1 Samuel 6, Ecclesiastes 7, 1 Peter 5

Recognize God's power. Even the diviners and priests to the false gods of the Philistines recognized the One True God and His power. They didn't understand how to worship Him, or that they even could, but they knew they had to send the ark back to the Israelites because of God's power coming against them.

Respect God's power. The men of Beth Shemech rejoiced at its return to them, but even they failed to respect and honor the ark in a proper manner. They knew it housed the power of God, and still they opened it. And paid with their lives.

Know and Follow God's Instructions. The reason they didn't know was that they hadn't heard the scripture. They didn't have priests who taught them God's instructions. We might wonder at their foolishness, but we will join them if we don't read the Bible and attend a church where the Bible is taught.

Focus on the Eternal. Are you shocked by the content of Ecclesiastes 7? We are prone to think of suffering or grief as a bad thing. This fresh perspective from Solomon encourages us to focus on the eternal, rather than the temporal. And, I think, it reminds us to lighten up.It's all for a greater cause.

Follow Leaders. Peter exhorts the elders to shepherd (read: guide) the flock and the flock to follow their shepherds. He knew the importance of solid teaching to keep followers from going astray and making stupid decisions like the Israelites and their handling of the ark.

Keep Your Focus and Keep Following. He also talks about living in suffering and keeping a proper focus. Down through the centuries, nothing has really changed.

1 Samuel 2, Ecclesiastes 3, 1 Peter 1

Reading 1 Samuel 2 is like looking into a camera lens while it zooms out to a panorama. This is the big picture God had in mind when He withheld a child from Hannah. He needed her to come to the point of willingness to give her first-born son to the Lord. The priesthood was in tatters. Eli's natural sons could not carry it on. The whole nation's future was at stake. God needed the man He would create as Samuel. Compare verse 26 with Luke 2:52. This chapter points straight to Jesus. The sins of Eli's sons were as grievous as those of the Pharisees in Jesus' day. Samuel became a priest. Jesus became both our High Priest and perfect sacrifice.

Solomon is right when he says there is a time for everything. He also makes the point that humans can't see the big picture of what God is doing. So we need to trust Him and enjoy what He gives us. It can seem that evil prevails now, just as it seemed in Eli's time and Solomon's. But God doesn't allow evil to go on without end. He brings all to justice.

Peter's words echo Solomon's and highlight the arrow pointing from the Old Testament to Jesus Christ. We, who live with the benefit of reading the Bible as a whole, should heed Peter's instructions readily. Treasure our inheritance in heaven and live our lives in a manner worthy of the Spirit who dwells in us.

Judges 6, Proverbs 14, Titus 3

God called Gideon a "mighty man of valor" while he was still hiding in the wine press. God saw what He had in mind for the future.

Gideon could only see the present . . .  and he had questions. "If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?"

God didn't answer Gideon's question. He gave an assignment. This is where we tend to push the pause button in our lives. We want our questions answered before we proceed. But Gideon obeyed.

The first assignment didn't look like what it was. Tearing down idols and thus making the whole community angry might not have been Gideon's idea of valor or how to save Israel from the Midianites. But he obeyed. He trusted God to fit all the pieces together.

Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Verse 14 adds, "The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above."

We who have been saved, "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy . . ." have a responsibility "to be ready for every good work." The Bible is full of instructions for right living and we are to follow them. But we are also to follow God's leading in assignments. He lives in us and will, by the Holy Spirit, manifest Himself in such a way as to accomplish His work through us. Even if it doesn't look like what He says it is.