Daily Devotions · May 5
Reading for May 5
Read the whole Bible in a year, a few chapters a day.
2 Samuel 10 · 1 Chronicles 20 · Psalm 20 · Matthew 22
2 Samuel 10 · 1 Chronicles 20 · Psalm 20 · Matthew 22, Berean Standard Bible
2 Samuel 10
Some time later, the king of the Ammonites died and was succeeded by his son Hanun. 2 And David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent some of his servants to console Hanun concerning his father. But when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites, 3 the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Just because David has sent you comforters, do you really believe he is showing respect for your father? Has not David instead sent his servants to explore the city, spy it out, and overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away. 5 When this was reported to David, he sent messengers to meet the men, since they had been thoroughly humiliated. The king told them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return.” 6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah and twelve thousand men from Tob. 7 On hearing this, David sent Joab and the entire army of mighty men. 8 The Ammonites marched out and arrayed themselves for battle at the entrance of the city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country. 9 When Joab saw the battle lines before him and behind him, he selected some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Arameans. 10 And he placed the rest of the troops under the command of his brother Abishai, who arrayed them against the Ammonites. 11 “If the Arameans are too strong for me,” said Joab, “then you will come to my rescue. And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to your rescue. 12 Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and for the cities of our God. May the LORD do what is good in His sight.” 13 So Joab and his troops advanced to fight the Arameans, who fled before him. 14 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai, and they entered the city. So Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem. 15 When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped. 16 Hadadezer sent messengers to bring more Arameans from beyond the Euphrates, and they came to Helam with Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them. 17 When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. Then the Arameans arrayed themselves against David and fought against him. 18 But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobach the commander of their army, who died there. 19 When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.
1 Chronicles 20
In the spring, at the time when kings march out to war, Joab led out the army and ravaged the land of the Ammonites. He came to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. And Joab attacked Rabbah and demolished it. 2 Then David took the crown from the head of their king. It was found to weigh a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a great amount of plunder from the city. 3 David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. And he did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem. 4 Some time later, war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, a descendant of the Rephaim, and the Philistines were subdued. 5 Once again there was a battle with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 6 And there was also a battle at Gath, where there was a man of great stature with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He too was descended from Rapha, 7 and when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of David’s brother Shimei killed him. 8 So these descendants of Rapha in Gath fell at the hands of David and his servants.
Psalm 20
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. 2 May He send you help from the sanctuary and sustain you from Zion. 3 May He remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings. Selah 4 May He give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed. 5 May we shout for joy at your victory and raise a banner in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your petitions. 6 Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand. 7 Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 8 They collapse and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. 9 O LORD, save the king. Answer us on the day we call.
Matthew 22
Once again, Jesus spoke to them in parables: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come. 4 Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ 5 But they paid no attention and went away, one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered everyone they could find, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But the man was speechless. 13 Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” 15 Then the Pharisees went out and conspired to trap Jesus in His words. 16 They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance. 17 So tell us what You think: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 18 But Jesus knew their evil intent and said, “You hypocrites, why are you testing Me? 19 Show Me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. 20 “Whose image is this,” He asked, “and whose inscription?” 21 “Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” 22 And when they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away. 23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and questioned Him. 24 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses declared that if a man dies without having children, his brother is to marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died without having children. So he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second and third brothers, down to the seventh. 27 And last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For all of them were married to her.” 29 Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 In the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 34 And when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question: 36 “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” 37 Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 41 While the Pharisees were assembled, Jesus questioned them: 42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” “David’s,” they answered. 43 Jesus said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’? For he says: 44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies under Your feet.”’ 45 So if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how can He be David’s son?” 46 No one was able to answer a word, and from that day on no one dared to question Him any further.
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
Write your SOAP here. Tap any verse in the reading to add it to Scripture. Your journal saves on this device only, so no one else sees it.
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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.