Daily Devotions · April 22
Reading for April 22
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
1 Samuel 25–26 · Psalm 63 · Matthew 9
1 Samuel 25–26 · Psalm 63 · Matthew 9, Berean Standard Bible
1 Samuel 25
When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran. 2 Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel. 3 His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings. 4 While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men and instructed them, “Go up to Nabal at Carmel. Greet him in my name 6 and say to him, ‘Long life to you, and peace to you and to your house and to all that belongs to you. 7 Now I hear that it is time for shearing. When your shepherds were with us, we did not harass them, and nothing of theirs was missing the whole time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So let my young men find favor with you, for we have come on the day of a feast. Please give whatever you can spare to your servants and to your son David.’” 9 When David’s young men arrived, they relayed all these words to Nabal on behalf of David. Then they waited. 10 But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters. 11 Why should I take my bread and water and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give them to these men whose origin I do not know?” 12 So David’s men turned around and went back, and they relayed to him all these words. 13 And David said to his men, “Strap on your swords!” So David and all his men strapped on their swords, and about four hundred men followed David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies. 14 Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s young men informed Nabal’s wife Abigail, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed at them. 15 Yet these men were very good to us. When we were in the field, we were not harassed, and nothing of ours went missing the whole time we lived among them. 16 They were a wall around us, both day and night, the whole time we were herding our sheep near them. 17 Now consider carefully what you must do, because disaster looms over our master and all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that nobody can speak to him!” 18 Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys 19 and said to her young men, “Go ahead of me. I will be right behind you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 As Abigail came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had just said, “In vain I have protected all that belonged to this man in the wilderness. Nothing that belongs to him has gone missing, yet he has paid me back evil for good. 22 May God punish David, and ever so severely, if I let one male belonging to Nabal survive until morning.” 23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, fell facedown, and bowed before him. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “My lord, may the blame be on me alone, but please let your servant speak to you; hear the words of your servant. 25 My lord should pay no attention to this scoundrel Nabal, for he lives up to his name: His name means Fool, and folly accompanies him. I, your servant, did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent. 26 Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, since the LORD has held you back from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, may your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be like Nabal. 27 Now let this gift your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow you. 28 Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will surely make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because he fights the LORD’s battles. May no evil be found in you as long as you live. 29 And should someone pursue you and seek your life, then the life of my lord will be bound securely by the LORD your God in the bundle of the living. But He shall fling away the lives of your enemies like stones from a sling. 30 When the LORD has done for my lord all the good He promised, and when He has appointed you ruler over Israel, 31 then my lord will have no remorse or guilt of conscience over needless bloodshed and revenge. And when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, may you remember your servant.” 32 Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me this day! 33 Blessed is your discernment, and blessed are you, because today you kept me from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand. 34 Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, then surely no male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by morning light.” 35 Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him, and he said to her, “Go home in peace. See, I have heeded your voice and granted your request.” 36 When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light. 37 In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him, and he became like a stone. 38 About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal dead. 39 On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has upheld my cause against the reproach of Nabal and has restrained His servant from evil. For the LORD has brought the wickedness of Nabal down upon his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife. 40 When his servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said, “David has sent us to take you as his wife.” 41 She arose, bowed facedown, and said, “Here is your servant, ready to serve and to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” 42 So Abigail hurried and got on a donkey, and attended by five of her maidens, she followed David’s messengers and became his wife. 43 David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. So she and Abigail were both his wives. 44 But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
1 Samuel 26
Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?” 2 So Saul, accompanied by three thousand chosen men of Israel, went down to the Wilderness of Ziph to search for David there. 3 Saul camped beside the road at the hill of Hachilah opposite Jeshimon, but David was living in the wilderness. When he realized that Saul had followed him there, 4 David sent out spies to verify that Saul had arrived. 5 Then David set out and went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general of his army, had lain down. Saul was lying inside the inner circle of the camp, with the troops camped around him. 6 And David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” “I will go with you,” answered Abishai. 7 That night David and Abishai came to the troops, and Saul was lying there asleep in the inner circle of the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the troops were lying around him. 8 Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand. Now, therefore, please let me thrust the spear through him into the ground with one stroke. I will not need to strike him twice!” 9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can extend a hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?” 10 David added, “As surely as the LORD lives, the LORD Himself will strike him down; either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11 But the LORD forbid that I should extend my hand against the LORD’s anointed. Instead, take the spear and water jug by his head, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and water jug by Saul’s head, and they departed. No one saw them or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up; they all remained asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them. 13 Then David crossed to the other side and stood atop the mountain at a distance; there was a wide gulf between them. 14 And David shouted to the troops and to Abner son of Ner, “Will you not answer me, Abner?” “Who are you who calls to the king?” Abner replied. 15 So David said to Abner, “You are a man, aren’t you? And who in Israel is your equal? Why then did you not protect your lord the king when one of the people came to destroy him? 16 This thing you have done is not good. As surely as the LORD lives, all of you deserve to die, since you did not protect your lord, the LORD’s anointed. Now look around. Where are the king’s spear and water jug that were by his head?” 17 Then Saul recognized David’s voice and asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” “It is my voice, my lord and king,” David said. 18 And he continued, “Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done? What evil is in my hand? 19 Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 So do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the LORD. For the king of Israel has come out to look for a flea, like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.” 21 Then Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. I will never harm you again, because today you considered my life precious. I have played the fool and have committed a grave error!” 22 “Here is the king’s spear,” David answered. “Let one of the young men come over and get it. 23 May the LORD repay every man for his righteousness and faithfulness. For the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I would not extend my hand against the LORD’s anointed. 24 As surely as I valued your life today, so may the LORD value my life and rescue me from all trouble.” 25 Saul said to him, “May you be blessed, David my son. You will accomplish great things and will surely prevail.” So David went on his way, and Saul returned home.
Psalm 63
A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water. 2 So I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and glory. 3 Because Your loving devotion is better than life, my lips will glorify You. 4 So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your name I will lift my hands. 5 My soul is satisfied as with the richest of foods; with joyful lips my mouth will praise You. 6 When I remember You on my bed, I think of You through the watches of the night. 7 For You are my help; I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings. 8 My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. 9 But those who seek my life to destroy it will go into the depths of the earth. 10 They will fall to the power of the sword; they will become a portion for foxes. 11 But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by Him will exult, for the mouths of liars will be shut.
Matthew 9
Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town. 2 Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 On seeing this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!” 4 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you harbor evil in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” Then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” 7 And the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men. 9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him. 10 Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 14 Then John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. 16 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result. 17 Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” 18 While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 So Jesus got up and went with him, along with His disciples. 20 Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that very hour. 23 When Jesus entered the house of the synagogue leader, He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd. 24 “Go away,” He told them. “The girl is not dead, but asleep.” And they laughed at Him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 And the news about this spread throughout that region. 27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 After Jesus had entered the house, the blind men came to Him. “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” He asked. “Yes, Lord,” they answered. 29 Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one finds out about this!” 31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout the land. 32 As they were leaving, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!” 34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons.” 35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.”
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain.
How to SOAP
Grab a journal and a pen. Read the chapters above and watch for the verse that stops you. Then take it through four steps.
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Scripture
Write out the verse that stood out to you.
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Observation
What is it saying? Who is speaking, and to whom?
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Application
What does it mean for your life today? Be specific.
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Prayer
Talk to God about it. Ask Him to help you live it.
Your SOAP journal
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Why daily devotions?
Devotions are time set aside each day to read God's Word and let Him speak. The point isn't checking off chapters. It's meeting with Him.
Ten or fifteen minutes is enough to start. Pick a time and a place and keep the appointment. Mornings work well for a lot of us, before the phone and the day start talking.
Missed a day? Don't start over. Read today's chapters and keep going.