Tag Archive | David

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 137

May17

Day 137.  Reading 2 Samuel 16 – 18

Read Today’s Scriptures.
  • Remember where we left off?   With a lot of conniving, Absalom, David’s son, who would naturally have assumed the throne when David died in “the normal order,” doesn’t want to wait.  He goes to Hebron to “pay a vow,” but really to perform a coup. (It’s where David was crowned king.) He takes 200 unsuspecting guests to the celebration, instructing them to say “Absalom is King” when the trumpet is blown.
  • Absalom even entices David’s chief counselor, Ahithophel, who happens to be Bathsheba’s grandfather, to come along. A messenger is sent to David saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom!“
  • Does David gather an army to fight the coup?  No!  And perhaps he feels it is simply a part of God’s discipline for his sin, and he accepts it.
  • Anyway, David quickly gathers his things (leaving his ten concubines behind to keep the house), and leaves town.  Many of his faithful leaders and men follow him, including Abiathar and Zadok, the priests, bringing the Ark of the Covenant. David tells them to take it back into the city, hoping he’ll one day return. Before they leave, he sets up a way for their sons to get messages to him about what Absalom is doing.
  • Hushai, David’s second counselor, and truly loyal, shows up to flee with David. But the King sends him back, saying to pretend to be with Absalom too, so he can “mess up” all Ahithophel’s advice. “Whatever you hear from the king’s house, tell it to Zadok and Abiathar, who will send it to me via their sons.
  • Just as Hushai came into the city …. Absalom was entering Jerusalem

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2 Samuel 16.

Okay, as if this is not enough bad news, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him along the road. (Remember, Mephibosheth is Jonathan’s crippled son, whom David is caring for like a son.)  Ziba brings saddled donkeys (for the king to ride), bread, raisin cakes, summer fruit, and wine for his followers to eat and drink.  HUH?

“Where is Mephibosheth?” David asks.

“Um, he’s staying in Jerusalem. He thinks it’s a good time for the house of Saul to give him back the kingdom.”

Shocked, David replies, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.”

Ziba answers, “I pay homage; (grovel, grovel) let me ever find favor in your sight, m’lord, the king.”

Then, just east of Jerusalem, Shimei, a distant relative of Saul, comes out cursing continually at David, throwing stones at him as he passes, and calling, “Get out, you man of blood, you worthless man!  The LORD is avenging you for all the blood of the house of Saul. Your evil is upon you, you are a man of blood!!”

Joab’s brother, Abishai, offered to “take off his head,” but David would not allow it. “My own son seeks my life, how much more this Benjamite! Leave him alone. Let him curse.”

So Shimei cursed and threw stones and dirt at David all the way to the Jordan River.

Meanwhile…

Absalom and all the people of Israel came to Jerusalem and Ahithophel with him.  Hushai shuffles up to him and says, “Long live the king!  Long live the king!”  Absalom is suspicious, but Hushai convinces him that it’s Absalom he wants to serve.  “Who but the king’s son shall I serve!”  (He was convincing.)

“Give counsel. What shall we do?” Absalom askes Ahithophel.

“Go into your father’s concubines, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father.  The hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”  The creep advised. But this is what was done, to prove the new man was the conqueror.

So they pitched a tent on the roof, and that’s what Absalom did …in the sight of all Israel.

And so the fourth of the four consequences of David’s sin that God had spoken to him took place, (2 Samuel 12:11)

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2 Samuel 17.

Next comes the battle of Absalom’s counselors: Ahithophel vs Hushai. What is Absalom’s next step, they are asked?

AHITHOPHEL:  “Let me choose 12K men and I will arise and pursue David tonight, while he is weary and discouraged.  He’ll be in a panic, he’ll flee, and I can strike him down.”

(Actually, for a war aspect, this is sound advice.)

HUSHAI: “Your father and his men are mighty men, and they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field.  He is an expert in war; he will not spend the night with the people but will hide himself somewhere. Then when the first soldiers fall, a sound will go out that there has been a slaughter among Absalom’s men, and your men’s hearts will melt.  EVERYONE knows that your father is a mighty man….

“My advice is that you gather a multitude of men from “Dan to Beersheba” and go to battle IN PERSON and there will be no place for him to hide. You will easily catch him.”

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(***NOTE: ABSALOM WAS NOT A MILITARY MAN. We have seen NO INSTANCES where he has been in battle.  He was a PARTY MAN. See 2 Sam. 13:26-29 and 2 Sam. 15:10-12 and probably had no idea what happened in a war situation.)

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Absalom’s brain went back and forth. (“If I go with Ahithophel’s counsel, HE will get the credit. If I go with Hushai’s counsel, “I” will get the credit.“)

ABSALOM:  “The counsel of Hushai is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.

Quickly, after the meeting, Hushai goes to the priests and gives a message to be sent to David.  “Tell David not to stay the night this side of the River, but cross it.”  The priests’ sons were waiting at En-Rogel. A female servant was sent to tell them the message.

BUT!!!!  A young man saw them and quickly told Absalom.  The priests’ sons hurried off to Bahurim and hid in a well. The woman there covered the opening and spread some grain on it. (Doesn’t this remind you of Rahab hiding the Israeli spies in Jericho under some grain??)   When Absalom’s men came, she said they had gone on over the brook already.  They couldn’t find the two sons and went back.

David got the message and did what Hushai said.  At daybreak, not even one had not crossed.

Ahithophel saw “the writing on the wall.”  He went home, set his house in order, and hung himself.

And so… Absalom took the army with Amasa as commander (Joab had gone with David) and crossed over the Jordan River after David. They camped in Gilead.

Meanwhile, three faithful men – Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai – brought supplies: beds, basins, vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans, and lentils, honey and curds, sheep and cheese for David and his men to eat.   WHAT A BLESSING THESE MEN WERE!!

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2 Samuel 18.

The Deadly Battle

Refreshed, David gathered his army and then divided it into three companies.  Joab commanded one, his brother Abishai, commanded the second, and Ittai took the third. (Remember Ittai, who stayed faithful to David as he was leaving the city?  (1 Samuel 15:19-22)

David wanted to go out with them, but the men all said, “YOU SHALL NOT GO OUT!”  They feared for his safety, so he stayed back at the gate of the well-fortified town of Mahanaim.  His last words to the three commanders before sending them off was, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.”  And all the people heard him say it.

The battle mostly took place in the forest of Ephraim. Absalom’s men were defeated by David’s, 20K of them.

