A messenger came and told David, “The hearts of the people of Israel are with Absalom.” Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring […]
Daily Devotions 23rd November 2018
After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run ahead of him. Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the road into the gate; and when anyone brought a suit before the king for judgement, Absalom would call out and say, ‘From what city are you?’ When the person […]
Daily Devotion 22nd November 2018
Now in all Israel there was no one to be praised so much for his beauty as Absalom; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. When he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut […]
Daily Devotion 21st November 2018
After two full years Absalom had sheep shearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons. Absalom came to the king, and said, ‘Your servant has sheep shearers; will the king and his servants please go with your servant?’ But the king said to Absalom, ‘No, my son, let us […]
Daily Devotion 20th November 2018
Some time passed. David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar; and David’s son Amnon fell in love with her. Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. But Amnon […]
Monday 19th November 2018
Unity does not just happen, we have to work at it. In the United Reformed Church, unity is one of the core values and the gift it offers to the wider Body of Christ; unity with our brother and sister, unity with other denominations and unity with those people who we find it difficult to […]
Daily Devotion 18th November 2018
Hopefully reading the first ten verses of this Psalm will encourage you to read the next eighteen! The writer gives us one verse of assurance, one of insecurity, and then eight of envy. But, if you read on, the writer is drawn close to God through a visit to the Temple and the Psalm ends, […]
Daily Devotion 17th November 2018
The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became very ill. David therefore pleaded with God for the child; David fasted, and went in and lay all night on the ground. The elders of his house stood beside him, urging him to rise from the ground; but he would not, […]
Daily Devotion 16th November 2018
But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord, and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, ‘There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but […]
Daily Devotion 15th November 2018
“The shoe is on the other foot now!” The last Daily Devotion I wrote had David fleeing for his life from the murderous rage of King Saul. In contrast, David’s murderous actions against Uriah are cold, calculated, planned. In modern legal terms, it would be described as ‘with intent’ and ‘a significant degree of premeditation’. […]