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Luke 6:1-5

06 Sep

6 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain. 2 But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

3 Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” 5 And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

Luke 6:1-5

Dear God, so this is an interesting example for Jesus to use when he refers to David and his men eating the sacred loaves when he was on the run from Saul. I say it’s interesting because I was always uncomfortable with that David story. He lied to the priest (which eventually led to Saul killing that priest and all but one of the others). And frankly it’s not even clear from the way the story is told (1 Samuel 21) that he actually had any companions with him at that point. From the way I read it, he only said he had companions waiting for him. But in Luke’s telling of this story, Jesus affirms that David told the truth about the companions and he was justified in getting the sacred bread. In any disagreement between my biblical interpretation and Jesus’s interpretation, I will yield and say that I am wrong, but this is curious to me. It’s the lying in the story that bothers me the most. I can see where taking the bread was justified. But the way he did it was deceptive and set Ahimelech up to be brutally murdered (1 Samuel 22).

Not to harp on this too much, but it reminds me of my feelings on Lance Armstrong’s performance-enhancing drug (PED) use. It doesn’t bother me that he did the PEDs. I truly believe everyone was doing it and the only way to compete was to do it. What bothers me is the lies he told when others told the truth. He ruthlessly destroyed people’s reputations and ability to make a living to protect his lie. That is reprehensible to me. It’s one thing to do something wrong and take responsibility for it. It’s another thing to make others pay for what you did, and he (and David with Ahimelech) made others pay.

Okay, that’s enough of that soap box. Back to Jesus dealing with the Sabbath and the teaching of the day. I’ve sometimes ruminated on the idea of moving to a more Godless area and living as light in the middle of darkness, but then I remember that the area where Jesus lived and taught was actually more like where I live now. What I mean by that is I live in a very conservative area of Texas where calling yourself a Christian is the politically correct thing to do. People are culturally Christian, but many are not actually pursuing relationship with you and working out their faith with fear and trembling. It’s a lot like the Israel of Jesus’s day. There were a lot of philosophies about what it meant to be Jewish and hold to your law, but there wasn’t a lot of deep introspection of how they might be missing you in the process.

So Jesus, in this story, is teaching them that there is a line between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. By the letter of the law, the disciples were wrong. And the Pharisees only cared about the letter of the law. But what was the spirit of the law? What was the why behind the commandment for us to observe the Sabbath? That’s what I think Jesus was trying to get them to consider in this story.

Father, teach me your whys. I want your law written on my heart, but I don’t want it so that I can just follow your rules so you’ll be happy with me. I want to understand the why behind the commands. I want to fall deeper and deeper into knowing you and letting my knowledge of you and the love and mercy you have for me extend to the world through me. So teach me today. Show me the why in everything you have for me to learn. I want to be able to, in turn, show it to others so we will be the most effective worshippers and followers of you we can all be.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 6, 2025 in Luke

 

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David Crowned King of Israel – 2 Samuel 1-5:4

29 Jun

Dear God, we are wrapping up David this week for the guys in CMLS. Next week, I’ll branch into new territory of being explicitly evangelical and inviting them into a life lived with you. In conjunction with you. Loving you. Worshipping you and you alone. Rejecting idols. Loving their neighbors. Forgiveness. But first, we need to wrap up David and then link him to your son, Jesus. One, a king corrupted by his power. The other, a king who declined the power-over Satan offered him and taught us a new way.

When last we left off…

  • David was in Ziklag, having just recovered his and he men’s wives, children, and possessions from the Amalekites and sent some off to the cities in Judah who were close to him.
  • Jonathan and his brothers were killed in battle.
  • Saul died a particularly painful death, impaling himself on a sword after being shot by arrows.
  • The Israelites inhabiting the towns in the area of the battle evacuated the towns and the Philistines took up residence.
  • The men of Jabesh Gilead honored Saul by caring for his and his sons’ bodies.

Page 332

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

  • 2 Samuel 1:1-2 – 1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, 2 on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.
    • Notice the torn clothes and dust on his head. This was a sign of mourning and grief. These words are important to describe what they nonverbally communicated to David.
  • David knew the battle would have happened, but this was his first contact with anyone who had news. 2 Samuel 1:4-18 – 4 Then David said to him, “How did the matter go? Please tell me.”

And he answered, “The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.”

5 So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”

6 Then the young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7 Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’ 10 So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”

11 Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. 12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

13 Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?”

And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”

14 So David said to him, “How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” 15 Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died. 16 So David said to him, “Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”

The Song of the Bow

17 Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, 18 and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of Jasher:

  • David does some important things here:
    • He punished the Amalekite for killing God’s anointed, even under those circumstances.
      • Did the Amalekite lie?
    • He publicly laments for Saul to disabuse anyone of the notion that he was rooting for Saul’s death by tearing his clothes and “mourned and wept and fasted until evening.”
      • Forgiveness?
    • He deeply mourns for Jonathan.
  • David is a song writer and his words in this moment live until this day: “Oh, how the mighty have fallen!
    • We usually use these words in a derogatory/sarcastic way, but David wrote them when he was in deep pain.

David, King of Judah

  • David asked God if it was time to go home and where he should go. God told him to do to Hebron.
  • The men of Judah anoint David king over their tribe. The most of the rest of Israel aren’t part of it.
  • David learns about what Jabesh Gilead did for Saul and Jonathan and his brothers. He sends a message to the thanking them for what they did and letting them know that he is now king over Judah.
    • Maybe not as much a recruitment for them to do the same but a seed planted for later.
    • Look at the map
  • Abner, Saul’s cousin and Commander over the army took one of Saul’s remaining sons, Ishbosheth and threw his own credibility and power behind him to have him anointed as king over the 11 remaining Israelite tribes.
    • Did Abner do this for Ishbosheth, or did he do it for himself?
    • The historian is careful to say David sought God and the people anointed him king while Abner anointed Ishbosheth and positioned his capital away from the Philistines.


