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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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1 Samuel 26

13 Jun

26 Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?” 2 Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. 4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come.

5 So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him. 6 Then David answered, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?”

And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”

7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!”

9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?” 10 David said furthermore, “As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. 11 The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got away; and no man saw or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

13 Now David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them. 14 And David called out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Do you not answer, Abner?”

Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you, calling out to the king?”

15 So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king. 16 This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head.”

17 Then Saul knew David’s voice, and said, “Is that your voice, my son David?”

David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he said, “Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand? 19 Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

21 Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.”

22 And David answered and said, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the young men come over and get it. 23 May the Lord repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. 24 And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.”

25 Then Saul said to David, “May you be blessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also still prevail.”

So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

1 Samuel 26

Dear God, okay, it’s time for me to get back to this passage. I got distracted yesterday, but it’s time to dig in here. So what do I notice about this passage today?

  • The people of Ziph were caught in a tough spot and they picked their side. They were in Judah, and David was from their tribe and region. But the king had an army and could do some damage. Would they ingratiate themselves to Saul or hide David. There was obviously a large enough group that decided to side with Saul and get on his good side. In fact, it started back at the end of chapter 23. These were the same people who betrayed David when he was running from Saul before the cave incident, of whom Saul said, “The Lord bless you. At last someone is concerned about me!” I don’t know whether or not to feel sorry for them. I type this on the day before a lot of protests are planned around the United States against the current presidential administration. Some are choosing to go along to get along. Some are protesting. Some don’t know what to do. I’m in the third camp. I simply don’t know what you’re calling me to do in this. But I can see some similarities in these situations.
  • Saul has 3,000 men looking for David and his 600. The odds were against David.
  • Abishai, David’s cousin and Joab’s brother volunteers to go into Saul’s camp with David. This could be it. If they are discovered the entire thing would be over. David would be killed and the 600 would have nothing to live for.
  • You enabled all of this by causing deep sleep for everyone. It reminds me that we are not as strong as we think we are.
  • Abishai was ready to complete this coup right here and now. David knew better. I don’t know how much David was being noble towards Saul as your anointed vs. flashing forward to his own reign and expecting the same respect from the Israelites that he was showing Saul, but it was certainly wise of him to not let Abishai kill Saul and to explain his reasoning explicitly.
  • They take evidence (spear and jug) of their presence in the camp and leave.
  • Somehow, David is able to yell loud enough from a distance to be heard by Abner and Saul.
  • David mocks Abner. David had once served under Abner as a soldier and captain of men. Now, he was probably wondering why Abner wasn’t defending him to Saul. Why was Abner allowing this to happen?
  • Saul and David talk. This conversation is a little different. This time, David tells about how he feels wronged by Saul. Kind of a “look what you’ve done to me and put me through” moment. They drove him from his home (as well as his brothers and parents). He cannot live among his people (the people of Ziph even betrayed him twice). They have encouraged him to live with pagans and worship their gods for all they care.
  • Saul is once again repentant in the moment.
  • David returns Saul’s spear.
  • Everyone got to hear David repeat his respect for the life of your anointed.
  • David asks for your protection over his life as he protected Saul’s.
  • Saul blesses David.
  • Saul goes home, but David heads out, eventually going to live with the Philistines.

And, scene. What a needless mess. Saul distracted his army from what it should be doing. He caused his people to have to choose to betray David instead of everyone being united against a common enemy in the Philistines. He ran off his best warrior and 600 men who might have helped him fight the Philistines. In fact, and this is flashing forward, if he had kept David around he and Jonathan might not have died in chapter 31.

Father, I thank you for leading me through yesterday. I had a lot to think through, and I appreciate you putting people into my life who could speak your wisdom to me. Now, lead me today. Show me how to love today. Show me how to love tomorrow. Show me how to represent you to others. Help me to know what to say in any given situation.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 13, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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1 Samuel 26

12 Jun

26 Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?” 2 Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. 4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come.

5 So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him. 6 Then David answered, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?”

