I SAMUEL

The name Samuel means “Heard of God” or “Asked of God”.

The Hebrew Bible calls this book “Shmuel Alef” meaning “Samuel A”.

The Septuagint (Greek) title is “Bibloi Basileion Alpha” meaning “Books of first kingdoms”,

1 and 2 Samuel were originally 1 book. The Septuagint translators divided it into 2 books calling them 1 and 2 Kings. The other books of Kings were then renamed 3 and 4 Kings, resulting in 1-4 Kings. This change was carried over into the Latin and the Vulgate (common Latin) translations.

The Hebrew Bible also divided Samuel into 2 books in 1448 AD, but retained the title that it possessed in the Hebrew manuscript; 1-4 Kings became Samuel A and B and Kings A and B (1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings).

It is estimated that Samuel was born in 1070 B.C. and died in 1012 B.C.

I SAMUEL 1:1-8

1 NOW there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

2 And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3 This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.

4 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters.

5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the LORD had closed her womb.

6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb.

7 So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.

8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"

Hannah and Elkanah were much like Rachel and Jacob. Hannah’s husband loved her more than his other wife, even though she was barren. Although Scripture doesn’t say, it sounds in verse 2 above as if Hannah was the “primary wife”, namely Elkanah’s first wife and he may have married Peninnah to obtain children because Hannah was barren.

In ancient Israel if a woman was barren she was looked down upon and considered by society to be cursed by God for she did not contribute children to the nation. Peninnah in turn tormented Hannah because she was jealous of the special love their husband had for Hannah.

In the New Testament the mother of John the Baptist had been barren all her life. But in her old age an angel appeared to her aged husband and told him that his wife would become pregnant and bear a son. Scripture records;

LUKE 1:24-25

24 Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying,

25 “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Even in New Testament times a woman was looked down upon if she was childless.

Once a year Elkanah would go to Shiloh where the Ark of the Covenant rested to worship and sacrifice as God had commanded through Moses;

DEUTERONOMY 12:5-7

5 “But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.

6 There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

7 And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.

I SAMUEL 1:9-18

9 So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the LORD.

10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish.

11 Then she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head."

12 And it happened, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli watched her mouth.

13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

14 So Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!"

15 But Hannah answered and said, "No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

16 "Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now."

17 Then Eli answered and said, "Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him."

18 And she said, "Let your maidservant find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

In anguish of heart Hannah finally turned to the Lord for help. She made a promise before the Lord in her petition before Him which she would keep if He favored her request. She was happy, having poured out her heart to the Lord and received the blessing of the High Priest.

A promise will not influence the Lord. But if you want to make a promise because it is in your heart to do so, just be absolutely sure you will follow through with it. God will hold you to any vows you make to Him. As king Solomon said;

ECCLESIASTES 5:4-5

4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed

5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

As Christians we can come before the Lord anytime with anything we want to say to Him. The Lord delights in opening our hearts and minds to the truth of Him. Many times He will answer our petitions or questions in the most unexpected ways. He wants us to turn our problems over to Him, but remember that once you give a problem to the Lord, you must completely let it go.

By promising the Lord that his hair would not be cut, Hannah was promising that Samuel would be a Nazirite (not to be confused with a citizen of Nazareth, called a Nazarene). This was a special dedication to the Lord, with the following requirements;

NUMBERS 6:1-5

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord,

3 he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins.

4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.

5 ‘All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.

Samuel would be a Nazarite for life.

I SAMUEL 1:19-28

19 Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.

20 So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked for him from the LORD."

21 Now the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and his vow.

22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, "Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the LORD and remain there forever."

23 So Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the LORD establish His word." Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

24 Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD in Shiloh. And the child was young.

25 Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli.

26 And she said, "O my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the LORD.

27 "For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition which I asked of Him.

28 "Therefore I also have lent him to the LORD; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the LORD." So they worshiped the LORD there.

Notice that even though this is her only child, she is willing to complete her promise to the Lord. When we make a promise or vow to God, we must be willing to go through with it. Never give your word or promise anything unless you are going to finish it.

This must have been hard for Hannah to give up her child for the rest of her life, but she took comfort in knowing that God had granted her a son. One can imagine her pride and joy when she presented Samuel to Eli as the answer to her prayer.

I SAMUEL 2:1

1 And Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.

“My horn” means “my strength”. Bulls were often held as examples of strength and power. She was referring to the power of a bull’s horns.

Notice that Hannah is not sad or bitter toward the Lord, even though she is leaving her infant son to be raised for the Lord. She is thankful to the Lord that she has a son. She is stronger now, no longer sad as before when she was barren.

This is praying with thanksgiving as the apostle Paul tells us to do in;

PHILIPPIANS 4:6

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

I SAMUEL 2:2-3

2 "No one is holy like the LORD, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.

3 "Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is the God of

knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.

Hannah knows that God knows everything and is the final Judge of all men. She also knows that all those who come before the Lord for any reason should be humble, just as she had humbled herself when she petitioned Him for her son. She told Him what was in her heart and this is what He wants all of us to do.

She also left the answers to her prayers up to Him. Notice that she didn’t tell the Lord what He had to do for her (like the “name it and claim it” ‘Prosperity Gospel’ doctrine that some people today try to use with God). She asked and waited for His answer, knowing that He might say no.

I SAMUEL 2:4-11

4 "The bows of the mighty men are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength.

5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, and she who has many children has become feeble.

6 "The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up.

7 The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up.

8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. "For the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and He has set the world upon them.

9 He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness. "For by strength no man shall prevail.

10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces; from heaven He will thunder against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the Earth. "He will give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed."

11 Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest.

Hannah pours out her praises of God, acknowledging His sovereign power. His is the power of life and death, He causes the poor to prosper and brings the rich to poverty. She didn’t mean that God literally set the Earth on pillars, she uses an allegory to show His power.

God is the author and finisher of life, and it is He who molds and shapes our lives. As he prophet Isaiah said;

ISAIAH 64:8

8 But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.

I SAMUEL 2:12-14

12 Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD.

13 And the priests' custom with the people was that when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged fleshhook in his hand while the meat was boiling.

14 Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; and the priest would take for himself all that the fleshhook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

The Law of Moses allocated which parts of the animal being sacrificed were to be burned, which were given to the priests as food and which were allowed for the person(s) making the sacrifice to eat. From the description here, the servants of Hophni and Phinehas would take whatever they wanted from the portion of meat allocated to the person performing the sacrifice, in addition to what was already given to the priests.

I SAMUEL 2:15-17

15 Also, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who sacrificed, "Give meat for roasting to the priest, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but raw."

16 And if the man said to him, "They should really burn the fat first; then you may take as much as your heart desires," he would then answer him, "No, but you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force."

17 Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.

The Law of Moses stated that the fat of the sacrifices had to be burned before the Lord.

LEVITICUS 3:3-5

3 'Then he shall offer from the sacrifice of the peace offering an offering made by fire to the LORD. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails,

4 'the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove;

5 'and Aaron's sons shall burn it on the altar upon the burnt sacrifice, which is on the wood that is on the fire, as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.

Burning the fat kept the Israelites healthy, as it kept them from the problems associated with fatty diets. The kidneys filter out toxins and wastes from the blood and if not prepared properly could introduce wastes and toxins into their diet.

God was adamant concerning eating of fat;

LEVITICUS 7:25

25 For whoever eats the fat of the animal of which men offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, the person who eats it shall be cut off from his people.

By demanding raw meat from the person making the sacrifice, the meat was being roasted with its fat in defiance of God’s commandments. And by taking it by force if the person refused to give it, the gluttonous priests were placing themselves above God, using their position to intimidate the people and get whatever they wanted, even the portions of meat that were to be reserved for the Lord alone.

I SAMUEL 2:18-21

18 But Samuel ministered before the LORD, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod.

19 Moreover his mother used to make him a little robe, and bring it to him year by year when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

20 And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, "The LORD give you descendants from this woman for the loan that was given to the LORD." Then they would go to their own home.

21 And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

By description, an ephod was a form of an apron covering both front and back worn by priests and the High Priests when ministering before the Lord. The ephod of the High Priest was an elaborate work of art in itself as described in;

EXODUS 39:2-5

2 He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen.

3 And they beat the gold into thin sheets and cut it into threads, to work it in with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, into artistic designs.

4 They made shoulder straps for it to couple it together; it was coupled together at its two edges.

5 And the intricately woven band of his ephod that was on it was of the same workmanship, woven of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The ephods worn by the other priests were somewhat plainer than that of the High Priest.

Most clothing back then was made of coarse-woven wool or hair, rough (by today’s standards) but durable. Linen however was woven from fine thread made of flax or cotton and was quite expensive, considering that it was hand-spun, hand-woven and hand-dyed! (Blue, purple and red dyes came from the Murex (Venus Comb) snail and was very labor-intensive to produce, and was very expensive, usually worn by royalty and the very rich.)

God blessed Hannah for her faith and her giving Samuel to Him and gave her 5 more children. She had not forgotten her firstborn son and would have been just as happy with him as her only son. God often blesses us with far more than we ask, if we ask for the right reasons.

I SAMUEL 2:22-26

22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.

23 So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people.

24 "No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the LORD's people transgress.

25 "If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?" Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the LORD desired to kill them.

26 And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the LORD and men.

Eli was the High Priest and the father of Hophni and Phinehas. By accepting the disrespect his sons showed Eli and the Lord, it put Eli in the position of sinning before the Lord. As parents we are accountable before God for the conduct of our children. The respect children show their parents is the same respect they will have for the Lord when they are grown. This is why Proverbs states:

PROVERBS 22:6

6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Not only did they disrespect the Lord’s sacrifices, they defiled the women who served the Lord in their assigned tasks by having illicit sex with them, which also defiled the entire priesthood. Upon hearing about this, Eli should have immediately removed them from the priesthood and brought them to the judges to be punished.

The Law of Moses was very clear concerning these types of behaviors in grown children;

DEUTERONOMY 21:18-21

18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them,

19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city.

20 And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’

21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.

I SAMUEL 2:27-33

27 Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?

28 'Did I not choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire?

29 'Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?'

30 "Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: 'I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.' But now the LORD says: 'Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.

31 'Behold, the days are coming that I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.

32 'And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be an old man in your house forever.

33 'But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age.

God angrily told Eli that he has shown more honor to his sons than to God. Because of this, God cursed Eli and his entire household for all their generations. All of Eli’s descendants will die at a young age, any men that God doesn’t remove from the priesthood will be wicked men.

The city of Shiloh (the city God had chosen out of all Israel to put His name) was later destroyed by the Philistines when they captured the Ark of the Covenant in fulfillment of God’s curse.

This is also referred to by God to the prophet Jeremiah when He said of Israel:

JEREMIAH 7:9-14

9 "Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Ba’al, and walk after other gods whom you do not know,

10 "and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered to do all these abominations'?

11 "Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it," says the LORD.

12 "But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.

13 "And now, because you have done all these works," says the LORD, "and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer,

14 "therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

I SAMUEL 2:34-36

34 'Now this shall be a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them.

35 'Then I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.

36 'And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, "Please, put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread."'"

The High Priest God would raise up for Himself was Samuel. Samuel served the Lord as a priest, prophet and judge all of his life.

God sanctified Samuel (of the tribe of Levi, but not of the priestly line) as High Priest even though his bloodlines were not from Moses’ brother Aaron or Aaron’s grandson Phinehas. Later He would raise up another; Jesus (of the tribe of Judah) to serve as King and High Priest before Him forever.

