What you need to know about I Samuel

According to Jewish tradition, the book was written by Samuel, the last of the judges. I Samuel is a continuation of Israel's history after the close of the Book of Judges.

Hannah needs a baby (I Samuel 1)

1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: 2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there. 4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: 5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb. 6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb. 7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. 8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons? 9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. 10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. 11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. 12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth. 13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. 14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. 15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. 16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto. 17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. 18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. 19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her. 20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD. 21 And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. 22 But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever. 23 And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him. 24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young. 25 And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD. 27 For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: 28 Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there. Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah; the other wife had children; she didn't. You will notice in verses 6-7 that Peninnah, the other wife, was Hannah's "adversary," and she "provoked her." I can imagine that this was the typical tense environment

of many households where multiple wives were present. Moreover, a child (especially a male child) was the only retirement program that many women had - someone to take care of them in those twilight years. We are told that Hannah was favored by her husband Elkanah. Perhaps he went on to marry Peninnah because of Hannah's inability to bear children. Whatever the reason, the presence of two wives in the home created an environment that was less than harmonious. So Hannah made a vow to God, "Give me a child and I'll make him a life-long Nazarite." The Nazarite vow instructions are found in Numbers 6 (see notes). Samson's mom had done the same thing (Judges 13, see notes). Hannah has the child, names him Samuel and drops him off at the tabernacle after weaning. The tabernacle in Shiloh is his new home according to the specifics of her vow. Shiloh was about 13 miles north of Hannah's home in Ramah, a five to six hour trip by foot. Samuel becomes a helper to the priest. The word "weaned" in verses 22 and 24 does not necessarily mean "weaned" from breast milk. It is sometimes used in that context, but here it is apparent that Hannah raised Samuel to some point in his childhood. We see in 2:11 that Samuel seems to have become immediately helpful upon his arrival to the Tabernacle - not a description of a baby's ability...or even a toddler. Incidentally, we see Samuel's genealogy in I Chronicles 6:26-28 (see notes) and note that he was of Levite lineage. An extra Levite around the tabernacle might come in handy for Eli at some point in the future. One more thing...Hannah had made a vow before Samuel was born to commit Samuel to the Lord. While we aren't told per se, this dedication to the Lord in her vow must have involved leaving him with the high priest of Israel when the time was appropriate to do so. Vows were sacred in Israel. One did not break a vow. We find a warning regarding vows in Deuteronomy 23:21-23 (see notes), "When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth." So, let's not be too hard on Hannah for leaving Samuel with a high priest who had trouble raising his own children. If she had made a vow before Samuel's birth to do so, she did not presume to have the liberty to break such a vow - especially since the Lord had specifically honored her vow by giving her the ability to bear children. For more information on vows, see the notes on Numbers 30.

Samuel gets a nice send off (I Samuel 2:1-10)

1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. 2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 4 The bows of the mighty men ARE broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. 5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. 6 The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. 7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. 8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORDS, and he hath set the world upon them. 9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. 10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

Hannah gives Samuel a nice send-off prayer in these 11 verses prior to leaving him there with the high priest, Eli. It's an interesting prayer; notice her opening line when she says, "my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies." Is she talking about her husband's other wife, Peninnah, here? I wonder how women introduced the other wife or wives of their husbands back then wife-in-law? Or perhaps they just introduced them as "enemies" or "adversaries."

A very interesting verse in this prayer is 10, "The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed." Israel's neighbors had kings, and Gideon's renegade son, Abimelech, had made a grab for the kingship back in Judges 9 (see notes). Of course, Saul would be the first king of Israel. Hannah's prayer here seems to reflect the desire and anticipation perhaps shared by many Israelites for the day when they could have a king like the other nations. This becomes a reality in I Samuel 8 (see notes). I wonder if Hannah anticipated that the child she had left off at the tabernacle might become Israel's first king. Well, as it turns out, he wasn't, but he did make Israel's first and second royal appointments.

Eli's boys skim the offerings (I Samuel 2:11-26)

11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest. 12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. 13 And the priests custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priests servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; 14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither. 15 Also before they burnt the fat, the priests servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. 16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. 17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD. 18 But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. 19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home. 21 And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD. 22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. 24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORDS people to transgress. 25 If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them. 26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men. Eli's sons (Hophni and Phinehas) were corrupt; that's what the KJV phrase "sons of Belial" in verse 12 means. They were abusive to the people who brought offerings. They inappropriately allocated a portion of the offerings that belonged to God. They also had inappropriate relationships with women around the tabernacle area, and they apparently made little attempt to hide their corruption. How bad was it? It was so bad that verse 17 says, "...for men abhorred the offering of the LORD." Eli rebuked his sons for their conduct, but it made no difference ; he took no further actions when it was obviously his place to do so. We see in verse 25 that they had stepped over the line of God's tolerance; God had determined that they must die. Samuel, on the other hand, was a good boy. His mom took him a new robe once a year when she visited; she dressed him up like a little priest, complete with his own priestly-looking vest - an ephod. God gave her more children (three more sons and two daughters), but according to verses 20-21, not until after she delivered Samuel to Eli. While we are left with the impression that Hannah only visited Samuel once each year, she probably visited more frequently than that based upon the commandment of Exodus 34:23 (see notes). There were three feasts specified when the Hebrews are to gather together. These are the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) and the Feast of Tabernacles. Later on in Jewish history, these three Festivals were the times when Jews tried to make a pilgrimage back to Jerusalem. So, it is a reasonable assumption that Hannah, only 13 miles away from Shiloh, probably visited Samuel more often than once each year. We do know that once each year she brought him a new suit of clothes.

God speaks to Eli about his boys (I Samuel 2:27-36)

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27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaohs house? 28 And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? 29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? 30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy fathers house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. 32 And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. 33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. 35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. 36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into o ne of the priests offices, that I may eat a piece of bread. A "man of God" arrives to speak a word from God. His prophecy may be divided into three sections: 1. 2. 3. The authority of the priesthood (verses 27-28) The abuse of the priesthood under Eli's leadership (verses 29-30) The prophecy regarding the result of the priesthood under Eli as a result of this abuse (verses 31-36)

God speaks to Eli about his sons, but Eli still doesn't take any substantive action. God lets Eli know that they won't get away with their actions. As a matter of fact, God tells Eli that his sons will die...on the same day. Moreover, Eli gets some additional bad news about his legacy in this passage; the priesthood through his lineage will be cut off. Years later the priesthood was taken from Eli's descendant, Abiathar (descendant of Aaron's son Ithamar) and given to Zadok (descendant of Aaron's son Eleazar). This transfer would take place later under Solomon's authority as a fulfillment of this prophecy in I Kings 2:27,35 (see notes). There's another aspect regarding Eli's priesthood that is worth noting. In Numbers 25:11-13 (see notes) it was decreed that priests from that time forward would come only from the line of Aaron's grandson, Phinehas, who was Eleazar's son. This was because of his heroic deed in the midst of sin among the Hebrews. That would indicate that Eli's priesthood was in violation of that decree anyway. However, there were a lot of things wrong in Israel during the period of the judges.

Samuel gets the call (I Samuel 3)

1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. 2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; 3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; 4 That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. 5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. 6 And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.

7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. 8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. 9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. 11 And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. 12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. 13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. 14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Elis house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever. 15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. 17 And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee. 18 And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good. 19 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. 21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD. Spiritually, Israel was in tough shape during this period. Verse 1 points out that there was "no open vision." In other words, there was not a leading of the Lord through any man on a consistent basis leading up to Samuel...but then everything changed. Samuel was bunking on the tabernacle grounds when God spoke to him. It's amusing what God said to Samuel in verse 11, "Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle." As a matter of fact, we see in verse 12 that God confirms to Samuel the prophecy which had been issued by the "man of God" back in 2:27-36 (see above). Along with this Word from God, Samuel is told that Eli is to be harshly judged for being an accessory after the fact with regard to the corruptness of his sons. Concerning Eli, he is told in verse 14, "...the iniquity of Elis house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever." Eli had allowed things to pass the point of no return. Eli insisted on knowing what God had told him, so Samuel complied; the prophetic forecast was bad, but Eli took it in stride. Thus, Samuel became firmly established by God as a prophet and a judge in Israel. Moreover, the people accepted him as such. Notice verse 19, "And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground." That is a Hebrew expression meaning that everything Samuel prophetically spoke was honored by God - God vindicated him before the people. One more trivial point, the phrase "all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba" is intended to convey the entirety of Israel. It's interesting in that some of the Tribe of Dan had moved way north to take that city during the period of the judges there in the northern-most part of Israel - far way from the rest of their tribesmen. That story is found in Judges 18:1-20 (see notes). As a result, they now have become a national landmark for identifying the entirety of Israel.

A really lame battle plan (I Samuel 4:1-11)

1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. 2 And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. 3 And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it

may save us out of the hand of our enemies. 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. 6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp. 7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. 8 Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. 9 Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight. 10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. 11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. Samuel is now the judge over Israel and leads them into battle against the Philistine occupation of Israel; this battle takes place within the tribal allotment of Ephraim approximately 20 miles west of Shiloh, and these Hebrews get soundly trounced with a loss of 4,000 soldiers. The Israeli army decides they could prevail if they sent back for the Ark of the Covenant (located in Shiloh) and have it brought to the battle front. What a crazy idea! The Philistines are alarmed at its arrival, but attack anyway, wipe out a bunch of Israeli soldiers (30,000) and capture the Ark. Eli's two sons are killed, but remember, they had it coming according to the prophecy back in I Samuel 2:34 (see notes). I suppose it made sense to the Jews to take the Ark of the Covenant into battle; God had commanded them to use it as such in the early conquest of Canaan back in Joshua's day. You will also recall that it played a prominent role in the conquest of Jericho back in Joshua 6 (see notes). However, the difference in these two occasions is the decree of God. Joshua was commanded to take the Ark into a God-ordained battle; this time a less-committed-to-God bunch of Hebrews decide (as a matter of superstition) to take it with them into battle. Here's the lesson for them and for us: With God, it's not what you do; it's why you do what you do. Incidentally, you will notice in verse 8 that the Philistines had no understanding of Israel's monotheism, their relationship with THE one true God, Jehovah. As far as they are concerned, Israel is a polytheistic nation just like all of the other surrounding nations, but with more powerful "gods" at their disposal. According to the notes in the Jewish Study Bible, "The Ark of God was captured, in keeping with the ancient custom of taking the statue of the god of the defeated people as booty."

Eli has his worst day in 98 years (I Samuel 4:12-22)

12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. 13 And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out. 14 And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see. 16 And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son? 17 And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. 18 And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. 19 And his daughter in law, Phinehas wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ar k of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came

upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. 22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken. Eli the priest was a little concerned about the Ark being gone from the Tabernacle. This 98 year-old overweight man is sitting in his chair next to the road when he gets the word from a grief-stricken Israeli soldier who had escaped that the Ark has been captured and both his sons are dead. He immediately falls over in his chair and breaks his neck, ending his fortyyear tenure. Then his daughter-in-law (wife of Phinehas, who was killed) hears the bad news which induces the birth of her son; she dies in childbirth. In her dying breath, she gives the child a really tough name, "Ichabod," a compound Hebrew word meaning "no glory." To her, that just summed up the day when Israel lost the Ark, her husband, brother-in-law and father-in-law die unexpected deaths, and she realizes that she is dying in childbirth. How would you like for your name to mean that the glory has departed from your country? Ichabod's did. Eli had reason to be concerned that day as Israel carried the Ark into battle. He probably recalled the word from the Lord that Samuel had received when he was a child back in I Samuel 3 (see notes). Per that prophecy, Eli's household was due to be harshly judged, and this turned out to be the day it happened.