And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”

7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him. 8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!”

9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?” 10 David said furthermore, “As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. 11 The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.” 12 So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul’s head, and they got away; and no man saw or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

13 Now David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them. 14 And David called out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Do you not answer, Abner?”

Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you, calling out to the king?”

15 So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king. 16 This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head.”

17 Then Saul knew David’s voice, and said, “Is that your voice, my son David?”

David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” 18 And he said, “Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand? 19 Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20 So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

21 Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.”

22 And David answered and said, “Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the young men come over and get it. 23 May the Lord repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. 24 And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the Lord, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation.”

25 Then Saul said to David, “May you be blessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also still prevail.”

So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

1 Samuel 26

Dear God, it is fascinating that we get two such similar stories. You gave David opportunity? Was Satan tempting him? Was this a Job situation where you allowed Satan to put immediate kingship in David’s hands…

Okay, I’m totally distracted by something else this morning, and I might need to come back to this passage tomorrow. I think it’s the last one for this next Bible study anyway. I want to talk about the children in our community. They are suffering. There was an article in our weekly paper yesterday about a local judge for the county who requested $85,000 to handle juvenile court cases and detentions. In 2022, just three years ago, $8,000 was enough! Incredible! Devastating!

What’s really sitting in my craw this morning is the letters to the editor in the same edition of the paper. There is a group from Moms for Liberty who are just hellbent (that seems like the right word in the purest sense of it) on focusing all of their attention on a list of 50 books they want banned from libraries. But where are they on the four vape stores in our town? Where are they on supporting the local organizations that help youth? How much do they donate to Caritas Family Assistance Network, Fredericksburg Academic Boosters, the school district’s foundation, or the Boys & Girls Club? Where are they in being Scout troop leaders? From a spiritual warfare standpoint, it feels like Satan is totally distracting them with this inconsequential issue over here (I doubt any of the children in the juvenile court system have read any of the 50 evil books) while the real work he is doing is over there.

I feel something greatly stirred in me. Is this You, Holy Spirit? Are you calling me to respond in some way?

Father, I need your love, mercy, and wisdom. I need your love for the Mom’s for Liberty parents who, I believe, mostly have beautiful, wonderful hearts (I suspect some at the top intentionally stir up the goodhearted for personal gain). But even for those I suspect have ulterior motives, I want to love and care for them. I want to have mercy and grace because I do believe, at some level, they do, indeed, care for the children. So help me to be your voice in our community. I truly want to see your kingdom come and your will be done here as it is in heaven. So give me this day my daily bread. Forgive me as I forgive others, including these people that I believe are, at least to some extent, misguided. And please protect me from Satan as I step out. I know this is a time when attacks can come. Help me to live through those attacks from Satan. In fact, as I relate this back to the story from 1 Samuel 26, Saul was under attack. And David was under attack. Help me to choose the path of David today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 12, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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1 Samuel 24

10 Jun

24 Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.) 4 Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. 6 And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.

8 David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down. 9 And David said to Saul: “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’? 10 Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ 11 Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it. 12 Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea? 15 Therefore let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”

16 So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 Then he said to David: “You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. 18 And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 Therefore swear now to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.”

22 So David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

1 Samuel 24

Dear God, this is such a great story. The theme this next week is leadership, and this story really lends itself to that. David is a great leader in this story. How?