God chose the Levites out of the 12 tribes of Israel to serve Him in priestly and sacrificial duties. Portions of the sacrifices and offerings were given to them for their food, as this was their work before the Lord. They served the Lord, interceding with God for the sins of the people, therefore the people were obligated to support them materially.

I SAMUEL 3:1-10

1 Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.

2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see,

3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down,

4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, "Here I am!"

5 So he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And he said, "I did not call; lie down again." And he went and lay down.

6 Then the LORD called yet again, "Samuel!" So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." He answered, "I did not call, my son; lie down again."

7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.)

8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you did call me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy.

9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears."

Eli more than likely had cataracts in his eyes, where the lens of the eye becomes clouded, dimming the amount of light entering the eye. People who live in areas of bright sunlight will sometimes develop cataracts as they age.

Samuel had been assisting Eli in his duties but did not know God personally yet. Word from the Lord was rare in those days, so it was natural for Samuel to figure that Eli had called him. And it seems that when God calls someone for something important, He calls their name twice, as He did with Moses;

EXODUS 3:1-4

1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.

3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

I SAMUEL 3:11-18

11 Then the LORD said to Samuel: "Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

12 "In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.

13 "For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them.

14 "And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."

15 So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.

16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son!" He answered, "Here I am."

17 And he said, "What is the word that the LORD spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you."

18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him."

The magnitude and the seriousness of the sins of Eli and his sons is shown by the fact that God in His fury had sworn that their sins would never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering, and that His judgment against their descendants would last for all their generations.

Samuel was afraid to tell the only parent figure he had ever known of the terrible curse the Lord had placed on Eli and his entire household. But Eli knew that hiding from God’s truth would not change the outcome. Better to know the truth and deal with it than live in ignorance.

I also believe Eli knew he was guilty of the sins God had revealed and knew he deserved to be punished for his disobedience to the Lord. As High Priest, father, leader and teacher of the nation of Israel he was supposed to set the example of obedience to God’s commandments through the Law of Moses.

Moses had warned the people of the price of disobedience when he said;

DEUTERONOMY 28:58-61

58 "If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD,

59 "then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues great and prolonged plagues and serious and prolonged sicknesses.

60 "Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you.

61 "Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in this Book of the Law, will the LORD bring upon you until you are destroyed.

God knew that sinful Man would rebel against any laws that were meant to restrain sinful behaviors. Numerous times throughout history He pleaded with Israel to repent for many years before He acted on His threats of punishment. Threats without following actions are useless and are quickly ignored.

God would use the house of Eli as a terrible example of His wrath against continued disrespect and disobedience. As He said earlier through Moses;

DEUTERONOMY 13:11

11 So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you.

I SAMUEL 3:19-21

19 So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.

20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the LORD.

21 Then the LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

Samuel would be the last of the judges of Israel and it was during his ministry that the people wanted a king, thus ending the 350 year period of the Judges. He was not only a judge but a prophet of the Lord, during a time when word from the Lord was rare.

The territory of Dan was to the far north in Israel and Beersheba (Hebrew: Be’er Sheva, ‘well of seven’) was in the far south, in the Negev (Hebrew: ‘dry’) desert. Therefore ALL Israel knew that Samuel was a prophet of the Lord.

I SAMUEL 4:1-11

1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.

2 Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field.

3 And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies."

4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. 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 so loudly that the earth shook.

6 Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, "What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp.

7 So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come into the camp!" And they said, "Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before.

8 "Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.

9 "Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!"

10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers.

11 Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

First of all, Israel sinned in that they treated the Ark of the Covenant more like a magic talisman or good-luck charm, rather than being the visible symbol of the presence of God. Therefore God allowed the Ark to be captured to show that while the Ark was taken into battle, His presence did not go with it. In every other battle where the Ark of God had been to the battle, it was God who told them to take it there. This time it was the decision of the Israelites to take the Ark into battle.

Today as Christians we are defeated when we go to fight “in His name” when He has NOT sent us. And like Israel, we can go but God’s presence will not go with us.

The Philistines were frightened as they had heard of God’s destruction of powerful Egypt, one of the ancient ‘super-powers’ of their time. They had also undoubtedly heard of what Israel did to Jericho when they came into Canaan. Therefore they were faced with either fighting, or becoming servants of Israel, an abomination to them.

This was also the beginning of the fulfillment of the curse and judgment God placed of Eli and his family. Both of Eli’s sons were dead in the same day, just as the Lord prophesied.

I SAMUEL 4:12-18

12 Then a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line the same day, and came to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

13 Now when he came, there was Eli, sitting on 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 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, "What does the sound of this tumult mean?" And the man came quickly and told Eli.

15 Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see.

16 Then the man said to Eli, "I am he who came from the battle. And I fled today from the battle line." And he said, "What happened, my son?"

17 So the messenger answered and said, "Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the ark of God has been captured."

18 Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.

Eli was positively ancient for those times. Most people were lucky to reach 60 years of age, and he was 98! Remember also that God had accused him of growing fat from corrupt practices of eating the best parts of the sacrifices and offerings given to the Lord.

Thus God’s curse on Eli’s house came to terrible fruition in that both he and his sons died on the same day.

I SAMUEL 4:19-22

19 Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, due to be delivered; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth, for her labor pains came upon her.

20 And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, "Do not fear, for you have borne a son." But she did not answer, nor did she regard it.

21 Then she named the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel!" because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

22 And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."

The final phase of God’s curse which He said would happen in 1 day had been fulfilled. She may have understood the reasons for the deaths of her family, but it seems that her major concern was that the Ark had been captured. And in fulfillment of God’s curse, with her death the immediate generation of Eli’s household was destroyed.

Note also that Samuel, even though a confirmed prophet of the Lord did not go to the battle.

Ichabod (Hebrew: ‘No glory’)

I SAMUEL 5:1-5

1 Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to 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 the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again.

4 And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon's torso was left of it.

5 Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon's house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

There were 5 cities of the Philistines (Ekron, Gath, Gaza, Ashdod and Ashkelon), each ruled by a king. Dagon was one of the Mesopotamian gods and was depicted as half-man, half-fish. God showed His power over the demon god Dagon by having the idol fall on its face in reverence before the Ark of the Lord.

What is interesting is that even 600 years later, pagan worshipers still leaped over the threshold of their houses and temples. As God told the prophet Zephaniah;

ZEPHANIAH 1:9

9 In the same day I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

I SAMUEL 5:6-12

6 But the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.

7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god."

8 Therefore they sent and gathered to themselves all the lords of the Philistines, 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 away to Gath." So they carried the ark of the God of Israel away.

9 So it was, after they had carried it away, that the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction; and He struck the men of the city, both small and great, and tumors broke out on them.

10 Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. So it was, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, "They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill 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 back to its own place, so that it does not kill us 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 who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

The Ark of God was not to be trifled with, and the Philistines knew that the Ark was the cause of their destruction. After this the Philistines would fight against the Israelites, but never again would they take the Ark of the God of the Israel.

Interestingly enough when Pharaoh Shishak (Seshonq) invaded Judah in about 100 years later, (926 B.C.) he looted the Temple, but did not carry off the Ark of the Covenant;

II CHRONICLES 12:9

9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he took everything. He also carried away the gold shields which Solomon had made.

It may be that Shishak left the Ark of the Covenant because of what happened to the Philistines or it may have been hidden, Scripture is silent on the issue. The last mention of the Ark was during the time of king Josiah (648 - 609 B.C.)

II CHRONICLES 35:3

3 Then he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to the Lord: “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel.

Yet when king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon destroyed Solomon’s Temple in 586 B.C. he took all of the treasures of the Temple to Babylon, yet the Ark is not mentioned. Tradition is that it was hidden when the Babylonians attacked and those who knew its location were killed.

Successive conquerors (Greek and Roman) looted the Temple (the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 70 A.D.) but never saw or carried away the Ark, in fulfillment to God’s words to the prophet Jeremiah;

JEREMIAH 3:16

16 “Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the Lord, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.

The Ark being stored by king Josiah also disproves the tradition that Solomon gave the Ark to the Queen of Sheba. Josiah lived 300 years after king Solomon and the Ark was still in the Temple of the Lord in Israel.

I SAMUEL 6:1-6

1 Now 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 with the ark of the LORD? Tell us how we should send it to its place."

3 So they said, "If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; but by all means return it to Him with a trespass offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you."

4 Then they said, "What is the trespass offering which we shall return to Him?" They answered, "Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords.

5 "Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your rats that ravage the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, from your gods, and from your land.

6 "Why then do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He did mighty things among them, did they not let the people go, that they might depart?

God can speak through anyone He chooses. The Philistines knew of the disasters God did in Egypt because of Pharaoh’s pride and stubbornness. The Philistines have already suffered 2 plagues, and like Egypt, it would only get worse if they continued resisting God.

The trespass offering is interesting. Symbols of the 2 plagues received from God, were rats and tumors. The word “tumor” is “Ophel” (Hebrew: o’ fel). Ophel means: a tumor; also a mound, fortress, fort, stronghold, tower, derived from the Hebrew word “aphal” (aw-fal’) a primary root which means ‘to swell’.

The plagues of tumors and rats points to the onset of bubonic plague, a vicious disease brought on by being bitten by fleas from infected rats. The plague causes painful (and usually deadly) swelling of the lymph nodes in the thighs, neck, groin and armpits. Left untreated, fatality rates vary between 30 - 90% with death occurring within 10 days.

During the 14^th century, the “Black Plague” as it was called (because the infected swellings turn black) wiped out 50 million people in Europe and Africa.

By sending the Ark of the Covenant back with an offering, the Philistines hoped to turn away God’s wrath upon them and end the plagues. Notice that the diviners said the tresspass offering might cause God to “lighten his hand” from both the people and their gods showing God’s supremacy over their demon gods.

I SAMUEL 6:7-12

7 "Now therefore, make a new cart, take two milk cows which have never been yoked, and hitch the cows to the cart; and take their calves home, away from them.

8 "Then take the ark of the LORD and set it on the cart; and put the articles of gold which you are returning to Him as a trespass offering in a chest by its side. Then send it away, and let it go.

9 "And watch: if it goes up the road to its own territory, to Beth Shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that struck us, it happened to us by chance."

10 Then the men did so; they took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home.

11 And they set the ark of the LORD on the cart, and the chest with the gold rats and the images of their tumors.

12 Then the cows headed straight for the road to Beth Shemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh.

This proved to the Philistines that God was the reason for the plagues that were upon them. Just as in our lives sometimes things just happen, but sometimes God is trying to get our attention and sometimes Satan is behind our troubles. No matter what the circumstances we should always begin to solve ANY problem by talking to the Lord FIRST!

And typical of divination they set two ways for the Ark to travel. If the cows headed toward Israel the Philistines would know that God was behind their plagues which indeed happened. Note also that they put the trespass offering in a chest beside the Ark, not in it.

I SAMUEL 6:13-16

13 Now the people of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley; and they lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.

14 Then the cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh, and stood there; a large stone was there. So they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD.

15 The Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the chest that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. Then the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices the same day to the LORD.

16 So when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.

The Israelites had also learned a lesson, and were diligent to show God the honor and respect due Him.

I SAMUEL 6:17-21

17 These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned as a trespass offering to the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron;

18 and the golden rats, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both fortified cities and country villages, even as far as the large stone of Abel on which they set the ark of the LORD, which stone remains to this day in the field of Joshua of Beth Shemesh.

