ESOCS Devotional 17 April 2025 – Made Great and Achieved Great Feats
MEMORY VERSE: “The Spirit of the LORD speaks through me; his message is on my lips.” 2 Samuel 23:2
TEXT: 2 SAMUEL 23:1-15
Now these are the last words of David.
Thus says David the son of Jesse;
Thus says the man raised up on high,
The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel:
2 “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel said,
The Rock of Israel spoke to me:
‘He who rules over men must be just,
Ruling in the fear of God.
4 And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
Like the tender grass springing out of the earth,
By clear shining after rain.’
5 “Although my house is not so with God,
Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant,
Ordered in all things and secure.
For this is all my salvation and all my desire;
Will He not make it increase?
6 But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away,
Because they cannot be taken with hands.
7 But the man who touches them
Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.”
8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time. 9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. 10 He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder. 11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.
13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down at harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullam. And the troop of Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!”
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God truly made King David great. Not everyone who received the grace to become the unexpected can boast at the end that he used what God gave him to achieve what God desired. But David did. He achieved great things and history bears witness of it.
The first is that at old age David did not loss the inspiration of the Spirit of God. He remained an instrument in the hands of God till old age. At old age, he could boast thus: “The Spirit of the LORD speaks through me; his message is on my lips” (v 2). May we live to serve God even in old age. Amen.
Secondly, he taught a great lesson that those who lead men should do so with justice and be an example of righteousness (2 Sam. 23:3-4). We should not be hypocritical but be the sample of what we preach.
Third is the point that those who achieve great exploits for God do not go empty-handed. Their blessings endure to the time of their descendants. David was confident of this point when he said in verse 5, “And that is how God will bless my descendants …. A promise that will not be changed …. And God will surely bring it about” (GNV). May our descendants gain the reward of our service to God. Amen.
King David also spoke of how bad it will be for those who live a godless life. In verses 6, 7 David taught “But godless people are like thorns … they will be burned completely”.
King David’s achievements are also seen in how men who served under him became great. Among them were Josheb, Eleazar and Shammah. They and others fought battles and got victory that gave glory to God and made them remarkable. (2 Sam. 23:8-15).
Let us desire and pursue the blessed enterprise of doing the best with what we have. Let us serve God and make efforts to make people great.
CHALLENGES
- Can you point at people who are becoming great through your impute?
PRAYER POINT
- Father, may my life bless your name and add value to the life of others, in Jesus name. Amen.
FURTHER READING: 2 Samuel 23:16-39; 1 Corinthians 1:1-31
ESOCS Devotional 17 April 2025