Joab and Abner

  • Joab was David’s army commander and his cousin. He also had two brothers, Abishai and Asahel.
  • Abner took his army to Gibeon. We don’t know why. Joab decided to do the same. 2 Samuel 2:12-17 – 12 Now Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. So they sat down, one on one side of the pool and the other on the other side of the pool. 14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men now arise and compete before us.”

And Joab said, “Let them arise.”

15 So they arose and went over by number, twelve from Benjamin, followers of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. 16 And each one grasped his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called the Field of Sharp Swords, which is in Gibeon. 17 So there was a very fierce battle that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.

  • Keep in mind that Joab had spent several years with David, running from Saul and Abner. He also wanted to command all of Israel’s army and for David to be king over everyone.
  • A huge battle ensues in which 19 of Joab’s men die, but 360 of Abner’s die.
  • But the death among Joab’s men that hurt the most was Joab’s brother Asahel. We will see how this plays out later in our story.
  • Abner finally calls for a truce and Joab blows the horn to stop.
  • Abner returns to Mahanaim while Joab buries his brother in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem, and then he and all the men head back to Hebron.
  • 2 Samuel 3:1 – 3 Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

Abner’s Switch of Allegiance

  • Chapter 3 starts with a list of David’s son’s born in Hebron, and we would spend more time on them if we were going through the rest of 2 Samuel.
  • One day, Ishbosheth accuses Abner of sleeping with one of Saul’s concubines. 2 Samuel 3:7-11 – 7 And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ishbosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?”

8 Then Abner became very angry at the words of Ishbosheth, and said, “Am I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; and you charge me today with a fault concerning this woman? 9 May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David as the Lord has sworn to him— 10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.” 11 And he could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.

  • It’s obvious who had the real power in Ishbosheth’s kingdom.
  • Abner decides to make an alliance with David, ingratiate himself to David and make it possible for all the tribes of Israel to make David king.
  • Abner sends a message to David saying if David will make a covenant with him he will deliver the rest of the tribes of Israel.
  • David tests the offer by requiring he bring David’s first wife Michal. 2 Samuel 3:13-16 – 13 And David said, “Good, I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.” 14 So David sent messengers to Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” 15 And Ishbosheth sent and took her from her husband, from Paltiel the son of Laish. 16 Then her husband went along with her to Bahurim, weeping behind her. So Abner said to him, “Go, return!” And he returned.
  • Abner communicates with the elders of Israel encouraging them to follow David.
  • Then he goes to Hebron, David has a feast for him, and Abner tells him he will go and deliver the remaining tribes of Israel to him.
  • David sends Abner away in peace.
  • Oh, but wait. Joab wasn’t mentioned in any of this, and Abner has forgotten about the grudge Joab has for killing Asahel.
  • Joab gets back to Hebron and finds out what Abner’s been up to. 2 Samuel 3:24-27 – 24 Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you; why is it that you sent him away, and he has already gone? 25 Surely you realize that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you, to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you are doing.”

26 And when Joab had gone from David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it. 27 Now when Abner had returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him privately, and there stabbed him in the stomach, so that he died for the blood of Asahel his brother.

28 Afterward, when David heard it, he said, “My kingdom and I are guiltless before the Lord forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 29 Let it rest on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and let there never fail to be in the [i]house of Joab one who has a discharge or is a leper, who leans on a staff or falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.” 30 So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.

  • CONSPIRACY THEORY must be stopped. Now, David has a political problem. All of the Israelite elders were about to anoint him king, but this might look to them like David had tricked Abner. David publicly lamented Abner’s death and showed him a ton of public respect in order to convince everyone he had nothing to do with Abner’s death, and it worked. 2 Samuel 3:36-37 – 36 Now all the people took note of it, and it pleased them, since whatever the king did pleased all the people. 37 For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king’s intent to kill Abner the son of Ner. 
  • David tells his staff Joab has made him look weak and he hopes God pays them back for it, but he doesn’t do anything – yet. 1 Kings 2:28-33 (page 366) – 28 Then news came to Joab, for Joab had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom. So Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and took hold of the horns of the altar. 29 And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the Lord; there he is, by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” 30 So Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him, “Thus says the king, ‘Come out!’ ”

And he said, “No, but I will die here.” And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”

31 Then the king said to him, “Do as he has said, and strike him down and bury him, that you may take away from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed. 32 So the Lord will return his [g]blood on his head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword—Abner the son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah—though my father David did not know it. 33 Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his descendants forever. But upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the Lord.”

The End of Ishbosheth

  • We hear a really quick story about Mephibosheth that will be important later when David is King over all of Israel.
  • Word spread that Abner was dead and Ishbosheth lost heart.
  • Two captains of the guard sneak in and killed Ishbosheth, beheaded him and headed off to Hebron because, apparently, they hadn’t heard about how David treated people who killed Israel’s king. 2 Samuel 4:9-12 – 9 But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity, 10 when someone told me, saying, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ thinking to have brought good news, I arrested him and had him executed in Ziklag—the one who thought I would give him a reward for his news. 11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now require his [f]blood at your hand and [g]remove you from the earth?” 12 So David commanded his young men, and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.