19 Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter.

20 And the men of Beth Shemesh said, "Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? And to whom shall it go up from us?"

21 So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath Jearim, saying, "The Philistines have brought back the ark of the LORD; come down and take it up with you."

The Israelites knew that they were not allowed to touch, let alone open the Ark. Interestingly enough, even though the Philistines had the Ark for 7 months, they never opened it or looked inside.

 Again Israel treated the Ark a more like a talisman than for what it really was, and they paid the price of death for their disrespect and disobedience. Note that instead of repenting of their actions, like the Philistines, the people of Beth Shemesh wanted to be rid of the Ark.

We also pay a great price when we disobey the Lord. This is one of the reasons why we must count the cost when we choose to follow Him.

I SAMUEL 7:1-6

1 Then the men of Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.

2 So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.

3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If you return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines."

4 So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only.

5 And Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you."

6 So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the LORD. And they fasted that day, and said there, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.

Notice that forgiveness didn’t come from the Lord until the people repented. To repent we must not only admit our sin before the Lord, but we must also take action to stop the sin.

Even though Israel lamented after the Lord, they still worshiped idols, namely Ba’al (the Canaanite Storm god) and his female consort Ashtoreth (also called Asherah) who was represented by a wooden pillar. The pouring out of water represented the hope of cleansing of their sins from the Lord.

‘Mizpah’ (Hebrew: “Watchtower”) was the name of several sites in the Old Testament and usually was given to a border fortress near enemy territory set up to watch for invasions.

I SAMUEL 7:7-14

7 Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.

8 So the children of Israel said to Samuel, "Do not cease to cry out to the LORD our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines."

9 And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. Then Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him.

10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the LORD thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel.

11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car.

12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the LORD has helped us."

13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

14 Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

‘Ebenezer’ (Hebrew: “stone of help”)

With all Israel gathered at Mizpah, the Philistines probably expected an attack and decided to strike first. Israel was afraid for the Philistines knew how to work iron and Israeli weapons were made of softer bronze.

While Israel was repenting before the Lord the Philistines probably figured an attack would catch them off guard.

Anyone who has been in a violent thunderstorm understands just how frightening thunder can be. I have been in thunderstorms where the ground literally shook and the windows rattled from the violence of the thunder. The superstitious Philistines were so shaken (literally) that they never again invaded Israel and abandoned cities they had previously taken in battle.

God also provided peace between Israel and the Ammonites, Moabites, and other enemies east of the Jordan River, in fulfillment of;

PROVERBS 16:7

7 When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

I SAMUEL 7:15-17

15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

16 He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places.

17 But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the LORD.

Samuel traveled around like a circuit judge in the old western and pioneer days in the USA.

I SAMUEL 8:1-3

1 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel.

2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.

3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.

Samuel had judged fairly for many years and led the people back to the Lord. But his sons were not following the Lord anymore than Eli’s sons had. Power and money can be corrupting influences, just look at Hollywood, Wall Street and politicians today.

Satan has many lures that he uses and each is tailored for every individual he tempts. Satan knows our weaknesses and exploits them far too efficiently. In the first two chapters of the Book of Job, Satan petitions God for permission to test Job. God allows his request, but sets limits as to how far he is able to go.

In the New Testament even Jesus was tempted by Satan for 40 days, facing every temptation that we will ever face in our lives so that He could experience first-hand as a human what we face here on Earth. But as the Apostle Paul said;

I CORINTHIANS 10:13

13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Samuel’s sons like Eli’s sons before them, were seduced with the power and authority of their positions. We all have weaknesses, this was one of theirs. Because Samuel was not complicit in the sins of his sons, the curse that God placed on the house of Eli was not leveled against him by the Lord

I SAMUEL 8:4-5

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah,

5 and said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations."

Notice that the real reason for wanting a king wasn’t because of bad judges, but because they want to be like other nations.

God had separated the Jews from all other peoples, and they were not to be like those around them. Sometimes it is hard to be different, you just want to fit in. Down through history the Jews have tried to assimilate among the nations, but in every case savage persecution has broken out driving them out, the latest example being the Nazi attempts to exterminate them during WW II.

WW II forced them to realize that the only place they could go and exist as a people was back to the ancient Land of Israel in fulfillment of Ezekiel’s ancient prophecy (roughly 600 B.C.) concerning the resurrection of the State Israel during the Last Days. (For more information on this event, please see the End Times Part 1 study in this site)

Today, many Christians do what they know is wrong and try to justify it by saying they don’t have a choice if they want to fit in with the crowd. A good example is churches embracing openly gay people’s lifestyles and performing homosexual weddings, in spite of God’s explicit condemnation of their chosen lifestyle in both Testaments.

 Those who choose to follow Christ will NEVER fit in with the world. We cannot serve 2 masters, Jesus tells us in;

MATTHEW 6:24

24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

‘Mammon’ (Hebrew: “money”) is wealth and riches, in essence, worldly things. You can love them, but they can’t love you.

I SAMUEL 8:6-22

6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." So Samuel prayed to the LORD.

7 And the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, 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 to this day with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods so they are doing to you also.

9 "Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them."

10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king.

11 And he said, "This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots.

12 "He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

13 "He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.

14 "And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants.

15 "He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants.

16 "And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work.

17 "He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.

18 "And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day."

19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No, 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 repeated them in the hearing of the LORD.

22 So the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed their voice, and make them a king." And Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Every man go to his city."

Moses had prophesied this would happen;

DEUTERONOMY 17:14-15

14 "When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,'

15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.

Samuel didn’t like the request, but went to the Lord and let Him make the decision. God warns the Israelites of the high personal cost of having a king over them, but they were willing to put their faith in a man instead of the Lord.

And God essentially says in verse 8 that by rejecting Samuel, they are rejecting Him also despite the good that He has done for them. As Jesus told His disciples;

LUKE 10:16

16 He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”

I SAMUEL 9:1-27

1 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 choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, "Please take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys."

4 So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.

5 When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, "Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us."

6 And he said to him, "Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go."

7 Then Saul said to his servant, "But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?"

8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, "Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way."

9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: "Come, let us go to the seer"; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)

10 Then Saul said to his servant, "Well said; come, let us go." So they went to the city where the man of God was.

11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, "Is the seer here?"

12 And they answered them and said, "Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he came to this city, because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place.

13 "As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him."

14 So they went up to the city. As they were coming into the city, there was Samuel, coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.

15 Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying,

16 "Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me."

17 So when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, "There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people."

18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, "Please tell me, where is the seer's house?"

19 Samuel answered Saul and said, "I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart.

20 "But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father's house?"

21 And Saul answered and said, "Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?"

22 Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited; there were about thirty persons.

23 And Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, 'Set it apart.'"

24 So the cook took up the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, "Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat; for until this time it has been kept for you, since I said I invited the people." So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

25 When they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the top of the house.

26 They arose early; and it was about the dawning of the day that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house, saying, "Get up, that I may send you on your way." And Saul arose, and both of them went outside, he and Samuel.

27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us." And he went on. "But you stand here awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God."

God does everything in His own way and in His timing. Notice how humble Saul was before he became king.

Samuel again proved his gift of prophecy by telling Saul about the donkeys without Saul stating why he sought Samuel. And it was traditional to bring payment to a prophet when seeking God’s will in a private matter. This would help the prophet to cover his own expenses such as buying food, etc.

“High places” were usually elevated spaces such as hills or high rock outcroppings dedicated to deities as altars or worship spaces.

In summer months people would many times sleep on the roof of their house as it was cooler there at night. It sounds as if Saul and his servant slept on the roof of Samuel’s house.

I SAMUEL 10:1-8

1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: "Is it not because the LORD has anointed you commander over His inheritance?

2 "When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, 'The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father has ceased caring about the donkeys and is worrying about you, saying, "What shall I do about my son?"'

3 "Then you shall go on forward from there and come to the terebinth tree of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.

4 "And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hands.

5 "After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying.

6 "Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

7 "And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you.

8 "You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do."

Samuel anointed Saul as God’s chosen leader of Israel and prophesied over him. Pouring oil on a person’s head in this case was to indicate God’s blessing on the individual and was performed numerous times in the Old Testament to appoint High Priests and kings. The common people also used oil to keep their hair from drying out in the hot Mediterranean sun.

This prophecy would also show Saul the truth that Samuel had spoken to him. In verse 6 “be turned into another man”, was when the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul, changing him from a humble and shy man into a strong and forthright leader of the nation of Israel.

I SAMUEL 10:9-13

9 So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day.

10 When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

11 And it happened, when all who knew him formerly saw that he indeed prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, "What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

12 Then a man from there answered and said, "But who is their father?" Therefore it became a proverb: "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

13 And when he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.

The Lord was preparing the people and Saul for the changes in the leadership of the nation that were about to happen. Notice that is was the Lord that changed Saul’s heart. The same is true today, our hearts are changed by the Lord. But He will only change the parts of our lives that we are willing to hand over to Him, He will never take anything from us against our will.

I SAMUEL 10:14-16

14 Then Saul's uncle said to him and his servant, "Where did you go?" So he said, "To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel."

15 And Saul's uncle said, "Tell me, please, what Samuel said to you."

16 So Saul said to his uncle, "He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found." But about the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him what Samuel had said.

Saul was probably still in a state of shock. So many things are happening so quickly, I believe he wanted to get used to the idea of being God’s anointed to lead His nation before telling everyone about it. He might have been awaiting public confirmation from Samuel also, rather than declaring himself king.

I SAMUEL 10:17-27

17 Then Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah,

18 and said to the children of Israel, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.'

19 "But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, 'No, set a king over us!' Now therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans."

20 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.

21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found.

22 Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, "Has the man come here yet?" And the LORD answered, "There he is, hidden among the equipment."

23 So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.

24 And Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?" So all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!"

25 Then Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, 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 valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched.

27 But some rebels said, "How can this man save us?" So they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

Saul was publicly chosen by casting lots, a popular practice back then. Usually several stones of one color were mixed with a single stone of a different color. The stones were put into a bag and a single stone was drawn and a common stone meant a negative answer while the different stone indicating a positive answer.

When Israel had entered Canaan God had commanded that when Jericho was destroyed, nothing of value was to be taken, it was to be dedicated to the Lord;

JOSHUA 6:18-19

18 And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.

19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”

But unknown to Israel, a man named Achan took some treasures and hid them in his tent, bringing God’s wrath on all Israel. As a result, when Israel attacked a small city named Ai they were driven off, losing 36 men in the process.

God then told Joshua;

JOSHUA 7:13-15

13 Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the Lord God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.”

14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the Lord takes shall come according to families; and the family which the Lord takes shall come by households; and the household which the Lord takes shall come man by man.

15 Then it shall be that he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel.’ ”

Lots were cast to determine the guilty party, first by tribe, then by family and finally man-by-man in the family.

Scripture then records;

JOSHUA 7:16-25

16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken.

17 He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken.

18 Then he brought his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.

19 Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

20 And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done:

21 When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it.

23 And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord.

24 Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor.

25 And Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The Lord will trouble you this day.” So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.

This may seem to be a horrific punishment, but was done to show the seriousness of deliberately disobeying the Lord. 36 men of Israel died because of Achan’s greediness and disobedience to the Lord, so He set a graphic example so that all Israel would hear and fear.

Much like Moses, Saul started out very humble and unsure of himself, but eventually would grow into the job set before him.