  • Then Absalom came riding his mule through the forest.
  • The mule went under a low-hanging branch, and Absalom’s massive head of hair was caught in it.
  • The mule continued on, leaving the king’s son, dangling.
  • A soldier saw him and told Joab.
  • Joab was furious. “Why didn’t you kill him?  I’d have given you 10 pieces of silver!”
  • The soldier said, “Even for a thousand pieces of silver, I would not kill the king’s son.”
  • Exasperated, Joab took three javelins and thrust them into Absalom’s heart.
  • (This would be “strike three” for Joab.)

Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back.  The men took Absalom’s body down, threw it in a pit, and covered it with a huge pile of stones.

The son of Zadok asked to carry the news to the King, that the LORD had delivered him from the hand of his enemies.  But Joab would not let him.  Instead, he sent the Cushite to tell the king what he had seen.

Zadok’s son asked to run too, but Joab said he would get no reward for bringing that news.  Nevertheless, the boy wanted to go.  So Joab let him.

And Zadok’s son outran the Cushite, coming to David first.

  • David waited at the gate for news.
  • The watchmen said he saw a man running alone.
  • “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.
  • Then the watchman saw another man running alone.
  • “He also brings news.”
  • The watchmen recognized the son of Zadok.
  • “He is a good man and comes with good news.”
  • ALL IS WELL! said the boy, panting. “Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.”
  • “Is it well with the young man, Absalom?”
  • “When I left I saw a great commotion, but I don’t know what it was.”

Then the Cushite arrived and told him the good news that the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all who rose against him.

“Is it well with the young man, Absalom?”

May all your enemies be like that young man.

“And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son!”

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 129

May9
Day 129.  Reading 2 Samuel 8-9 and 1 Chronicles 18
 
 
 
Read Today’s Scriptures. Rejoice in all God does for David and for us.
 
2 Samuel 8.

We are still in “the glory days of David’s rule” when he sought God and depended on Him alone.  (I dread next Tuesday – Day 133 – which tells of his great fall and the beginning of all the destruction that came later. Sigh.)

  • So… David defeated the Philistines and subdued them.
  • And he defeated Moab.

NOTE:  That business of measuring the captives, killing some, and setting some free, could have been one of two scenarios. 1) He killed 2 out of every 3 enemy soldiers, or 2) He saved 1/3 of the captives because they were young (coming up to just the first line), destroying only the adults. (Think of those signs with measuring lines on Disneyland rides, showing that only those taller can ride.)

  • David also defeated the king of Zobah, and many Syrian soldiers who tried to help him and set up a garrison at Damascus.  He brought back shields of gold and very much bronze.
  • A nearby king, glad to see the king of Zobah defeated, brought to David articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze.

NOTE:  Verse 11 says, “King David dedicated to the LORD the silver, gold, and bronze from the nations he subdued.”  Later, all this wealth in the LORD’s treasury would be used by Solomon to make the bronze vessels for the Temple. (1 Kings 7:15)

  • David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18K Edomites in the Valley of Salt. All of Edom became his servants.
  • And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.  
  • David reigned over all of Israel. He administered justice and equity to all his people. His officers are as follows:
  • Joab was the commander of the army.
  • Jehoshaphat was the recorder.
  • Zakok and Ahimelech were the priests.
  • Seraiah was the secretary.
  • Benaiah was in charge of his bodyguard, with the Cherethites and Pelethites. (Benaiah later became the commander of Solomon’s army after he killed Joab, at David’s request.)

1 Chronicles 18.

This chapter repeats 2 Samuel 8, with this addition from verse 8, read with 1 Kings 7:15, 23.

  • With the massive amounts of bronze that David collected and dedicated to the LORD, Solomon made 1) the two 27-foot (18 feet around) bronze pillars at the front of the Temple, 2) a huge bronze “sea” (compared to the Laver for the Tabernacle) which held 12,000 gallons of water to wash the priests and the sacrifices), and 3) the bronze vessels used in the Temple.

2 Samuel 9.

David and Mephibosheth:  How it all came about.

DAVID:  “Is there still any more left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

ZIBA, a servant of the house of Saul:  “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.”

DAVID: “Where is he?”

ZIBA: “He is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.”

(The king sent and brought him. Mephibosheth fell on his face before David. He probably thought he would be killed off as the others in Saul’s family had died.)
DAVID:  “Mephibosheth!”

MEPHIBOSHETH: “Behold I am your servant.”

DAVID: “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.”

MEPHIBOSHETH:  “What is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” (Meaning, wow, I don’t deserve that, but thanks!)

DAVID (to Ziba):  “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. You and your sons (15) and your servants (20) shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master’s grandson may have “bread to eat” (meaning his own wealth). But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson shall always eat at my table.”

ZIBA: “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.”

And so, Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. He lived in Jerusalem. Also, he had a young son named Mica.  He was lame in both feet.

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This is a glorious picture of what God has done for us. WE, deformed by sin, did not deserve to be His children, have all our needs taken care of, and one day to sit at His table in heaven.  WE deserved death, as Mephibosheth would have under any other ruling king.  But David had promised Jonathan, whom he loved, to be kind to all his descendants, and we, for Jesus’s sake (like Mephibosheth for Jonathan’s sake), are now granted this royal “kindness” of salvation and a position in God’s kingdom because we trust in God’s promise (John 3:16),  Praise God!

 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 124 & 125 — Part A.

May5
PART A – Day 124.  Reading 1 Chronicles 13-16.
 
Day 125. Reading Psalms 1, 2, 15, 22, 23, 24, 47, and 68.
 
(Sundays and Mondays studies are posted together on Mondays,
but since these two are long posts, I will put them into Part A and Part B. )
 
 
 
Read Today’s Scriptures.
 

PART A. 

1 Chronicles 13.

Today we read of a good plan, approved “in the eyes of all the people.” David’s heart was in the right place.  He wanted the Ark of the Covenant near him in Jerusalem in the Tent (Tabernacle) he’d set up.  He called all the people of Israel from the land and all the Levites from their cities to celebrate this wonderful plan.

But, David had forgotten to consult with the LORD. Yes, the Ark of God WOULD DWELL in Jerusalem and David’s desire was a good thing.  However, the HOLINESS of the Ark and of God had not been considered in his plans.

The Ark of God had resided about 10 miles west of Jerusalem in Kiriath-Jearim, ever since the Philistines had sent it back after they’d captured it, because the LORD had afflicted them horribly.

It’d been twenty years, so maybe the people had forgotten that small incident that happened when the Ark was returned. (David had been only ten years old.)  When the people of Beth-Shemesh first saw the milk cows bringing the Ark home on a cart, 70 of them came in from the fields to look at (look into?) it?  God had zapped them all dead. (See 1 Samuel 7:19-21) They’d been terrified and sent the Ark from Beth-Shemesh to Kiriath-Jearim to stay. 

