October 13 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

1 Samuel 6:10–16

Devotional

The people of Bethshemesh had a true Thanksgiving Day. It was not so much because of the harvest, but more because of the Ark of the Covenant. What a blessing when there is harvest that can be gathered in. Man, with all the wisdom he may have, is not in a position to grow one stalk of wheat. God Almighty has to do this. The harvest is only the work of God’s hands and without the increase given by God there will be nothing to harvest. Without a harvest there will be no prosperity. If the farmer cannot reap anything, there will be hunger, sickness, want, and death.

It is, therefore, very worthwhile to have a Thanksgiving Day for the harvest we receive. When one’s eyes are opened to the fact that every stalk of grain is an evidence of God’s longsuffering, he will be compelled inwardly to fall on his knees and to acknowledge, “O God, I am less than all these benefits. I am so vile; I am evil. Whatever I receive more than hell is mere grace.”

Therefore it will only be a true Thanksgiving Day when one sees God’s goodness in all his gifts. This happened in Bethshemesh. The men were busy with the wheat harvest. Suddenly they saw something moving on the road. They stared and asked each other what it was. Then they recognized it—it was the ark of God, which had been in the hands of the Philistines. The cart moved onto the land of one of the farmers of Bethshemesh and stopped there. The men dropped their scythes on the ground and hastened with joy to the Ark of the Covenant. This is the evidence that on this harvest day the ark was more valuable to them than the harvest itself.

The farmers did not think anymore about the harvest. They had to take care of something more important. After the Levites lifted the ark from the cart, they cut the wooden cart in pieces to use it as firewood for an altar they had built. They also killed the oxen which had pulled the cart, and laid them on the altar for a sacrifice to the Lord. It was a sacrifice of thanksgiving because the ark had returned. Then God received the preeminence and the harvest was secondary in importance. Yes, this was a true thanksgiving! We look forward to our annual Thanksgiving Day. Are you thankful for God’s many blessings? You will only be truly thankful when you recognize God in all these gifts. Then the focus is on God and not on the blessings. That will be a true Thanksgiving Day.

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.