Note that even when Samuel again related the woes Israel would suffer under a king after rejecting God as King, they still clamored for Saul to be king.

I SAMUEL 11:1-7

1 Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you."

2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, "On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel."

3 Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, "Hold off for seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you."

4 So the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept.

5 Now there was Saul, coming behind the herd from the field; and Saul said, "What troubles the people, that they weep?" And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh.

6 Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused.

7 So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, "Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen." And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.

Until Saul threatened them, the people were willing to worry and weep but were too apathetic to take action. They didn’t like the idea of their brothers being attacked but weren’t willing to help them and take a chance they might be hurt. This didn’t change until Saul threatened to cost them their personal property, suddenly everyone was willing to take action and help their brothers in need.

Sadly, many Christians fall into this category today. There are people in need everywhere that are hungry, poor, thirsty, cold, tired, spiritually exhausted, etc. We can help if we want to, in fact Jesus commanded us to do this very thing when He said;

MATTHEW 10:42

42 "And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."

God condemned complacency and laziness among the people of Israel when He told the prophet Ezekiel;

EZEKIEL 22:30-31

30 "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.

31 "Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord GOD.

I SAMUEL 11:8-15

8 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 to the messengers who came, "Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: 'Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have help.'" Then the messengers came and reported it to the men of Jabesh, and they were glad.

10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, "Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do with us whatever seems good to you."

11 So it was, on the next day, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and killed Ammonites until the heat of the day. And it happened that those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

12 Then the people said to Samuel, "Who is he who said, 'Shall Saul reign over us?' Bring the men, that we may put them to death."

13 But Saul said, "Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has accomplished salvation in Israel."

14 Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there."

15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Jabesh-Gilead had a history of complacency to this point (Book of Judges, chapters 19 - 21). At one time a Levite was traveling with a male servant and a concubine through territory belonging to the tribe of Benjamin and lodged with a man in the town of Gibeah. That night some perverted men of the tribe of Benjamin came to the house and demanded the Levite to come out so they could rape him.

He refused so they took his concubine, abused and raped her until dawn and left her dead on the doorstep. This was a horrifying crime in itself, but attacking strangers was strictly forbidden and was an abomination in most Middle-Eastern countries.

When the other 11 tribes demanded that the perpetrators be given up for punishment, the tribe of Benjamin refused, causing the rest of Israel to go to war with them. The entire tribe of Benjamin was virtually wiped out with the exception of 600 men who fled into the wilderness. After the battle it was found that none of the men of Jabesh-Gilead had answered God’s call to war, so Israel attacked the town and killed the inhabitants of the town for their refusal to help in the battle.

And even now they refused to fight, instead they searched for a champion who would rescue them from the Ammonites.

God then accomplished His word, making Saul the first king over all Israel.

I SAMUEL 12:1-5

1 Now Samuel said to all Israel: "Indeed I have heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you.

2 "And now here is the king, walking before you; and I am old and gray headed, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day.

3 "Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you."

4 And they said, "You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man's hand."

5 Then he said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." And they answered, "He is witness."

Samuel did this to show that he has always spoken the truth and done what was righteous and honest before God and men and had the people bear witness to that fact.

I SAMUEL 12:6-11

6 Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt.

7 "Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did to you and your fathers:

8 "When Jacob had gone into Egypt, and your fathers cried out to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.

9 "And when they forgot the LORD their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them.

10 "Then they cried out to the LORD, and said, 'We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.'

11 "And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety.

Samuel reminds them of their recent history and hypocrisy of calling on God when in trouble and after He saved them, quickly returning to their old ways, forgetting the Lord.

As a furious God would tell the prophet Hosea concerning Israel;

HOSEA 2:8

8 For she did not know that I gave her grain, new wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold— which they prepared for Baal.

We have to be very careful we don’t fall into this trap! It’s easy to remember the Lord when we are in trouble, but it becomes inconvenient or too restrictive when things are going great. Christianity, like Judaism, is supposed to be a lifestyle not a religion. A religion is something you practice, Christianity is a lifelong commitment. There are huge consequences for only half heartedly serving or turning away from Jesus Christ.

As God told Judah through the prophet Jeremiah;

JEREMIAH 7:8-10

8 “Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit.

9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know,

10 and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’?

Jesus also warned those who served God half-heartedly;

REVELATION 3:15-16

15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.

16 "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

Those who are ‘luke-warm’ are so disgusting to Him that He will spit their names out before His Father as something foul and unclean.

I SAMUEL 12:12-15

12 "And when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us,' when the LORD your God was your king.

13 "Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, the LORD has set a king over you.

14 "If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the LORD your God.

15 "However, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

Samuel again warned them of the sin they have committed against the Lord in asking for a king instead of the Lord being their King and Leader. They may have a physical king, but God will still lead their nation as long as they remain faithful and don’t do as their fathers have done.

I SAMUEL 12:16-25

16 "Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes:

17 "Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves."

18 So Samuel called to 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 to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves."

20 Then Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.

21 "And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing.

22 "For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.

23 "Moreover, as for me, far be it from me 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 what great things He has done for you.

25 "But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king."

This happened at the end of summer at the beginning of the hot, dry harvest season. During the wheat harvest the last thing anyone wants is rain! Harvesting grain in the rain means it is very likely to grow mold and mildew before drying, making the grain inedible and not sellable either. Some grain molds are poisonous and can be deadly if consumed.

God did this to show His wrath against the people’s foolish decision to reject Him as King, but Samuel assures them that He will bless them and their king if they choose to faithfully follow Him.

I SAMUEL 13:1-14

1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,

2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent.

3 And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear!"

4 Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal.

5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven.

6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits.

7 And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

8 Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.

9 So Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me." And he offered the burnt offering.

10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.

11 And Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash,

12 "then I said, 'The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.' Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering."

13 And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

14 "But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."

This is the first mention of Jonathon, Saul’s grown son, old enough to lead an army of 1,000 men. This also tells us that Saul was mature adult. Jonathan attacked a Philistine garrison (outpost) at Geba which was actually in Israel and was probably a ‘forward base’ of operations outside the borders of Philistine territory. The 5 Philistine kings then prepared a massive army to assault Israel.

Saul panicked, the people were afraid and some had abandoned him, even crossing the Jordan river eastward to escape the dreaded Philistine attack they felt was coming.

Instead of telling the people to trust God, Saul took matters into his own hands. He knew how many times the Lord had saved Israel, but he wanted to be the one to save Israel. Pride, a lack of faith and disobedience to the Lord’s commandments were his weaknesses leading to sin.

Saul also knew that the with the exception of Samuel, priests were the only ones allowed to offer sacrifices for the nation of Israel, but he didn’t want to wait for the Lord’s timing. He was looking at the situation with his own eyes instead of waiting for the Lord, who sees the things that our eyes miss.

Sometimes we get impatient also and need to remember that God’s timing is perfect. We need to wait on Him. Scripture reminds us over and over to wait on Him;

ISAIAH 40:30-31

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall,

31 But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

ISAIAH 30:18

18 Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.

JEREMIAH 14:22

22 Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O LORD our God? Therefore we will wait for You, since You have made all these.

Samuel prophesies concerning the destruction of the kingdom of Saul and the coming of the kingdom of David. This is in line with Jacob’s prophecy that the kings of Israel would come from Judah;

GENESIS 49:10

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

The God-chosen Earthly kings of Israel would only end when the Messiah, Jesus Christ was born. There were kings ruling Judah when Jesus was born (the Herods) but they were Idumeans (Edomites) descended from Jacob’s brother Esau and were not legitimate kings, but political appointees installed by Rome.

And true to Jacob’s prophecy, Rome destroyed the kingdom of Judah after Jesus’ death and there have been no further kings of Israel afterward.

Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin and was what the people wanted, after rejecting the Lord as King. Saul’s failure and disobedience allowed God to choose for Himself a king to rule Israel in Saul’s place.

 I SAMUEL 13:15-23

15 Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people present with him, about six hundred men.

16 Saul, Jonathan his son, and the people present with them remained in Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines encamped in Michmash.

17 Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned onto the road to Ophrah, to the land of Shual,

18 another company turned to the road to Beth Horon, and another company turned to the road of the border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

19 Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, "Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears."

20 But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen each man's plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle;

21 and the charge for a sharpening was a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads.

22 So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son.

23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.

The Philistines had quite a racket going! They could make money from the Israelites to sharpen their field tools, and keep them from learning the skills needed to make weapons like spears and swords to use against the Philistines.

A “pim” was a coin consisting of 7.6 grams of silver, a ‘pim’ being an actual weight made of stone or clay, rather than a monetary unit. In ancient times coins were weighed to determine their value due to differences in manufacturing. Thus a ‘pim’ was a coin containing 7.6 grams of silver.

The Philistines had leaned how to smelt and work iron, a major advantage in a world still using bronze. The Philistines would use iron files to sharpen the softer Israeli bronze tools. This also reminded Israel of the superiority of the Philistine culture.

Caphtor is the ancient Biblical name for Crete. The Minoan culture there was extremely advanced for its time, having hot and cold running water in their homes, and self-flushing plumbing and sewer systems. This is why the Philistines already knew how to smelt and work iron, while Israel had not yet developed this technology. The Philistines were the descendants of the ancient Minoan culture that ruled the Aegean sea from Crete.

However, in 1531 B.C., the volcanic island of Thera (Greek for “fear”) 60 miles north of Crete erupted in what has been called the greatest volcanic eruption in recorded history. The eruption and subsequent collapse of the majority of the island of Thera into the sea created tidal waves that reached 300 feet in height on Crete to the south, and up to 600 feet high in parts of Turkey to the east. (The memory of the eruption also created the legends of Atlantis.)

The Minoan culture on Crete was destroyed by the firestorms and tidal waves generated by Thera, and the survivors fled south and east, carving out a homeland by the sword wherever they landed, until stopped by Pharaoh Ramesses III of Egypt. The Philistines then retreated to the coastland of Canaan, establishing five kingdoms there.

God refers to the Thera event when He said;

JEREMIAH 47:4

4 Because of the day that comes to plunder all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; for the LORD shall plunder the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor.

Note that God calls them the remnant of the island of Caphtor (Crete).

I SAMUEL 14:1-14

1 Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, "Come, let us go over to the Philistines' garrison that is on the other side." But he did not tell his father.

2 And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men.

3 Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD's priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

4 Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.

5 The front of one faced northward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite Gibeah.

6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few."

7 So his armorbearer said to him, "Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart."

8 Then Jonathan said, "Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them.

9 "If they say thus to us, 'Wait until we come to you,' then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them.

10 "But if they say thus, 'Come up to us,' then we will go up. For the LORD has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us."

11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, "Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden."

12 Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, "Come up to us, and we will show you something." Jonathan said to his armorbearer, "Come up after me, for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel."

13 And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them.

14 That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land.

Jonathan was patriotic, but followed the Lord’s lead allowing the Lord to decide whether he should attack or not and won the first of many battles for Israel. By the sounds of it, the Philistine garrison was a small one, more of a provincial outpost. Jonathan more than likely didn’t tell his intentions to Saul, probably figuring Saul would not want to provoke the Philistines.

I SAMUEL 14:15-23

15 And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling.

16 Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and there was the multitude, melting away; and they went here and there.

17 Then Saul said to the people who were with him, "Now call the roll and see who has gone from us." And when they had called the roll, surprisingly, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there.

18 And Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring the ark of God here" (for at that time the ark of God was with the children of Israel).

19 Now it happened, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase; so Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand."