Now, David wanted it in Jerusalem.  Seems an ox-cart (a new one) would be a good travel method again.

 NOT!!  

As the joyful procession danced and sang around the symbol of their God, the oxen stumbled.  So, naturally, Uzzah, walking next to the cart … put out his hand to steady the Ark.  (As if God couldn’t protect his own “throne on earth”!) 

The second he touched it, Uzzah was DEAD! 

It was quite a dampener on the celebration.   

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1 Chronicles 14.

This chapter is a repeat of parts of 1 Samuel 5 and 1 Chronicles 3. These happened BEFORE 1 Chronicles 13.  It mentions David’s growing family of wives and daughters, and the two attacks by the Philistines which God had helped David overwhelmingly win.

The end of verse 17 says, “The fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations.”

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1 Chronicles 15.

After King Hiram of Tyre supplied David with materials, and he’d built himself (and his wives) a nice place to live …. David prepared a place for the Ark, a new Tabernacle. (See Deuteronomy 12:5-7)  Then, after obviously studying, or requesting the Levites to tell him HOW to transport the Ark to Jerusalem. (Good boy, David!) He began again. (It had been three months since that “incident.”)

He learned that NO ONE except the Levites could transport the Ark of God and that it would be suspended between them by poles resting on their shoulders.  So, along with all the people of Israel, David gathered the Levites, particularly the “sons of Aaron” and the sons of Kohath. He sent for Zadok and Abiathar, the priests “to bring up the Ark of the LORD, the God of Israel to the place he had prepared for it.

Confession by David:  “It was because you did not carry it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not seek Him according to the rule.”

So the priests consecrated themselves (as per the law) and carried the Ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD. 

There were musical instruments played, harps, lyres, cymbals, all to raise a joyful sound. Heman, Asaph and Ethan composed psalms and sounded the bronze symbols. 

So, David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from the home of Obed-Edom … with rejoicing.  And they sacrificed 7 bulls and 7 rams “because God helped them.”  

David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and along with the crowd was shouting to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals and the loud music on the harps and lyres,

“And as the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul (David’s first wife) looked out the window and saw King David dancing and rejoicing ….

….. and she despised him in her heart.”

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1 Chronicles 16.

After the Ark of God was placed inside the tent, they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.   Then David blessed the people in the name of the LORD and distributed to each (men and women) a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a raisin cake.

He instructed the Levites to invoke, thank, and praise the LORD, God of Israel.  He appointed that THANKSGIVING be sung to the LORD by Asaph and his brothers.. His song follows. (It echoes Psalms 86, 105, and 106.)

  • Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples!
  • Sing to Him, sing praises to Him, tell of all His wondrous works!
  • Glory in His holy Name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice!
  • Seek the LORD and His strength; see His presence continually!
  • Sing to the LORD, all the earth!
  • Tell of His salvation from day to day.
  • Declare His glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
  • For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and He is to be held in awe above all gods.
  • Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
  • Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his Name; bring an offering and come before Him!
  • Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth; 
  • Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; and let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”
  • Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!

WOW!!

Then David left Asaph and his brothers to minister regularly before the Ark as each day required.

He left Zadok the priest and his brothers to offer burn offerings to the LORD on the alter of burnt offering regularly morning and evening, and to do all that is written in the Law of the LORD.

Then all the people departed, each to his house, and David went home to bless his household.

 

Such a glorious day. When we seek the LORD and obey His word, we are blessed with joy.

 
 
 
 
 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 110 & 111

Apr21
(I post Sunday’s and Monday’s studies together.)
 
Day 110.  Reading Psalms 121, 123, 124, 125, 128, 129 & 130
Day 111. Reading 2 Samuel 1 – 4.
 

Read today’s scripture passages.

What specific thing encourages you in these Psalms?

EASTER SUNDAY.  What a wonderful way to begin this day – with Psalms of praise – what good timing.

Psalm 121.

  • I lift up my eyes to the hills.
  • From where does my help come from? 
  • My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 123.

  • To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens!

Psalm 124.

  • If it had not been the LORD who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive…
  • Blessed be the LORD, who has not given us as prey to their teeth!
  • Our help is in the Name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 125.

  • Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.
  • Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 128.

  • Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways!
  • May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 129.

  • The blessing of the LORD be upon you! We bless you in the name of the LORD.

Psalm 130.

  • O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
  • If You, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
  • But with You there is forgiveness that you may be feared.
  • I wait for the LORD, my soul waits and in His word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord, more than the watchman for the morning.
  • O Israel, hope I the LORD. For with the LORD, there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption.
  • And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

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Day 111.

To set the scene for what has happened thus far —

  1. The Philistines planned to march on Israel, focusing on Saul’s hometown.
  2. The Philistine commanders refused to let David and his men accompany them.
  3. David returns home only to find his town burned and all the families kidnapped.
  4. An abandoned slave tells them about the Amalekites and shows David where they are.
  5. David & men defeat them all and bring back their families.
  6. Meanwhile Saul is quaking in his sandals and hears no word from God about what to do. He goes to a witch, who calls up the dead Samuel.
  7. Samuel asks WHAT SAUL IS DOING and says he and his sons will all die the next day.
  8. The Philistines attack. Jonathan and Saul’s other two sons die. He finally dies too at his own hand after being badly wounded.
  9. All the rest of Israel run away and the Philistines live in their towns.

2 Samuel 1.

Two days after David returns home to Ziklag, a messenger, a young Amalekite (Israel’s enemy!), comes from Saul’s camp. He falls to the ground in homage (a hint of the news to follow) and tells David, that the people have fled from the battle and many of them died.

“Saul and his son, Jonathan are dead.”

“How do you know that Saul and his son, Jonathan are dead??”

Here the Amalekite fabricates, saying he found Saul mortally injured. The king asked him to kill him “for anguish has seized me and yet my life lingers.”

“So I killed him because I was sure he was going to die anyway.  Oh, and by the way!  Here are his crown and amulet.  I have brought them here to m’lord.”  (You can bet he was expecting a reward.)

David tore his clothes, mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul, and Jonathan, and Israel.

Then he called back the young Amalekite. “How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” Then, David called one of his own men, “Go, execute him!“

And so the enemy liar paid with his own blood for killing the LORD’s anointed.

Then David wrote a lamentation over Saul and Jonathan and said it should be taught to the people of Judah. Here it is in part.

  • Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places. How the mighty have fallen! 
  • Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice.
  • You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain on you nor your fields of offerings.
  • For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul.
  • From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, the sword of Saul returned not empty.
  • Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions.
  • How the mighty have fallen; and the weapons of war perished!