Hey! Philistines! How do you like the Ark now? (I Samuel 5)

1 And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. 2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. 3 And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. 4 And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. 5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagons house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day. 6 But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof. 7 And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god. 8 They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither. 9 And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts. 10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people. 11 So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 12 And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven. The Philistines set the captured Ark of the Covenant up next to Dagon, their man-fish-looking idol back in the city of Ashdod. The Ark (a 4'x3'x3' gold-covered and lined box) apparently abused Dagon - knocked him over the first day and again the second day at which time Dagon lost his fish-looking head and hands in the fall. Wait! There's more! The men of Ashdod started getting some ugly "emerods" and many died. These "emerods" were tumor-looking things. The Philistines even acknowledge that Israel's God had beaten up their god (verse 7). They unanimously cry out, "Let's move this thing!" To Gath it goes where the Philistine men there are plagued with "emerods in their secret parts." Ooooo! That's gotta hurt! They then decide to move it a third time to Ekron; the Philistines of Ekron know it's bad news as it enters their city

and cry out in protest. They call for the Philistine leaders to come give them some relief, but not before "there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there" (verse 11). But it didn't stop there according to verse 12, "the men that died not were smitten with the emerods." After seven months, the Philistines are really, really anxious to be rid of the Ark!

How do you return a stolen Ark? (I Samuel 6)

1 And the ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of the LORD? tell us wherewith we shall send it to his place. 3 And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you. 4 Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your lords. 5 Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land. 6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? 7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them: 8 And take the ark of the LORD, and lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of gold, which ye return him for a trespass offering, in a coffer by the side thereof; and send it away, that it may go. 9 And see, if it goeth up by the way of his own coast to Bethshemesh, then he hath done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that smote us: it was a chance that happened to us. 10 And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home: 11 And they laid the ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold and the images of their emerods. 12 And the kine took the straight way to the way of Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left; and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the border of Bethshemesh. 13 And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it. 14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone: and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a burnt offering unto the LORD. 15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone: and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices the same day unto the LORD. 16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day. 17 And these are the golden emerods which the Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one; 18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the Bethshemite. 19 And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter. 20 And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up from us? 21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you. Yeah, but how do we get rid of this thing? It seems that in addition to tumors and death, mice had overrun their fields as well. So their holy men decide they need to send it back with some offerings inside - five tumor-looking-things made out of gold (YUK!) and five golden mice replicas. Recalling Egypt's experience with Israel, they make a cart for the Ark and hook it up to two milk cows for the journey home. Still not absolutely certain that their woes for the last seven months weren't just a coincidence, they figure if the cows head straight for Beth-shemesh (one of the Levite cities about nine miles

east-southeast of Ekron), it must have been Israel's God that plagued them - otherwise, coincidence. The Israelites in Bethshemesh are tickled to see the Ark coming to their town. However, the Ark is a little hard on the Hebrews back in Bethshemesh as well; a bunch of them die also for looking into the Ark. That was a no no according to Numbers 4:20 (see notes), "But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die." Hey, you people in Kirjathjearim! Please, please, please send somebody to take this Ark off our hands!

Twenty more years of disgusting idol worship (I Samuel 7:1-4)

1 And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD. 2 And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD. 3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. 4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only. The residents of Kirjathjearim (about 9 miles northeast) come and take the ark off the hands of the plagued people of Bethshemesh. Israel has the Ark, but not back in its original home, the Tabernacle back at Shiloh; it stayed in storage in Kirjathjearim at the house of Abinadab who had sanctified his son, Eleazar, to be the keeper. The Israelites were apparently not in any spiritual state to be concerned about its absence from the Tabernacle in Shiloh; they continued with their false gods for those twenty years - slow learners. Finally, Samuel rallies the people and they pledge their allegiance to the one true God. Notice verse 4, "Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only." Though now serving God, they still do not move the Ark to its home. Baalim is the plural of Baal, speaking of the plurality of the images that they had to represent him. Baal was the head of the pantheon in Canaanite culture - their so-called god of heaven and earth. Ashtaroth was the Canaanite goddess of fertility and love. Wow...those Hebrews certainly had embraced Canaanite culture...big time! Well, at least for awhile, the Hebrews rid themselves of those disgusting idols here; they're ready to take a stand for God! The reference to "twenty years" in verse 2 was the period of time Israel continued in idol worship before they once again sought after God. The Ark of the Covenant remained there for longer - throughout the period of King Saul's forty-year reign until the time of David's reign. He moved it from Kirjathjearim to Jerusalem in II Samuel 6 (see notes).

Finally...they had all they could stand! (I Samuel 7:5-17)

5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD. 6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh. 7 And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. 9 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him. 10 And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar. 12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us. 13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. 15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

16 And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places. 17 And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house ; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD. After they finally get rid of their false gods and admit their sin, Samuel gathers Israel together to make a sacrifice to Jehovah. The Philistines think this would be a great opportunity to attack. It's not nice to attack Israel when they are worshipping! A miracle happens. Verse 10 says, "the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines." Boooooom! The battle is over! The Philistines fall like dominoes beginning that day. Israel pursues and slays the remaining fleeing army of the Philistines, and Israel is free again! They're back with their real estate free from the oppressive Philistines. Verse 14 adds, "And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites." These Amorites were original inhabitants of Canaan. Times seem good once again for Israel under the leadership of Samuel.

How about a king! (I Samuel 8)

1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. 3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. 7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. 9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. 10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. 11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. 13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. 15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. 18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day. 19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. 21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD. 22 And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city. Well...it turns out that Samuel did no better at raising his children than his mentor, Eli, had done. He makes his boys judges, and they are corrupt - so corrupt that the people of Israel call for a meeting and make a declaration in verse 5, "And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." Yeah...a king...that would solve our problems! As you can see, however, the corruption of Samuel's own boys is what provoked the people of Israel to call for a king.

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The plan up to this point was simple: Obey God, stay away from the false gods of your neighbors and Jehovah will keep you free and prosperous. Israel wanted more than that. They wanted some towering figure in their presence who would prevent them from doing wrong. They were eager to forsake their tribal/regional governments in lieu of a central government; they wanted a king! Their desire for a king had been anticipated many generations before - back in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 (see notes). The Canaan-entry plan was that the individual tribes would govern themselves without a central government. They were all to worship God, and they were to make their three annual trips to Shiloh where they would acknowledge their allegiance to God through their sacrifices there. But now they want to unite the tribes with a central government under a king - their choice - not God's. God tells Samuel to tell Israel that a king has some baggage they need to consider in verses 10-18. A king will draft your sons for government civil service (verses 11, 16). A king will enlist your sons for his standing army and for creating the tools of warfare (verse 12). A king will enlist your daughters for his domestic service (verses 13, 16). A king will take your best fields and turn them over to his own servants for harvest (verse 14). A king will tax you on your harvest (verses 15, 17).

Who cares? We want a king! So God tells Samuel in verse 22, "Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king." Let's see how this works out. The search for a king begins in I Samuel 9 (see notes).

How do you look for a king? (I Samuel 9)

1 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. 2 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. 3 And the asses of Kish Sauls father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. 4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not. 5 And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us. 6 And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go. 7 Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we? 8 And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way. 9 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.) 10 Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was. 11 And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here? 12 And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people to day in the high place: 13 As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this time ye shall find him.

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14 And they went up into the city: and when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high place. 15 Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, 16 To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. 17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people. 18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seers house is. 19 And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart. 20 And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy fathers house? 21 And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me? 22 And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the parlour, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee. 24 And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day. 25 And when they were come down from the high place into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house. 26 And they arose early: and it came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad. 27 And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God. In I Samuel 8:22 (see notes), the last verse of the preceding chapter, God directed Samuel to provide Israel with a king. So...how does one search for a king? The answer is easy; you wait for the prospective king to come looking for you. I mean...if it's not a supernatural selection, who needs it? A Benjamite man named Kish, a wealthy man, sends his very tall (verse 2) son, Saul, out on a journey to find his lost donkeys. After three days of searching, Saul's servant suggests that they go to the "man of God" who is a "seer" for help in finding the donkeys. That was a handy function for a "seer," don't you think? Samuel gets a word from God to expect the next king to show up; here comes Saul. Immediately upon seeing Saul in verse 17, God tells Samuel that Saul is to be the new king of Israel. When Saul meets Samuel, a great man in Israel, he really can't comprehend why Samuel is treating him with such respect - in fact, like royalty. After all, he's from the smallest tribe (Benjamin) and considers his family to be insignificant within the tribe (verse 21). The diminutive size of the Tribe of Benjamin is undoubtedly attributed to the reduction of the tribe down to 600 men in the bizarre episode found in Judges 1921 (see notes). This whole selection process of Saul as the new King of Israel had taken place under the direction of God (verses 15-17). The next morning (verses 26-27), Samuel calls for a private meeting with Saul so he can break the you're-gonna-be-king news to Saul. Incidentally, we see a transition taking place in terminology in this chapter. Saul refers to Samuel as the "man of God" in verse 8 and the "seer" (Hebrew: "raw-aw") in verse 9. However, we are told that this office of "seer" transitioned into the office of "prophet" (Hebrew: "naw-bee") in verse 9, a term that more accurately reflects the service to God a prophet plays toward the future monarchs of Israel.

An odd way to make a king (I Samuel 10:1-16)

1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? 2 When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachels sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at

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Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? 3 Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: 4 And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands. 5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: 6 And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. 7 And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee. 8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do. 9 And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. 10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? 12 And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? 13 And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place. 14 And Sauls uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel. 15 And Sauls uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you. 16 And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not. So, when did Saul actually become the King of Israel? This chapter begins with Saul's anointing from Samuel. So, if an old respected man tells you you're the king, does that make it so? Samuel then offers three signs to Saul that were fulfilled in one day; it's like a supernatural scavenger hunt. 1. 2. 3. Saul will supernaturally be directed to his lost donkeys (verse 2). Saul will receive food and wine from a couple of strangers (verses 3-4). Saul will meet up with some prophets and will prophesy with them, at which time a transformation in Saul will take place (verses 5-7).

Those three signs must have served to convince Saul that he was, in fact, the man just as Samuel had said. However, it's a little problematic when you're the king, but nobody knows you're the king. Verse 9 seems particularly significant, "And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day." They'll get back together in seven days to finish up this process, but Saul is immediately a changed man as we see in verse 10-16; people seem to notice the difference...especially when they saw that "he prophesied among the prophets" (verse 11). There's no coronation yet, but Saul is the king...or at least the king apparent at this point. However, when questioned by his uncle regarding his meeting with Samuel, Saul leaves out the part of the meeting about being made the King of Israel.