  • He resists selfishly grabbing for power. He could have taken a short cut. He could have killed Saul, your anointed king. He could have killed Jonathan’s father. I wonder how that would have played out with Jonathan. They had just committed themselves to each other and Jonathan serving under David when his time came and David not cutting off Jonathan’s family. How would that have played out if David had killed Jonathan’s father and grabbed the throne through bloodshed?
  • We talked yesterday about how selfish motivation uses others to get what you want while selfless motivation builds others up and cares about the greater good as opposed to your own. David’s motivation here was selfless and not selfish.
  • David had to control his men and their expectations of him. The “discontented” he had drawn to himself were probably not pleased with how he did this, and David knew it. They could have been in power. They could had been on the run from Saul’s army. This was their chance to have that pain pay off. They could have both had retribution and been in charge. David had to tell them know because he knew that, in the long run, it was for everyone’s own good.
  • David set a precedent that the king’s life is sacred before God. That would serve him well later when he is king. If he had taken Saul’s life he would have set a precedent that it was okay to kill the king.
  • He would have lost the moral high ground in his struggle with Saul. Up until now, he was in the right and Saul was in the wrong, and just about everyone but Doeg the Edomite knew it (and Doeg probably knew it too). But if he had killed Saul then the people would have known that David was just another power-hunger man and Saul was right to chase him and try to kill him.

Now, what else do I notice?

  • Saul wept.
  • Saul has a moment of conscience and regret.
  • Saul admits you are on David’s side and not his.
  • Saul relents to the reality that David will be king.
  • Saul understands that when new regimes succeed old regimes, the surviving members of the old regime usually die so they won’t be a problem to the new king. He asks for mercy for his family when David’s day comes.

Finally, David knew better than to trust Saul’s repentance in that moment. I don’t know how his men felt about going back to the stronghold and not returning to society and civilization except that they would have preferred he kill Saul and become king. We’ll see later that David’s mistrust of Saul was not unwarranted.

Father, I have some opportunities today to be very selfish, but I reject that. I don’t want to be about me today. I want to be about loving the other people around me. I’ve been invited to an event where there are opportunities to advance my own selfish needs. They are needs I can justify as noble needs that I think you are wanting to fulfill, but they are only noble in the way that David becoming king was noble. What I mean by that is you have your timing, not mine. Your job for me is to stay within what Jesus taught me through the Sermon on the Mount. Love you and love my neighbor. Be merciful. Be loving. Care more about the other person than I care about myself. I offer this day to you, Father.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 10, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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Saul, Jonathan, and Motivation – 1 Samuel 18-23

09 Jun

Page 316

When last we left off

  • David had killed Goliath and made himself a hero
  • Saul who already knew David wanted to know more about his family.
  • Jonathan, Saul’s son, saw something special in David and they became best friends – 1 Samuel 18:1-4 – 18 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the [a]soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

David’s Rise and Saul’s Insecurity

  • Saul put David in charge of some fighting men and David had success.
  • At first Saul was pleased with David’s success.
  • Then he heard the songs the women would sing. 1 Samuel 18:7-9 – 7 So the women sang as they danced, and said:

“Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his ten thousands.”

8 Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” 9 So Saul [d]eyed David from that day forward.

  • This is the real beginning of Saul’s unraveling
    • Everything we are about to read for the rest of Saul’s life will be driven by this jealousy and insecurity.
  • Saul kept trying to put David in harm’s way so the Philistines would kill him, including offering him his daughter Merab if he will go out and fight the Philistines again, but David says he’s not worthy to be the king’s son-in-law.
  • Later Michal wants him so Saul offers her to David for 100 Philistine foreskins.
  • David and his men kill 200 Philistines and produce their foreskins for Saul and Saul gave him Michal, but… 1 Samuel 18:29 – And Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David’s enemy continually.

Saul begins plotting to kill David

  • Saul starts talking about his plans out loud to his advisors and his son Jonathan.
  • Jonathan warns David and then convinces his father David deserves thanks and kindness, not death. Saul relents.
  • David is playing the harp for Saul while he’s in a bad place, Saul flips out and tries to throw a spear at him. David escapes and goes home.
  • Michal saves David.
  • Michal throws David under the bus
  • David goes to Ramah to see Samuel
  • Saul sends men to bring David back
    • Group one starts prophecying
    • Group two starts prophecying
    • Group three starts prophecying
    • Saul prophecies
    • David escapes to find Jonathan

David’s and Jonathan’s plan

  • David finds Jonathan and tries to figure out why Saul is trying to kill him.
  • Jonathan doesn’t believe it. 1 Samuel 20:2-3 – 2 So Jonathan said to him, “By no means! You shall not die! Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small without first telling me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!”