2 Samuel 2.

David inquired of the LORD.  And the LORD told him to go up to Hebron. So David and his two wives, Abigail and Ahinoam, plus all his men and their families lived in the towns of Hebron.  The men of Judah came, and there they anointed David King over the house of Judah.

When David was told that it was the men of Jabesh-Gilead who had buried Saul, David sent messages of blessing to them, praying that the LORD would show mercy and faithfulness to them. He too would show them goodness as King of Judah.

However…..

Abner, the commander of Saul’s Army, took Ish-bosheth, another son of Saul, and made HIM king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and the rest of Israel. He reigned two years.

Soon there was a clash between Abner and Joab, commander of the army of David. Abner and Joab sat down on either side of a pool. Abner suggested a contest between some of his men and some of Joab’s men to decide the conflict – instead of the whole army fighting.  Joab agreed.

However, the two sides were so closely matched, they killed each other, and nothing was settled.  And so… a battle royal ensued.  A younger brother of Joab chased Abner. As they ran, Abner told him three times to turn aside, but young Asahel persisted. Abner finally turned and killed the young man. (Joab would never forget this!!!) 

Abner made it home and the Benjaminites surrounded him.  He called to Joab. “Shall the sword devour forever? The end will be bitter! How long will it be before you tell your people to turn from the pursuit of their brothers?”

Joab thought it over, then blew the trumpet for his men to stop. They did not fight Israel anymore that time.

2 Samuel 3.

There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David, and David grew stronger.  Meanwhile, sons were born to David from his now six wives. (Remember Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah.)

And there was a fight between Ish-Bosheth and Abner because Saul’s son accused the loyal Abner of treason.  Fed up, Abner said he was defecting to David and sent messages to the King of Judah.  Abner told David he could bring all Israel to David.

David agreed with one provision, that Abner bring Michel, Saul’s daughter and David’s first wife to him. (Saul had given her to another man.)  Abner agreed.  The new husband tagged along after Michel, weeping for his wife until Abner told him to go back. 

So David made a feast for Abner with his twenty men. Abner said he’d go and bring all Israel to David. They left each other in peace.

Just then Commander Joab and his men arrived with loot from a raid they’d come from. He was angry with David for making a deal with Abner. “Don’t you know Abner came to deceive you???” 

Joab sent men to bring Abner back on some pretense, and when Abner was back in Hebron, Joab killed him.  “For his brother, Asahel,” and NOT out of concern for David. 

David was furious and full of guilt. He cursed the house of Joab.

And David made Joab and all the people put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner. David wept and lamented Abner, saying,

  • “Should Abner die as a fool dies?
  • Your hands were not bound; your feet were not fettered, 
  • As one falls before the wicked you have fallen.”

And David fasted till the sun went down.  And all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had NOT been the king’s will to put to death Abner.

2 Samuel 4.

Ish-Bosheth’s courage failed.  Two of Saul’s men came into his house in pretense and killed him. They beheaded him and brought the head to David at Hebron!  Well, you know what happened —- the same thing as what happened to the Amalekite who brought news of Saul’s death.  Yep. They were killed. David buried the head of Ish-Bosheth. 

David wanted NO BLOOD on his hands from the house of Saul.  It was God who had chosen him King.  David would not “take” the throne from any of the LORD’s anointed.  Period.

David did not know it yet, but there was one descendant of Saul left, a son of Jonathan named Mephibosheth.  Back when Saul was killed, the little boy’s nurse grabbed him and rushed him to safety from the Philistines.  HOWEVER…. the little guy fell in her haste and became lame from then on. 

(Stay tuned about this guy.)

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 108

Apr18
Day 108.  Reading Psalms 17, 35, 54, 63
 

Read today’s scripture. You might even pray a couple of the Psalms.

Psalm 17.

This is a wonderful psalm of trust and dependence on God; of a face-to-face closeness that most of us don’t experience. Remember David’s situation as you read, constantly pursued by Saul who wants to kill him.

  • Hear a just cause, O LORD, attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free from deceit.
  • You have tried my heart, You have visited me by night, You have tested me, and You will find nothing.  I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
  • I will call upon You, for You will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me, hear my words.
  • Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge.
  • Keep me as the apple of your eye; hind me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me. 
  • He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush. Arise O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, from me by your hand, O LORD.
  • As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”

Psalm 34.

David wrote this psalm after he escaped when he acted crazy before the Abimelech (King Achish of Gath). (Don’t confuse him with the high priest Ahimelech from whom David got the bread and Goliath’s sword just before going to this Philistine king.) (1 Samuel 21:8-15)

The psalm is full of praise, with many verses that would be great to memorize.

  • I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
  • My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.
  • Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His Name together!
  • I sought the LORD and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
  • The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them. 
  • Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
  • What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?  Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
  • The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry.  When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Wow!  Praise God!

Psalm 54.

This psalm was written by David when those “tattle-tellers” went to Saul and told him David was hiding in their city. (Remember how David asked God if the Ziphites would turn him over to Saul – even though David had rescued them from the Philistines.  God had said, “Yes,” and David and his men fled into the wilderness.)

  • O God, save me by your Name, and vindicate me by your might!
  • O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen against me; ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before themselves.
  • Behold, God is my helper, the Lord is the upholder of my life. He will return the evil to my enemies.
  • I will give thanks to Your Name, O LORD, for it is good. For he has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

Psalm 63.

Again David is faced with a familiar and persistent enemy.  He’s learned to put his trust WHOLLY upon the LORD.  Hear him preaching to himself. (Lord, help me to do this too!)

  • For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation
  • He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall NOT be greatly shaken.
  • How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.
  • For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him.
  • He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken; On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
  • Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. 

 Are you like me?  Do you want to memorize some of these great words of trust and praise?  Thank you David.  Thank You, God.

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 107

Apr17
Day 107.  Reading 1 Samuel 25-27
 

Read today’s scripture.  See how God “keeps” David’s heart righteous.

Who has God used to help YOU in your Christian walk?

1 Samuel 25.

Now Samuel died. All Israel mourned him. (The prayed-for baby, the hearer of God’s voice, the anointer of kings, a prophet, judge, and prayer-warrior for Israel…dead.)

And life goes on.  David and his 600 men had been living in the wilderness of Paran. They had been passively protecting the many flocks of sheep (3K) and the shepherds of a wealthy man named Folly (Nabal), from marauders and wild animals.  At the end of the winter, when the flocks were being sheared, David sent men to Folly asking for a show of appreciation.

