“Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”

I read this Scripture passage this morning in the devotional The Chosen 40 Days With Jesus Book Three. It was found in Luke 17: 11-19. Jesus and His disciples were along the border between Samaria and Galilee when 10 men with leprosy met him but didn’t draw near because of their disease yet yelled for Him to have pity on them. Jesus healed them and directed them to the priests to be seen to be cleansed per the regulations handed down by Moses in Leviticus 14. As they went they were cleansed. One man came back and threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him and he was a Samaritan…a foreigner. “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” A thing never seen before and how could it be explained?

And now in 1 Samuel 27 David and his men with their families are in the land of the Philistines where they stay for a year and four months v. 7. A delicate balance.

I keep thinking about those 10 men and that time. I keep thinking about our time today. I keep thinking about the faith David had in God in his time on this earth. I the Lord do not change. Malachi 3:6. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8.

We live millennia apart and yet the question remains…Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?

David lived in perilous times and so do we. David wasn’t a perfect man and he knew where his blessings came from and left songs of praise and supplication for us today. A mighty warrior and yet…the Lord was his Shepherd and he knew what a shepherd did because he had been one for his father. Jesus is our Shepherd for His Father and He knows what that means, too. Can we praise Him for all He does for us? Will we be found praising God and thanking Him for His grace and mercy and great love for us in perilous times and times of peace?

Right after the verses about the lepers, the Pharisees were questioning Jesus about the kingdom of God. “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Luke 17:20-21.

Jesus, God With Us, came to show us the Father and His love. He is the One who heals us. Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner? Rise and go; your faith has made you well.