Tues., 11/19/13 Devotion (1 Chron. 14:12)

Today's encouragement comes from 1 Chronicles 14:12, where we read these words:

"And when they [the Philistines] left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire."

In my opinion, this is one of the funniest verses in all the Bible. The doltish Philistines lug their gods onto the battlefield, as they seek to take on David and the Israelites--and just as soon as they get routed, the Philistines abandon their gods. What good are gods like that? They are nothing but a burden.

David did the right thing with the Philistine false gods: he burned them up. May we be just as ruthless with our abominable idols, too. They may appear to be a bit more "sophisticated" than the Philistine gods, but they are just as despicable.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Affliction does that which the Word many times will not, it 'opens the ear to discipline,' (Job 36:10)." --Thomas Watson, in, "All Things for Good"]