Monday, August 25, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: 1 Samuel 14-16
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 98
Key Verse
1 Samuel 15:4 — “And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.”
Devotional Thought
Two men stand on opposite sides of a rocky pass in 1 Samuel 14. Jonathan, Saul’s son, has slipped away from his father’s camp at Gibeah with only his armourbearer, drawn toward the Philistine garrison at Michmash. Between him and the enemy lie two sharp crags, Bozez and Seneh, and a decision that will shape Israel’s day. “It may be that the LORD will work for us,” Jonathan says, “for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.” His companion answers with quiet loyalty, and the two climb on hands and feet into the teeth of the enemy. God shakes the ground, the Philistines turn their swords on one another, and a nation hiding in caves finds its courage again. Yet even in that triumph, seeds of trouble appear: Saul’s rash oath forbids food until evening, and hungry men end the day eating meat with blood.
The chapters that follow turn from bravery to tragedy. Saul, told to destroy Amalek utterly, keeps King Agag alive and spares the best of the flocks, then greets Samuel with “I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” The bleating of sheep gives him away. Samuel’s reply cuts to the root of all our self-deception: “to obey is better than sacrifice.” Saul’s partial obedience, dressed in religious language, is still rebellion, and the kingdom is torn from him. By chapter 16 the prophet is in Bethlehem, anointing a shepherd boy named David while the Spirit departs from Saul.
Late August is harvest season in much of the world, a time when what was planted is finally weighed. These chapters invite us to weigh our own obedience honestly. Jonathan trusted God for what seemed impossible; Saul trusted his own judgment and called it devotion. One risked everything on the Lord’s promise, the other kept back what he thought he could manage. We do the same whenever we obey God in the parts that cost us little and negotiate over the rest.
Psalm 98 answers this day’s reading with a song. “O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things.” The psalmist calls trumpets, harps, floods, and hills to join the praise, because the God of Israel saves by many or by few and judges the world with equity. The same Lord who toppled the Philistines and who weighed Saul’s heart is the one we gather to worship. He has not changed. He still looks for hearts that obey fully, and He still gives victory no army could manufacture.
Reflection
- Where in your life are you offering God partial obedience while calling it faithfulness, and what “bleating sheep” reveals the truth?
- Like Jonathan, do you believe the Lord can save by few — and what would trusting Him for the impossible look like this week?
Prayer
Lord God of Israel, who saved Your people by the hands of two men on the rocks of Michmash, we praise You, for there is no restraint to You to save by many or by few. Forgive us for the obedience we ration and the excuses we dress in religious words. Give us hearts like Jonathan’s, ready to climb toward the impossible because You are with us. Let us not fear the voices of people more than Your voice. Teach us that to obey is better than sacrifice, and let our lives, like Psalm 98, sing a new song before You, the King who comes to judge the earth with righteousness. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 98:1 — “O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.”