“Peace to you! We hear you are shearing now. Your shepherds have been with us. We protected them and allowed none of your sheep to go missing. (Ask them, they’ll tell you.)  And so, let us find favor in your eyes. It’s a celebration day. Please give whatever you have on hand to your servants and to your “son” David.”

But Folly showed his true selfish colors. “Who is David?  Many servants have run away from their masters and are begging for bread. Shall I take MINE and give it to men who come from I don’t know where???

Wrong response, dear Nabal.  David responds in anger, arming his men to take revenge.

BUT… the wise, caring, and beautiful wife of Folly hears what he’s done and hurries to remedy his grave mistake.  She packs up a remarkable amount of food and supplies on donkeys and goes to meet (and perhaps calm down) David.  She does so, humbly, presenting the food, and basically tells David that she KNOWS he will be king one day, and that the LORD is leading him. Does he want this foolish act of vengeance on Folly to be a black spot on his record (and conscience)?

David is wowed.  And calmed down.  He graciously accepts the food and blesses the lady.

Abigail returns to her husband in a fury.  He’s feasting and jolly (Jolly Folly), and drunk.  But, in the morning she lays it on heavy about how foolish a fool he was.

He had a stroke? Heart attack?  And ten days later he is struck dead by the LORD. So much for all that wealth he was so greedy and foolish to keep for himself.  (Doesn’t this remind you of Jesus’ parable of The Rich Fool in Luke 12:16-21? Perhaps Jesus had Nabal in mind…)

David was happy that the LORD had “taken care of” Nabal and kept him back from taking revenge.  Then he sent for his widow, Abigail, and made her his wife. She was more than pleased and hurried to him, with her five “ladies in waiting.”  WOW. What a contrast in the way she’d been living.  Wealthy but despising her foolish husband then. And now, she lived meagerly, dangerously, with a man pursued by the king and the armies of Israel, but whom she believed would one day be the king of Israel, by God’s hand.

1 Samuel 26.

Abagail soon gets a taste of that dangerous living with an exile. 

Word comes to King Saul that David is hiding in a certain spot near the Dead Sea. He takes 3K choice soldiers with him to find and kill David. They camp in a plain nearby. 

Stealthily David spies on the camp, and sure enough, Saul is right in the middle, surrounded by soldiers.  At night when all are asleep (actually a VERY deep sleep caused by the LORD), David and a volunteer creep down into the camp … carefully walk through the sleeping soldiers … and come to the king and his commander, Abner.  They are deeply asleep and “sawing logs.” 

“God has given your enemy into your hand this day,” said the volunteer, Abishai. “Please let me pin him to the earth. I can do it with one spear thrust.” 

But David held him back. “Do not destroy him, for who can kill the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?  As the LORD lives, 1) the LORD will strike him, or 2) his day will come to die, or 3) he will go into battle and perish.”

But like before with the corner cut from the king’s robe, David takes Saul’s spear and water bottle to prove HIS OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE KILLED THE KING was not taken.

Back up on the hill, David calls to and berates Abner for not protecting the king.  They are astonished. How could this have happened?

And again, Saul acknowledges David’s righteousness. “I have sinned. I have acted foolishly. I have made a great mistake.  I will no more do you harm because MY life was precious in YOUR eyes today.”

David gives the spear back to Saul’s servant who comes to collect it. 

“Blessed be you, my son, David,” Saul says. “You will do many things and will succeed in them.”  And they both return to their places.

1 Samuel 27.

But David did not trust the words of King Saul. (And the king did keep pursuing him.)

And so, David, his men, and their families went to Gath and talked to the Philistine king, Achish.  When Saul heard he was living with the enemy, he no longer pursued David.  David asked Achish for a town for himself and his men, “For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?”  King Achish gave him Ziklag, which would belong to the kings of Judah ever afterward.  David stayed there for 16 months.

He and his men would make raids on Israel’s enemies, like the Amalekites, kill all the people, and take the animals. He told King Achish that he was raiding places in southern Judah (true, but…).  Since there was no one alive to say differently, the king was satisfied.

“Ha! David has made himself a stench to his people Israel,” thought Achish. “So, he shall always be MY servant.”

Think again, O king of the Philistines at Gath!.

.

  • LORD, thank you for the people you put in my life to keep me accountable and help me not to be foolish or brash.  I think of the people in our Care Group, my family, and the women at our church. 

 

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Days 103 & 104

Apr14
(I post Sunday’s and Monday’s studies together.)
 
Day 103.  Reading 1 Samuel 18 – 20 and Psalms 11 & 59
Day 104. Reading 1 Samuel 21 – 24.
 

Read today’s scripture.

What do you learn about God’s faithfulness in trials?

What encourages you in these Psalms?

1 Samuel 18.

After the triumph of killing Goliath and chasing the Philistines all the way home, Saul enquired who David was and immediately conscripted him into royal service. No more shepherding for David.  Then the two young men in Saul’s court met and bonded – Jonathan and David – two young heroes with hearts aligned to God’s glory in Israel. Jonathan was the heir-apparent, and David was already anointed as the next king, but that didn’t matter. They became the best of “BFF” (best friends forever).

David (now in Jonathan’s correctly sized armor, went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him. His men loved him; the people loved him; and Saul’s servants loved him. The “women of the city” met him after his raids, singing songs of joy, and dancing, playing tambourines, and other instruments.

“Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his tens thousands.”

Saul was so proud! NOT!!

He was terrified that David would take his kingdom.  The evil spirit came on him and he raved. He “eyed David” as he played the lyre, and many times hurled his spear at him to kill him. He was jealous because God had taken His Spirit from him and given Him to David.

Finally, Saul removed David from his presence, making him commander of a thousand hoping the Philistines would perhaps kill him. King Saul told David he could marry his daughter Michel if he would kill 100 Philistines.  No problem!  David brought back evidence of TWO hundred killed.  Saul realized God was with David, and that his daughter loved him, he was even more afraid and became David’s enemy continually.

1 Samuel 19.

King Saul plotted continuously to kill or have David killed. His son, Jonathan tried to intercede for his friend, but David’s life was always in danger in the court. The king even tried to get Michel, David’s wife, to let some men kill him in his sleep. But she tricked them and David escaped.

David even lived with the old Samuel for a while. When Saul heard this, he sent messengers to take David.  Three times he sent them, but the Holy Spirit came on them and they prophesied. Finally, Saul went himself and the same thing happened to HIM. And … this is totally weird … Saul took off all his clothes and lay naked all day and night. 

Seriously!! And we called Ludwig of Bavaria “the mad king.”