A big meetin' to anoint a king (I Samuel 10:17-27)

17 And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh; 18 And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: 19 And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by

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your thousands. 20 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. 21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. 22 Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. 23 And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. 24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. 25 Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. 27 But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace. Remember the way Achan was flushed out (apparently by casting lots) in Joshua 7 (see notes) for his guilt at the battle of Ai? Here's the casting-lots process all over again, but this time it's to select a king. The casting of lots is understood to be the process used here because the Hebrew terminology incorporated is the same as in I Samuel 14:42 (see notes) when the lot fell upon Jonathan in that honey incident. For a more complete look at the practice of casting lots, click here. Of course, Samuel had already anointed Saul days earlier. I wonder why Samuel just didn't tell the people, "Here's your man!" Obviously, here's another confirmation for Samuel and everyone else that God has chosen Saul to be their king. After eliminating the other tribes, then clans, then men within the clans, Saul gets the call - what a surprise! Well...it must have been a surprise, because Saul was not there to get the award; he was out among "the stuff." Apparently you did not have to be present to win. So, they went to get him and give him the news. Saul was a towering man; everybody else just came up to his shoulders. The people like their new king - except for a few in verse 27 ("children of Belial" i.e. worthless people). Ooooo; it's a treacherous move to dissent against God's man. So...Saul...now that you've just been proclaimed King of Israel, what are you going to do? He just heads back home (Gibeah in central Benjamin), but this time with a band of followers "whose hearts God had touched." Nothing at this point seems very different - no palace, no queen - just the secret service agents that follow him back home.

Let's test drive this new kingship! (I Samuel 11)

1 Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabeshgilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. 2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. 3 And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts o f Israel: and then, if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee. 4 Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept. 5 And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. 6 And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. 7 And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. 8 And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabeshgilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To morrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you. 11 And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the

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morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together. 12 And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death. 13 And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel. 14 Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. 15 And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly. Well, Nahash the Ammonite comes after the Israelite people in Jabesh-gilead; he plans to wipe them out, but they agree to serve him. However, that's not good enough for Nahash! He insists that a treaty is only possible if he is permitted to gouge out all the right eyes of the inhabitants. They ask for seven days to consider while they send a messenger to Saul who does his first army draft. After hearing the report of Nahash and Jabesh-gilead, Saul is one upset king. He cuts up a yoke of oxen - sends the pieces out to the other tribes in the form of draft notices to the Israeli army. He ends up with a huge army with time to spare. Now this is the benefit of a king the people of Israel had been looking for - someone to garrison a massive army (330,000 soldiers). Hey Nahash! There's a new sheriff in town! He takes the army and destroys Nahash and his Ammonite army. As a matter of fact, he so thoroughly trounces the Ammonites that it is said of them in verse 11, "...so that two of them were not left together." Remember those guys in I Samuel 10:27 ("children of Belial" i.e. worthless people - see above) who questioned Saul's kingship? The Tribes of Israel are ready to terminate their worthless lives after this great victory under Saul, but Saul puts a stop to it. They have a close brush with death in the spontaneous celebration after Israel's victory over the Ammonites; it's fortunate for them that Saul was in a good mood after his victory!

Time for Samuel to take a bow (I Samuel 12)

1 And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. 2 And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. 3 Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. 4 And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any mans hand. 5 And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness. 6 And Samuel said unto the people, IT IS THE LORD that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD of all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you and to your fathers. 8 When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. 9 And when they forgat the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 10 And they cried unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. 11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled safe. 12 And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king. 13 Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you.

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14 If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God: 15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers. 16 Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes. 17 Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king. 18 So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. 19 And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. 20 And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; 21 And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. 22 For the LORD will not forsake hi s people for his great names sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. 23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: 24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. 25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king. Samuel makes his parting "DO RIGHT!" speech to Israel. It includes one of those history lessons made famous by Moses. He begins by reminding them of God's deliverance under Moses from Egyptian bondage through verse 8. Then in verses 9-11 he refers to the period of occupation in the Book of Judges when God repeatedly delivered them through judges from the oppression of their surrounding enemy neighbors. That takes us (verse 12) to the Ammonite incident found in I Samuel 11 (see above) when God raised up Saul to recruit a massive army for the purpose of destroying Nahash and his Ammonite army. This history lesson of God's deliverance is followed by Samuel's warning to them in verse 13-15, "DO RIGHT!" In verses 16-18 Samuel takes another opportunity to rebuke them for insisting on a king. Wow! Samuel certainly knows how to dampen a celebratory spirit. Then, to make his point with a parting miracle, he announces thunder and rain just when Israel is getting ready to harvest the wheat - not when you're looking for rain and thunder. It causes the people to fear for their lives. Rain did not usually fall at this time of year, let alone thunder. Then he ends his talk by saying, in effect, "...and there's more where that came from if you disobey!" Well, he does conclude his speech with a nice promise in verse 22, "For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great names sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people." Hey! A covenant is a covenant! He promises to pray for them in verse 23, but warns in verses 24-25, "Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king." Okay, Saul, we're convinced; it's all yours now. Israel has their undisputed king!

Philistines: That new King of Israel is trouble (I Samuel 13:1-7)

1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. 3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. 4 And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal. 5 And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves

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in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. 7 And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. First we saw Saul's successful organization of troops and rebellion against the Philistines at Jabesh-gilead back in I Samuel 11 (see notes). Then in this passage we see Saul's son (Jonathan) attacks them at Geba. They've had enough; the Philistines decide to bring their overwhelming forces against Israel to put this uprising down once and for all - 30,000 chariots, 6,000 men on horses and innumerable foot soldiers. Well, many of the Israeli soldiers run and hide in the caves at the sight of this awesome Philistine force, and some of them run away across the Jordan. Incidentally, verse 1 has caused considerable confusion in the minds of scholars with the wording that is less than clear in their minds. To them it is unclear because of what they expect it to say - not what it actually says. They expect it to follow the pattern of the typical introduction of the kings of Israel and Judah presented in the books of First and Second Kings along with First and Second Chronicles. In those books we commonly see a declaration of the age when the particular king began reigning along with how many years he reigned. Therefore, they are convinced that verse 1 here must have originally followed the same pattern and some words were lost in transmission over the centuries. I'm not comfortable with that view, nor were the editors of the KJV and NKJV; these two translations translate the sentence from the words provided in the Hebrew text. Other translations, however, insert guesses right into the English text without basis for their guesses. Some of those translations place their guesses in brackets or italicize them, but others simply add their conjectures to this verse without providing any indication regarding their actions. Although the wording of verse 1 does seem a little vague, I think it best to stick with the original text on this one - a verse which seems to indicate a transition in Saul's reign and not a formal declaration of his reign. With the acceptance of verse 1 at face value (to actually mean what it says), we then understand that in the second year of Saul's reign he appointed a permanent army of three thousand men. Everyone else who fought did so as reservists. Then we see in verse 2 a fast forward through Saul's reign down to the appearance of his son Jonathan; he is an adult leading his own troops at this point in time. We obviously have been spared the details of two or three decades of Saul's reign between chapters 12 and 13. Then, in chapter 13, we see the turning point in Saul's reign.

Saul gets on Samuel's wrong side (I Samuel 13:8-14)

8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. 10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. 11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; 12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. 13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee. Saul's getting mentally prepared for battle with the Philistines; he's checking items off his battle checklist. Oh yeah...then there's the pre-battle burnt sacrifice; Samuel is supposed to come take care of that, but seven days have passed and he's not here. "No problem; I'll do it myself," Saul decides. Samuel emerges just as Saul's finishing up with the sacrifice, and Samuel is fumed. What exactly was Saul's sin here? Notice verse 13, "thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee:" The passage makes it clear that Saul had a commandment from the Lord himself that he violated. Samuel then declares that Saul's reign as king will end with Saul - no descendant kings. Whoops! That's too bad for Jonathan. Pay close attention to verse 13. Samuel says that had it not been for this act by Saul, it would be Saul's throne (and not subsequently David's) that is to be established forever.

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So...what's God looking for in a king's resume anyway? There it is in verse 14, "But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart..." It is interesting to note that King David, Saul's successor, was noted for that trait. Notice the following verses regarding David's heart: Solomon compared to David: I Kings 11:4 (see notes), "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father." Jeroboam compared to David: I Kings 14:8 (see notes), "...thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes." Abijah compared to David: I Kings 15:3 (see notes), "And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. " The Apostle Paul's words concerning David: Acts 13:22 (see notes), "And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will."

David would end up being that "man after his [God's] own heart." This incident marks the point at which it was declared that Saul's descendants would not occupy the throne of Israel. Later, in I Samuel 15:10-23 (see notes), Samuel would decree that Saul's actual kingship would be prematurely cut short. For more information regarding David's commendable relationship with God despite his personal shortcomings, read the notes on Psalm 51 (see notes). Despite these shortcomings, God established an unconditional covenant with David (see notes on the Davidic Covenant).

How are we going to fight without weapons? (I Samuel 13:15-23)

15 And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men. 16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual: 18 And another company turned the way to Bethhoron: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. 19 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: 20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock. 21 Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads. 22 So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found. 23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash. Saul organizes his army as the Philistines are surrounding his forces. Saul and his meager army of 600 weaponless foot soldiers are encamped at Gibeah, 3 miles north of Jerusalem. Just 4 miles northeast of Gibeah, that massive, well-equipped army of Philistine soldiers is prepared for battle. Then the Philistine forces spilt into four divisions and surround the Israeli rag-tag army. Hey! We have a big problem here - no weapons! The Philistines had confiscated them and made blacksmithing a forbidden trade among Israelites (verse 19). In the whole army, only Saul and Jonathan had swords; the rest of the makeshift Israeli army carried garden and woodworking implements. Let's do a quick, rough calculation of the odds: 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen and innumerable foot soldiers with real weapons VERSUS 600 men with two swords and garden tools. Oh, well...just fight with what you have, and let God do the rest.

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This would appear to be a regional conflict with the Philistines. Enemy people were still firmly entrenched throughout Israel all the way into the reign of David after King Saul. As a matter of fact, King Saul was a battle king. He didn't sit up in a palace and rule his kingdom; he fought. Apparently there was insufficient time to gather a larger army from the fightingcapable men of Israel for this battle. The fact that these folks in Gibeah (located within Benjamin's territory) were so dominated by the Philistines that they were not even allowed to have their own blacksmiths verifies that they had been totally victimized by these Philistines up to this point.

Jonathan gets a crazy idea...and it works! (I Samuel 14:1-15)

1 Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father. 2 And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men; 3 And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabods brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORDS priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. 4 And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5 The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah. 6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few. 7 And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart. 8 Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. 9 If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. 10 But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us. 11 And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. 12 And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. 13 And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him. 14 And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow. 15 And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling. The man representing the priesthood is on the scene with Saul here. His name is Ahiah; most believe that this is Ahimelech, great grandson of Eli. You will recall that Eli was the one who raised Samuel. Ahiah is present for the purpose of representing God's will. We see in verse 3 that he was "wearing an ephod." The ephod was the vest worn by the high priest as specified in Exodus 28-29 (see notes). In the Ephod was contained the Urim and Thummim, special stones that provided the priest with a special knowledge from God regarding the correct course of action. (Click here to for more information on the Urim and Thummim.) Anyway, the priest was apparently present for the purpose of assisting in the formulation battle plans as God's representative. Jonathan leaves the camp with his armor bearer...without consulting his dad or the high priest. He decides to toss out his own fleece before God. He'll just walk up to the Philistines and see what they say. If they say, "Just wait - we're coming after you," then we'll do nothing. But, if they say, "Bring it on; let's see what you got!" then we'll (just the two of us) wade right in and let them have it. What a crazy idea! But it works; they slay about 20 of the Philistines - just the two of them. Then they have some significant supernatural help from God when God sends an earthquake at the moment Jonathan and his

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armorbearer finish their attack. Look at those Philistines panic! They turn on themselves, and the Israelites hiding in the caves come out to fight. Sweet victory! Incidentally, you gotta love what Jonathan says in verse 6 regarding their chances here when he says, "...for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few." He's telling his armorbearer that when God's in control, it doesn't matter how many comprise your assault force. Obviously he learned a lesson or two from the Gideon episode back in Judges 6-8 (see notes).

