32. 1 Samuel 8:1-10:27 Saul

So, Israel rejected God as their king. Samuel tried to warn them and spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who had asked of him a king. He prophesied over them that the king would take their young men and young women to be his warriors and servants. That he would take the best of their lands and a tenth of all their crops and flocks. He warned that they would cry out to the Lord because of the king they have chosen and God would not answer them. But still they refused to listen.

The Lord chose Saul, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor. Samuel anointed his head with oil and prophesied that the Spirit of God would come upon him and change him into another man. Thus, Saul became the first king of Israel.

God desired to be the people's only King. That was His perfect will. Yet, because of their stubbornness, He permitted Saul to become their ruler. God's ways are always better than our ways. His thoughts are always higher than our thoughts. When a way seems right to us in a natural sense, we must ALWAYS follow after our spirit man, which is led by God's Spirit. He will always lead us into a place of peace and a situation that will satisfy our hearts like no other. 

What are your thoughts on this passage? Let us know.

31. 1 Samuel 1:1-3:21 Samuel

One great difference between Christianity and all other religions is that the believer has a prayer-hearing and prayer-answering God! He hears each one of us, just as He heard Hannah as she wept before him asking Him to open her womb and give her a son.

Eli told Hannah to go in peace and may the God of Israel grant her request. When she went away she no longer fasted and her face was no longer sad. She had heard directly from God's servant that her prayer would be answered. Even before her answer came, she received it by faith and worshiped before the Lord!

We can do exactly the same thing today. Only we no longer need a high priest to intervene between us and God like in the Old Testament. We have our High Priest, Jesus, sitting at God's right hand forever making intercession for us! We have His completed works of the cross to base our faith on. We have His blood covering us, so that when the Lord looks upon us He sees Jesus. And we can come boldly to His throne, asking whatever we need, in Jesus' name and it SHALL be given to us! (Jn. 14:13,14)

30. Ruth 1:1-4:22 Ruth

The story of Ruth is one of love, devotion and redemption. Naomi, an Israelite, finds herself in the land of Moab, as a widow and childless mother. Her husband and sons have died and she is left with her two Moabite daughters-in-law. She decides to return to her native land now that it is free of famine and she urges them to return to their own families. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her and made a statement of faith that would, from then on, create a new life for her.

"Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be MY people and your God shall be MY God. Where you die, I will die and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me and worse, if anything but death parts you and me."

Unknowingly, with that statement, Ruth has decreed her loyalty to Naomi, her people and her God and God can now begin to make a way for her. Her love and devotion will soon be rewarded! She gives up her culture, her people and her language because of her great love.

The Biblical concept of a kinsman-redeemer is mentioned thirteen times in Ruth. It is a representation of Christ redeeming us. Through Boaz, she moves from widowhood and poverty to marriage and wealth! That's how incredible our God is. When He redeems, He does it ALL THE WAY, above and beyond all we could ask or think. He is a BIG GOD and His thoughts toward us and about us are MUCH HIGHER than we can even imagine.

Are you in a situation today where you feel as if you've lost everything? Start decreeing, according to God's promises in His Word, what you want your life to be just as Ruth did. Asking gives Him the right to begin to move on your behalf. Give God the opportunity to meet your need. He wants to do more than you can imagine!

29. Judges 13:1-16:31 Samson

Samson is consecrated to the Lord as a Nazirite from the womb. God had a plan that Samson would be used to begin to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines. As he grew the Lord blessed him. 

He chose a woman from among the Philistines as his bride, rather than someone from his own people. His parents did not know that this was of the Lord, for at this time the Philistines were ruling over Israel. 

Time and time again, the Lord was with Samson and made super-human power available to him to perform great acts. He became a judge over Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines. The Philistines were so afraid of him that they greatly desired to take and bind him.

He fell in love with Delilah and the Philistines enticed her with money to find out the secret to his great strength. After lying over and over her nagging annoyed him so much that he tells her the truth. That no razor has ever touched his head. While he slept, she had his head shaved and he could not defend himself against his captors. 

Samson was a great warrior and did many great feats for the people of Israel during his life. Even in his death, he sought to take revenge on the lords and leaders of the Philistines. He cried out to the Lord to strengthen him one more time and God did. Those that he defeated in his death were more than all the others he defeated in his life. He was used mightily to deliver the people of Israel.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know if you liked this story.