1 Samuel 20.

David returned to the court secretly and asked Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father that he seeks my life?”

Jonathan argued back, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me.  And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so!”

“Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘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!”

Jonathan: Whatever you say, I will do.”

Then David reveals a plan to test Saul’s heart.  David will go hide and not appear at the king’s table at dinner.  Jonathan is to make an excuse for him, if the King notices. Then, the test.  If Saul is okay with the excuse, then well. But if he is angry, then they both will KNOW that he is planning to harm David.

Jonathan agrees, and sets up a signal system.  He’ll shoot some arrows into the field and send his boy after them. If he says “closer” David will know it’s safe. If he says, “Go farther,” they both will know the king wants to kill David.

They agree. (Do they “pinkie-swear?”)

The short of it is that Saul indeed was angry and lashed out at Jonathan, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your shame, and to the shame of your mother.  For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, YOUR KINGDOM WILL NOT BE ESTABLISHED!  Go and bring him to me, for he shall surely DIE!!!”  THEN SAUL THREW HIS SPEAR AT JONAHAN!! (but missed.)

Now, Jonathan was angry. And grieved. And disgusted at his father.  But he went out the next morning with the arranged signal. “Go farther!” he told the boy. (And David.)

David and Jonathan met and pledged their friendship forever: to each other AND to their offspring too. (Watch for the proof of this later.) Then David left for good.

Psalm 11
"In the LORD I take refuge:
how can you say to my soul,
"Flee like a bird to your mountain,
for behold, the wicked bend the bow;
they have fitted their arrow to the string
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart...

Psalm 59
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God
protect me from those who rise up against me;
deliver me from those who work evil,
and save me from bloodthirsty men.
For behold, they lie in wait for my life;
fierce men stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD,
for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

O my strength, I will sing praises to You,
for You, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love."

###

1 Samuel 21.

David is on the run, with a few men. They come to Nob, one of the towns where the priests live.  David LIES and tells Ahimelech the priest, that he’s on a mission for the king and is meeting some of the men in a little while.  But he’s out of food. He asks the priest for five loaves of bread.  The priest has the bread, but it has just been removed from the Tabernacle (and replaced with fresh loaves), and only priests are supposed to eat it.  But….

The priest decides that if David and his few men are “holy” or clean, not having been with women, that “necessity rules” and he should give it to them. He does.

Then David asks if he has a spear or sword.  He has no weapon, David says, and lies again, “for the king’s business required haste.”  Turns out, that’s where Goliath’s sword – that David killed the giant with – is being kept.  The priest unwraps it and gives it to David.  Then David went off towards the Philistine city of Gath.

But… a certain man had been detained there, named Doeg, the Edomite.  He saw and heard it all, and decided he could use it to get in good with King Saul.

Meanwhile, David went to the Philistine king in Gath, perhaps looking to be a mercenary for him. But that king’s servants remembered how David had killed a lot of Philistines. So David did not approach King Achish, but instead acted like a crazy man, making marks on the gate and drooling into his beard. (Was he copying Saul??)

“What do I need with another madman!” the king said.  So David was able to escape the town.

1 Samuel 22.

David fled to the cave of Adullam, about midpoint between Gath and Jerusalem. His family heard about it and came. Also, about 400 men who “were in distress, in debt, and bitter in soul” gathered to him as well. He became their captain.

Meanwhile, King Saul was sitting under a tamarisk tree at his home in Gibeah with his spear in his hand.  Suddenly he complains to “the people of Benjamin” (his tribe), “No one disclosed to me when my son made a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of YOU is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred you up against me. Boo-hoo!”

Somehow, Doeg is there and sees his opportunity. “I saw the son of Jesse (does no one call him David?) at Nob making a deal with the priest. He gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath.”

Oh yeah?  Then the king summoned Ahimelech and all his father’s house and the priests of Nob. Saul accused them of treason. The priest objected, reminding Saul that David was the king’s son-in-law, captain of his guard and honored in his house. And… this wasn’t the first time he’d inquired of the LORD for David.  But Saul said they all were going to die.

“Bodyguard, kill the priests!!” But they would NOT kill the priests of the LORD. 

“YOU, Doeg, you kill them!” And the Edomite killed all 85 priests. He also killed all the people and animals in the city of Nob.

Only Abiathar, the priest’s grandson escaped and went to David.  And David mourned his own actions. “I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house!”  And he told Abiathar to stay with him.

1 Samuel 23.

It was told to David that the Philistines were attacking a small town in Judah. David inquired of the LORD twice. (Did Abiathar have the Umin and Thummin?) And the LORD told him to go attack the Philistines and save the town.  HE would give the Philistines into their hand. So David obeyed and saved the town. AND captured the livestock. (Yum, meat!)

But Saul learned that David was in the town and summoned his troops to war against them. David asked Abiathar to again use the ephod to enquire of the LORD. Would Saul come down and make war? YES.  Would the people of the town give David up? YES.

So David and his now 600 men, left.  It seems they might have gone all the way down to the stronghold of Masada in the wilderness, and to other places to escape the Mad King Saul. 

“Saul sought David every day, but God did not give him into his hand.”

Oh, Wait!  While David was hiding in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh, Jonathan appeared and “strengthened his hand in God.”  He said, “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. Saul my father knows this.”

THEN, those people of Ziph went to Saul and told him where David was hiding.

“You are blessed, for you have compassion on me!” said Saul  Yeah, right!

The Ziphites led him to David and Saul was closing in on David, when …. a message came that the Philistines were attacking his land.  Darn!  He had to turn back and go after the Philistines.  

Therefore, that place was called, “The Rock of Escape.”  Then David went up and lived among the strongholds of Engedi.

1 Samuel 24.

After Saul fought the Philistines for a while, he returned to Engedi, bringing 3K chosen men with him to find David.  As he passed a cave, he had an urge to relieve himself.  He went into the VERY CAVE where David was hiding to “take a dump.” 

David’s men whispered that now was his chance to rid Israel of the mad king.  But David said, “God forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed.”  And instead of cutting off his head, David took a corner of his robe with his knife.  And (yes, hard to believe) Saul left the cave without an inkling that his life had just been spared.

Then David came out of the cave and looked at Saul and his army camped below. 

“My lord, the king!” he called. They all looked up, flabberghasted.

“Why do you listen to the words of men who say I am seeking your harm. Today, the LORD gave you into my hands in that cave.  See!  See the corner of your robe in my hand?  I could have killed you, but I didn’t.”

Saul twirled around to see the missing corner on his robe and gasped. “David, you are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil.  So may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. Now I know that you shall SURELY be king.  SWEAR TO ME by the LORD, that you will not cut off my offspring after me or destroy my name out of my father’s house.”

