Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: 1 Chronicles 9-13
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 107
Key Verse
1 Chronicles 11:22 — “Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts; he slew two lionlike men of Moab: also he went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day.”
Devotional Thought
Most of us will never lead an army or wear a crown, yet every ordinary life is quietly assembling its own genealogy of faithfulness. The opening chapters of 1 Chronicles are easy to skim—page after page of names we cannot pronounce—but notice who is listed: porters stationed at the four quarters of the temple, men who opened the gates every morning, singers employed day and night, keepers of the flour and wine and spices. God kept a record of the doorkeepers. In the same way, He sees the unglamorous routines that hold your September together: the lunches packed, the medications counted, the prayers whispered over a sleeping child, the gate opened again at dawn.
Then the narrative turns, and the record becomes a warning. Saul dies on Mount Gilboa, wounded by archers, falling on his own sword while his armor-bearer watches in terror. The Philistines fasten his head in the temple of Dagon, and the men of Jabeshgilead—remembering an old kindness—march all night to bury his bones and fast seven days. The Chronicler gives the verdict plainly: Saul died for his transgression, for not keeping the word of the LORD, and for seeking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, and enquired not of the LORD. A man can be tall, chosen, and anointed, and still fall for want of asking God.
Against that ruin, David rises. All Israel gathers at Hebron and says, “We are thy bone and thy flesh,” and they anoint him king according to the word of the LORD by Samuel. He takes Zion from the Jebusites; Joab climbs first and becomes chief. Then come the mighty men—Jashobeam who lifted his spear against three hundred, Eleazar standing in a barley field when everyone else fled, Benaiah who slew a lion in a pit on a snowy day. And three nameless heroes broke through the Philistine host just to bring David a cup of water from the well at Bethlehem’s gate. David would not drink it; he poured it out to the LORD, refusing to drink the blood of men who risked their lives for him.
Psalm 107 gathers all of this into one refrain: “Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.” Wandering souls, prisoners in iron, fools afflicted by their own transgressions, sailors in stormy seas—every one of them found the same door open. “He sent his word, and healed them.” As autumn approaches and the days shorten, remember that the God who numbered the porters and delivered the wanderers still hears the cry of the hungry soul and fills it with goodness.
Reflection
- Saul died because he “enquired not of the LORD.” In what area of your life are you making decisions without actually asking God for counsel?
- The Chronicler records the names of gatekeepers, singers, and men who prepared shewbread every sabbath. What hidden, unglamorous service has God entrusted to you, and are you faithful in it?
Prayer
LORD, we give thanks unto Thee, for Thou art good, and Thy mercy endureth for ever. We have wandered in the wilderness and sat in darkness, and when we cried unto Thee in our trouble, Thou didst deliver us out of our distresses. Thou hast sent Thy word and healed us; Thou hast broken the gates of brass and cut the bars of iron in sunder. Teach us to enquire of Thee, as Saul did not, and to keep Thy word in our hearts. Number us among Thy faithful servants—opening the gates, tending the vessels, singing day and night—until Thou bringest us to that city of habitation. Satisfy our longing souls with Thy goodness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 107:1 — “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”