12. Twelfth Day.
Much more than this.
"The Lord is able to give thee much more than this."--2 Chron. xxv. 9.
Amaziah, king of Judah, was going to war against the Edomites. He thought he would make sure of victory by hiring a hundred thousand soldiers from the King of Israel, and he paid them beforehand a hundred talents, which was about £34,218.15s. of our money. But a man of God warned him not to let the army of Israel go with him, for Israel had forsaken the Lord, and so He was not with them. It seemed a great pity to waste all that money, and so Amaziah said, "But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this." So Amaziah simply obeyed, and sent the soldiers away, and trusted God to help him to do without them. Was it any wonder that he gained a great victory over the Edomites?
Does not this teach us that we should simply do the right thing, and trust God at any cost? When you do this, you will find that, in hundreds of ways which you never thought of, "the Lord is able to give thee much more." The trial comes in many different ways. One may be tempted to hurry over prayer and Bible, because there is something else that she very much wants to get done before breakfast, and she is afraid of not having time enough. Another shuts up her little purse when a call comes to give something for God's work, because she is afraid she will not have enough left for another purpose. Another is tempted to look at a key, or to glance over another's shoulder at a lesson, because without it he would not get the marks he is trying for. Another is tempted not to tell the exact truth, or to conceal something which he ought to tell, because he would lose something by it. Oh, resist the devil, and do what you know is right, and trust God for all the rest! For "the Lord is able to give thee much more than this," whatever your "this" may be. And His smile and His blessing will always be "more than this," more than anything else!
"Be brave to do the right,
And scorn to be untrue;
When fear would whisper 'yield!'
Ask, 'What would Jesus do?'"
13. Thirteenth Day.
The Doings of the King.
"Whatsoever the king did pleased all the people."--2 Sam. iii. 36.
David had been giving a proof of his love for one who had long been his enemy, but whom he had received into friendship; and he had been giving a proof of his tender-heartedness and sympathy with the people, by weeping with them at the grave of Abner. "And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them: as whatsoever the king did pleased all the people."