3 Then David took an oath again, and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”

  • David and Jonathan plan a test for Saul to see if it’s true.
    • The festival is coming. If Saul is cool with David’s absence then no big deal, but if he is angry then Jonathan will see Saul’s heart towards David revealed.
    • Jonathan asks that David will treat him and his descendants well in the future.
  • Saul fails Jonathan’s test. 1 Samuel 20:28-34 – 28 So Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem. 29 And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.’ Therefore he has not come to the king’s table.”

30 Then Saul’s anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? 31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me, for he [f]shall surely die.”

32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?” 33 Then Saul cast a spear at him to [g]kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David.

34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully.

  • The next day, Jonathan warns David and they say goodbye to each other. 1 Samuel 20:41-42 – 41 As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so. 42 Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.’ ” So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

David the Fugitive

  • David deceives a lot of people in chapter 21
  • Tells Ahimelec he’s on a secret mission from Saul and he’s not alone but the young men have gone where he told them to go.
  • Got any bread or weapons.
    • Just consecrated holy bread
    • Just Goliath’s sword.
  • Doeg the Edomite is watching
  • David goes to Gath and sees Achish the king
  • Achish’s people don’t trust David. 1 Samuel 21:11 – 11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying:
  • ‘Saul has slain his thousands,
    And David his ten thousands’?”
  • David decides deception is his best bet. 1 Samuel 21:12-15 – 12 Now David took these words [d]to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them, pretended [e]madness in their hands, [f]scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? 15 Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”
  • David decides it’s not safe there and takes off for a cave. This is when people start to come to him. 1 Samuel 22:1-2 – 22 David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was [a]discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.
    • Remember this description of David’s men for next week.
  • David decides it’s not safe for his parents to be with him so he takes them to the king of Moab and they are safe there. (Ruth connection)
  • A prophet named Gad tells David he needs to leave and go to Judah so David takes off.

Meanwhile, Saul is Hunting David

  • Saul heard that David was back in Judah and chastised his men, who were from his tribe of Israel, Benjamin (David was from Judah). 1 Samuel 22:7-8 – 7 then Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? 8 All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day.”
  • Doeg the Edomite pipes up and tells Saul about Ahimelech helping David
  • Saul has Ahimelech and all of the other priests brought to him.
  • Saul’s men won’t kill the priests so he gets Doeg to kill all 85 priests, and all their families and livestock (doing to them what he wouldn’t do to the Amalekites back in chapter 15)
  • One priest escapes, Abiathar, and runs to David to tell him. Abiathar will stay with David, be his priest and will remain loyal to him later in David’s reign when one of his son’s tries to overthrow him.

David helps Keilah

  • David hears the Philistines are stealing from an Israelite town called Keilah.
  • David gets confirmation from God to go.
  • This is first time to lead his 400 men into battle.
    • They are scared. 1 Samuel 23:3 – 3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?
  • David makes sure with God and gets confirmation.
  • David leads them and they are successful
  • However, they expose themselves to Saul and he heads that way.
  • David asks God if the Keilah people will hand him over. God says they will so David runs.
  • Saul hears David was gone and calls off the trip to Keilah.

One last meeting for David and Jonathan

  • David has 600 men now.
  • Saul is searching for him but can’t find him. 1 Samuel 23:14 – 14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. 
  • Jonathan goes to encourage David. 1 Samuel 23:16-18 – 16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and [d]strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.” 18 So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.
    • Note: Jonathan encouraged David
    • Jonathan affirmed David would be king whether Jonathan lived or died
    • Jonathan reaffirmed their vows to each other
    • Jonathan went home (wasn’t with the army looking for David)
  • The people of Ziph try to show Saul loyalty. Saul is grateful but his self-pity shows through. 1 Samuel 23:21 – 21 And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion on me. 
  • The rest of the chapter is Saul chasing David and just when he was about to catch up to him and his men he got word the Philistines were attacking so he broke off to battle them.