20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle; and indeed every man's sword was against his neighbor, and there was very great confusion.

21 Moreover the Hebrews who were with the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the surrounding country, they also joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.

22 Likewise all the men of Israel who had hidden in the mountains of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they also followed hard after them in the battle.

23 So the LORD saved Israel that day, and the battle shifted to Beth Aven.

The land of Israel is earthquake-prone due to the entire Jordan Valley being a huge fault line, part of the Anatolian Fault / Great African Rift system. The Bible records numerous earthquakes as shaking the region and He used this one to panic the Philistines. I’ve been through several earthquakes and they can be frightening events.

The earthquake also frightened Israel causing them to abandon Saul, forcing Saul to take a census as to who was left. Notice that once again Saul didn’t wait for a word from the Lord, but took matters into his own hands. When the confusion from the Philistine camp increased, Saul saw an opportunity and attacked. The superstitious Philistines were probably divided between those who wanted to flee and those wanting to stay and fight causing them to turn on each other.

The men of Israel who had fled suddenly found their courage and pursued the fleeing Philistines through the mountains to BethAven, a long, tiring trek.

I SAMUEL 14:24-34

24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, "Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies." So none of the people tasted food.

25 Now all the people of the land came to a forest; and there was honey on the ground.

26 And when the people had come into the woods, there was the honey, dripping; but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.

27 But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his countenance brightened.

28 Then one of the people said, "Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, 'Cursed is the man who eats food this day."' And the people were faint.

29 But Jonathan said, "My father has troubled the land. Look now, how my countenance has brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.

30 "How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now would there not have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?"

31 Now they had driven back the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. So the people were very faint.

32 And the people rushed on the spoil, and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood.

33 Then they told Saul, saying, "Look, the people are sinning against the LORD by eating with the blood!" So he said, "You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone to me this day."

34 Then Saul said, "Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, 'Bring me here every man's ox and every man's sheep, slaughter them here, and eat; and do not sin against the LORD by eating with the blood.'" So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night, and slaughtered it there.

Saul in a foolish display of selfishness made the people take a rash oath. Notice that he said that the people could not eat until he had vengeance on his enemies, making the battle a personal one, not a battle of the people or of the Lord. The people were exhausted from chasing the Philistines and were in dire need of food, but were afraid of the king’s curse.

Notice that Jonathan listened to the Lord above his father, even though doing so could cost him his life. Even Saul saw his mistake when the people were so hungry they were eating the blood with the meat. Saul avoided the responsibility of his actions by accusing the people of treachery in eating before they had his permission to do so.

However even he understood the sin of the people’s eating blood which God had forbidden;

LEVITICUS 3:17

17 ‘This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood.’ ”

By slaughtering the animals on the rock, it allowed the blood to be drained before eating the meat.

I SAMUEL 14:35-45

35 Then Saul built an altar to the LORD. This was the first altar that he built to the LORD.

36 Now Saul said, "Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and plunder them until the morning light; and let us not leave a man of them." And they said, "Do whatever seems good to you." Then the priest said, "Let us draw near to God here."

37 So Saul asked counsel of God, "Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel?" But He did not answer him that day.

38 And Saul said, "Come over here, all you chiefs of the people, and know and see what this sin was today.

39 "For as the LORD lives, who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die." But not a man among all the people answered him.

40 Then he said to all Israel, "You be on one side, and my son Jonathan and I will be on the other side." And the people said to Saul, "Do what seems good to you."

41 Therefore Saul said to the LORD God of Israel, "Give a perfect lot." So Saul and Jonathan were taken, but the people escaped.

42 And Saul said, "Cast lots between my son Jonathan and me." So Jonathan was taken.

43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done." And Jonathan told him, and said, "I only tasted a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand. So now I must die!"

44 Saul answered, "God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan."

45 But the people said to Saul, "Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not! As the LORD lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day." So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.

Saul wanted to keep his oath to the Lord, but the people saw that the Lord had been with Jonathon and knew that Saul was wrong in making the oath in the first place. God used this to humble Saul’s pride first by not answering his question and second by having the people credit Jonathon rather than Saul for the victory in battle.

I SAMUEL 14:46-48

46 Then Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.

47 So Saul established his sovereignty over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the people of Ammon, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he harassed them.

48 And he gathered an army and attacked the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them.

Saul’s victory over the Amalekites was ordained by God through Moses when He said;

DEUTERONOMY 25:19

19 Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.

I SAMUEL 14:49-52

49 The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Jishui, and Malchishua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal.

50 The name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul's uncle.

51 Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.

52 Now there was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he took him for himself.

Saul was performing just as Samuel had prophesied;

I SAMUEL 8:11-12

11 And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots.

12 He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

I SAMUEL 15:1-6

Samuel also said to Saul, "The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the LORD.

2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt.

3 'Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"

4 So Saul gathered the people together and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand men of Judah.

5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and lay in wait in the valley.

6 Then Saul said to the Kenites, "Go, depart, get down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.

The Kenites were descendants of Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, the father of Moses’ wife Zipporah. He had welcomed Moses and Israel when they came out of Egypt after 430 years of slavery.

Notice that all people (including women and children) and all animals were to be killed. We may not understand God’s reasons for this, but we need to trust that He has a good cause for it. Remember, He destroyed the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim and everything in them with a massive firestorm because of their sins, sparing only Lot, Abraham’s nephew and Lot’s family, allowing them to flee to nearby Zoar to escape the destruction;

GENESIS 13:13

13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.

The result?

GENESIS 19:23-28

23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar.

 24 Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.

25 So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord.

28 Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace.

And Joshua had commanded Israel concerning the cursed Canaanite city of Jericho;

JOSHUA 6:17-21

17 Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

18 And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.

19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”

20 So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

One of the main reasons why God commanded this was given to Moses just before Israel entered Canaan;

NUMBERS 33:55

55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.

If we ally ourselves with evil people we will share in their punishment. Christians who “go along” so they don’t make trouble when it is clear that God’s Word is being broken will also be judged when God judges those who committed the sin. If you see anyone doing what is wrong and don’t speak up, God will hold you responsible for that person’s blood as God stated in;

EZEKIEL 33:8-9

8 "When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you shall surely die!' and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.

9 "Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

JAMES 4:17

17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

I SAMUEL 15:7-9

7 And Saul attacked the Amalekites, from Havilah all the way to Shur, which is east of Egypt.

8 He also took Agag 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, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

Notice that unlike Joshua, Saul didn’t obey the Word of the Lord. He and the people took the best of the spoils and didn’t kill the enemy king as he had been commanded to do by God.

I SAMUEL 15:10-21

10 Now the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying,

11 "I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments." And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the LORD all night.

12 So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, "Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal."

13 Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have performed the commandment of the LORD."

14 But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my 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 the oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed."

16 Then Samuel said to Saul, "Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak on."

17 So Samuel said, "When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel?

18 "Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.'

19 "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?

20 And Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

21 "But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal."

Notice Saul’s hypocrisy here, trying to appear blameless in the matter and blaming the people for disobeying God’s command to destroy everything belonging to the Amalekites, including the people, goods and animals. As their king, Saul should have commanded that everything be destroyed even as Joshua had commanded concerning Jericho.

Saul also tried to cover his sin by claiming that the animals were to be sacrificed to the Lord. But the animals had been cursed by God and He would not accept them as offerings.

I SAMUEL 15:22-31

22 So Samuel said: "Has 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 heed than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king."

24 Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.

25 "Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD."

26 But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel."

27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.

28 So Samuel said to him, "The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.

29 "And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent."

30 Then he said, "I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD your God."

31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the LORD.

Saul wasn’t sorry for his disobedience until Samuel told him God was going to take away his position as king and give it to another. And note that to God, rebellion is as much an abomination to Him as witchcraft. We can never justify our own disobedience to God by making offerings to Him made from our sin.

As He told the prophet Hosea;

HOSEA 6:6

6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Samuel returned with Saul not to honor Saul, but to prevent strife between Saul and himself before the people.

I SAMUEL 15:32-35

32 Then Samuel said, "Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me." So Agag came to him cautiously. And Agag said, "Surely the bitterness of death is past."

33 But Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women." And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul.

35 And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

Samuel went with Saul to finish the command of the Lord and killed Agag the leader of the Amalekites. After that he had nothing to do with king Saul. If Samuel had stayed with Saul, Saul and the people would have believed their transgressions were forgiven and everything was alright. But notice that Samuel didn’t stop mourning the loss of the king that God had set before Israel.

I SAMUEL 16:1-5

1 Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons."

2 And Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me." But the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.'

3 "Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you."

4 So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, "Do you come peaceably?"

5 And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.

Notice that Samuel is very aware of the danger to his own life, but does the Lord’s bidding anyway. If the Lord calls us to do anything for Him, we must be willing to do it, no matter what the cost. This is why before we come to Christ we must count the cost. Jesus tells us this in Luke;

LUKE 14:26-35

26 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

27 "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

28 "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it,

29 "lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,

30 "saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'

31 "Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

32 "Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.

33 "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

34 "Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?

35 "It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

Jesus was not saying that we should hate ourselves or our relatives, He was setting out priorities in our relationship to Him and His Father. We must be willing to be persecuted and even shunned by our families if it comes to that in our relation to Him. Future Apostles Peter, James, Andrew and John had a lucrative fishing business and Matthew was a despised (but rich) tax collector, but they left it all to follow Jesus when He called them.

But following Jesus does not free you from family obligations, for as the Apostle Paul said;

1 TIMOTHY 5:8

8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

The elders of Bethlehem were worried, wondering if Samuel had come to town as a judge, or with peaceable intentions. 

I SAMUEL 16:6-13

6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the LORD's anointed is before Him!"

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one."

9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one."

10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen these."

11 And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here."

12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!"

13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

God still looks at the heart of men today, which is why we must live what we believe. Christianity is supposed to be a lifestyle, a life-long commitment. We must follow the word and will of the Lord to be accepted by Him. You may be able to fool people but God who sees the heart will see the truth always.

GALATIANS 6:7-10

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

I SAMUEL 16:14-23

14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him.

15 And Saul's servants said to him, "Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you.

16 "Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well."

17 So Saul said to his servants, "Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me."

18 Then one of the servants answered and said, "Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the LORD is with him."

19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, "Send me your son David, who is with the sheep."

20 And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul.

21 So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer.

22 Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight."

23 And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.

God put David in a position to learn how to run the kingdom, because at first Saul didn’t feel threatened by David. David also became known as a man whom the Lord was with, through out the entire land of Israel. Verse 23 shows the value of praise and worship music. Worship and praise music heals and strengthens our spirit and is effective in keeping Satan at bay.

Notice that even though David has been anointed as the next king over Israel, he is willing to wait for God’s timing to take the position the Lord has promised. We also must wait on the Lord for His timing in our own lives. Scripture tells us over and over to wait upon the Lord;

PSALMS 27:14

14 Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!

PROVERBS 20:22

22 Do not say, "I will recompense evil"; wait for the LORD, and He will save you.

LAMENTATIONS 3:25-26

25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.

26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

MICAH 7:7

7 Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

I SAMUEL 17:1-7

1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim.

2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines.

3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.

4 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

5 He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.

6 And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders.

7 Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him.

Goliath was 9 feet 9 inches tall. His coat of mail was 125 pounds of bronze, plus the armor he wore on his legs and his helmet. The iron spearhead was 15 pounds. And his javelin was made of bronze and attached to the back of the coat of mail. His javelin is estimated to have been 2 ½ inches thick (6.5 cm) and 7 feet (2.1 m) long.