Meanwhile...the earthquake is heard by Saul's troops (I Samuel 14:16-23)

16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another. 17 Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armourbearer were not there. 18 And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. 19 And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand. 20 And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every mans sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture. 21 Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. 23 So the LORD saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Bethaven. Saul discovers that Jonathan and his armor bearer are not there while he's listening to the commotion from the earthquake. Saul is talking to Ahiah, the high priest, about the situation. Saul decides he'd like to have the Ark of the Covenant present for this battle. However, before anything can be arranged, the commotion among the Philistines increases and Saul dismisses the high priest from his mission. The Philistine army is in disarray; in their flight, they turn on each other with their weapons. It also turns out that the Hebrew soldiers the Philistines had incorporated into their army were less than loyal; they switch sides and begin fighting for the Israeli army. But wait...there's more. Those Israelis who had hidden themselves to avoid fighting decide to come out and fight as well. The Israelites prevail - on to Bethaven!

A little honey stops the campaign (I Samuel 14:24-46)

24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food. 25 And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground. 26 And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened. 28 Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint. 29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines? 31 And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon: and the people were very faint. 32 And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood. 33 Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye

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have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day. 34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there. 35 And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD. 36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God. 37 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day. 38 And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. 39 For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him. 40 Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good unto thee. 41 Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped. 42 And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. 43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die. 44 And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. 45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not. 46 Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own place. Saul's army is on a roll. He gets excited and issues a curse on anybody who eats before they finish off the enemy. One big problem though: his son Jonathan didn't get the word; he tastes a little honey and it perks him right up. However, upon being informed concerning Saul's decree, he even questions the wisdom of Saul's oath in verse 29-30. Though faint from hunger, Saul's army thoroughly thrashes these Philistines "from Michmash to Aijalon." After the victorious outcome of the battle against the Philistines, Saul has to straighten out a little bit of deviation on his army's part in that they partook of the Philistine cattle in violation of Levitical guidelines i.e. draining the blood. He establishes an altar to set this issue straight. You will recall from verse 3 (see above) that the high priest is present wearing the ephod containing the Urim and Thummim. These items were commonly used to determine God's will through the process of casting lots. However, when Saul could not get a clearance from Jehovah to proceed further in pursuit of the Philistines, he decides there must be sin in the camp. Here we go with the casting of lots again. For a more complete look at the practice of casting lots, click here. The lot falls on Jonathan identifying him as the snack culprit. Saul decides that Jonathan must die; after all, an oath is an oath. Hebrews were very serious about fulfilling their oaths regardless of how ill conceived. Jonathan even agrees that he himself must die, but the people talk Saul out of it. So, after a great day at battle, everybody goes home to live to fight another day. The campaign against the Philistines stops...over a little bit of honey. That wouldn't be the last fight that would be broken up by a little honey! (Take that last sentence as intended humor.)

Meet Saul's family (I Samuel 14:47-52)

47 So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them. 48 And he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them. 49 Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchishua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal: 50 And the name of Sauls wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Sauls uncle.

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51 And Kish was the father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. 52 And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him. It's finally time for introductions. Remember these people; we'll be coming back to many of them as we read on. Notice verse 52. Saul understood the value of a strong defense, "And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him." There was no peace for Saul; he was a warring king with a carefully chosen army. In addition, we see in verse 47 that Saul also fought against Moab, Ammon, Edom, and against the kings of Zobah (north of Israel). In verse 48, toss in the Amalekites to round out Saul's battles against the enemies of Israel. However, without question, Saul's main war was with the Philistines.

Saul disobeys...again! (I Samuel 15:1-9)

1 Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. 2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 4 And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. 6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

God told Saul through Samuel to completely destroy the Amalekites...completely. These Amalekites
had a lengthy history with the Hebrews...and not a good one. They attempted to stop the Israelites when they marched through their territory (Deuteronomy 25:18, see notes), attacking them at Rephidim (Exodus 17:8-13, see notes; compare to Deuteronomy 25:17, see notes; I Samuel 15:2). They afterwards attacked the Israelites at Hormah (Numbers 14:39-45, see notes). We read of them subsequently as in league against Israel with the Moabites (Judges 3:13, see notes) and the Midianites (Judges 6:3, see notes). You can see that these Amalekites had been very, very hostile toward Israel for hundreds of years. Furthermore, we see that Saul has already had at least one bout with them in I Samuel 14:48 (see notes). God's very clear on this issue of the total Amalekite destruction in verse 3. Moreover, Deuteronomy 25:17-19 (see notes) had already decreed their destruction. However, Saul decides to improvise God's plan - captures their king, Agag, as a P.O.W. in direct violation to God's command. Also, he takes some booty - forbidden by God in this battle decree (verse 3). Bad move, Saul! For the record, we're still not done with these pesky Amalekites. A remnant of Amalekites show up again nagging David in I Samuel 30 (see notes). Incidentally, you will notice in verse 6 Saul's warning to the Kenites regarding their association with the Amalekites, "And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites." Kenites were Midianites; according to Judges 1:16 (see notes), Moses' father-in-law (Jethro) was a Kenite. Because of their kind treatment of the Israelites in the past, they get an opportunity to vacate the territory. One more point should be made here regarding Saul's actions. He killed the people, but saved the spoils. He wasn't compassionate - just greedy!

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Sorry, Saul...it's over! (I Samuel 15:10-23)

10 Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, 11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. 12 And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. 13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. 14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. 16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. 17 And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 18 And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. Samuel breaks the news to Saul - uses the Hebrew word "nacham" to describe God's current attitude toward Saul. Translated "repent" (verse 11) here in the KJV, it does not hold the same connotation as the New Testament word translated "repent" (metanoeo) meaning "change of mind." The Old Testament word "nacham" means "to express sorrow," not to "change one's mind." In other words, God is very disappointed in Saul. Hey! Samuel's sorry also over Saul - cried all night prior to his confrontation with him (verse 11). Upon Samuel's arrival at Saul's post-battle location, Saul greets Samuel with, "Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD." What a clever reply Samuel makes when he says, "What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" You will notice twice in this discourse that Saul blames "the people" for the infraction (verses 15, 21, 24). It is also interesting that in verse 15 Saul refers to God as "the LORD thy God." It's as though Saul lacks his own personal relationship with God. Though Saul puts up a great defense and tries to blame "the people," he had intentionally stopped short of doing what God had commanded. Here in verses 22-23 we have three phrases that I have heard people use over the years on their children: 1. 2. 3. "to obey is better than sacrifice" (or as one man put it "Right is more important than rite.") "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft" "stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry"

Now for the really bad news, Saul - God has rejected you as King of Israel. So let's recap. In I Samuel 13:8-14 (see notes) God told Saul that his descendants would not carry the royal line for Israel. Now he's being told that his own kingship is to be prematurely discontinued. Here we have a picture of man's feeble attempt to improve on God's plan with his own works. God insists on plain ol' obedience instead.

No room for politics here! (I Samuel 15:24-35)

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24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. 26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. 27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 28 And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. 29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. 30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. 31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD. 32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. 33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. 34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. A compassionate person would feel sorry for Saul here. He's disobeyed God based on the poll numbers. Look at I Samuel 15:24, "And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice." In other words, "never mind what God had said; here's what the people wanted." Saul makes an impassioned appeal to Samuel. Noooooo...come on Saul...don't beg! But he does - begs Samuel to make things right between "the LORD thy God" and him. He even tears Samuel's skirt trying to keep Samuel from leaving; Samuel turns even that action into an object lesson in verse 28; he leaves no doubt about God's intentions regarding the kingship of Saul over Israel, "And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou." Saul then makes another face-saving request in verse 30, "...honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people." He wants Samuel to put on a good show in front of the leaders so as to not undermine his authority right there on the spot. Samuel seems to comply with this request in verse 31. But there is one more piece of unfinished business here, "Saul, bring Agag here before I go." Ol' cheerful Agag strolls in having escaped death...NOT! Samuel cuts him up into pieces for his atrocities after he says, "As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women." Despite the decree here, it is commonly believed among Jewish sources that the Haman of the Book of Esther, who is described as an "Agagite," was the descendant of this King Agag here. To the Jewish people, that gives the story of Esther a more sinister tone as King Agag's descendant, Haman, seeks to avenge his ancestor's death. His first mention in the Book of Esther is Esther 3:1 (see notes). However, there is no way to scripturally validate this theory.

It's not over 'til it's over, but look at verse 35, "And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel." Again, as stated earlier, the word "repent" (Hebrew: "nacham") here means "to express sorrow," not to "change one's mind."

David gets the call (I Samuel 16:1-13)

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1 And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. 3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. 4 And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? 5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. 6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORDS anointed is before him. 7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. 11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. 12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. In verse 1, God tells Samuel to go to Bethlehem for the express purpose of the selection of a new King of Israel from among the sons of a man named Jesse. You may wonder if the reality of what has happened to his position before God as king has fully been realized by Saul. Based upon Samuel's fear of Saul in verse 2, I would say absolutely; Saul knows that his days are numbered as king. One might even conjecture from verse 2 that Saul had people (like the Secret Service) keeping an eye on Samuel. God tells Samuel to go make a sacrifice there as a cover for the greater intention of appointing a new king. The elders at Bethlehem are scared of Samuel; they seek assurances from Samuel that he has come "peaceably," and they receive those assurances. He then arranges a personal ceremony with Jesse and his boys - gonna find a king there. When Samuel sees the oldest son, Eliab, he is impressed - tall, king-looking guy. God says "no" to him and all the other brothers that go before him - seven altogether. Why? Verse 7, "man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." So, bring David in from the field; let's get a look at him. Jesse hadn't even considered David up to this point. Here comes David - shepherd, slinger, harpist, poet, psalmist - but king? God says, "He's the one!" Samuel anoints David. Hang on David, these things sometimes take awhile to unfold; we have a small technicality: Saul still thinks HE'S King of Israel right now! For a list of all of Jesse's sons, see I Chronicles 2:13-15.

Sometimes only good music will do! (I Samuel 16:14-23)

14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. 15 And Sauls servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. 16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.

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17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. 18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him. 19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which IS with the sheep. 20 And Jesse took an ass LADEN WITH BREAD, AND A BOTTLE OF WINE, AND A KID, AND SENT THEM by David his son unto Saul. 21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. 23 And it came to pass, when the EVIL spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. I Samuel 16:14, "But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him." Wouldn't you know it, Saul gets a troubled spirit (Hebrew word "rah" translated "evil" doesn't mean "wicked") from the Lord. Most scholars agree that it is likely Saul's symptoms included signs of mental illness during these times. One of his advisors suggests to Saul that some nice music would help. Notice the credentials this advisor lists for David in verse 18, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him." Hey! Doesn't David write his own songs and perform them too? Let's contact his agent (his Dad) and bring him in. With his other qualities, he can double as a body guard. Just as prescribed, when David played, "Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him." How ironic; the man God has chosen to ascend to the throne of Israel has been chosen by Saul and his advisors to become Saul's new therapist (so to speak). And David had a soothing effect on Saul; we see in verse 23, "And it came to pass, when the EVIL spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him." Whenever Saul displayed these symptoms, David was the answer. How convenient that the next king of Israel should, unknowingly to Saul, serve in such a capacity.

So, how big was ol' Goliath? (I Samuel 17)

1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. 4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. 6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. 7 And the staff of his spear was like a weavers beam; and his spears head weigh ed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. 8 And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. 9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. 10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. 11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. 12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. 13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul. 15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his fathers sheep at Bethlehem. 16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.

