. Stops strategizing. Stops (literally falls down) and Worships.

The questions I should always ask myself, Am I quick to recognize the power and presence of the Lord? (Expected and unexpected- at church or at another place and time of His choosing). Am I submissive and humble enough to stop and worship?

Lord give us eyes to see and ears to hear- You- that we might be faithful to stop and worship and listen.

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 2:1-21 (day five)  “spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”  It’s a fascinating account of God’s activity in establishing and providing for the Israelites. His strength and power on display as they prepare to conquer Jericho. Death and destruction will soon come. Yet in the midst of providing a land for His people, an opportunity to see another facet of God’s nature- redemption. Rahab is found faithful and acts in kindness to the spies (and to the Lord). God gives her and her family redemption. Saves them from destruction. Watch what God does- changes her reputation (identity), changes her future, gives her hope, uses her in a prominent role His redemptive plan. That’s the nature of salvation. That’s the grace and kindness of the Lord. It was shown to and through Rahab. It is being shown to and through believers today. Same God- redeeming, reconciling, and restoring human hearts for His glory and our good!!

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 50:15-20(day five) “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”

Did you notice the use the of same word to describe the actions of the brothers and the actions of God? (Meant)
The brothers intended and planned for their actions against Joseph. And from the beginning of time, God intended and planned for their actions to bring Him glory and them good.  There was no surprise or reaction from God. This was His planned intention all along. God didn’t react and “use” their actions (if somehow He was caught off guard or surprised). He meant. Now another example…
Read Isaiah 53. The sin and evil of Herod, Pilate, many others was not random. It was proactively intended by them and by God.

“There is no gospel, there is no salvation, if God cannot, in perfect holiness, govern the acts of sinful men.” – John Piper

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 22:1-18 (day five)

“for through Isaac your descendants shall be named.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭21‬:‭12‬
Don’t know about you, but I have honestly wondered if I could have had the faith of Abraham demonstrated in the Re:Verse text this week. As Aaron pointed out, no scripture to refer to. There were no sermons to encourage or exhort him. No community of faith surrounding him.

What was Abraham thinking and why?

I believe he was thinking that Isaac was going to die as a sacrifice, and that God would raise him from the dead ? Hebrews 11). How? Why? Because God had promised Abraham that his descendants would come through Isaac. Let me write that again… God had promised Abraham.

That’s all Abraham had. Ultimately, that’s all he needed- God’s promise. Abraham completely trusted God’s promise. Maybe one of the takeaways for me (us) this week is to recognize and remember the promises of God.  So, I am looking at scripture with a renewed sense of determination and expectation to sense and see the promises of God. Practically, I will look for key words (WILL/SHALL) spoken by God and Jesus. I will underline and circle them, asking the Holy Spirit to encourage and strengthen my faith in the promises of the Lord found in the scriptures.  Parents, tell the promises of God to your children/grandchildren. Some promises were made specifically to individuals like Abraham. But there are so many made to believers and children of God. Lord, help me find, trust, and act of Your promises.

Re:Verse passage – Genesis 6:5-22 (day five) “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”  “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”
Passages like these help shape our view of who God is.  The name given to God later in Genesis is “El Roi”- The God Who Sees. When we consider that God sees “everything”, it can be comforting (Psalm 139) and/or unsettling (Genesis 6:5). However God does not just wait and watch, He acts and engages the human heart. Presses toward repentance and mercy. He also judges and delivers consequences when hearts are hardened. My great hope is to feel and find God’s favor and friendship. But, it is also to ask El Roi (like the Psalmist), to help me see my heart and mind as He does because He sees and knows me best. And when there is wickedness, lead me to repentance and forgiveness. All possible because the “God Who Sees” is also the God who out of His kindness acts and provides repentance and forgiveness (boldly approach the throne of grace).