Interestingly enough, in ancient Bashan (east of the Jordan River; the book of Numbers describes the king of Bashan named ‘Og’ as being at least 9 feet tall and slept on an iron bedstead as long as he was tall. God commanded Israel to conquer his entire kingdom, which they did.

In 1918 an archaeologist discovered stone dolmens (tombs) in what was ancient Bashan, one of which matched the dimensions given of king Og and could very well be his grave. These dolmens are unique and the only other place where they have been found is in the area of Hebron where Biblical giant Anak and his family lived.

I SAMUEL 17:8-11

8 Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, "Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.

9 "If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall 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 these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

The Israelites were looking at the massive size of this man and were terrified. No man wanted to fight anyone that big in single combat! Just as when Samuel thought to choose one of Jesse’s older and larger sons to anoint as the next king of Israel, the people of Israel were looking with their eyes at this giant warrior and were afraid to go against him. This is why our faith in the Lord is so critical to our lives. We have no power of our own but there is nothing the Lord can not do, if it is within His will.

I SAMUEL 17:12-27

12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul.

13 The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

14 David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul.

15 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem.

16 And the Philistine drew near and presented himself forty days, morning and evening.

17 Then Jesse said to his son David, "Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp.

18 "And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them."

19 Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.

20 So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle.

21 For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army.

22 And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers.

23 Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them.

24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.

25 So the men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father's house exemption from taxes in Israel."

26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes 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 in this manner, saying, "So shall it be done for the man who kills him."

Notice that David believes that God will save Israel. David saw with his faith, not his eyes. He didn’t see Goliath as unbeatable, he knew that nothing is too hard for the Lord. God Himself later said to the prophet Jeremiah;

JEREMIAH 32:26-27

26 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,

27 "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?

We must remember this for as Christians we need to see the world as God sees it and not with our eyes. As the Apostle Paul said;

II CORINTHIANS 5:7

7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

There is no situation we can be in where the Lord cannot rescue us. As He promised, He is always with us.

MATTHEW 28:19-20

19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

I SAMUEL 17:28-30

28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab's anger was aroused against David, and he said, "Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle."

29 And David said, "What have I done now? Is there not a cause?"

30 Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.

This sounds like jealousy on the part of Eliab. Eliab was probably irritated that Samuel had anointed David as the next king of Israel instead of himself. This appears to have been ongoing as David asked, “What have I done now? In other words, “What are you accusing me of this time?”

When the Lord has called you to stand for Him, don’t let anyone stop you. Satan will use jealousy, sibling rivalry, will have people tell you are too young or you don’t have a theology degree or whatever they can think up to stop you from completing the task the Lord has set before you. If you are sure it is the Lords will, you must put the Lord first regardless of what anyone else tells you.

Those who are younger, remember what Paul told Timothy (a young man of God);

I TIMOTHY 4:12

12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

1 SAMUEL 17:31-39

31 Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him.

32 Then David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."

33 And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."

34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,

35 "I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.

36 "Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God."

37 Moreover David said, "The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!"

38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail.

39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them." So David took them off.

Saul was worried about David being so young and not armored but David had complete faith in the Lord. Shepherds usually only carried a stick (used to direct stray sheep back to the flock), and a knife. Some carried slings to ward off wild animals.

Sheep and goats were the livelihood of a shepherd as they provided milk, wool, and meat and could be sold at the marketplaces. And for a small family like David’s, the loss of a single sheep could produce a financial hardship, so shepherds vigorously defended their sheep against predators.

Lions in the Middle East were terrifying creatures, easily weighing 300 to 400 pounds (136 - 181kg), were of equal size and weight as bears, if not bigger. And for a shepherd boy armed with only primitive weapons as David had to go after and kill lions and bears took a tremendous amount of faith and courage indeed!!

David was still a young man and hadn’t reached his full strength and stature yet. Saul’s armor was probably heavy on him and David realized the untested armor would hinder his movements and took it off.

I SAMUEL 17:40-51

40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.

41 So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him.

42 And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking.

43 So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

44 And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!"

45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

46 "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

47 "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD's, and He will give you into our hands."

48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.

50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.

51 Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

In ancient times slings were feared weapons of war as stones could be flung with great accuracy and velocity by skilled slingers. Sling projectiles were originally smooth stones, but the Romans and Greeks began using lead balls which were smaller but denser giving the slinger greater range. Amusingly, lead projectiles from ancient Greece had inscriptions of “Take That!” and “Catch!” inscribed on the surface.

The Bible gives tribute to the accuracy of skilled slingers when it said;

JUDGES 20:15-16

15 And from their cities at that time the children of Benjamin numbered twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered seven hundred select men.

16 Among all this people were seven hundred select men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss.

Pictographs of Babylonian slingers show them slinging rocks the size of a man’s fist. Even today slings are used as wilderness survival weapons and “Palestinian” youths sling stones at Israeli soldiers during riots in Israel.

Notice in verse 45 where David says “I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.....” David understood the power of the Lord was greater than any weapon made by the hand of man.

The looks on the faces of the Philistines must have been priceless, changing from mocking laughter to slack-jawed astonishment when Goliath fell on his face before David. They were so shocked that none attacked David when he cut off Goliath’s head.

I SAMUEL 17:52-58

52 Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron.

53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents.

54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.

55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is this youth?" And Abner said, "As your soul lives, O king, I do not know."

56 So the king said, "Inquire whose son this young man is."

57 Then, 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 are you, young man?" So David answered, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."

This event seems to have occurred before David was called to play the harp for Saul as recorded in I SAMUEL chapter 16 above.

When this young man defeated the enemy of Israel, everyone from the king on down soon knew who David was. God had used his faith to save Israel and showed His favor to David.

I SAMUEL 18:1-5

1 Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

2 Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father's house anymore.

3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

5 So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved 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 Saul's servants.

I believe that Jonathan’s spirit recognized the spirit of the Lord in David and was drawn to David because of this. Jonathan also loved the Lord and like most people, he was drawn to people who love the Lord. This is another reason why it is so important to truly live for the Lord at all times. When others can see the Lord in us, sometimes this can be enough to get them to seeking the Lord for themselves.

Notice that Saul also loved David and treated him well. David now lived full time with Saul and his family, and was put in charge of the men of war because of his courage and charisma. Quite an accomplishment for a young man.

I SAMUEL 18:6-9

6 Now it had happened as they were coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with musical instruments.

7 So the women sang as they danced, and said: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands."

8 Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?"

9 So Saul eyed David from that day forward.

The downfall of Saul has begun as David begins to rise to power. Saul had already been told that he will lose the kingdom by Samuel, now he is worried that it may be sooner than he thought. Notice that David does nothing against Saul and has no control over what the people are singing.

I SAMUEL 18:10-16

10 And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house. So David played music with his hand, as at other times; but there was a spear in Saul's hand.

11 And Saul cast the spear, for he said, "I will pin David to the wall!" But David escaped his presence twice.

12 Now Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, but had departed from Saul.

13 Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.

14 And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the LORD was with him.

15 Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him.

16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.

Notice that David still isn’t rushing God’s plan. David just continued to do what was right and just before the Lord. As Christians we need to remember this.

Saul thought that by “farming out” David to a lesser post he would remove David’s popularity and perhaps see David killed in battle.

I SAMUEL 18:17-30

17 Then Saul said to David, "Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife. Only be valiant for me, and fight the LORD's battles." For Saul thought, "Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him."

18 So David said to Saul, "Who am I, and what is my life or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?"

19 But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife.

20 Now Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 

21 So Saul said, "I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." Therefore Saul said to David a second time, "You shall be my son-in-law today."

22 And Saul commanded his servants, "Communicate with David secretly, and say, 'Look, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now therefore, become the king's son-in-law.'"

23 So Saul's servants spoke those words in the hearing of David. And David said, "Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king's son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?"

24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, "In this manner David spoke."

25 Then Saul said, "Thus you shall say to David: 'The king does not desire any dowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to take vengeance on the king's enemies.'" But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.

26 So when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to become the king's son-in-law. Now the days had not expired;

27 therefore David arose and went, he and his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full count to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife.

28 Thus Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him;

29 and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David's enemy continually.

30 Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.

Saul was afraid of David, but he knew the Lord was with David and Saul wouldn’t kill him outright due to David’s popularity. Saul hoped his daughter would cause David to fall away from the Lord or the Philistines would kill him.

Saul’s “bride-price” for his daughter seems grisly and disgusting to us today but Saul figured that David would be killed in the endeavor removing David as a threat to his throne. David not only met Saul’s “bride-price”, he actually doubled it making Saul all the more afraid of him.

I SAMUEL 19:1-7

1 Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David; but Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted greatly in David.

2 So Jonathan told David, saying, "My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret place and hide.

3 "And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you. Then what I observe, I will tell you."

4 Thus Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, "Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you.

5 "For he took his life in his hands and killed the Philistine, and the LORD brought about a great deliverance for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?"

6 So Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, "As the LORD lives, he shall not be killed."

7 Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these things. So Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past.

Saul realizes that David isn’t going to be killed by the Philistines and decides once again to take matters into his own hands, just like when he offered the sacrifice for the nation of Israel before Samuel arrived.

Jonathan intervenes for David and Saul vows not to kill David. Saul vowed by God Himself not to kill David and God expected him to keep his vow.

I SAMUEL 19:8-12

8 And there was war again; and David went out and fought with the Philistines, and struck them with a mighty blow, and they fled from him.

9 Now the distressing spirit from the LORD came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing music with his hand.

10 Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul's presence; and he drove the spear into the wall. So David fled and escaped that night.

11 Saul also sent messengers to David's house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, "If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed."

12 So Michal let David down through a window. And he went and fled and escaped.

Saul’s paranoia grows worse and he didn’t waste much time in breaking his vow not to kill David. Michal, David’s wife loved David and helped him escape, risking her fathers wrath in the process.

I SAMUEL 19:13-24

13 And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, put a cover of goats' hair for his head, and covered it with clothes.

14 So when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick."

15 Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him."

16 And when the messengers had come in, there was the image in the bed, with a cover of goats' hair for his head.

17 Then Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this, and sent my enemy away, so that he has escaped?" And Michal answered Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go! Why should I kill you?'" 

18 So David fled and escaped, and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth.

19 Now it was told Saul, saying, "Take note, David is at Naioth in Ramah!"

20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.

21 And when Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.

22 Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is at Sechu. So he asked, and said, "Where are Samuel and David?" And someone said, "Indeed they are at Naioth in Ramah."

23 So he went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

24 And he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

God humbles Saul, letting him know that He will not allow David to be killed and the stripping away of his clothes was also symbolic of the stripping away of Saul’s kingdom. The humbling also included the mocking of the people asking if Saul was now among the prophets?

I SAMUEL 20:1-17

1 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and went and said to Jonathan, "What have I done? What is my iniquity, and what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?"

2 So Jonathan said to him, "By no means! You shall not die! Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small without first telling me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!"

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

4 So Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you."

5 And David said to Jonathan, "Indeed tomorrow is the New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may hide in the field until the third day at evening.

6 "If your father misses me at all, then say, 'David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.'

7 "If he says thus: 'It is well,' your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, be sure that evil is determined by him.

8 "Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. Nevertheless, if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?"

9 But Jonathan said, "Far be it from you! For if I knew certainly that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you?"