Wrap Up

  • What was driving Saul? Who did he hurt through his selfishness?
    • David
    • Jonathan
    • Michal
    • Samuel
    • Ahimelech, the 85 priests and all of their families
    • David’s family
    • The people of Ziph
  • What was driving Jonathan? Did he hurt anyone in this story?
  • Joe and Larry are going to talk about our motivations tonight and what needs we are trying to meet when we are motivated to do something.
    • These stories are a reminder to me that it’s not enough to be motivated, but if my motives are selfish then the odds are that I am going to step on people and hurt them on my way more than I will help people and bless them.

Dear God, this is what I came up with as my outline for tonight. I offer it up to you. I offer it up at you as worship. I offer it up to you as something that you hopefully might use to teach the people in the room. I offer it up to you as something you might use to teach me.

I think the big thing I probably need to add to it is my own personal lesson. What are you teaching me about myself through this lesson? Do I use people out of my selfishness? Do I want things for myself regardless of what it will cost someone else for me to get it?

I can think of one particular area in my life where I vacillate between really wanting the best for someone regardless of what it costs me and feeling sorry for myself and wanting them to give me what I want regardless of how they feel. At those lowest moments, I wonder why they can’t see they are wrong and just do what I want them to do?!? But in my best moments, when I am closest with you, I pray for their hurts and their healing regardless of what it costs me. In fact, I want to pay any price so that they might be happy and fulfilled in their lives. That’s me at my best. That’s the tradition of Jonathan here.

Father, use me tonight in the lives of these men. Use me in the lives of the people with whom I work. Use me as I visit with the county commissioners about my day-job this morning. Use me at Rotary when I have lunch and meet with my friends and maybe some people I don’t know as well. Use me to love my wife and my children. Use me in the lives of my siblings and siblings-in-law, parents, nieces, and nephews however you will. I give you all my worship and praise, Father.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 9, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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1 Samuel 23

08 Jun

23 Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”

2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”

And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”

3 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the Lord once again.

And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” 5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

6 Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand.

7 And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” 8 Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

9 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.”

And the Lord said, “He will come down.”

12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?”

And the Lord said, “They will deliver you.”

13 So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.

14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. 15 So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest. 16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.” 18 So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.

19 Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 20 Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.”

21 And Saul said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion on me. 22 Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty. 23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the clans of Judah.”

24 So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. 25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon. 26 Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were encircling David and his men to take them.

27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!” 28 Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place the Rock of Escape. 29 Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at En Gedi.

1 Samuel 23

Dear God, as I pondered these stories this morning, what I was left with was a question: How had Saul so deluded himself that he thought you were on his side and delivering David TO him, and, when it didn’t happen, why didn’t he realize you were delivering David FROM him? Was is just the fog of war? Was he so consumed in his self-pity and paranoia that he couldn’t see straight?

And then, what was his justification for chasing David? How had he sold it to the people? It seems like this is all part of the warning you gave the Israelites way back in chapter 8 or 9 about a king and what he would do. All of these people are being inconvenienced, at a minimum, and dying, at a maximum, just to follow the whims of this king. And the poor people of Keilah. They were being attacked by the Philistines and got saved by one of Saul’s leading soldiers, David. Hooray! But then they would have been forced to turn him over had David remained there. And I’m not blaming them. They were just helpless pawns in this ridiculous situation. And again, it was all because Saul was paranoid.

Before I end, I want to spend some time with Jonathan here. It’s his last encounter with David, and it’s important:

16 Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that.” 18 So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.

Jonathan is THE man. What a hero! Was he perfect? No. But he was humble and wise. He sought the best of you and others before himself. He hoped he would survive to see David’s reign (spoiler alert, he doesn’t), but that makes it even more impressive that he was willing to submit to David as king. I suppose he knew that would happen over his father’s dead body, and that ended up being the case. How hard it must have been for him to see his father cause all this trouble and know there was nothing he could do to control it.