David, King of Israel

  • 2 Samuel 5:1-4 – 5 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. 2 Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’ ” 3 Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 


Wrap-Up

  • David’s path to the throne
    • Samuel anoints (about 12?)
    • Goliath (about 15?)
    • He loved Jonathan and probably felt confused about how he would rule at Jonathan’s expense.
    • Made a captain and kills his 10,000s
    • Married the king’s daughter, Michal
    • Runs from Saul – Jonathan talks Saul down
    • Runs from Saul – Spares his life in the cave but doesn’t return. This is the one where he lies to the priest and gets all of the priests but one killed and pretends to be crazy to another king.
    • Runs from Saul – Spares his life in the valley and then heads to the Philistines and lives with them over a year. Raids other areas and deceives Achish
  • Faithful to wait on God’s timing. No short cuts.
  • Saul’s life was marked by insecurity and self-pity, and it ended up being the death of him and his family’s kingdom.
  • David’s life, while fraught with a lot of blood and some deception, is marked by loving God, worshipping God, and being willing to honor others over himself.
  • God noticed David’s excessive killing. 1 Chronicles 22:6-10 (page 457) – 6 Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. 7 And David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house to the name of the Lord my God; 8 but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be [b]Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ 

Father, give me the words to say to these men tomorrow night. I will go through most of this. Some of it I will end up skipping. And I’ll add other things extemporaneously. Whatever I do in the moment, I want to be completely guided by your Holy Spirit. I want to be a seed sower. I pray that you will prepare hearts for tomorrow night. Start with mine. Teach me through these men. Teach me through my own teaching. Holy Spirit, fill that place tomorrow night.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 29, 2025 in 2 Samuel

 

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2 Samuel 5:1-5

27 Jun

5 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. 2 Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’ ” 3 Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

2 Samuel 5:1-5

Dear God, and so there it is. David is the publicly agreed upon king over all of Israel. It just occurred to me that, even though it wasn’t a democracy, both Saul and David were only accepted as kings over Israel after popular consensus was given by the people–or at least among those who were high ranking or in some sort of leadership in their smaller communities. Almost an electoral college process. Now, from here on it will be all about nepotism and family succession, but for these first two there needed to be agreement among the people for it to happen.

I was talking with a pastor friend earlier this week about what the most biblical form of government was. What would you love for us to be able to do if we were capable of it? I guess it’s the judges system that the Israelites had for the first 400 years post-Egypt. But, to be frank, I don’t think the people, as a whole, were capable of it–especially in good times. In fact, I don’t know of any form of government that works really well. We are just so sinful and tempted to either go our own way and divide against each other or the leaders are too tempted by the power to remain true to you and servants to their people. Even David will succumb to the temptation of his power over others. Even in a practical sense, he was above the law. He never paid a direct price for stealing a man’s wife, getting her pregnant and having him murdered. Anyone else would have been tried, convicted and killed in that society, but the only explicit thing he got was a scolding from Nathan. Yes, he paid a lot of other prices for that sin, but the society seemingly couldn’t or chose not to touch him. Honestly, I don’t know that there was much value in typing anything in this paragraph except to say that, as Americans, we tend to be very proud of our form of government and some have deemed our constitution as divinely-inspired, but I don’t really see any particular advocacy for our type of government in anything I read in the Bible.

Back to David, so now he is king. Looking back on his first 30 years of life, he had a very unpredictable path to the throne. Saul reigned for 42 years and was 72 when he died, and David was 30 when he became king over Judah. Assuming he was about 12 when Samuel anointed him and 15 (give or take a couple of years either way) when he killed Goliath, that would mean Saul was about 57 and had reigned 27 years when David came on the scene. Things went okay for the first few years as David developed as a warrior and leader. He killed his ten thousands and the women swooned. He married Saul’s daughter, Michal, at some point, but that wasn’t enough to help Saul feel better about things and so he started having to run. It’s unclear how long he and his 600 discontented men had to be on the run, but we know he had two obvious chances to kill Saul and take his kingdom along the way. He also loved Saul’s son and would have been very conflicted about taking the kingdom from Jonathan or even killing Jonathan’s and his first wife’s father. He accumulated some wealth along the way when he married Abigail, the widow of Nabal. And then, for at least 16 months, he was forced to live out of Saul’s reach with the Philistines. I am sure that at any given time during those roughly 18 years between Samuel’s first anointing and his coronation as king over Judah and then, ultimately, king over Israel, he wondered what the future held and how he would get what he had been promised and probably wanted.

There are two things that impress me about David. First, he truly leaned into you. He did a lot of bad things–at least as I see them. He killed a lot of innocent people. He lied to the priest. He lied to kings and princes of other areas. Honestly, I don’t know how to reconcile or justify some of those things except to say he did whatever he thought he had to do to physically survive. But he gave credit to you. He called on you. He repented to you. He lamented to you. He sought comfort in you.

Second, he didn’t take short cuts. He could have tried to defend himself and killed Saul the first time Saul threw a spear at him. He could have killed him while when he literally caught him with his pants down in the cave. He could have killed him in his sleep. he could have led his men in an attack of Saul’s men. He had chances to selfishly grab what he wanted but he patiently waited, even though he, at some level, probably felt entitled to that throne.

Father, as I close out this first 8 weeks of my time with these CMLS men, I thank you for leading me into this path of exploring 1 Samuel 8 through 2 Samuel 5:5. There is so much humanness there. I pray that the lessons have been seeds that have found some good soil. I pray that you will use this arc to help me then prepare the lessons for weeks 9 and 10. I want these men to know you. To hunger for you. to do something different in their lives. Oh, God, I know one of the other teachers is going to talk to them about time and how much time they are willing to give to what’s important in life: you, their families, and caring for themselves. Help me to feed off of that as well. Help me to tie all of this together for your glory. I want all of this for them and for you. Holy Spirit, please move in me and in them.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 27, 2025 in 2 Samuel

 

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2 Samuel 3

25 Jun

3 The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

2 Sons were born to David in Hebron:

His firstborn was Amnon the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel;

3 his second, Kileab the son of Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel;

the third, Absalom the son of Maakah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur;

4 the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith;

the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital;

5 and the sixth, Ithream the son of David’s wife Eglah.