10 Then David said to Jonathan, "Who will tell me, or what if your father answers you roughly?"

11 And Jonathan said to David, "Come, let us go out into the field." So both of them went out into the field.

12 Then Jonathan said to David: "The LORD God of Israel is witness! When I have sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and indeed there is good toward David, and I do not send to you and tell you,

13 "may the LORD do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And the LORD be with you as He has been with my father.

14 "And you shall not only show me the kindness of the LORD while I still live, that I may not die;

15 "but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the LORD has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth."

16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "Let the LORD require it at the hand of David's enemies."

17 Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

There were special sacrifices and a feast performed during the New Moon commanded by God in the Law. King Hezekiah of Judah during his reforms in bringing Judah back to observing the Law was diligent to perform this as recorded;

II CHRONICLES 31:3

3 The king also appointed a portion of his possessions for the burnt offerings: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and the New Moons and the set feasts, as it is written in the Law of the Lord.

Poor Jonathan must have known of Samuel’s prophecy of the kingdom being taken from Saul and undoubtedly knew that David would be king after Saul instead of his son. He was appalled by his father’s behavior and couldn’t understand his father’s enmity and hatred of David and couldn’t believe that Saul intended to kill David.

David proposes a test that will allow him to stay out of Saul’s reach and prove to Jonathan his father’s intentions toward David. Jonathan agrees and the two of them went into an empty field and vowed a covenant to each other there before the Lord. Jonathan makes David swear that David will not destroy him or his family when David’s enemies are eliminated.

I SAMUEL 20:18-23

18 Then Jonathan said to David, "Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

19 "And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid on the day of the deed; and remain by the stone Ezel.

20 "Then I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target;

21 "and there I will send a lad, saying, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I expressly say to the lad, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them and come' then, as the LORD lives, there is safety for you and no harm.

22 "But if I say thus to the young man, 'Look, the arrows are beyond you 'go your way, for the LORD has sent you away.

23 "And as for the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed the LORD be between you and me forever."

Jonathan sets up a signal to let David know if it is safe to come home. He also reaffirms his oath before David and the Lord.

I SAMUEL 20:24-34

24 Then David hid in the field. And when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat the feast.

25 Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, but David's place was empty.

26 Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, "Something has happened to him; he is unclean, surely he is unclean."

27 And it happened the next day, the second day of the month, that David's place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, "Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today?"

28 So Jonathan answered Saul, "David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem.

29 "And he said, 'Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.' Therefore he has not come to the king's table."

30 Then Saul's anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him, "You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?

31 "For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die."

32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, "Why should he be killed? What has he done?"

33 Then Saul cast a spear at him to kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David.

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

Saul finally snaps and tries to justify killing David to Jonathan by saying that Jonathan will never be king if David lives. Jonathan feels badly for David, after all it’s his father that is trying to kill his best friend and the man God has anointed to take over the throne after his father. Saul is still trying to fight against the Word of the Lord and keep his kingdom for himself and his family. He became so angry at his son’s defense of David that he tried to kill his own heir.

Jonathan finally realizes that Saul will show no mercy to David but intends to bring the curse of shedding innocent blood upon his family.

As Christians we often try to justify ourselves before the Lord, but He knows what is really in our hearts and minds before we even speak. Just like Saul we all have decisions to make for ourselves and we will receive the consequences (good or bad) for our choices.

As Scripture says;

GALATIANS 6:7-8

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

I SAMUEL 20:35-42

35 And so it was, in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad was with him.

36 Then he said to his lad, "Now run, find the arrows which I shoot." As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.

37 When the lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad and said, "Is not the arrow beyond you?"

38 And Jonathan cried out after the lad, "Make haste, hurry, do not delay!" So Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows and came back to his master.

39 But the lad did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew of the matter.

40 Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, "Go, carry them to the city."

41 As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so.

42 Then Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, 'May the LORD be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.'" So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

One can only imagine the heartbreak and tears between the two men, especially for David. He must flee for his life even though he has done nothing wrong. His faith will be sorely tested now that Saul’s intentions have been openly displayed and now he must find someplace to go to escape Saul’s wrath. Sometimes we must wait a short time and sometimes it can be a seemingly long time for the Lords perfect timing, but it is always worth it in the end.

I SAMUEL 21:1-9

1 Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid when he met David, and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one is with you?"

2 So David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, 'Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.' And I have directed my young men to such and such a place.

3 "Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found."

4 And the priest answered David and said, "There is no common bread on hand; but there is holy bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women."

5 Then David answered the priest, and said to him, "Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was consecrated in the vessel this day."

6 So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place on 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 chief of the herdsmen who belonged to Saul.

8 And David said to Ahimelech, "Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste."

9 So the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here." And David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."

The bread spoken of here was the “showbread” which was 12 loaves of fresh bread which were to be made each day and set before the Lord. As God commanded Moses;

EXODUS 25:30

And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always.

At the end of the day the bread was taken away and given to the priests to eat. But in this case, as long as the men hadn’t slept with women they were considered to be ritually clean. The showbread had been taken away to allow fresh, hot bread to be put in its place, therefore it was considered to be “common”(no longer holy) for the men to eat.

The bread was set before the Lord as a symbol; if David has simply wanted the showbread but had no real need of it then it would have been a sin. Jesus mentioned this in;

MATTHEW 12:1-4

1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.

2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"

3 But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:

4 "how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?

I SAMUEL 21:10-15

10 Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

11 And the servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"

12 Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

13 So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard.

14 Then Achish said to his servants, "Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me?

15 "Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?"

David was shrewd in fleeing to the Philistines knowing that Saul would not pursue him there. David didn’t think the Philistines would recognize him but he was apparently well-known to them, especially after killing Goliath. Note that they called him “the king of the land”, a title normally reserved for Saul.

By feigning madness the Philistines would deem him a harmless crackpot and not a threat to them.

I SAMUEL 22:1-2

1 David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. So when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him.

2 And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him.

David was learning leadership skills, military tactics and guerilla warfare. Jesse and his entire household were now in danger because of the wrath of Saul and they would be the most obvious targets to get to David or to reveal his whereabouts.

Adullam is located in the hills of west - central Judah, just inside the eastern border of Philistine territory. The term “cave” can refer to a literal cave but it can also be translated as “fortress”, so it could have been either a literal cave or an abandoned fortress.

I SAMUEL 22:3-5

3 Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will do for me."

4 So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

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

David went to a Moabite border fortress (Mizpah ‘Watch Tower’) and found a safe place for his parents in Moab, unusual for the time as Moab and Israel had been enemies at times. During the time of the Judges Israel had fallen into idolatry and God had caused Israel to be conquered by Moab for 18 years.

Israel had repented and God raised an army under a man named Ehud who led them into battle;

JUDGES 3:29-30

29 And at that time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man escaped.

30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years

Remember that Jesse’s grandmother Ruth was a Moabite. Once his parents were settled and David was rested, the Lord sent word through a prophet that it was time for David to leave. David listened to the Lord, something we must be sure to do in our lives as Christians.

I SAMUEL 22:6-8

6 When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been discovered, now Saul was staying in Gibeah under a tamarisk tree in Ramah, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants standing about him;

7 then Saul said to his servants who stood about him, "Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds?

8 "All of you have conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that my son has made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day."

Saul is feeling sorry for himself, feeling the kingdom slipping from his grasp. Instead of reflecting on why this was happening he blames every one around him for his troubles. He also appeals to the Benjamites to support him as he is of the same tribe (Benjamin) and infers that if made king, David from the tribe of Judah would not appoint choice stations to them. He also accuses David of waiting to ambush him even though David constantly fled from Saul.

I SAMUEL 22:9-16

9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and said, "I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.

10 "And he inquired of the LORD for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine."

11 So the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were in Nob. And they all came to the king.

12 And Saul said, "Hear now, son of Ahitub!" He answered, "Here I am, my lord."

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

14 So Ahimelech answered the king and said, "And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honorable in your house?

15 "Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king impute anything to his servant, or to any in the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing of all this, little or much."

16 And the king said, "You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house!"

Doeg sought to ingratiate himself to Saul by betraying David’s location and lied through his teeth by saying that David had asked Ahimelech to enquire of the Lord which David had not done. He played on Saul’s paranoia by making it seem as though even the priests had conspired against Saul.

Enraged, Saul called Ahimelech and accused him of treason based on Doeg’s lying report. Notice that Ahimelech denied only the accusation that he had inquired of the Lord for David, he did not deny giving him provisions and Goliath’s sword. Ahilmelech honestly stated that he knew nothing of David’s supposed intentions but Saul refused to believe him and sentenced them all to death.

I SAMUEL 22:17-23

17 Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, "Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me." But the servants of the king would not lift their hands to strike the priests of the LORD.

18 And the king said to Doeg, "You turn and kill the priests!" So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests, and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod.

19 Also Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep with the edge of the sword.

20 Now one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David.

21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the LORD's priests.

22 So David said to Abiathar, "I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father's house.

23 "Stay with me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you shall be safe."

The servants of Saul must have been appalled at his command to kill the priests of the Lord and were more afraid of the Lord than of Saul. In typical tyrant behavior Saul is willing to kill anyone he deems to be a threat to him. “The end justifies the means” is how many people justify defying the Lord’s will and saying or doing their own will in God’s name.

Saul then added to his sins by not only ordering the murder of the innocent priests of the Lord but also the residents of the entire city of Nob in a merciless frenzy of slaughter. The guilt felt by David must have been crushing, feeling that he was responsible for the deaths of those killed by Doeg.

I SAMUEL 23:1-5

1 Then they told David, saying, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors."

2 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" And the LORD said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah."

3 But David's men said to him, "Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?"

4 Then David inquired of the LORD once again. And the LORD answered him and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand."

5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

Keilah was located in central Judah at the eastern edge of Philistine territory. Robbing the threshing floors at harvest time would provide the Philistines with grain while depriving the city of needed food, keeping the people weak and subjugated.

David trusted and listened to the Lord, even though those around him were afraid. The Lord kept His word and delivered the Philistines into their hands, saving Keilah, elevating David in the eyes of Israel and providing livestock and food for David and his men. Just like David, we must trust in the Lord, not in what our eyes see.

I SAMUEL 23:6-13

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

7 And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, "God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars."

8 Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

9 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod here."

10 Then David said, "O LORD God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake.

11 "Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard?

O LORD God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant." And the LORD said, "He will come down."

12 Then David said, "Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?" And the LORD said, "They will deliver you."

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

Notice that even though Saul is king and should be the one organizing the safety and defense of Israel, he is so preoccupied with the destruction of David that he is no longer doing his job. Saul believed that David had made a strategic mistake, trapping himself within a fortified city that could easily be surrounded and besieged.

The men of Keilah, fearful of king Saul, would betray David to Saul to save their city despite the good that David had done for them, possibly having heard of Saul’s rampage against the village of Nob. They had also probably been weakened by the Philistine attacks.

If you listen, the Lord will always provide a way of escape or the strength to stand and fight for Him. Saul gave up when David wasn’t an easy target.

I SAMUEL 23:14-18

14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.

15 So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest.

16 Then Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God.

17 And he said to him, "Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that."

18 So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.

Jonathan knew that he would never inherit the kingdom from his father. As a man that listened to and followed the Lord, he knew that God had given the kingdom of Israel to David after his father. He had no problem with this, he was willing to put away pettiness and to pray for and want the will of the Lord above all. This is how we should live our lives. God’s will should be the only priority for us. Remember the Lord is no respecter of persons, so it doesn’t matter what job He gives you to do. It’s not the job you do but how well you are willing to do it.