“I swear it,” said David. 

Saul went home.  David and his men went up to the stronghold. (Masada?)

Wow.

What a story of protection and provision. Of mistakes and God’s endless grace!

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 102

Apr12
Day 102.  Reading 1 Samuel 15 – 17
 

Read today’s scripture.

How do you see God’s faithfulness, despite man’s failures, today?

1 Samuel 15.

Chapter 14 ended with the summary, “There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul” (and Israel’s army has yet to encounter Goliath).  But Saul needs to deal with another people whom God had vowed to destroy – the Amalekites.

Why?  The Amalekites were descendants of Esau. Esau and Jacob/Israel were twin brothers, but there was no family love between the original men and none between their descendants.  When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt and they were still untried and weak, the Amalekites attacked them. God helped Israel to push back the attack with Joshua and a rag-tag, quickly-assembled army, and Moses holding up his staff over the scene (with the help of Aaron and Hur). But God cursed them.

  • Deuteronomy 25:17-19. (Moses speaking) “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt., how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your “tail,” those who were lagging behind, and he did not fear God. THEREFORE when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that [He} is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.”

The time had come. Israel’s first king is charged with the task.

Samuel told Saul, “Go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction ALL that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”  

So Saul took 210K men and defeated the Amalekites in nearly all of their territory.  YAY!!

“And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites ALIVE and devoted to destruction of all the people with the edge of the sword. And Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, oxen, fattened calves, lambs….and all that was good, AND DID NOT UTTERLY DESTROY THEM (the Amalekites).” 

Wait, Saul didn’t kill the king?  (And he missed a few hundred others, according to later incidents.)

Samuel heard about it and he was mad. “I regret that I have made Saul king.”  He cried to God all night, then arose in the morning and went to Saul’s camp at Gilgal.

  • Saul: “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”
  • Samuel: “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of oxen I hear?
  • Saul:  “They brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen … to sacrifice to the LORD your God.“
  • Samuel:  “STOP! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night.”
  • Saul: “Speak.“
  • Samuel: “The LORD anointed you king over Israel. The LORD sent you on a mission.  Why then did you NOT OBEY THE VOICE OF THE LORD. Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was EVIL in the sight of the LORD?”
  • Saul: “I HAVE obeyed. I HAVE gone on the mission. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek and devoted the rest to destruction.  BUT THE PEOPLE took spoil to sacrifice to the LORD your God.”
  • Samuel: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, AS IN OBEYING?  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.  Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected YOU from being king.”
  • Saul: “I have sinned and transgressed the commandment of the LORD … because I feared the people.  Now, please pardon my sin.“
  • Samuel: You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king.” Then, when Saul ripped a piece of Samuel’s robe in trying to get him to stay,
  • Samuel said: “The LORD has torn the kingdom from you this day and given it to another, one better than you.”

After that, Samuel called for King Agag and hacked him to pieces. (Yes, that old man had the strength and will to do what Saul had not.)  Then Samuel left.  He did not see King Saul until the day of his death. (But, Samuel grieved over Saul … his “beautiful, tall and handsome man” the one HE had anointed prince of Israel….)

1 Samuel 16.

God remonstrated His prophet.

“How long will you grieve over Saul.  I will send you to Bethlehem to Jesse, for I’ve chosen a king for myself from his sons.  Take a heifer and tell him you’ve come to make a sacrifice to the LORD.  Then anoint FOR ME the one I show you.”

Samuel obeyed.

At the sacrifice celebration, Samuel looked at Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab. Perhaps he was tall and handsome too, for God spoke sharply to His prophet. “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on  the heart.”

And so it happened to all of Jesse’s son brought to Samuel from the oldest downward.  God rejected all seven.

Samuel was confused. He was SURE this was the family.  He was SURE God had rejected all the sons. Hmm.

“Are ALL your sons here, Jesse?” 

“Well, there remains only the youngest, but behold he’s a lad and he out tending the sheep.”

“Send and get him,” charged Samuel and they did.  This boy was ruddy (rosy-cheeked), had beautiful eyes, and was handsome (with blond curls, the Jews say). (Not like Saul at all.)

“This is the one. Anoint him,” said the LORD.

So Samuel anointed the lad in the presence of his family. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed onto David from that day forward.  After the sacrifice, Samuel got up and went home.

MEANWHILE, back at Gilgal, the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him.   His servants began looking for a musician who could play soft music on a lyre to calm him.

One of them mentioned that he’d seen such a man, the son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, who was skilled at playing the lyre.  He was also a man of valor, prudent in speech, a man of good presence, and the LORD is with him.

Saul sent messengers to Jesse to get David from watching the sheep.  So David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.  Whenever the harmful spirit was upon Saul, David came, took up the lyre, and played.

So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him. (temporarily)

1 Samuel 17.

You know it, right? The story of David and Goliath?

The Philistines were back (after that awful defeat begun by young Jonathan).  They were back in Judah. And Saul gathered his army in line of battle against the Philistines.  But the invaders had brought a secret weapon: one of their giants from their city of Gath.  Goliath was 9.5 feet tall.  He was clothed in armor weighing more than 150#.  And he stood arrogant and shouted to the army of Israel.

“Am I not a Philistine and are not you servants of Saul? Choose a man and let him fight me. If he can kill ME, we will be your servants. (hahaha)  But if “I” kill him, YOU shall be OUR servants.  I DEFY THE RANKS OF ISRAEL THIS DAY.  GIVE ME A MAN THAT WE MAY FIGHT.”

Okay, you guessed it. The army of Saul was terrified. (Hopefully, by then they had more than two swords among them!!)  For forty days, the giant came forward and took his stand, morning till evening. And Israel stood frozen in their lines. (Forty days is significant. Forty = testing.)  Saul promised his beautiful youngest daughter to the man who would come out and defeat the giant.  But no one stepped up.

Meanwhile, back in Bethlehem, old Jesse was worried about his sons in the army.  He sent David with a donkey loaded with goodies, to check on them.  He arrived at the camp just as Goliath was shouting his challenge. 

David asked, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach of Israel?”  The soldiers told David about King Saul’s offer of his daughter.  Maybe David was familiar with the beautiful girl from the times he was called to court to play the lyre for the king.

His brothers scolded David, saying he’d only come to gawk at the giant. But David responded, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

News of this got back to King Saul and he sent for David. (Saul didn’t recognize him as the lyre player.) 

David:  “Don’t be afraid. I will go and fight with this Philistine.”

Saul: “You are not able for you are but a youth.”