These were born to David in Hebron.

Abner Goes Over to David

6 During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had been strengthening his own position in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ish-Bosheth said to Abner, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”

8 Abner was very angry because of what Ish-Bosheth said. So he answered, “Am I a dog’s head—on Judah’s side? This very day I am loyal to the house of your father Saul and to his family and friends. I haven’t handed you over to David. Yet now you accuse me of an offense involving this woman! 9 May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the Lord promised him on oath 10 and transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish David’s throne over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beersheba.” 11 Ish-Bosheth did not dare to say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

12 Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you.”

13 “Good,” said David. “I will make an agreement with you. But I demand one thing of you: Do not come into my presence unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come to see me.” 14 Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, demanding, “Give me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.”

15 So Ish-Bosheth gave orders and had her taken away from her husband Paltiel son of Laish. 16 Her husband, however, went with her, weeping behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back home!” So he went back.

17 Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, “For some time you have wanted to make David your king. 18 Now do it! For the Lord promised David, ‘By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.’”

19 Abner also spoke to the Benjamites in person. Then he went to Hebron to tell David everything that Israel and the whole tribe of Benjamin wanted to do. 20 When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast for him and his men. 21 Then Abner said to David, “Let me go at once and assemble all Israel for my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.

Joab Murders Abner

22 Just then David’s men and Joab returned from a raid and brought with them a great deal of plunder. But Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the soldiers with him arrived, he was told that Abner son of Ner had come to the king and that the king had sent him away and that he had gone in peace.

24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he is gone! 25 You know Abner son of Ner; he came to deceive you and observe your movements and find out everything you are doing.”

26 Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern at Sirah. But David did not know it. 27 Now when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into an inner chamber, as if to speak with him privately. And there, to avenge the blood of his brother Asahel, Joab stabbed him in the stomach, and he died.

28 Later, when David heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. 29 May his blood fall on the head of Joab and on his whole family! May Joab’s family never be without someone who has a running sore or leprosy or who leans on a crutch or who falls by the sword or who lacks food.”

30 (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)

31 Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner.” King David himself walked behind the bier. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept also.

33 The king sang this lament for Abner:

“Should Abner have died as the lawless die?
34     Your hands were not bound,
    your feet were not fettered.
You fell as one falls before the wicked.”

And all the people wept over him again.

35 Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”

36 All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them. 37 So on that day all the people there and all Israel knew that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner.

38 Then the king said to his men, “Do you not realize that a commander and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? 39 And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!”

2 Samuel 3

Dear God, I think I want to spend some time with Abner this morning. What an interesting man. Saul’s cousin. Promoted into power because of that relationship. I still don’t know where he was or how he survived the battle where Saul and his boys died. Going back to the second time David spared Saul’s life, David took that opportunity to mock Abner and suggest he wasn’t up to protecting the king.

But this was a family thing and Abner wanted to see his father’s brother’s family–his grandfather’s family–remain in power as kings of Israel so he saw to it that Saul’s throne passed to his next living son Ishbosheth. But as happens in nepotism, Ishbosheth wasn’t up to the job. He was an insecure child who, for whatever reason, accused Joab of sleeping with Saul’s concubine. I don’t know what all the implications of that were. Had she become Ishbosheth’s concubine? Was he simply accusing Abner of betraying his father posthumously? Whatever the implications were, Abner was incredibly offended and decided that it was time to follow your will for Israel and encourage the other 11 tribes to join Judah in naming David king. It strikes me that he admits up to that point he was willfully going against your will (verse 18). Or maybe he was hoping that somehow he could stay in power and David would still take care of the Philistines. It’s hard to be sure. But Abner had a lot to lose, up to and including his life, by transferring the kingdom to David. It’s interesting that this offense by Ishbosheth was the straw that broke the camels back.

Father, I heard someone say that it is hard to get someone to change their mind when their paycheck is dependent upon them believing what they believe. In Abner’s case, there was no way he was going to willingly yield his power to Joab. And Joab certainly had a grudge against Abner. There was no way the two would willingly coexist. Joab was presumably part of David’s 600 who were being chased by Saul and Abner. And then Abner killed Joab’s brother (although he tried not to). But Abner was beloved by the Israelites, and they watched David closely and how he reacted to his death. David adequately convinced them of his innocence in Abner’s death and his respect for Abner through the way he mourned, and that brought him credibility and respect in their eyes. And, of course, Joab’s crime against Abner will come up later (2 Kings 2:5-6). David never forgot. I guess my point is, help me to be willing to do the right thing under you even if it costs me money, influence, or standing. I want to be willing to do anything you call me to do to bring your glory, regardless of what it costs me. I consider my life worth nothing to me, Father. Help me to believe and live those words.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 25, 2025 in 2 Samuel

 

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2 Samuel 1

23 Jun

1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, 2 on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

3 And David said to him, “Where have you come from?”

So he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”

4 Then David said to him, “How did the matter go? Please tell me.”

And he answered, “The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.”

5 So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”

6 Then the young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7 Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’ 10 So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”

11 Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. 12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

13 Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?”