Father, we are going to be talking about “motivation” tomorrow night at the Christian Men’s Life Skills Bible Study, and I’ll be mostly contrasting Saul and Jonathan. I think that’s where you’ve led me this week. So as I ponder these things today before I sit down this evening and finalize the message, please help me to really find myself and my sin in Saul. And help me to find inspiration in Jonathan. Help me to repent well and to follow you well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 8, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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1 Samuel 22

07 Jun

22 David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.

3 Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4 So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

5 Now the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold; depart, and go to the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

6 When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered—now Saul was staying in Gibeah under a tamarisk tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants standing about him— 7 then Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? 8 All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day.”

9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, “I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10 And he inquired of the Lord for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 So the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were in Nob. And they all came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub!”

He answered, “Here I am, my lord.”

13 Then Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day?”

14 So Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honorable in your house? 15 Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king impute anything to his servant, or to any in the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing of all this, little or much.”

16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!” 17 Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me.” But the servants of the king would not lift their hands to strike the priests of the Lord. 18 And the king said to Doeg, “You turn and kill the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests, and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod. 19 Also Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep—with the edge of the sword.

20 Now one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the Lord’s priests. 22 So David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father’s house. 23 Stay with me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe.”

1 Samuel 22

Dear God, so whether or not David was alone when he visited Ahimelech in chapter 21, he has some people with him now. And these aren’t necessarily the best of the best. The honorable of the honorable. I guess one might put a label of “deplorables” on them. I checked four different translations (NKJV, NIV, NASB, and NLT) and all of them used the word “discontented.” I have to say, the idea of drawing the discontented to my side does not excite me. Sure, it might work for a week, but long-term, it’s a tough group to have as your allies because sooner or later they will be discontented with me.

Other things to notice in this chapter:

  • David looked after his parents, but his brothers apparently joined his band of discontented men.
  • There sure do seem to be a lot of prophets who get words from you. David was certainly ready to listen to the one in Gad and heed his counsel.
  • When Saul commands his men, he plays on tribal loyalty. He reminds his men that they are of the same tribe and that David of Jesse (and Judah) will not treat them as favorably as he does.
  • Saul spends a lot of time feeling sorry for himself in verse 8: 8 All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day.” Oh, how there are times when I feel sorry for myself.
  • Saul is paranoid and sees betrayal when it’s not there.
  • Saul’s paranoia is ruthless as he kills everyone and everything. If only he had been that zealous for you a few chapters ago.
  • Ahimelech (whose grandfather was Phinehas) and his family are living out the curse from 1 Samuel 2:30-33: 30 Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says: ‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, the days are coming that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32 And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be an old man in your house forever. 33 But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age. I’m sorry, but this seems sad and unnecessary to me. Does it still work this way?
  • Doeg was a special kind of awful to be able to kill 85 men in one day. I don’t care if they were bad guys, that is awful. But these were good priests. Was he that desperate for Saul’s approval? He had certainly thrown in his lot with Saul at that point. I’m kind of surprised we don’t hear from Doeg again after this story. I would think that he would have been more prominent in Saul’s regime at that point.
  • A quick look at Abiathar through the rest of the story shows he stayed loyal to David even in the Absalom uprising.

Father, I think I want to focus on two main things with this lesson this week: Jonathan’s motivation and Saul’s motivation. There will be some other stuff in here, but for the most part I want to talk about Jonathan just being willing to live in the moment and discern what you are calling him to do in the moment vs. Saul being paranoid about the future. This whole story is driven by Saul’s paranoia, and it’s his paranoia that leads to his downfall. He wants his own greatness so badly that he’s willing to commit any sin to accomplish it. And the irony is that if hadn’t tried to kill David, David wouldn’t be on the run, the priests would have lived, and everyone could have just stayed in their places. But one king’s evil simply destroyed a lot of lives. Oh, please keep me from any evil that will destroy other lives.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 7, 2025 in 1 Samuel

 

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