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July 15

Reading 1 - 1Samuel 29 & 30

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30 v.6 - There is a great deal of extreme emotion in David's life. This is what makes the Psalms so useful to us in dealing with our own extremes of emotion. Notice, that however his life falls apart (and here he, and all his men, are so upset that they cried until they could cry no more [v.4]), he is able to encourage himself in the Lord his God. We need to try to develop the state of mind that David had, and, rather than wallow in our own self-pity, open our Bibles and encourage ourselves too. Hab.3:17,18, Rom.4:18, 8:31, 2Cor.1:6-10, Heb.13:6.
Peter Cresswell
It is quite hard to work out what David is doing in ch.29, where he appears to be willing to go and fight for the Philistines. I suggest, however, that what he is doing is leaving the decision to God, who then organised the circumstances of his life to ensure that he fitted in with His will, just as he will do for us if we trust him with our decisions
Peter Cresswell

29 v.6 - In saying that he had not found any evil in David Achish demonstrates the effectiveness of David [1 Samuel 27:10] in fighting against the Lord's enemies.

30 v.6 - In encouraging himself in God David demonstrates how that it is possible at one time to be unsure of the Lord's care and yet at another to trust wholly on Him. The affliction of the situation in Ziklag forced David to trust his God. May it be the chastening we receive of the Father's hand will force us to place all our reliance on Him.
Peter Forbes

29:5 This is the third time that the Philistines have said this. The first was after the death of Goliath (1 Samuel 18:7) The second was when David had fled to Achish (1 Samuel 21:11) One wonders why David persisted in seeking to be with the Philistines against the background of their association of him with the death of Philistines.

30:1 Whilst the Philistines had given David Ziklag (1 Samuel 27:6) it seems that their 'generosity' stopped there. David was off defending the Philistines - at least that is what they thought - yet they did not seem to do anything to defend the city they had given to David.
Peter Forbes

There are at least three cities called Aphek in the land of Israel.

It would appear that the one mentioned here (:1) is the one shown on the map because of the mention of Jezreel and the fact that Saul went to Endor to see the woman with the familiar spirit and that Saul was in the area of Mount Gilboa. So when David went back to Ziklag (30:1) he travelled some distance.

30:23 In withstanding the men who would have taken the spoil to themselves we see that David was a very different kind of man to Saul. Saul claimed to 'fear the people' (1 Samuel 15:24) as a valid reason for not doing the right thing.
Peter Forbes

Reading 2 - Jeremiah 5

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v. 1 - This is picking up the language of 2Chr.16:9, and at the same time is a fulfilment of it. Here they are invited to seek out those that are true to God in, of all places, Jerusalem - the 'holy city'. What did they find there? v.2 - People who presented as believers, but were not in their hearts. It is quite clear that Jerusalem was full of these people. Here is a lesson for us. Let us make sure, as members of spiritual Jerusalem, that we are true hearted. Amos 8:12, Song 3:2, Prov.20:6.
Peter Cresswell
v.3 - There is, as we see here, a direct conflict between truth and the behaviour of mankind. It is this very conflict that forces God to reject all but those who are inclined to discover and embrace His truth. For God to save everyone, regardless of their behaviour, would be in direct conflict with His promises. This would make God a liar, which He is not. Titus 1:2.
Peter Cresswell
v.31 - False, lying, prophets had always been a problem in Israel. Before the time of the Assyrian invasion Micah had warned of them. [Micah 3:5] At the time of the Babylonian captivity they were still a problem. [Jeremiah 5:31 6:13 14:13-14 23:11-27 Zephaniah 3:4] And even after being take captive Judah had not learnt. [Lamentations 2:14 Ezekiel 13:3].
Peter Forbes
5:2 Israel were saying the right things - 'the Lord liveth' but their actions were far from God. Their leaders were often like this and in Jesus' day received criticism from the lord Jesus for this. (Matthew 15:9) We have to take care that our life is not one of such hypocrisy.
Peter Forbes
:10, 18 The assurance that a full end will not be made to Israel confirms and continues the assurance of 4:27
Peter Forbes

Reading 3 - Matthew 16

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v.12 - It is somewhat comforting that the disciples also found it hard to understand. The words of Jesus, especially when he speaks in parables, are clearly set out as having a meaning that has to be sought out by those who have a heart to do it. This is an introduction to his words that, as he gets towards the end of his ministry, he will say more and more boldly to the scribes and pharisees themselves.
Peter Cresswell
v.13 - Caesarea Philippi is only mentioned twice in the Gospel records where two accounts of the same event are recorded. [Matthew 16:13 Mark 8:27] We are on the way to the transfiguration. Caesarea Philippi is way up in the North close by Mount Hermon which might indicate that the transfiguration took place on Mount Hermon.
Peter Forbes
16:18 Gates of hell quotes Isaiah 38:10 In Isaiah Hezekiah is clearly speaking of death so Jesus speaks of how his 'church' will overcome death. His own resurrection is the guarantee
Peter Forbes
:27 The language of this verse is used again by Jesus (Matthew 25:31) to remind the disciples of his earlier teaching.
Peter Forbes

WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?

Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" If he was asking today we would probably get answers like: A prophet; A mythical figure from Christian stories; Someone in the Bible; or, Don't know. Then Jesus asked, "But who do you say I am?" This is a question we must all ask ourselves every day of our lives. Peter's reply was the right one. "You are the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of the Living God!" This was just the answer Jesus wanted to hear and it was a great encouragement to him to hear that at least one of his disciples understood who he was and his mission. But who do we see Jesus as for us? Is he an amazing man who changed the world? Is he someone to be worshipped in the Bible? Is he the baby born in Bethlehem, crucified at Easter, who made his mark on history? He is all of those things but he is much more than that too. He is our personal living saviour, who saved us from our sins and who came to save the world. He is the perfect son of God. And he is our reason to live, our love, our life and our King who will return to reign in glory.
Who is he to you?
Robert Prins

STUMBLING BLOCKS TO GOD'S PLAN

It happens with the best of intentions. We determine that the way we have planned the future is the best way, and with all our heart and soul we work towards its fulfillment. Our motivation could be anything from selfishness, economic, love, or even very noble spiritual reasons, that we choose to stand by a particular course of action. But the question we must ask ourselves is whether we are doing the will of God or not.

Peter found himself in just this situation when Jesus explained to his disciples that he was to go to Jerusalem to suffer, be killed and rise again on the third day. Peter did not think this was a good plan at all! Yet without this part of God's plan being fulfilled, no matter how much else Christ accomplished, all would have been lost. So Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (verse 23).

Let us make sure that we don't end up being a stumbling block to God's plan - no matter what our intentions. Rather we need to make sure we are working in accordance with the will of God.
Robert Prins
v16 has the confession of Peter, that "You are the Christ, the son of the living God." How had Peter come to that conclusion? It seems obvious to us, but if we look in v14 we see that it wasn't obvious to anyone else. 1John 4v15 tells us that if we confess the same, then God dwells in us. Jesus said "flesh and blood has not revealed this to you" (v17). The implication is that it is only God that reveals to us the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God.

So how did God reveal it to Peter? Was is a "bolt out of the blue" experience? I don't think so, because if we look back over the previous chapters in Matthew, we can see how the realisation was gradually dawning on Peter. Every one of these realisations were after he had been tested by God, humbled, and then saved by Jesus. (Luke 5v5-8; 8v25-27; 14v30-33) Notice how the words of Peter towards Jesus grew in their understanding over time. This was the way that God revealed Spiritual things to Peter, and the same way he reveals them to us. (Heb 12v10-11; Prov 3v11-13)
Robin de Jongh