And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”

14 So David said to him, “How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” 15 Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died. 16 So David said to him, “Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”

17 Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, 18 and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of Jasher:

19 “The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
20 Tell it not in Gath,
Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon—
Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

21 “O mountains of Gilboa,
Let there be no dew nor rain upon you,
Nor fields of offerings.
For the shield of the mighty is cast away there!
The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
22 From the blood of the slain,
From the fat of the mighty,
The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
And the sword of Saul did not return empty.

23 “Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives,
And in their death they were not divided;
They were swifter than eagles,
They were stronger than lions.

24 “O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury;
Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

25 “How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan was slain in your high places.
26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
You have been very pleasant to me;
Your love to me was wonderful,
Surpassing the love of women.

27 “How the mighty have fallen,
And the weapons of war perished!”

2 Samuel 1

Dear God, I want to talk about other things from this passage, but I just noticed something about David’s psalm here. It doesn’t mention you. It’s about his lament over Saul, Jonathan, and the suffering of the Israelites, but he doesn’t invoke your name or reference you at all. Is that perhaps an acknowledgment that you had left Saul and were now with David? Did David start to understand how you were laying this out? Maybe David wrote a lot of poems/psalms/songs that didn’t mention you, but it’s interesting that this one didn’t.

Next, somehow this Amalekite knew David was next, knew where David’s home was, and went to him. Did he lie about killing Saul or did Saul’s armor bearer kill himself prematurely before Saul was actually dead? Did he think he could become someone important to David by telling him the news that he himself had finished Saul off? First, he must not have known about how David felt about Amalekites. If nothing else, it was probably very easy for David to kill another Amalekite after having just come back from getting his wives and possessions back from them. But then to be able to once again reiterate how strongly he felt about harming your anointed king. This was an important moment for David.

Another thing is his public lament put him above reproach. He will do this again one day when Joab kills Abner. He will use the opportunity of public lament for diplomacy. He will use it to communicate his noble inner feelings.

Finally, there is a real moment of mourning for Jonathan. David’s lament for Saul and the Israelites were probably real and legitimate, but he must have really mourned to learn of Jonathan’s death. “Your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women.” No, they didn’t have a homosexual love, but Jonathan met David on an emotional level he had not experienced with anyone else.

Father, when it comes to lessons out of this story, I think for me the big one is that there are times of real lament and when things are going terribly wrong, but you are still using them to bring about your will. I also see that David did a lot of teaching in this chapter. He taught people how to treat your anointed. He taught people how to mourn, even those who saw you as an enemy. He taught people how to not covet what others have–in this case, David did not covet Saul’s kingship but mourned Saul’s loss of it. I don’t know how much the idea of harming your anointed comes into play for me, but certainly to mourn for others and to turn loose of coveting is a huge thing. You are my God. I am your child. Help me to experience every moment today through your eyes and with your heart.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 23, 2025 in 2 Samuel

 

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David in Exile and Saul’s Demise – 1 Samuel 27-31

22 Jun

Dear God, it’s time to tie together the five days of prayer journals to make a lesson for the men tomorrow night. Help me, Father, do good work here. I want to speak to these men with your voice. I want to spread seeds that will find good soil. I want to glorify you in their eyes. I want them to love you with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strength, and then love their neighbors as themselves. Help us, Father, to all get to that place.

When last we left off…

  • David had spared Saul’s life for the second time, and they each went on their way.
  • We talked about leadership and how one of the real traps for anyone is to give into feeling sorry for themselves or feel like they are not being respected as much as they think they deserve to be respected. This was Saul’s problem from the beginning, and we saw David give into it when he almost killed Nabal and his men for disrespecting him.
  • Although David had left his wife Michal back home, he picked up two wives after Nabal dies of “natural causes.

Page 328

David and Achish

  • There was no way David was going to trust Saul or even other Israelites again, but there was no way he would trust him or, more importantly, other Israelites like the Ziphites to not betray him to Saul. 1 Samuel 27:1 – 27 And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.”
  • David takes his 600 men and heads to the land of the Philistines and goes to Gath, one of the Philistine’s major cities. Note: Goliath was from there (1 Samuel 17:4). King Maoch had a son named Achish who liked David and let him stay there.
    • It’s unclear why Achish trusted David.
  • Saul hears David is in Gath and decides to give up looking for him anymore.
  • David wants more room to maneuver so he manipulates Achish into giving him his own town. 1 Samuel 27:5-6 – 5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 
  • David ended up living among the Philistines for 16 months.
  • When you have an army you don’t turn them into farmers or shepherds. They aren’t carpenters. They are fighters. So they make their living raiding other towns, killing everyone, and plundering their stuff.
  • He would go to the Girzites, Geshurites, and Amalekites and raid their towns. When he would bring back tributes to Achish he would lie and say he had been raiding Judah or other people the Philistines didn’t care about. This accomplished several things:
    • It protected Judah because the Philistines thought someone was already getting their plunder
    • It gave David something to live on and also things to give Achish as tribute
    • It made Achish think David was truly on his side and now an enemy of his own people. 1 Samuel 27:12 – 12 So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”
  • Now, the Philistines decide to move their army to Mt. Gilboa and attack the Israelites there. Achish puts David in an awkward position of making David and his men his bodyguards for the battle.
    • You can almost picture this as a movie and we cut to commercial when this scene ends.