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17 And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; 18 And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. 19 Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. 22 And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. 23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his fathers house free in Israel. 26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. 28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliabs anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. 29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? 30 And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner. 31 And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, Let no mans heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33 And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his fathers sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. 38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. 39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. 40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherds bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. 42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. 43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. 45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORDS, and he

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will give you into our hands. 48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. 53 And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent. 55 And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. 56 And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is. 57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. Goliath was big...really big! With a cubit (the length of the forearm - elbow to finger tip) being estimated at 16 to 20 inches, Goliath was somewhere between 8 1/2 feet to 11 feet tall. His armor weighed 125 pounds - a really, really big man. Oh, one more thing...he hated Israelis - came out and mocked them every day (cold-war tactics) for 40 days. While Saul and the army were on the front lines, David returned to watch his father's sheep. One day David goes to see his three brothers on the battlefield for the purpose of taking them some food and returning to their father with a report of their safety. While there on the battlefield, David catches a performance of Goliath's stand-up Jew-mocking act; everybody in the Israeli army is terrified; David is fumed! David cries out in verse 26, "And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who IS this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" This causes David's oldest brother, Eliab, to take a couple of insulting verbal swings at him. Notice the big reward in verse 25, "...the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his fathers house free in Israel." INSTANT SUCCESS! But apparently...no takers. You gotta love David's reaction to this whole scenario when David says in verse 25, "...for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" Now that's what I'm talkin' about! And...when rebuked by his brother, he replies in verse 29, "Is there not a cause?" It should be noted here that we were told that Saul himself was quite tall - a good foot or so taller than other Hebrews (I Samuel 9:2, see notes). Wouldn't Saul be the logical choice to go out and fight Goliath? We know Saul was a tall man, though a little advanced in years at this point. I Samuel 15 (see above) may have been the place where God turned his back on Saul's kingship, but here's where David begins to receive honor from the people of Israel over Saul. This is definitely a turning point...if David can pull this near-impossible feat off. But when Saul heard that little David said he could do the job, he's impressed...and perhaps a little amused. Though David had been playing soothing music to Saul, it would seem that Saul didn't really know who David was. Musicians can't get any respect. When he meets David, he's not very impressed as is seen in verse 33, "And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth." "So...son...have you done any fighting before?" David gives Saul his battle resume in verses 34-35 before he just oozes with confidence in verse 36 as he proclaims that he can take Goliath just as easily. Well...why not give him a shot at it - add "giant slayer" to David's resume. David tries to wear the heavy armor with the big ol' sword - not for him...at least not today. Remember his resume? He was a slinger...and apparently a good one - chooses five stones and heads out to meet Goliath.

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In verse 43 and following, we see the technique that has been copied by schoolyard bullies and even NFL players down through the centuries - intimidation with words and a special "cursing" by his lame gods. Today it's called "trash talk." David trumps it though - does the same thing back, but invokes the name of Jehovah with his reply. They rush toward one another sling, sling, sling, BOOM! Goliath catches one right between the eyes - DEAD! The Philistines scatter. David removes Goliath's own sword with which he severs his head and carries that giant's big ol' surprised face around with him, using his nappy locks as handles, showing it off for quite some time after that - a trophy, you see. Saul's army is rejuvenated, "And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines." Saul's army, with a new confidence now, defeats the remaining Philistines that day. When Saul has David brought before him for due congratulations, David's still carrying that big, bloody Goliath head. Hey! When you're proud, you're proud! Verse 54 has caused some confusion among Bible scholars. Jerusalem was a Jebusite city at this point in time. David did not conquer Jerusalem until II Samuel 5 (see notes). Yet, we are told here, "And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent." Jerusalem was a well-fortified city, but it could be that David deposited the head of Goliath in Jerusalem outside the wall in plain site of the Jebusites as a statement that the Jebusites were not to escape Israel's future advances. I prefer that understanding of the verse over others that have been suggested.

How about a blood-brother covenant (I Samuel 18:1-5)

1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his fathers house. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle. 5 And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Sauls servants. David has just led Israel to victory over the Philistines with his defeat over Goliath in I Samuel 17 (see notes). Good things happen when you slay a giant! Immediately following David's victory appearance (having killed Goliath) before King Saul, the king's son, Jonathan, is endeared to David - even makes a blood-brother covenant with him. Jonathan seals the covenant by awarding David with his own complete set of clothing as a token of that covenant - even his sword. And Saul places David over Israel's men of war. One day David is delivering supplies to the front where his brothers are fighting Philistines; the next thing he knows he's commander of the whole army - WHAT A COUNTRY!

Those women song writers are trouble (I Samuel 18:6-15)

6 And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick. 7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. 8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? 9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. 10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Sauls hand. 11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice. 12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul. 13 Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him. 15 Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.

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After a great victory over Goliath and the Philistines, it's time to head back home - a highlight for the soldiers and especially the victorious king. Saul rides in as the women break out in spontaneous songs of glorious victory praising the king and his army. Those lyrics were insulting to King Saul. They ascribe the greater glory to David rather than to Saul. Verse 9 says, "And Saul eyed David from that day and forward." The Hebrew word for "eyed" there means to view with jealousy. Whoa...You get a new job and already your boss is out to get you! The next day David is playing his music when Saul tries to run him through with his javelin. As a matter of fact, verse 11 seems to indicate that this happened twice. Again, the Hebrew word for the "spirit" that came upon Saul does not mean "evil" in the context of "wicked," but rather a "troubling" or "adverse" spirit came upon Saul - I'LL SAY! It was mental illness...like paranoia schizophrenia. He's had it ever since Samuel turned thumbs down on his kingship and anointed David as the next king back in I Samuel 16:1-13 (see notes). It's first mentioned in I Samuel 16:14. Nonetheless, Saul still thinks he's king, and so do the people of Israel. I Samuel 18:12 sums up Saul's reality, "And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul." So, Saul puts David on active duty in charge of a battalion of fighting men. A dangerous job like that will surely get him killed - NOT! Continuing battle success just endears David to the people of Israel - minus Saul, of course.

A great ploy to be rid of David (I Samuel 18:16-30)

16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them. 17 And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORDS battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him. 18 And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my fathe rs family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king? 19 But it came to pass at the time when Merab Sauls daughter should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife. 20 And Michal Sauls daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21 And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain. 22 And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the kings son in law. 23 And Sauls servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a kings son in law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed? 24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David. 25 And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the kings enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the kings son in law: and the days were not expired. 27 Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the kings son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife. 28 And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was WITH DAVID, AND THAT Michal Sauls daughter loved him. 29 And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became Davids enemy cont inually. 30 Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, THAT David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by. "Here, take my daughter to be your wife!" Saul says. "Not worthy - no dowry to pay," replies David. Saul has this ingenious idea - how about bringing the foreskins of 100 Philistines for a dowry...YUCK, YUCK, DOUBLE YUCK! I mean...killing them is one thing, but then..!!! Saul knows how hard it is to skin a Philistine - certain death for David; it's a suicide mission. Saul, ya' better go ahead and get your glass case ready for your new collection. Oh, better make that two glass cases; David didn't know when to stop - brings back 200! David becomes Saul's son-in-law, and Saul hates him - not the ideal father/son-in-law relationship. So maybe the suicide mission didn't work as Saul planned, but here's Saul's new plan involving his daughter, Michal, in verse 21, "I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him." Here's the problem with that plan: Michal, Saul's daughter and David's new bride, loves him; that's a good start. David continues to excel in battle and his reputation grows.

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A couple of additional points are in order here. First of all, as Michal's husband, David now has a legitimate claim to Saul's throne. Of course, that's after Saul's sons, but a claim, nonetheless. The second point may be more interesting than relevant. According to the Jewish Study Bible, verses 20 and 28 contain the only two references in the Old Testament of a woman loving a man.

At least not everybody wants David dead (I Samuel 19)

1 And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. 2 But Jonathan Sauls son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret PLACE, and hide thyself: 3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou ART, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee. 4 And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works HAVE BEEN to thee-ward very good: 5 For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? 6 And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain. 7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past. 8 And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him. 9 And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand. 10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Sauls presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night. 11 Saul also sent messengers unto Davids house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal Davids wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain. 12 So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. 13 And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth. 14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. 15 And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. 16 And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats hair for his bolster. 17 And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee? 18 So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. 19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. 20 And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 21 And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. 22 Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah. 23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets? It's tough when the King is bent on your death, but at least when the King's son and heir apparent (Jonathan) wants you to live - well, that's gotta be some sort of a plus. Saul even makes a vow/oath in I Samuel 19:6, "And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain." Do you recall how sacred these vows were to the Israelites? An oath was an oath; back then you just didn't break an oath. Come to think of it, Saul broke an illconceived vow when he spared Jonathan's life back in I Samuel 14:24-46 (see notes); remember the honey episode? Anyway, for now, Jonathan arranges for David to be returned back to good standing with Saul. However, this good standing didn't

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seem to last very long before David has great success in battle against the Philistines again, and Saul's resentment toward David intensifies. FORGET THE VOW! After Saul has another bout with that "evil spirit" in verse 9, followed by a near miss from Saul's javelin (verse 10), David flees from Saul. And then there's Michal, Saul's daughter (David won her "fair and square"), she wants David alive as well. Knowing that Saul has sent for David to bring him in for execution, she helps David escape and does the ol' fake-a-person-in-the-bed trick on Saul's men using (of all things) a family idol and fake hair from a goat.. Hey! Aren't those things (idols) supposed to be bad for you? The messengers return to Saul with this message from Saul's daughter, "David can't come in to be executed today, he's too sick." That's when the story becomes even more amusing. Saul tells the messengers to go ahead and bring the whole bed back with David on it; Saul himself will do the slaying. Apparently they got the bed all the way back to Saul without realizing they were carrying an idol's head with a goat-hair wig; Saul makes the discovery and rebukes Michal for deceiving him, but Michal covers her tracks by adding yet another lie in verse 17...that David threatened to kill her if she did not help him escape. So, David escapes to Samuel's place, a prophet's college established by Samuel near Ramah, at a place called Naioth. Saul sends three sets of messengers, one group after another, to fetch David and bring him back for execution. Instead, they all get caught up in prophesying and fail to return. Saul himself heads for Naioth. He also breaks into prophesying...naked, all-night prophesying. Just tell me where you get a better story line than I Samuel 19; sometimes reality is just more interesting than fiction. By the way, this was not Saul's first bout with prophesying. You will recall a similar incident nearly 40 years earlier when he was called by Samuel to be King of Israel back in I Samuel 10:10-12 (see notes).