28. Judges 6:1-7:25 Gideon

So the Israelites, once again, find themselves in the hands of their enemies, the Midianites, and are being oppressed by bullies because of their evil doings. We might say, "When will they learn?" or "Why don't they just continue to serve God?". But, in honesty, we all know we have been there at one time or another. The important thing to remember is that God heard their prayers and is SO faithful to answer!

At this point, the Israelites were so oppressed that they left their homes to live in hiding. They were left with no sustenance and even the crops of their fields were destroyed in attempt to blot them out. God first sends a prophet to remind them of all the miracles He has done for them and their people in the past. When facing a mountain which seems insurmountable, it is SO GOOD to remind ourselves of past victories, for we know that our awesome God NEVER changes and He can do it again. God can ALWAYS deliver His people if only they will listen to His voice!

It always surprises me who the Lord chooses to use to accomplish His will on the earth. We read about great men and women of faith, but in reality they were no different than you or I. They just made the decision to be used. God calls Gideon a valiant warrior! Ha, ha, ha, he was hiding out, secretly beating some wheat in a wine press so the enemies wouldn't find it and take it from him. He said he was from the family which was the least of all the people and that he himself was the youngest in his father's house!

Thank God He does not look at the outward like we do. He does not see present circumstances as a hindrance, He only sees the outcome He wants to achieve! That is the faith we all need to emulate! The Lord spoke over Gideon words that He already believed about him..."Oh, VALIANT WARRIOR! Go in this strength of YOURS and deliver Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you? Surely I will be with you. And you WILL defeat Midian as one man!" We, too, can do ALL things through Christ! He is with us every day to and has ALREADY won the battle! We only have to stand with Him by our side!

27. Judges 4:1-5:31 Deborah

The people of Israel once again did evil in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan and the commander of his army was a man named Sisera. The Israelites cried out to the Lord because Sisera oppressed them severely for twenty years.

There was a prophetess, Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth and she was the judge of Israel at that time. The Lord told her to summon Barak and to march to Mt. Tabor with ten thousand men. She told Barak that the Lord would draw out Sisera and give him into their hands.

Barak's response was, I'll go if you go with me! Deborah said she surely would, but that the Lord would give Sisera into the hands of a woman. So they began their journey in pursuit of Sisera. They were able to conquer his entire army, but he, once again, escaped on foot right to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite. In his exhaustion, Sisera met his demise at the hands of Jael while he rested.

Surely all that Deborah had spoken came to pass. She met many obstacles along her journey but did not retreat, for she had the very word of God concerning her victory! We, too, have that same opportunity to fall back and retreat when the journey becomes difficult. We second guess if we may have heard the Lord incorrectly. It is so important to get in our prayer closets and hear from God. To be led by the Spirit in all things. Then we will have confidence to keep moving forward, knowing that the Lord has gone before us and has paved the way for our victory!

What are your thoughts? Did you enjoy this story? Share your victory with us.

26. Judges 2:6-3:6 Disobedience

In the book of Joshua, an obedient people conquered the land through trust in the power of God. In Judges, sadly, a disobedient and idolatrous people are defeated time and time again because of their rebellion against God. Joshua had ushered the people of Israel in to possess their inheritance. The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all that the Lord had done for Israel. 

There arose another generation which did not know the Lord, nor the great things He had done for their people. And they did evil in the sight of the Lord and followed other gods. They provoked the Lord to anger and because of their evil ways, God had to remove His hand of protection from them and they could no longer stand before their enemies.

Why did they not know God? Why did they forget to teach their children after them all that God had done and how much He loved them? What a responsibility we have to teach the generation behind ours. To live by example and to demonstrate God's incredible favor and power in our own lives. To help raise up a generation of warriors who learn from our mistakes and rise up stronger than any other people.

What are your thoughts? Share them here by leaving a comment. We'd love to hear from you!

25. Joshua 5:13-6:27 The Fall of Jericho

Our God is a God of specific plans. He never decides things half-heartedly or is wishy-washy. He always knows precisely what needs to be accomplished and usually gives very specific plans for us to follow. He gave Joshua a specific plan to capture the city of Jericho, which was the first city captured during his invasion of Canaan.

Jericho was one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. Known as the "city of the palm trees" (Judg. 3:13) because of the trees that grow in its oasis location. It's location of 800 feet below sea level, sits lower than any other city on earth. It was a city within a deep gorge and was known for  it's hot, tropical climate. Because of its unique location, it was a city fortified with massive walls to protect from invaders.