Meanwhile…Saul and the Medium

  • Saul sees the Philistines gathering for battle around Mt. Gilboa at Shunem so he moves his army to Giboa to defend it. Keep in mind we learned way back at the beginning that Saw was 30 when he became king and reigned for 42 years, so he is presumably 72.
  • He has a bad feeling about this. 1 Samuel 28:5-6 – 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.
    • Keep in mind a couple years back Saul had killed all of the priest except one who got away (Abiathar), took the Ephod and ran to David. We will see that Ephod come up for David later.
    • Also, would things have been different if David were there to fight alongside him?
  • Saul finds a medium, lies to her about who he is and gets her to work for him.
    • In Leviticus 19:31 and 20:6 (page 131), God had commanded Israelites to not consult with mediums. At some point in the past 42 years, probably when he was feeling closer to God, Saul had outlawed mediums. But he was desperate now because he wants to talk with someone who died.
  • She summons Samuel for him and it works. Remember, Samuel had not seen Saul since before he anointed David—except for the time Saul came looking for David when he was hiding with Samuel and Saul started prophecying.
  • Samuel does not have good news for Saul. 1 Samuel 28:15-19 – 15 Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”

16 Then Samuel said: “So why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy? 17 And the Lord has done for [b]Himself as He spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

  • Saul is devastated and goes back to his army.


Meanwhile…David and the Philistines

  • All of the Philistine armies gather at Aphek, including David and his men at the rear with Achish as his protectors. They did a military review/parade by the king and Achish’s brothers.
  • The princes refused to allow David and his men to join them in the battle. 1 Samuel 29:4 – 4 But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these men? 
  • Achish tells David he and his men have to go and David protests. 1 Samuel 29:8 – 8 So David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And to this day what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”
  • Achish affirms that he believes in David, but this is the way it has to be.
    • David and his men cannot see it in this moment, but God is looking out for them in several ways that we will discuss in a bit.
  • 1 Samuel 29:11 – 11 So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

The first thing God did for David

  • They take three days to get back from Ziklag and find everyone and everything is gone and what’s left got burned down. It was the Amelekites.
    • They saw opportunity with all of the Philistine warriors off to battle
    • David probably wondered if he should have left some warriors behind. We will see why I say this later.
  • The author is careful to tell us no one was killed, but just taken captive
  • His discontented men are on the edge. 1 Samuel 30:6 – 6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was [a]grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
    • Notice it said that David took this moment of despair to lean into God.
  • Remember in chapter 28 when we talked about Saul killing the priests except Abiathar and he ran to David with the Ephod? Here’s where it comes back into play. 1 Samuel 30:7-8 – 7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?”

And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”

  • On their way 200 of the men are too tired to continue so they get left behind to guard provisions. 400 continue on.
  • They find an Egyptian who says he was an Amalekite slave who was left behind because he was sick. The Egyptian tells them what they had been up to. 1 Samuel 20:14 – 14 We made an invasion of the southern area of the Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.”
  • They strike a deal with the Egyptian to help David and his men find the Amalekites.
  • They find the Amalekites, kill them and take back their own stuff plus the stuff that was taken from the other areas.
    • David claims the things from the other areas as his own. We will see why in a bit.
  • They head home and get back to the 200 left behind. The “wicked and worthless men” who got the stuff back said that the 200 should just get their wives and children and 1.) not get any of the stuff recovered and 2.) be sent away.
  • David uses this as a teachable moment and leads in the face of conflict with these men. 1 Samuel 30:23-25 – 23 But David said, “My brethren, you shall not do so with what the Lord has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us. 24 For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.” 25 So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.
    • I think David wanted to emphasize to the men that God had provided for them. It’s so easy to seek God before something and then take credit for it after it’s happened.
    • I also think David wanted to set a precedent for leaving some men behind to guard things after seeing the devastation from not doing so.
      • Going back to his conflict with Nabal, he had left men behind to guard the provisions but hadn’t done it this time with the Philistines.
  • David sent the spoils he claimed from the attack back to the cities in Judah that had been raided. This will become important as he sets himself up as their future king next week.

Meanwhile…Saul’s Final Battle

  • We don’t get battle details, but it all goes poorly. The Philistines wipe them out, including Jonathan and two of his brothers.
    • At least one brother is not there and we will meet him next week.
  • Saul’s final moments. 1 Samuel 31:3-6 – 3 The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers [a]hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.

4 Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and [b]abuse me.”

But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. 5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.

  • Going back to David being spared from this battle, what might have happened if David had followed the Philistines into battle against the Israelites?
  • When the Israelites saw their army had lost, they evacuated their cities in the area and the Philistines moved in to occupy them.
  • The next day, the Philistines were looting the battlefield and found Saul’s and Jonathan’s bodies. The beheaded him (remember how David did this to Goliath?) and took the bodies and their armor back to their temple (remember how Goliath’s armor was at the temple when David went there needing a sword?).
  • The valiant men repaid a great debt to Saul. 1 Samuel 31:11-13 – 11 Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

Wrap Up

  • An implicit lesson from David’s experience – Don’t leave a flank of your life exposed. Christian singer said Satan tries to get into small areas of our lives while we focus on other areas.
  • God used even the Philistine princes to:
    • Save David from an awkward situation in battle.
    • Possibly keep him from becoming king
    • Save his wives and the wives and children of the 600 men.
  • My conundrum with Saul and living to serve God regardless of the cost.

Father, I give this preparation to you. I give these seeds to you. Holy Spirit, help them to find good soil. Prepare the hearts of the men for tomorrow night. I know they are going to be learning a lot about themselves through Joe’s DISC survey. I pray that this will all somehow work together for your glory in their lives and in mine.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 22, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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1 Samuel 31

20 Jun

31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. 3 The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.

4 Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.”

But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. 5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.

7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people. 10 Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.