Those are some harsh words to your son there, Saul (I Samuel 20)
1 And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? 2 And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. 3 And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. 4 Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee. 5 And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even. 6 If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. 7 If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. 8 Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee: notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? 9 And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee? 10 Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly? 11 And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field. 12 And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and shew it thee; 13 The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father. 14 And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not:

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15 But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth. 16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of Davids enemies. 17 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul. 18 Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty. 19 And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel. 20 And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. 21 And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth. 22 But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away. 23 And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between thee and me for ever. 24 So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. 25 And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Sauls side, and Davids place was empty. 26 Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. 27 And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that Davids place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day? 28 And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem: 29 And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the kings table. 30 Then Sauls anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mothers nakedness? 31 For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. 32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? 33 And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. 34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. 35 And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. 36 And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee? 38 And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathans lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. 39 But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40 And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city. 41 And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. 42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city. It is interesting that Jonathan doesn't seem to know that Saul has already made some serious attempts at killing David when he says in verse 2, "God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so." Jonathan determines to take care of David with regard to his dad's strong desire to see him dead. Look at I Samuel 20:4, "Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee." Jonathan pledges his friendship to David. He also requires of David preferred treatment for himself and his family after David is in a position to do so

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(verse 15). Obviously, Jonathan realizes that a kingship is in David's future. How else do you explain all of David's neardeath experiences? You know those big family dinners where everybody sits around the table and just fellowships? Well, it's the beginning of the month and time for one of those in Saul's house per Numbers 28:11-15 (see notes). It takes some of the fun out of it when your father-in-law is devising ways to kill you. On the first day of the feast, Saul assumes that David's absence must have something to do with the "unclean" rule of Leviticus 15:16-18 (see notes). However, Jonathan and David had determined it best if David skips the meals, and both conspire a little cover story (a lie) to account for David's absence on the second day one involving family obligations back in Bethlehem. It's hard to have a conversation with Saul about David without Saul getting a little testy. When Saul finds out that Jonathan is a party to David's absence, he lets loose some pretty strong language on Jonathan - even throws the ultimate insult at Jonathan's mama in verse 30 when he says of Jonathan, "Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman." Watch it Saul; that's your wife you're talking about there! Saul angrily tells Jonathan that he ought to want David dead as well - no kingdom for Jonathan as long as David lives (verse 31). Then, he hurls his javelin at Jonathan. Saul's really in need of some anger-management classes. Has Saul ever really hit anything with that javelin? Jonathan goes to meet David out in the field to deliver the bad news, "My Dad really, really hates you." But David and Jonathan seal a deal between themselves in verse 42, "And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city." Hmmm...since Samuel anointed David King of Israel back in I Samuel 16 (see notes), life hasn't really rolled along that smoothly for David, wouldn't you agree? Yet, it was God who selected David. There's a lesson for us in this process. The Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 16:9 (see notes), "For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries." So...here's that lesson: The road to God's will for your life isn't always paved. Or...to state it plainly: Obeying God's will in your life does not mean you won't have adversity in the process. David certainly had his adversity on the way to his crown.

God loves the righteous (Psalm 11)

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. 1 In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? 2 For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. 3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? 4 The LORD is IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE, THE LORDS throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. 5 The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. 6 Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. 7 For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright. While impossible to say for certain, it is likely that David wrote this Psalm while Saul was seeking his death. Hmmmm...I wonder who is the righteous and who is the wicked about whom David speaks here. Regardless, God has a special punishment in store for the wicked.

They're watching your house, David (Psalm 59)

To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him. 1 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me. 2 Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men. 3 For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD. 4 They run and prepare themselves without my fault: awake to help me, and behold. 5 Thou therefore, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked

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transgressors. Selah. 6 They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. 7 Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear? 8 But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision. 9 Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defence. 10 The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies. 11 Slay them not, lest my people forget: scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield. 12 For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and lying which they speak. 13 Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah. 14 And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. 15 Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge if they be not satisfied. 16 But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. 17 Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy. According to the subtitle, the occasion that probably inspired this Psalm is found in I Samuel 19:11-18 (see above). Saul sent messengers to David's house to kill him, but Michal (David's wife and King Saul's daughter) helped David escape. So David had descended in Saul's kingdom from army commander to fugitive. How's that for a setting to write poetry? So, when David asks God to deliver him from his enemies; he's actually talking about Saul's messengers. Perhaps that is why David asks God not to kill them in verse 11. However, ultimately our lives are in God's hands - a fact that David acknowledges in verse 17, "Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy."

So, sometimes you act a little extreme to stay alive (I Samuel 21)
1 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? 2 And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. 3 Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. 4 And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. 5 And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. 6 So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away. 7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD; and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdmen that belonged to Saul. 8 And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the kings business required haste. 9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me. 10 And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? 15 Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?

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David, weaponless and foodless heads out of town to Nob (where the tabernacle is now located) to see the priest where he picks up some holy bread and that sword he confiscated from Goliath (Goliath was finished with it). The bread had been displayed on the Table of Shewbread in the Tabernacle (12 loaves: Exodus 25:2330, see notes); it ordinarily was to be eaten only by the priests and replaced every sabbath day (Leviticus 24:1-9, see notes). Apparently nobody ate it then. Ahimelech, the priest, bends some priesthood rules to accommodate David and his men. Ahimelech's no-women stipulation of verses 4-5 refers to the provisions of the Law of Moses found in Leviticus 15:16-18 (see notes). Actually, David tells Ahimelech a couple of lies to pull it off without the fact being discovered that Saul was really trying to kill him. Though a little suspicious, the priest cooperates. Incidentally, Jesus cites this occasion to the Pharisees (Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5, see notes) when they criticize his disciples for plucking corn from the corn field on the sabbath, declaring it to be unlawful. As it turns out, there was a loyalist to Saul present at the time - Doeg the Edomite. We'll see this name in chapter 22 (see below) when he carries his observations of David's transaction with Ahimelech back to Saul. Immense consequences follow, though Ahimelech was really in no position to resist David's request. Then David flees to Achish, the king of Gath (a Philistine city). What kind of a story can he tell the king of Gath? How about just faking insanity? That seems like a good idea to David. These Philistines do remember that David was the one about whom the women had sung the song, "Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." The lyrics to that Hebrew hit were about slain Philistines! You know...that song had caused a lot of problems for David - causing Saul to become jealous back in I Samuel 18 (see notes). They were not misled concerning David's real identity when the servants of King Achish say in verse 11, "Is not this David the king of the land?" Yup! Acting like a lunatic may be the only way out of this predicament. Look at verses 13-15; David did a command performance here to imitate a mad man. The insanity defense served him well enough to help him escape.

Hey! My great Grandma was a Moabite! (I Samuel 22:1-5)

1 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his fathers house heard it, they went down thither to him. 2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. 3 And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me. 4 And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold. 5 And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth. In verse 1 we see that David has fled to the cave Adullam, about 2 miles south of the scene of Davids triumph over Goliath, and about 13 miles west from Bethlehem. Numerous caverns have been discovered there, and some of them are large enough to hold several hundred people. David's Moabite roots (Ruth was his great grandmother: Ruth 4:18-22, see notes) perhaps gave David the idea to turn to Moab. That's probably not the reason Mizpeh, the King of Moab, gave David refuge. It was probably because Saul had been at war with Moab (mentioned in I Samuel 14:47, see notes). As a matter of fact, David's family joined him there as well; who knows what Saul might do to David's family? David stayed there awhile until Gad (who would become his personal prophet) told him he should move on, after which he moves back into Judah (verse 5). We see that David has put together a rag-tag army of Jewish-society misfits (verse 2) totaling about 400 men.

Abiathar
Abiathar was the only surviving priest of the line of Eli after Saul's massacre of the High Priest Ahimelech's family. Abiathar demonstrates his faithfulness to David here (what choice did he have?). Later on, when David ascends the throne of Judah, Abiathar is appointed high priest. However, Zadok, of the house of Eleazar, is also

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Saul wipes out the priests (I Samuel 22:6-23)

6 When Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men that were with him, (now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him;) 7 Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields Interestingly enough, In Numbers 25:11-13 (see notes) and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains it was decreed that priests from that time forward of hundreds; would come only from the line of Aaron's grandson, 8 That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that Phinehas, who was Eleazar's son. This was because of sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, his heroic deed in the midst of sin among the Hebrews. and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me That would indicate that the priesthood line of Eli, that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as Ahimelech and Abiathar were all in violation of that at this day? decree anyway. 9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. 10 And he enquired of the LORD for him, and gave him victuals, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine. 11 Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his fathers house, the priests that were in N ob: and they came all of them to the king. 12 And Saul said, Hear now, thou son of Ahitub. And he answered, Here I am, my lord. 13 And Saul said unto him, Why have ye conspired against me, thou and the son of Jesse, in that thou hast given him bread, and a sword, and hast enquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as at this day? 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as David, which is the kings son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is honourable in thine house? 15 Did I then begin to enquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute any thing unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father: for thy servant knew nothing of all this, less or more. 16 And the king said, Thou shalt surely die, Ahimelech, thou, and all thy fathers house. 17 And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD. 18 And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword. 20 And one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped, and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar shewed David that Saul had slain the LORDS priests. 22 And David said unto Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul: I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy fathers house. 23 Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard. Saul does a complaining session about servant loyalty in verses 6-8. Wow! This king thing had gone to Saul's head. Doeg, the Edomite, had been present at the Tabernacle the day Ahimelech aided David and his men; he told Saul about the incident (see above). When Saul realized that the priest, Ahimelech had given David some food and Goliath's sword, he was furious, even though the priest had no idea David was on the run from Saul. Upon confrontation, Ahimelech makes a fine presentation on all the reasons why he should not be held accountable for helping David - not good enough for Saul. He treats Ahimelech and his priests like enemies of Israel. Saul's Hebrew servants refuse to slay the priests, but Saul has his hired hand, Doeg (an Edomite), kill all 85 of them along with their entire families, herds, etc. I guess he figured when God turns thumbs down on you, you may as well go for broke. One priest, Abiathar (also Ahimelech's son), escapes to tell David what has happened. David felt responsible for their deaths when he says in verse 22, "I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy fathers house." Let's face it, Saul is not an honorable man. We already saw his animosity toward God's man Samuel, his disregard for vows he had made before God and now the execution of God's priests. Abiathar becomes David's personal high priest at this point, accompanying David for his own protection from Saul's wrath. Incidentally, Psalm 52 (see notes) was written by David as a result of the atrocities committed by Saul on this occasion.

the high priest. They share this role throughout the remainder of David's reign until Solomon has him deposed for disloyalty at the beginning of his reign. That brings to a close the high priesthood of Eli's descendants as was prophesied in I Samuel 2:27-36 (see notes).

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David and his rag-tag army save Keilah (I Samuel 23:1-14)

1 Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshingfloors. 2 Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. 3 And Davids men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more the n if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? 4 Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand. 5 So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. 6 And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. 7 And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars. 8 And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. 9 And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. 10 Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down. 12 Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver thee up. 13 Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told Saul that David was escaped from Keilah; and he forbare to go forth. 14 And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand. David hears that the Philistines are attacking Keilah, a town in Judah. It was one of those harvest-time invasions when the Philistines steal food from the harvest from the Jewish inhabitants. We see in verse 5 that they brought their cattle with them. David goes to save them. Saul gets word that David is still there. David gets Abiathar to bring him the ephod. This priestly garment was where the Urim and Thummim were kept. These items were used in the Old Testament for discerning God's will about matters. For more on the Urim and Thummim, click here. Then David asks God if these people, for whom he has just risked his life, will turn him over to Saul. Imagine David's surprise when God tells him that they will forsake him. It's time to move on with his army that has now grown to 600 men. We see in verse 14 that seeking David's death had become a fulltime job for Saul; forget the Philistines, the real enemy of Israel.

Saved by the Philistines (I Samuel 23:15-29)

15 And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. 16 And Jonathan Sauls son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. 18 And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house. 19 Then came up the Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself with us in strong holds in the wood, 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 thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the kings hand. 21 And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the LORD; for ye have compassion on me. 22 Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly. 23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the

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thousands of Judah. 24 And 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 Saul also and his men went to seek him. And they told David: wherefore he came down into a rock, and abode in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. 26 And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain: and David made haste to get away for fear of Saul; for Saul and his men compassed David and his men round about to take them. 27 But there came a messenger unto Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come; for the Philistines have invaded the land. 28 Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Selahammahlekoth. 29 And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strong holds at Engedi.

