"That's Not Normal" March 10 Readings: 2 Samuel 1-4
Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2026
This year, we will read the Bible chronologically, as it happened, instead of simply reading from Genesis to Revelation. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.
Bible Readings: 2 Samuel 1-4
In Bible Gateway, we will link to the NIV this year, though you can choose any version you prefer.
Background:
2 Samuel opens in the aftermath of Saul's death. David is elevated to king immediately by the people of Judah, but the northern tribes dither and support Saul's son Ish-Bosheth. David continues to behave in an honorable and decent way, but we see the evil and subterfuge of Joab, David's general, in securing the throne.
Daily Devotional: That's Not Normal
It isn't clear whether the young Amalekite of 2 Samuel 1 was giving David the inside story of the death of Saul or whether he was making it up as he went. But two things were true. First, he fully expected, as he entered David's camp and shared his story about slaying Saul, that he would be rewarded. Gold. Honor. A place in David's band of mighty men. Saul had pursued David mercilessly for years, seeking his life. Everyone knew of David's grace in the face of Saul's cruelty. This man had no doubt his reward would be great for slaying the tormentor of the one who would not be the king.
That was when the second truth became clear. God's people think differently from those of the world. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us that God's ways are higher than ours and his thoughts are higher than ours. When we walk in the ways of God and the Spirit governs our minds, we begin to think differently from the world, which leads us to act differently from the world.
The young Amalekite stood bewildered as David and his men began to weep and mourn over the death of the king of Israel. Twice, Saul's life was in David's hand, and he'd refused to lift his hand against the anointed king, but now this Canaanite (whether in reality or simply in boast) had raised his sword to end the king's life. David ordered one of his servants to strike the man down - not the reward he'd expected.
Christians do not think as the world thinks (not if we are walking in the fullness of God's Spirit). We do not react in the flesh as others do. We do not return evil for evil, fight fire with fire, do to others as they have done to us, or give as good as we got. We do not love what the world loves. Our minds are shaped not by our own common sense or human intuition, but by the Spirit of God empowering the Word of God to renew our minds and transform our hearts.
So, we love our enemies. We rejoice when the storms of life blow. We are at peace in the middle of storms. We return good for evil. We are steadfast regardless of the circumstances of life. We react to others based on what Christ has done for us, not how others have treated us. Everything is different.
Christians are weird - yes, we are. It is because we've been reborn, redeemed, recreated, transformed, and empowered to live new lives in Christ. The world will never understand us but we answer to God. People will think we are odd, but we live for the pleasure of the Father not the applause of the world.
When we do, it is not death that we give out, as David did through his servant to that Amalekite, but it is the life of God that flows through us to a lost world. May we be the kind of weirdoes who can demonstrate the love and power of Christ to a world in need.
That was when the second truth became clear. God's people think differently from those of the world. Isaiah 55:8-9 tells us that God's ways are higher than ours and his thoughts are higher than ours. When we walk in the ways of God and the Spirit governs our minds, we begin to think differently from the world, which leads us to act differently from the world.
The young Amalekite stood bewildered as David and his men began to weep and mourn over the death of the king of Israel. Twice, Saul's life was in David's hand, and he'd refused to lift his hand against the anointed king, but now this Canaanite (whether in reality or simply in boast) had raised his sword to end the king's life. David ordered one of his servants to strike the man down - not the reward he'd expected.
Christians do not think as the world thinks (not if we are walking in the fullness of God's Spirit). We do not react in the flesh as others do. We do not return evil for evil, fight fire with fire, do to others as they have done to us, or give as good as we got. We do not love what the world loves. Our minds are shaped not by our own common sense or human intuition, but by the Spirit of God empowering the Word of God to renew our minds and transform our hearts.
So, we love our enemies. We rejoice when the storms of life blow. We are at peace in the middle of storms. We return good for evil. We are steadfast regardless of the circumstances of life. We react to others based on what Christ has done for us, not how others have treated us. Everything is different.
Christians are weird - yes, we are. It is because we've been reborn, redeemed, recreated, transformed, and empowered to live new lives in Christ. The world will never understand us but we answer to God. People will think we are odd, but we live for the pleasure of the Father not the applause of the world.
When we do, it is not death that we give out, as David did through his servant to that Amalekite, but it is the life of God that flows through us to a lost world. May we be the kind of weirdoes who can demonstrate the love and power of Christ to a world in need.
Father, may I think and act like Christ every day!
Consider God's Word:
Do you pattern your life after the ways of the world?
Or do you live in the transformational power of Christ?
Or do you live in the transformational power of Christ?
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