11 Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

1 Samuel 31

Dear God, okay, here we go again. There’s so much here in each paragraph. I feel like I need to bullet-point what I’m seeing:

  • Would David and his men have made a difference? If they had been with Saul instead of absent or with the Philistines, would Saul and his sons have lived? We will never know, but it certainly seems that way. Were you maybe ready for Saul’s reign to end and to start the David era? Was this part of the plan. Saul was around 72 now so he lived an extraordinarily long time. It’s too bad his and his sons’ deaths weren’t peaceful.
  • The poor armor bearer. He was in a terrible situation too. I don’t know that I’d have behaved any better. Probably worse. I do not know who this person is, and his name is lost to history, but I do not envy him being faced with mercifully finishing off Saul. Then watching Saul kill himself. What a terrible day. What was left to do but kill himself? I suppose he might have felt some guilt for letting Saul get wounded in the first place and not being able to protect him.
  • The people back home decided it was time to evacuate. I don’t think I’ve noticed this before. The army was defeated. It was time to take what they could and run from the Philistines. How horrific too. All of this is just horrific. It’s a reminder of just how evil and cruel people can be to each other. And I’m including David in that and what he did to the villages where he killed and plundered to make a living.
  • After the Philistines established control over the local towns, they returned to the battlefield to assess the damage and see what they could take from the slain soldiers. Weapons. Jewelry. Clothing. Whatever was on them. Then they found the great prize of Saul and most of his heirs-apparent, so they took them as trophies and put them in their temple.
  • Now, this last paragraph reminds me of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea when they take Jesus’s body after the cross and care for it. The men of Jabesh-gilead sent their mightiest people to go and care for the bodies of Saul and his boys. What a great act of respect and mercy! I am sure there were a multitude of motivations in their action. Perhaps some pride. Perhaps some shame in letting it happen in the first place. Perhaps respect and love. Whatever the reason, it was a noble thing to do. Just like Nicodemus and Joseph, when they thought all was lost for the man they believed in taking the time to care for him. And maybe their motivations were as varied as the men of Jabesh-gilead that day.

Father, thus ends the tragic story of Saul. Part of me wonders if it would have been better if you had just left him alone when he was looking for the lost donkeys way back in 1 Samuel 9. But you had a plan and our lives are not our own. We get one life to live, and we think it is so precious, but as I’ve said many times in these prayers, life is cheap. I am 1/6 billionth (or so) of the earth’s population. I am 1/110 billionth of the earth’s history of humans. What gives me the most meaning is if my life is truly worth nothing to me, but is used by you as part of your plan. While my life is so small, you are the one true God, and if my life can be used in some small way by you then I become part of something so big that it doesn’t matter what it costs me. So I offer myself to you. I love you. I am here to serve in whatever way you wish.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 20, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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1 Samuel 29

18 Jun

29 Then the Philistines gathered together all their armies at Aphek, and the Israelites encamped by a fountain which is in Jezreel. 2 And the lords of the Philistines passed in review by hundreds and by thousands, but David and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish. 3 Then the princes of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”

And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years? And to this day I have found no fault in him since he defected to me.”

4 But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these men? 5 Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying:

‘Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands’?”

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, “Surely, as the Lord lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you. 7 Therefore return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.”

8 So David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And to this day what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

9 Then Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ 10 Now therefore, rise early in the morning with your master’s servants who have come with you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart.”

11 So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

1 Samuel 29

Dear God, the princes (I guess they were Achish’s brothers since he was a prince) were right to not trust David. Achish was being played the fool by David. We found that a couple of chapters ago when David was lying to him about where he would go raiding. He would kill enemies of Israel and take their stuff and tell Achish he was raiding the Israelites. This is just all so weird to me to seemingly hold up all of David’s activities here as noble. So much death and destruction. So much looting. So much deception. It’s no wonder you didn’t want him to build your Temple (spoiler alert) because he had too much blood on his hands. At some point, this apparently affected you too.

So David is spared from being in the upcoming battle. I can’t help but wonder what he would actually have done had he been there. I have to believe he would have helped Saul and Jonathan. If he saw men chasing them, he would surely have attacked them and killed them. He would have been the danger the Philistine princes foresaw. And that could have messed up his transition to king. Maybe David thought he was doing the right thing by being invited along with the Philistines to fight only to then turn on them, although it is definitely not clear which side his men would have been on. They had been chased by the Israelite army of Saul for years. Would they have been merciful and loyal to Israel or had they emotionally thrown in their lot with the Philistines? Keeping David and his men out of this particular battle saved some problems and answered some questions. It was a plan beyond David’s ability to know.

Father, you keep me from my own shortsightedness or foolishness all of the time. You shut down an opportunity here so that it will develop an opportunity there. In fact, one of my prayers is that the great sorrow in my life will be just that–you doing something through my pain that I cannot see. Making my pain count for your glory and your plan even if it costs me. So I submit to that and ask that you do for me what you did for David here–save me from myself.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 18, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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1 Samuel 28

17 Jun

28 Now it happened in those days that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war, to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, “You assuredly know that you will go out with me to battle, you and your men.”

2 So David said to Achish, “Surely you know what your servant can do.”

And Achish said to David, “Therefore I will make you one of my chief guardians forever.”

3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah, in his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the land.

4 Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.

7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.”

And his servants said to him, “In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.”

8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.”

9 Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?”

10 And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”

11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”

And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”

12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!”

13 And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?”

And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.”

14 So he said to her, “What is his form?”

And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle.” And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down.

15 Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”

16 Then Samuel said: “So why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy? 17 And the Lord has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night.

21 And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was severely troubled, and said to him, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice, and I have put my life in my hands and heeded the words which you spoke to me. 22 Now therefore, please, heed also the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.”

23 But he refused and said, “I will not eat.”

So his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he heeded their voice. Then he arose from the ground and sat on the bed. 24 Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she hastened to kill it. And she took flour and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it. 25 So she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.