Well, indirectly anyway, David is saved by the Philistines. Saul had gotten a tip from those pesky Ziphites that David is in their area, up in the mountains about 20 miles south of Jerusalem; Saul's in hot pursuit of David to kill him and poised to attack, when he hears of an attack by the Philistines and has to take a break from his new hobby (killing David) to go fight them. Something has taken place, though, that Saul does not know about, a covenant between Jonathan and David. Jonathan concedes the kingship of Israel to David in that covenant in verses 17-18, "And he said unto him, Fear not: for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; and that also Saul my father knoweth. And they two made a covenant before the LORD: and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house." Notice that Jonathan points out there that Saul is painfully aware of the inevitable kingship of David as well.

David could have killed him (I Samuel 24)

1 And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi. 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. 3 And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. 4 And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the LORD said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Sauls robe privily. 5 And it came to pass afterward, that Davids heart smote him, because he had cut off Sauls skirt. 6 And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORDS anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD. 7 So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. 8 David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. 9 And David said to Saul, Wherefore hearest thou mens words, saying, Behold, David see keth thy hurt? 10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the LORD had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the LORDS anointed. 11 Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. 12 The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 14 After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea. 15 The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.

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16 And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. 17 And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. 18 And thou hast shewed this day how that thou hast dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the LORD had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. 19 For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day. 20 And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. 21 Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my fathers house. 22 And David sware unto Saul. And Saul went home; but David and his men gat them up unto the hold.

Saul has been pursuing Philistines. After he gets back on David's trail with an army of 3,000, he locates him, so to speak, in the wilderness of Engedi. Saul goes into a cave to take a #2 bathroom break (that's what "covering your feet" means). David and his men are in the cave at the time. While he is stooped down (covering his feet with his garment), David sneaks up beside him in the dark cave and clips off part of Saul's robe without his knowledge. Upon finishing his business in the cave, Saul emerges, only to find the voice of David hollering, "Does it feel a little drafty there, Saul? I got part of your robe here in my hand!" Well...not really David's words actually, David was very respectful as he spoke to Saul - even referring to him as "the anointed of the LORD" (verse 6), bowing before him and addressing Saul as "My lord the king" (verse 8). Realizing that David could have killed him, Saul is very remorseful, expressing his evil intent to David as he confesses, "Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil." Wait, there's more! You can have the ol' kingship (verse 20); just take care of my boy, Jonathan, and let my seed go forward. Hint: Saul has a short memory and a real problem with rage. However, because of David's oath to Jonathan and to Saul to protect their offspring, Mephibosheth (Jonathan's son and Saul's grandson) remains under David's protection after Saul's death (II Samuel 9:113, see notes). Unlike Saul, David was an honorable man with his oaths.

A good man dies (I Samuel 25:1)

1 And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

Samuel died. All Israel mourns. He does not get to see David actually crowned King of Israel, but his work is done. David then moves south into Paran.

Nabal dodges a bullet...but dies anyway (I Samuel 25:2-44)

2 And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb. 4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. 5 And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: 6 And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.

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7 And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel. 8 Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David. 9 And when Davids young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased. 10 And Nabal answered Davids servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master. 11 Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be? 12 So Davids young men turned their way, and went again, and came and t old him all those sayings. 13 And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff. 14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabals wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them. 15 But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields: 16 They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him. 18 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. 19 And she said unto her servants, Go on before me; behold, I come after you. But she told not her husband Nabal. 20 And it was so, as she rode on the ass, that she came down by the covert of the hill, and, behold, David and his men came down against her; and she met them. 21 Now David had said, Surely in vain have I kept all that this fellow hath in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained unto him: and he hath requited me evil for good. 22 So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. 23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, 24 And fell at his feet, and said, Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be: and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience, and hear the words of thine handmaid. 25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send. 26 Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. 27 And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord. 28 I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days. 29 Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul: but the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. 30 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall have done to my lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee, and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel; 31 That this shall be no grief unto thee, nor offence of heart unto my lord, either that thou hast shed blood causeless, or that my lord hath avenged himself: but when the LORD shall have dealt well with my lord, then remember thine handmaid. 32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: 33 And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand. 34 For in very deed, as the LORD God of Israel liveth, which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall. 35 So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; see, I have hearkened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person. 36 And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabals heart was merr y within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

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37 But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. 38 And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died. 39 And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the LORD, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept his servant from evil: for the LORD hath returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him to wife. 40 And when the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, to take thee to him to wife. 41 And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord. 42 And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife. 43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel; and they were also both of them his wives. 44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, Davids wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim. David's feisty rag-tag army needed some provisions. They came upon a rich man, Nabal (the Hebrew word for his name means stupid, foolish, wicked), but he was quite selfish, foolish and worthless...and that's just what his wife said about him.The KJV term in verse 25 "man of Belial" literally means a worthless man; it's not a reference to an Old Testament deity. His refusal to assist David could have been his undoing; after refusing David and his men, he was just about to receive an unpleasant social call from the heavily-armed David and his main men (verse 13), when Nabal's wife, Abigail, comes out to meet David and his men with ample provisions - no social call necessary. Abigail was the voice of reason here. She didn't just save her husband's life (though only temporarily), she also saved David from doing something that he might regret in the future. This is the point she makes in verse 31. This reasoning strikes a tone with David. Abigail waits to tell her husband how she had saved him from an action-packed evening until the next morning when he sobers up from his wild party the preceding night. The news petrifies him - literally; he has what appears to be a stroke (verse 37) which leads to his death ten days later. In verse 34, David credits Abigail with saving the lives of the males back on Nabal's ranch. Incidentally, the King James phrase describing "males" in verse 34 is an accurate rendering of exactly how the Hebrew expression is worded. David takes Abigail as his second wife. Ahinoam (verse 43) of Jezreel apparently preceded her as his wife (mother of David's firstborn, Amnon); David had lost his first wife (verse 44), Michal (Saul's daughter), after Saul took her back and gave her away to someone else. Oh, well! You win some; you lose some. Apparently Saul wanted to make certain that David had no claim to his throne through his daughter. It should be noted that, while the giving of a daughter to another as his wife constitutes an oath, Saul had a history of violating oaths. Incidentally, David demands the return of his wife, Michal, after the death of Saul...and gets her back in II Samuel 3 (see notes). We may have a difficult time justifying David's actions in this incident. As a matter of fact, David's point that he did not attack Nabal's hired hands while they were watching his cattle may almost seem similar to tactics used by organized crime when they extort money from merchants in exchange for "protection." Let's make some relevant observations here. First of all, David had been anointed King of Israel by God's servant (Samuel) himself, a fact that Abigail seems to fully recognize by her comments in verse 28. Furthermore, Nabal was not a God-fearing man. His wife's reference to him as a "man of Belial" (verse 25) indicates that he had no redeeming social qualities. The transliterated-Hebrew-word "Belial" literally means worthless and evil. Furthermore, David even expresses in verses 33 and 39 that his own motivations might have been something less than noble...way less than noble. However, let's not lose sight of this fact: God supernaturally took care of it. As a matter of fact, God used Abigail and a supernatural stroke to prevent David from doing something that he may have regretted later on, a point that Abigail makes to David in verse 31. Abigail must be commended for her smooth negotiations in this matter.

Saul seems to have a short memory (I Samuel 26)

1 And the Ziphites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, Doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon? 2 Then Saul arose, and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek

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David in the wilderness of Ziph. 3 And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, by the way. But David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness. 4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed. 5 And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him. 6 Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee. 7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him. 8 Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time. 9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth hi s hand against the LORDS anointed, and be guiltless? 10 David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish. 11 The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORDS anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go. 12 So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Sauls bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, no r knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them. 13 Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them: 14 And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king? 15 And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord. 16 This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the LORDS anointed. And now see where the kings spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster. 17 And Saul knew Davids voice, and said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king. 18 And he said, Wherefore doth my lord thus pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand? 19 Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods. 20 Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD: for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains. 21 Then said Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly. 22 And David answered and said, Behold the kings spear! and let one of the young men come over and fetch it. 23 The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered thee into my hand to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORDS anointed. 24 And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. 25 Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, my son David: thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

Here come the Ziphites; those tattletales who had disclosed to Saul David's whereabouts in I Samuel 23:19 (see notes) are at
it again here in verse 1. Didn't Saul just say that he would not pursue David's death anymore back in I Samuel 24 (see notes)? Well, he changed his mind; did I mention that Saul wasn't very good at keeping oaths. He simply did not have the respect for oaths/vows that his forefathers did. He takes his 3,000-man army and heads out after David once again. The mission is simple: Kill David! While Saul's army sleeps, David and Abishai go right down into Saul's camp - right into the middle where Saul is sleeping. Saul's spear (which he freely throws around at various family members from time to time) was stuck in the ground right beside his head along with his jar of water. Nobody awakened because "a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them" (verse 12). As they stand over Saul, Abishai volunteers to take Saul out...right there and then. David, who didn't really have a problem with killing bad people, still maintains that it would be inappropriate to kill Saul, "the Lord's anointed."

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Interestingly enough, David had the opportunity right here to slay Saul with the very same spear which had been thrown at him by Saul. David is certain that Saul has to die, but he says in verse 10 that when the time comes, "the LORD shall smite him." He does take the water and spear though, puts a little distance between the camp and himself, and then awakens Saul and his army by hollerin' over while waving the spear and water in front of them. David spends a little time razzing Abner, Saul's main military man, for failing to protect Saul. Verse 20 is humorous when David points out the waste of resources in pursuing him when he says, "...for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea." Realizing he could be a dead man right now, once again Saul is remorseful regarding his intentions to kill David - even says "I have sinned" and asks David to return with him. David gives him back his spear and water, but declines the offer to return with Saul; David doesn't really trust Saul anymore. Can you blame him? Saul has no respect for promises.

David moves in with the Philistines (I Samuel 27)

1 And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul: there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of Israel: so shall I escape out of his hand. 2 And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath. 3 And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabals wife. 4 And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath: and he sought no more again for him. 5 And David said unto Achish, If I have now found grace in thine eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there: for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee? 6 Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day. 7 And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months. 8 And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. 9 And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish. 10 And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites. 11 And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines. 12 And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever. Fearing Saul, David moves to Gath and makes a deal with the Philistine king there, Achish. Now here's the deal: Israel had not regained much of the land allocated to Judah and Simeon; the Philistines still controlled it. So, that's where David moved. Thinking it good to have a fugitive of Israel with an army, King Achish welcomes him to Philistia - even gives him possession of his own town, Ziklag, about 23 miles south of Gath (approximately 43 miles southwest of Jerusalem). David's not a very good neighbor though for the 16 months he lives there. He begins to plunder his non-Jewish neighbors in Judah. When King Achish would check up on David's activities, David lied to him and led him to believe he was attacking Jews in Judah and the descendants of Moses' in-laws, the Kenites. This story was plausible and pleasing to King Achish because David and his men left no witnesses at the scene to report otherwise. Achish reasons that David will forever be a fugitive of Israel and thus the servant of Achish because of such activities. In verse 12 the Hebrew word for "abhor" means "smell really bad."

