MEMORISE
Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).
READ:
1 Kings 3:16-28
[16]. Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him.
[17]. And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house.
[18]. Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house.
[19]. And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him.
[20]. So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.
[21]. And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”
[22]. Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.
[23]. And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’”
[24]. Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king.
[25]. And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”
[26]. Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.”
[27]. So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.”
[28]. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.
EXPOSITION
A judge is a public official whose duty is to administer the law, especially by by presiding over trials and rendering judgements. A Judge must be well read, and knows the in and out of the law. The law is meant to regulate one's conduct and any breach of it will make the suspect to face the law in which the judge will preside over. In Exodus 18:20-23, Jethro, Moses father-in-law counselled him to choose able men, such as people that fear God, men of truth, and hating covetousness, and place them as rulers/judges over the people, for Moses had been the one judging the people alone. Can these qualities be said of our judges today? King Solomon, in 1 Kings 3, was a newly installed king of Israel, after David his father. He asked God for an understanding heart to judge the people, that he may discern between good and evil. God gave him a wise and understanding heart, and also gave him riches and honour. No wonder he was able to judge well the matter of those two harlots brought before him.
There are higher and lower courts everywhere, but the busiest court in life is your heart, and you are the judge. You would always have matters in your heart, between your flesh and spirit. Whoever your judgement favours rules your life (Rom. 6:16), for out of your heart flow issues of life (Prov. 4:23; Matt. 12:34b). Hence, guard your heart with all diligence, load your heart with God's Word, to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 10:5). If you fail to judge well in the court of your heart, the Great Judge is coming to judge you. Be a good judge.
SUGGESTED HYMN FOR TODAY:
CAC GHB 129
1. Thou Judge of quick and dead,
Before whose bar severe;
With holy joy, or guilty dread,
We all shall soon appear;
Our cautioned souls prepare
For that tremendous day.
And fill us now with watchful care,
And stir us up to pray.
2. To pray, and wait the hour,
That awful hour unknown,
When, rob'd in majesty and pow'r
Thou shalt from heaven come down,
Th' immortal Son of Man
To judge the human race,
With all Thy Father's dazzling train,
With all Thy glorious grace.
3. O may we thus be found
Obedient to His word,
Attentive to the trumpet's sound,
And looking for our Lord!
O may we thus ensure
A lot among the blest;
And watch a moment to secure
An everlasting rest!
Amen.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Father, give me a wise and understanding heart, in Jesus' name.
2. Holy Spirit, help me to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
3. Father, give our judiciary and Church leaders the wisdom and understanding hearts to be able to discern and do the right things.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY:
Galatians 4:12-6:18;
Ephesians 1:1-14
AUTHOR
CAC Worldwide
Remain blessed
 DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE DATE: Sunday, December 10, 2023 TOPIC: BE A GOOD JUDGE){kind=link}