The Lord instructs Joshua and the people of Israel to march around the city, once a day, for six days. Then on the seventh day, to march around seven times, that the seven priests will blow the trumpets and all the people will shout and the walls will come down. Can you imagine what the people of Jericho were thinking while these days passed by and the people of Israel marched around their city? They had surely heard about the crossing of the Jordan river and their hearts melted with fear.

The Israelites were ALREADY victorious, but they still had to obey and carry out the Lord's specific plan. When we do things His way, it takes faith and is pleasing to Him. When He gives us something specific to do, we must do it, and we WILL see the walls of opposition begin to crumble in our lives.

24. Joshua 3:1-4:24 Cross the Jordan

So the people of Israel finally cross over the Jordan and begin their descent into the promised land. Joshua does exactly as the Lord has instructed him and the priests walk ahead with the ark of the covenant. As the priests step into the water, a great miracle takes place and the waters heap into a pile so they may walk across on dry land as they did many years before in the Red Sea. Twelve men are chosen, one from each of the tribes of Israel and they each choose a rock from the bed of the river to set up a memorial to remember what the Lord did there that day.

All the people of Israel now revered Joshua, just as they did Moses, because surely he was God's chosen leader. This was quite a miracle, as this was during the time of harvest when all the banks of the Jordan were overflowed with water. And they set up the twelve stones at Gilgal so that they could teach their children, for generations to come, that the Lord was with them and that all the people of the earth would know that the hand of God was MIGHTY, so that they would fear the Lord forever.

What things has God done in your life to prove His might and power? Are you sharing what God has done for you? When we are in the midst of trial, it is so important to remember the faithfulness of our great God. What He has done once, He can surely do again! What He has done for one, He can surely do for YOU!

23. Joshua 1:1-18 Joshua

Joshua had just succeeded Moses in the leadership of the nation of Israel. Moses had led the nation for forty years and had the benefit that all the wisdom and culture of Egypt and the king's house could provide. Moses was a seasoned, multi-talented man who walked closely with God. Joshua was his faithful attendant and he was assuming an awesome responsibility in taking command of two and a half million people. If anyone needed a formula for success, Joshua did. 


The Lord speaks directly to Joshua, which must have given him great comfort and assurance. He told him that as He had been with Moses, so would He be with him! He also gave Joshua the key to success in life...meditating on God's word! Meditating on the Word, day AND night and is promised 1. prosperity and 2. good success in the God-given task that lies ahead.


We can have that same assurance and success in our lives by simply following the principles God set in His word for Joshua. He commanded him to, 'Be strong and courageous!'. It was not a suggestion, but a command! The things we are called to do may seem daunting in the natural. But we can have assurance that God is with us, He will NEVER fail us or forsake us. He commands us, too, to be strong and full of courage. As we keep our eyes ever-fixed on His unchanging Word, we, too, will have GREAT SUCCESS!

22. Exodus 32:1-34:35 The Golden Calf

The Israelites became so impatient waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain that they said to Aaron, "Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." So Aaron took all their gold jewelry and formed it into the image of a calf and said, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt."


How quickly people will turn aside to falseness without a strong leader. The Lord told Moses what the people had done and to go down to them at once. That His anger burned against them and He sought to destroy them because of their obstinacy. God told Moses that He would make a great nation from him.


But Moses knew that God was a covenant God and he reminded Him of the covenant He swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That He promised to multiple their descendants like the stars of the heavens and give them a great land. He entreated the Lord to forgive the people of their sins. Moses even says he will sacrifice his own name in the Lord's book. Through much toil with the Lord, He showed Moses the way and showed him His glory. He renewed His covenant with His people. Praise God, He is a covenant-keeping God!

21. Exodus 19:1-20:21 The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments were laws given by God as guidelines for daily living. Although God gave the commandments to His people through Moses at Mount Sinai more than three thousand years ago, they are still relevant today. 


About three thousand years after God gave these commandments, Jesus upheld them. He actually placed these laws on a higher plane, demanding that the spirit, as well as the legal aspects, of the laws be observed. He placed His stamp of approval on the commandments by declaring, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill." (Mt. 5:17)


And as we know all of the commandments can now be summed up into obeying the two that Jesus told us in Matt. 22:37 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the WHOLE LAW and the Prophets."