Is David going to fight against Israelites? (I Samuel 28:1-2)

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1 And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men. 2 And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever. David is certainly in a predicament here. King Achish is under the impression that David has been attacking Hebrews in southern Judah back in I Samuel 27:1-12 (see notes), when he had actually been attacking non-Hebrew communities. For that reason, he thinks David is loyal to the Philistines. The Philistine King Achish invites David to participate in his campaign against the Jews. David answers Achish on his invitation to battle with an ambiguous answer when he says in verse 2, "Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do." What does that mean? Achish takes this reply to mean that David is saying, "I'm in!" The rest of this story unfolds in chapter 29 (see below). There's a very humorous side to this deceit. King Achish appoints David to be his bodyguard, or as he said in verse 2, "Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever." Ahhhh...keep this Philistine's head...David has had some experience with that. Remember...he kept Goliath's head (a Philistine) for quite some time back in I Samuel 17 (see notes)...AFTER HE HAD CUT IT OFF!

God won't talk to Saul, but a witch will (I Samuel 28:3-25)

3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. 4 And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. 5 And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. 6 And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. 7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. 8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. 9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? 10 And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. 11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. 12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. 13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. 14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh 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 himself. 15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. 16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? 17 And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: 18 Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. 19 Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. 20 Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night. 21 And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me. 22 Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before

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thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way. 23 But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed. 24 And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof: 25 And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night. Here come the Philistines! What to do? God's not on speaking terms with Saul, so Saul consults a witch. He had to travel to find one, because he had expelled them from Israel just like God had commanded in Leviticus 19:31 (see notes), Leviticus 20:6-7 (see notes) and Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (see notes). She's in Endor, about 12 miles southwest of the Sea of Galilee where, presumably, she felt was far enough away from Judea to be safe. Saul and his men are only about 3 miles or so from there in Gilboa. We see in verse 10 that she's a little bit hesitant to talk with him, but he gives her an oath that he won't harm her. I wonder if she's familiar with his track record on keeping oaths, but she assists him anyway. Although...she claims she had no idea her client was Saul until she went into her trance. This passage is a bit of a stumper for Bible scholars. Does this witch actually bring up Samuel to speak with Saul (a witchcraft practice known as "necromancy"), or does she just appear to do so? Verse 14 indicates that Saul himself did not see Samuel, but just the witch. Secondly, is the historical information (verses 17-18) she gives Saul (supposedly coming from Samuel) common knowledge? Yes, I think so. However, she did not give him good prophetic news (verse 19). She told him he would fail against the Philistines and that he and his three boys would die in the effort. Whoa! That happened just as she said. Lucky guess? So, did she actually raise Samuel from the dead to speak through her to Saul? The author of the Book of Samuel seems to report it as such. The text never suggests that the witch did not actually communicate with Samuel. There's even a reference to the afterlife in verse 19 when Samuel is quoted as saying, "to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me." Just as I said, this passage is a stumper. Now...if you're the kind of person who really needs to get to the bottom of this witch incident, consider these questions/possibilities that have been tossed around by various Bible scholars for centuries: Was the woman actually able to raise up the righteous dead? If so, would that indicate that Satan has some power over the righteous dead? Was the woman simply creating an illusion? If so, how do we account for her accuracy in verse 19? Was Samuel's presence authentic or was this a demonic imitator? The text never questions the authenticity of Samuel's appearance. Is it possible that God intervened to temporarily raise Samuel himself for this occasion? God could and can certainly do any miracle he chooses, including the manifestation of one who has passed on. As a matter of fact, the transfiguration of Matthew 17:1-9 (see notes) is such an example of the dead being manifested to the living in the case of Moses and Elijah with Jesus.

Through the centuries, scholars have taken adamant positions that do a disservice to the wording of the actual text in an attempt to make this passage fit nicely into our God paradigm. Therefore, it seems best to not doubt the presentation of facts here and accept that God can manifest the dead in any way he chooses. Incidentally, I Chronicles 10:13 (see notes) lists Saul's visit to the witch as one of the contributing factors to his death along with his disobedience to God in that sacrifice incident in I Samuel 15 (see notes). Interestingly enough, the witch even refers to Saul's disobedience regarding the King of Amalek (verse 18) going all the way back to I Samuel 15 (see notes). That's the passage where it was declared that Saul's reign would end. There are some strong verses regarding the afterlife in verses 13-19. If the witch is to be believed here, she saw "gods ascending out of the earth." We know from other passages that those who died in the Old Testament were held in "hades" (see article entitled "Paradise Relocated" by clicking here). She saw Samuel ascend "out of the earth" to speak with her. And then you have the message to Saul in verse 19, "...to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me..." From that we see that Saul is to dwell in the very same place with Samuel. That, of course, assumes that you accept the word of a witch per the discussion earlier.

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David bluffs Achish (I Samuel 29)

1 Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel. 2 And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish. 3 Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day? 4 And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? 5 Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 6 Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not. 7 Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines. 8 And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king? 9 And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. 10 Wherefore now rise up early in the mor ning with thy masters servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart. 11 So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel. Now it's back to the story line that was developing in the first two verses of chapter 28 (see above). So, what would David have done if Achish had called his bluff? He had already privately, but absolutely stated that he would not slay Saul. It's a moot point; the commanders of the army of Achish were suspicious of David's reputation for slaying Philistines and would have no participation from David in a campaign against Israel; they were suspicious of David's loyalties. They recall the Philistine-slaying song (verse 5) the Jewish women sang back in I Samuel 18:7 (see notes) "Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." David certainly talks like he's ready to rumble there in verse 8 against his own people, but Achish sends him back home - must keep his generals in the field happy. We can only conjecture that this is exactly the way David thought this ordeal would unfold.

David's wives are captured (I Samuel 30:1-15)

1 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; 2 And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. 3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. 4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. 5 And Davids two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. 6 And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. 7 And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelechs son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought

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thither the ephod to David. 8 And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor, where those that were left behind stayed. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men: for two hundred abode behind, which were so faint that they could not go over the brook Besor. 11 And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat; and they made him drink water; 12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. 13 And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick. 14 We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire. 15 And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company. Battle is a tough business! While David and his army of 600 are out, the Amalekites come and capture the women and children of Ziklag, their city (the city allocated to them by King Achish). It's funny how a crowd can turn on you so quickly; the people wanted to stone David for allowing this to happen. And to make things worse, they had captured David's two wives as well. Everybody sat down and just cried. After a good cry, David asks the priest (Abiathar) to bring him the ephod, a sacred vestment originally designed for the high priest (Exodus 28:4, see notes). After going through a little ritual utilizing the ephod to determine God's will, David is assured by God that he can overtake and defeat the Amalekites who had just raided them. Incidentally, the ephod also contained the Urim and Thummim. These are a little mysterious to us, but they were used from time to time to discern God's will. See the special note on this found in Exodus 28. On their pursuit, they find one of the Amalekites' abandoned Egyptian slaves (because of illness) and get some inside information on their enemy.

David gets his wives back...and everybody else too (I Samuel 30:16-31)
16 And when he had brought him down, behold, they were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. 17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. 18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. 19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all. 20 And David took all the flocks and the herds, which they drave before those other cattle, and said, This is Davids spoil. 21 And David came to the two hundred men, which were so faint that they could not follow David, whom they had made also to abide at the brook Besor: and they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that were with him: and when David came near to the people, he saluted them. 22 Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. 23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. 24 For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike. 25 And it was so from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel unto this day. 26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD; 27 To them which were in Bethel, and to them which were in south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir, 28 And to them which were in Aroer, and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa,

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29 And to them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites, 30 And to them which were in Hormah, and to them which were in Chorashan, and to them which were in Athach, 31 And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt. After locating the Amalekites who had raided his town, David and his men cut the Amalekite celebration short and thoroughly rout them - get everybody and everything back. Only 400 Amalekites escape. David has his wives back again and returns to Ziklag where David insists they share the booty with everyone, even those who did not participate in the campaign. As a matter of fact, David made a new statute that day: People who stay back with "the stuff" enjoy the distribution of booty just like those who fight the battle. They had learned the hard way that staying back with "the stuff" is an important part of not losing your "stuff" in the first place. We see here that not all of David's soldiers were noble in verse 22 when some of them are referred to as "the wicked men and men of Belial." The KJV word "Belial" is a transliteration of the Hebrew word which simply means "worthless and evil." It's not really the name of a god as it may appear. "Men of Belial" is simply an expression which indicates they were in a depraved state. In verses 26 to 31, David sends parts of the spoils taken from the Amalekites to the elders of Judah, thus expressing his gratitude for their help when he roamed through their territory. This gesture might very well serve to gain their support in the future. All places mentioned were situated in the area of Hebron and Beersheba.

Saul and his sons are killed (I Samuel 31)

1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Sauls sons. 3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. 4 Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. 5 And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. 6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together. 7 And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. 9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people. 10 And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan. 11 And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul; 12 All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. 13 And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days. Meanwhile, back with the Philistines, they find Saul and his sons, overtake them and kill them, scattering the Israelites in their path. Well, technically Saul took his own life after being mortally wounded by the archers. They subsequently cut Saul's head off, take his armor back to their temple and put it on display. And to top it all off, they nail his body to the wall in Bethshan. Remember? Bethshan is close to the city, Jabesh, where Saul made his debut as king 40 years earlier (I Samuel 11, see notes). Well, those folks are still grateful to Saul and covertly conduct a salvage mission in Bethshan, take Saul's body, burn it and retrieve his bones for burial back in Jabesh. Here's the picture: After 40 years of kingship, Saul is dead along with all of his possible heirs (Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua) to the throne. I wonder who will be King of Israel now? By the way, Saul never controlled the entire land possession that God gave Israel upon entering the promise land in Genesis 15:18 (see notes). He was a warrior king who led the military for his entire reign.

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It is important to realize here that Saul was anointed king and accepted by the people as their means for defeating the Philistines. It was there in Jabeshgilead back in I Samuel 11 (see notes) where he began this mission 40 years earlier. Ironically, Saul's death in this chapter puts Israel back into virtually the same position from which they had sought deliverance through their appointment of King Saul. Moreover, his bones end up at the very same place where he launched his first campaign, Jabeshgilead. Incidentally, the Amalekite who reports Saul's death to David lies about the circumstances of his death in II Samuel 1:1-16 (see notes).

A prayer of thanksgiving (Psalm 18)

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,

David cites his relationship with Jehovah (1-3)

1 I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is MY ROCK, AND MY FORTRESS, AND MY DELIVERER; MY GOD, MY STRENGTH, IN WHOM I WILL TRUST; MY BUCKLER, AND THE HORN OF MY SALVATION, AND my high tower. 3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

David recounts Gods deliverance (4-19)

4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. 5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. 6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. 7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. 8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. 9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. 10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. 11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. 13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. 14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. 15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. 16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. 17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. 18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. 19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

David explains why God delivered him (20-30)

20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. 21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. 23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. 24 Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. 25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; 26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. 27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.

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28 For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. 29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. 30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

David writes more about the victory (31-48)

31 For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? 32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. 33 He maketh my feet like hinds feet, and setteth me upon my high places. 34 He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. 35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. 36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. 37 I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed. 38 I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet. 39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. 40 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. 41 They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not. 42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets. 43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me. 44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. 45 The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places. 46 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. 47 It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. 48 He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.

David's praise goes to God (49-50)

49 Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name. 50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore. Although the introduction to this Psalm mentions Saul by name, we see that this is the same prayer of thanksgiving we read in II Samuel 22 (see notes). This prayer was written by David and used again by David after Absalom had died (with a little help) followed by a series of battles against the Philistines and others. Note that David gives complete credit to Jehovah for his victories in these battles against his enemies. It would be difficult for one to take an anti-war position based upon scripture - actually...impossible - especially in the light of verse 47, "It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me." Also notice that David is completely convinced that his faithfulness to God is the reason why he has prevailed. In verse 50 he acknowledges his anointed position as king.

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