David:  “I used to keep sheep for my father. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and saved the lamb.  I’ve struck down both lions and bears, and this Philistine shall be like one of them … for he has defied the armies of the living God.  The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the bear and the lion will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine.”

Saul:  “Go, and the LORD be with you.”  (Saul tried to make David wear his armor, but it was way too big and clumsy. And David had never moved about in armor before.  He took it off.)

You know the story.

The challenge. The one stone of five into the sling. The fall of the giant. The final coup de gras with the giant’s head rolling and David holding the giant’s heavy sword high.

And it all happened, “that the earth may KNOW that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may KNOW that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s and He will give you [enemies] into our hand.”

Of course, then, the men of Israel rose and pursued the Philistines all the way to Gath and the gates of Ekron.

Saul, seeing it all, asked his commander, Abner, “Whose son is that?’

Abner: “I don’t know.”

Saul: “Well, find out!’

When David returned from killing the giant, Abner brought him to the king.

“Whose son are you?”

“I‘m the son of your servant Jesse, the Bethlehemite.” (The one who has been coming to play the lyre for you when you go crazy!  But he probably didn’t say that.)

(Sounds to me like Saul was conscripting David into his army.)

—

(Hey, didn’t David’s daring-do, and his confidence in God remind you of Jonathan in yesterday’s reading? Jonathan had said, “the LORD is able to deliver by many or by a few. Let’s go!”  These two young believers in the LORD and His strength will meet in tomorrow’s reading.  And a godly, tight bond will form.)

  • O LORD, that I might trust in You so completely that all fear is gone.  I also pray that I will be obedient in all you ask.  You are a great God!

 

 

 

 

 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 140 & 141

May20

    Day 140 & 141—We are in our FIFTH month of Bible reading.   What insights have you gained about God and yourself through reading so far?  Share in the comments section.

(Note: SUNDAY’s and MONDAY’s readings are combined.)

    Day 140 – Psalms 5. 38. 41. 42. – (Psalms of David in a tumultuous time)

Psalm 5. “Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make straight before me. For there is no truth in their mouth…”     

“But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, and those who love your name may exult in you. FOR YOU BLESS THE RIGHTEOUS, O LORD; You cover him with favor as with a shield.”

Psalm 38. “I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.”     “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin. But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully.”    “Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.”

Psalm 41. “Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble, the LORD delivers him; the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; You do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness, you restore him to full health.”     “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.”

Psalm 42. “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? HOPE IN GOD, for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.  My soul is cast down within me; therefore, I remember you…”     “By day, the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night, His song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.” 

.

    Day 141 – 2 Samuel 22 – 23, Psalm57 – (Songs of David & a recount of all his mighty men)

2 Samuel 22 is a song of David praising God for deliverance. Notice all the nouns he uses.

“The LORD is my ROCK and my FORTRESS and my DELIVERER, my GOD, my rock in whom I take refuge, my SHIELD, and the HORN of my salvation, my STRONGHOLD and my REFUGE, my SAVIOR, you save me from violence. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised.”

“In my distress, I called upon the LORD; to my God, I called. From His temple, HEARD my voice, and my cry came to His ears.”     “He SENT from on high, He TOOK me; He DREW me out of many waters. He RESCUED me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too  mighty for me.”   “He BROUGHT me out into a broad place; He RESCUED me because He DELIGHTED in me.”

“This God–His way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.”

“You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your GENTLENESS made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip…”     “You delivered me from strife with my people; You kept me as the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.”

“The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation.”    “Great salvation he brings to His king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.”

2 Samuel 23 opens with these words: “Now these are the last words of David; the oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel.”  The following words (praise to God for choosing him and these people) are not David’s final oral speech but his final literary legacy to Israel.

The last part of this chapter is a repeat recalling of David’s mighty men and some of their actions of greatness. The last one mentioned is “Uriah the Hittite…”

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 139

May18

   Day 139—We are in our FIFTH month of Bible reading.   Are you loving God more each day? What are you learning about Him?  Share in the comments section.

   Day 139 – 2 Samuel 19 – 21 (Aftermath of Absalom’s coup)

Chapter 19. The rebellious, arrogant, murdering son, Absalom, is dead at the hands of Commander Joab. The war is over. The coup is stopped. There should be a celebration. And yet the king is in his room, weeping, moaning, and wailing. “O Absalom, my son! Wish I had died.” His troops hear him and slink away. 

Joab goes to him and basically slaps him alongside the head. “What are you doing? Your enemy is dead. The people are ashamed and leaving you. Get up and ACT LIKE A KING!” And David does. But he fires his successful commander-in-chief and replaces him with Absalom’s commander, Amasa. SERIOUSLY DAVID???  (Joab takes care of that later in chapter 20.)

The priests and people of Judah call the king back to Jerusalem, and David magnanimously pardons his enemies. (Remember Shimei, who cursed David as he was fleeing? And Ziba, who (maybe falsely) bad-mouthed Mephibosheth? Even the crippled son of Jonathan got the benefit of the doubt about seizing the kingdom.)  Then there is a tug-of-war between Judah and the other 10 tribes about WHO should be helping King David and his entourage back over the Jordan River.  Sheesh!

Chapter 20.  Then “a worthless man” named Sheba musters a rebellion of the Benjaminites, saying it should be a descendant of King Saul (A Benjamite) who rules. Again, the tribes align themselves on one side or the other, and King David sends Amasa and his troops to take care of Sheba.

For some dumb reason, Amasa procrastinates (can’t make up his own mind?), and Joab, dressed only as a soldier now, follows him. “Hey, Dude, how ya doing?” he says as he grabs Amasa’s beard and stabs him in the gut.  Joab then slips back into his role of Commander-in-chief and, with his co-commander brother, Abishai, takes care of the task. Instead of attacking the city that Sheba is hiding in, a wise woman persuades Joab to let her take care of it. He does. She does. And soon Sheba’s head is tossed over the wall. Joab leads the entire army of Israel home.

Chapter 21. Next, there is a three-year famine, and the king inquires of the LORD in case there is something else he has done wrong. It turns out King Saul had treated the Gibeonites cruelly, and that needed to be fixed.

(Remember when Joshua began conquering the land? The Gibeonites had tricked him, and he had made a covenant with them not to attack them. Joshua 9:14-15!  Since then, Israel had honored that covenant and had not warred against them, only made them servants.)  But Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal.”  King David makes it right, but not without them hanging seven of Saul’s 15 remaining sons. Later David collects their bones and those of Saul and Jonathan and buries them in a respectful manner.

The last of the chapter is a recap of Israel’s wars with the Philistines and their champion giants, all of which are now dead.