1 Samuel 28

Dear God, according the the statement back when Saul was crowned king over Israel that he was 30 at the time and would live to reign 42 years, Saul was 72 in this story. So I’m trying to picture 72-year-old Saul in absolute panic mode. David had been gone and out of the picture for 16 months. Saul had nothing to do but focus on the Philistines, and, again, I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like for Saul if he had had David as his ally leading the men into battle. And I suppose I’ll get to this later when I talk about Saul’s death in chapter 31, but where was Abner? How did he survive? He had to have been pretty old too at this time. Did the Philistines not pursue him as hard as they did Saul?

But I digress. Let’s stay on the scared old man who is grasping onto everything he can. I think that’s the picture I see of Saul right now. A man grasping onto everything he can, and it is slipping through his fingers. He wants to be a success. He wants to live forever. He wants to reign forever. He wants his family to reign forever. That’s all he wants. He doesn’t seem to be worried at all about the fate of Israel as much as he is about himself. A wise king who sought Israel’s best would have talked with Jonathan and had Jonathan work something out with David to come back. A wise king would have seen his limitations and let go of the situation. A wise king would have cared more about your glory than his own. But that’s not what kings do, is it? Power really does corrupt. It will corrupt David. It was already corrupting David. If David had been a judge I feel like he would have approached life completely differently. But as a king-elect he would have to do this weird dance of power with Saul and ultimately take over the kingdom. But again, I’ve gotten distracted away from Saul and the pain of this moment.

I think this passage is the key to this chapter for me:

4 Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.

Saul had choices when he was afraid. He could have just gone home and hid, retreating with his army and restrategizing, including maybe going and finding David. He could have just gone out and fought with his men regardless of his fear or the odds. His decision to inquire of you was a good one, but it was too little too late. He had abandoned the relationship with you a long time ago. His whole being at this point was about living for himself.

Father, I am sorry for the times I walk away from you and my only goal is to do things for myself. I am sorry for my selfishness. I am sorry for my self-pity. I am sorry for my pride. Help me to live Paul’s words in Acts 20:24. Help me to consider my life worth nothing to me. Help me to care about my neighbor more than myself. Help me to care about your kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven more than myself and what I perceive to be good for me. Help me to care about your will being done in all areas of our society, but through persuasion and not compulsion. Help my life to be a life that draws others to be closer to you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 17, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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1 Samuel 27

16 Jun

27 And David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.” 2 Then David arose and went over with the six hundred men who were with him to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow. 4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.

5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?” 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day. 7 Now the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.

8 And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt. 9 Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish. 10 Then Achish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of the Kenites.” 11 David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’ ” And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines. 12 So Achish believed David, saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”

1 Samuel 27

Dear God, I really struggled reading this story this morning, so I needed the Communicator’s Commentary on 1 & 2 Samuel to help me digest it. Here is what Kenneth Chafin said about this passage:

This story was preserved to show how God was able to bless David even as he lived among Israel’s enemies. When the story was told later in Jewish households, everyone would have been delighted that David’s successful guile in deceiving the enemy. While what David did was considered normal in his day, modern-day readers may have difficulty with the unashamed deceit and extreme cruelty…To keep us from feeling morally superior to David, we need to remember that the same type of cruelty still goes on today, some of it sponsored by our own government and supported by some Christian groups.

It’s ironic that the part about cruelty being done today (which would have been the 1980s for Chafin but is 2025 for me) is part of this because I’m seeing cruelty done by our government towards specific people groups, and the only thing I can really think of as motive is to divide us as a population. I’m speaking of how we are deporting undocumented people here. Luring them into immigration centers as they try to work legally in the system and then deporting them. Doing mass round-ups. As I sit and think about it this morning, while I think there is some racism involved, it feels like the macro-level goal is to simply but a bigger wedge and divide into our society. To enflame anger or joy one way or another.

I saw people protesting in our town this weekend for the “No Kings Protest.” They were one two corners of our town square. But there was another guy driving back and forth with a “Trump 2025” flag flying from the bed of his truck. Everyone was staking out their claims to their position and building their trench bigger and bigger. Not that the protestors shouldn’t have protested. Not that the Trump guy shouldn’t have supported his thing. But somehow it feels like that juxtaposition of sides is almost more the goal behind the policies than the stated goals.

Okay, that’s enough about American politics this morning. Back to David. He’s running from Saul and he goes to the one place he feels like Saul will leave him alone. He won’t go into Philistine territory unnecessarily, and David’s presence among the Philistines probably makes him worry less about David one day replacing him as king. It solves a few problems.

As for what David does while he’s there…well, I guess if you have an army and their families that you’re traveling with, you aren’t exactly going to turn them into shepherds and try to make a living ranching and farming. No, if you have an army you make money with your army. You raid people, you kill them, and you take their stuff. I have such a hard time with this, and I don’t really know what to make of it, but, again, this feels like what happens under a “king system.” If you want a king for your land, this is what happens. When you have a “judge system,” then perhaps the one judge will groom his replacement. They will know they are chosen by you and not by birthright. If David had been the judge that replaced Samuel, things would probably have been very different. But Saul was the current king. David was the king in waiting from another family. Poor Jonathan was caught in the middle. And you would somehow use all of this, including David’s taking of Bathsheba and ultimately having Solomon, to provide the lineage for Jesus. Could you have done it otherwise? Yes. But this is how you chose to do it. What an amazingly redemptive thing for you to do.

Father, I love you. I worship you. I give you my ignorance and lack of understanding. I don’t know what it happening around me. But I know you want me to love. I know you want me to serve. I know you want me to teach. Help me to love, serve, and teach today. And use all of those actions to teach me as well. I want to know you more and more and more.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 16, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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