| Date | Version | Reading Plan |
|---|---|---|
| August 29, 2024 | ESV (2016) | M’Cheyne Plan 2024 |
1 Samuel 21–22
1 Samuel 22:16–17 (ESV) 16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.” 17 And the king said to the guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the LORD. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod.
Saul ordered the killing of Ahimelech and all the priests of the LORD because they knew that David had fled and did not disclose it to Saul. The FSB explains that these were men of the tribe of Levi, “God’s chosen tribe to fulfill the priestly functions” and that by ordering their killing, Saul “is virtually indistinguishable from the kings of other nations.” However, the servants of the king were unwilling to strike the priests, demonstrating their ultimate allegiance to God over their earthly king. Saul then ordered his official, Doeg, to strike the priests who did as he was commanded. The outward expression of Saul and Doeg as contrasted against Saul’s servants seems worth noting. Saul and his Edomite official had no apparent fear of God while Saul’s servants showed healthy regard for the priests of Israel’s God. In this we see Saul’s character and how he had become virtually indistinguishable from the kings of other nations.
1 Corinthians 3
1 Corinthians 3:5–9 (ESV) 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
Paul addresses the immature Corinthians, instructing them that he and Apollos only planted and watered but God provided the growth. We must not be mistaken in who ultimately brings the fruitfulness of spiritual growth. Our efforts of planting and watering are needed (and each will receive their due wages for his labors), but only God is capable of fostering such maturity. Understanding our role in evangelism is paramount because it allows us to realize our limitations and to give God the praise due His name.
Ezekiel 1
Ezekiel 1:4 (ESV) 4 As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal.
Ezekiel describes his vision of stormy wind with flashing fire, gleaming metal, four creatures with human likeness each having four faces and four wings. The imagery is vibrant, compelling and confusing, as someone is attempting to describe the indescribable. The FSB puts it well when it says, “Unlike Isaiah, who seems to have encountered Yahweh in the Jerusalem temple (see Isa 6), Ezekiel is visited in Babylon by Yahweh’s chariot-throne. His description of the throne, heavenly beings, and the wheels transporting it likely reflects his own limited ability to describe what he saw; thus he uses metaphors and analogies.”
Psalm 37
Psalm 37:23–24 (ESV) 23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; 24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.
It is refreshing to read of this in light of recent disappointment. To know my steps are established by the LORD is uplifting to my current condition. LORD, help me to delight in Your way. Help me to see your goodness and that your plan is far better than my own. Help me to walk with you in faithful obedience, confident of my sonship of the Most High God. I thank you, LORD, that though I fall, You will not cast me headlong because You uphold my hand.