II CHRONICLES 19:7

7 "Now therefore, let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes."

The Wilderness of Ziph was located about 10 miles south-east of Keilah, at the edge of the Jordan / Dead Sea valley. The area once had forests but is now a dry, barren wasteland.

I SAMUEL 23:19-29

19 Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "Is David not hiding with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon?

20 "Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand."

21 And Saul said, "Blessed are you of the LORD, for you have compassion on me.

22 "Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty.

23 "See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the clans of Judah."

24 So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in the Wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon.

25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down to the rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon.

26 Then Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were encircling David and his men to take them.

27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!"

28 Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place the Rock of Escape.

29 Then David went up from there and dwelt in strongholds at En Gedi.

Saul’s obsession with capturing and killing David blinded him to his kingly duties of defending Israel. The Philistines more than likely had spies in Israel who reported on Saul’s activities and they took advantage of his pursuit of David to invade. And God brought this about to allow David and his men to escape Saul.

The wilderness of Maon was about 25 - 30 miles south of the wilderness of Ziph and like Ziph today is a dry, barren land although during David’s time it too could have been forested. En Gedi (also called Ein Gedi) is located at the western edge of the Jordan / Dead Sea valley at the base of the plateau leading down into the valley and the Dead Sea.

I SAMUEL 24:1-11

1 Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, "Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi."

2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.)

4 Then the men of David said to him, "This is the day of which the LORD said to you, 'Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.'" And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

5 Now it happened afterward that David's heart troubled him because he had cut Saul's robe.

6 And he said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD."

7 So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.

8 David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down.

9 And David said to Saul: "Why do you listen to the words of men who say, 'Indeed David seeks your harm'?

10 "Look, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, 'I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD's anointed.'

11 "Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it.

I imagine that Saul’s mouth dropped open when he heard David and saw what had happened. The captain of his army must have been horrified and appalled as, being responsible for the king’s safety he had not checked the cave for danger before Saul entered to relieve himself.

En Gedi sits at the bottom of a sharp drop-off at the western edge of the Dead Sea valley. Today it is a dry, barren wasteland of steep-sided canyons and sharp crags of rock. The fact that there were sheepfolds there suggests that the area may have been grassland during David’s time.

In a side note, when Jesus returns, a river of water will flow from the Temple into the Dead Sea, healing the waters. En Gedi will become a major fishing village at that time. As an angel told the prophet Ezekiel;

EZEKIEL 47:8-11

8 Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed.

9 And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes.

10 It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many.

11 But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt.

I SAMUEL 24:12-22

12 "Let the LORD judge between you and me, and let the LORD avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.

13 "As the proverb of the ancients says, 'Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.' But my hand shall not be against you.

14 "After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea?

15 "Therefore let the LORD be judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand."

16 So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

17 Then he said to David: "You are more righteous than I; for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil.

18 "And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the LORD delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me.

19 "For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day.

20 "And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.

21 "Therefore swear now to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father's house."

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

By leaving it in the Lord’s hands and not giving in to temptation, David prevailed. God had chosen and anointed Saul as king and David knew better than to strike down the Lord’s anointed leader.

When someone wrongs us in ANY way, remember that the Lord sees and knows it all. By forgiving them and showing love and charity to them instead of retaliating the Lord can deal with them, as it’s not our place to judge them for their deeds. As the Apostle Paul admonished;

ROMANS 12:19-21

19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.

20 Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

God restrained Saul’s madness so that he could clearly see that David was not a threat to him and he understood that the kingdom would fall to David after him. He also asked David to not avenge himself on his family or wipe out his descendants which often happened when a king died. Many times a usurper or relative would seize the throne and murder all other potential claimants to the throne.

For example, when king Ahaziah of Judah died (842 - 841 B.C., murdered by Jehu, a captain of the army of the Northern Kingdom of Israel), the book of Second Kings records;

II KINGS 11:1-3

1 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs.

2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered; and they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom, from Athaliah, so that he was not killed.

3 So he was hidden with her in the house of the Lord for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Idolatrous queen-mother Athaliah seized the throne of Judah for herself after murdering her grandsons who had claims by birthright to the throne.

I SAMUEL 25:1

1 Then Samuel died; and the Israelites gathered together and lamented for him, and buried him at his home in Ramah. And David arose and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.

Samuel lived his entire life serving the Lord and was the last of the Judges who ruled Israel for about 450 years.

The wilderness of Paran is in what is today called the Sinai Peninsula, south-east of the Jordan / Dead Sea valley. It is a heavily-eroded, dry wasteland today, but could have been much different in David’s time.

I SAMUEL 25:2-12

2 Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel, and the man was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

3 The name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. And she was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance; but the man was harsh and evil in his doings. He was of the house of Caleb.

4 When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep,

5 David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.

6 "And thus you shall say to him who lives in prosperity: 'Peace be to you, peace to your house, and peace to all that you have!

7 'Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds were with us, and we did not hurt them, nor was there anything missing from them all the while they were in Carmel.

8 'Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.'"

9 So when David's young men came, they spoke to Nabal according to all these words in the name of David, and waited.

10 Then Nabal answered David's servants, and said, "Who is David, and who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants nowadays who break away each one from his master.

11 "Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers, and give it to men when I do not know where they are from?"

12 So David's young men turned on their heels and went back; and they came and told him all these words.

In return for David’s protection of Nabal’s shepherds and sheep shearers against bandits, raiding parties and Philistine invaders, David makes a reasonable request of Nabal for food for him and his men. As rich as Nabal was it would not be a hardship for him to provide for David and his men in appreciation for protection of Nabal’s servants and animals.

Nabal (Hebrew - ‘fool’) is aptly named; he was a surly, greedy, ungrateful man. His marriage to wise, beautiful Abigail was more than likely the result of an ‘arranged marriage’ where the parents of the man and woman choose their mates for them. Nabal callously insulted David by referring to him as an escaped servant and turned David’s delegation away empty-handed.

I SAMUEL 25:13-23

13 Then David said to his men, "Every man gird on his sword." So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went with David, and two hundred stayed with the supplies.

14 Now one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master; and he reviled them.

15 "But the men were very good to us, and we were not hurt, nor did we miss anything as long as we accompanied them, when we were in the fields.

16 "They were a wall to us both by night and day, all the time we were with them keeping the sheep.

17 "Now therefore, know and consider what you will do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that one cannot speak to him."

18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five seahs of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys.

19 And she said to her servants, "Go on before me; see, I am coming after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

20 So it was, as she rode on the donkey, that she went down under cover of the hill; and there were David and his men, coming down toward her, and she met them.

21 Now David had said, "Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has repaid me evil for good.

22 "May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light."

23 Now when Abigail saw David, she dismounted quickly from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground.

David was justifiably furious with Nabal after all that David had done for him. Even one of Nabal’s servants knew of Nabal’s selfish wickedness and was worried that David might justifiably attack Nabal and destroy his entire household.

The amount of provisions shows just how rich Nabal was and Abigail didn’t fear that their servants would go hungry as a result.

(5 ‘seahs’ of grain was about 45 dry quarts or 42.5 liters)

I SAMUEL 25:24-31

24 So she fell at his feet and said: "On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant.

25 "Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him! But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

26 "Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, since the LORD has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal.

27 "And now this present which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.

28 "Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For the LORD will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord fights the battles of the LORD, and evil is not found in you throughout your days.

29 "Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the LORD your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling.

30 "And it shall come to pass, when the LORD has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel,

31 "that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant."

Abigail was wise indeed, seeking to restrain David from taking his own revenge on Nabal, revenge being the right of God to perform. As He told Moses;

DEUTERONOMY 32:25

25 Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; their foot shall slip in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them.’

Abigail also understood that David would be the next king of Israel and wanted to protect him from sinning in the case of Nabal and shedding the blood of Nabal’s innocent servants. She also asked that he remember her kindness when he became king.

I SAMUEL 25:32-38

32 Then David said to Abigail: "Blessed is the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me!

33 "And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand.

34 "For indeed, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!"

35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, "Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and respected your person."

36 Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was, holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; therefore she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light.

37 So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone.

38 Then it happened, after about ten days, that the LORD struck Nabal, and he died.

By the sounds of it, God caused Nabal to have a brain hemorrhage (stroke). Due to the paralysis induced due to the stroke he probably didn’t eat or drink and died as a result.

I SAMUEL 25:39-43

39 So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil! For the LORD has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head." And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife.

40 When the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her saying, "David sent us to you, to ask you to become his wife."

41 Then she arose, bowed her face to the earth, and said, "Here is your maidservant, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord."

42 So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey, attended by five of her maidens; and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife.

43 David also took Ahinoam of Jezreel, and so both of them were his wives.

Because Abigail was righteous in her actions, God blessed her. Note also she hastened to become David’s wife.

In the New Testament Jesus tells us to provide (both physically and spiritually) those in need, speaking of the Judgment at the end of time;

MATTHEW 25:34-46

34 "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 'for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;

36 'I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'

37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?

38 'When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?

39 'Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'

40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 'for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;

43 'I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'

44 "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'

45 "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'

46 "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

David married 2 more women (his 2^nd and 3^rd wives). Remember his first wife is still with Saul her father, while David was living off the land with his men.

David knew that Abigail had a heart for the Lord and she was courageous. She had risked the wrath of her husband by coming to David and his men with provisions and she also took the chance that David and his men would kill her as she took the responsibility of her husband’s actions. For widows in the land life was very difficult, by marrying her he could give her protection and provide for her.

She must have been from the tribe of Judah, as with Nabal’s death she inherited all of his possessions as he apparently had no sons. Back then, if a woman or widow had an inheritance her inheritance would become the property of her husband when she married. Concerning this, God had said;

NUMBERS 36:7-9

7 So the inheritance of the children of Israel shall not change hands from tribe to tribe, for every one of the children of Israel shall keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

8 And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be the wife of one of the family of her father’s tribe, so that the children of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers.

9 Thus no inheritance shall change hands from one tribe to another, but every tribe of the children of Israel shall keep its own inheritance.”

By marrying David she could keep her inheritance as it would now belong to both her and David and the inheritance would remain within the tribe of Judah. 

I SAMUEL 25:44

44 But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

I suspect that Saul did this to spite David, figuring to cause him grief.

(Gallim was about 5 miles south-east of Gibeah where Saul resided).

I SAMUEL 26:1-11

1 Now the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "Is David not hiding in the hill of Hachilah, opposite Jeshimon?"

2 Then Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the Wilderness of Ziph.

3 And Saul encamped in the hill of Hachilah, which is opposite Jeshimon, by the road. But David stayed in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul had indeed come.

5 So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him.

6 Then David answered, and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, saying, "Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?" And Abishai said, "I will go down with you."

7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night; and there Saul lay sleeping within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the people lay all around him.

8 Then Abishai said to David, "God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!"

9 But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD's anointed, and be guiltless?"

10 David said furthermore, "As the LORD lives, the LORD shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish.

11 "The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD's anointed. But please, take now the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go."

Saul again quickly forgot that David could have killed him in the cave at En Gedi but didn’t and forgot his acknowledgment that David would be king. Satan is relentless in his attempts to thwart God’s plans and caused Saul to pursue David again.

Saul must have been sleeping in the open (usually he would have been in a tent) with his army sleeping around him. What is even more unusual is that the guards who were supposed to be standing watch didn’t see David and Abishai come into the camp.

Again Satan tempted David to take matters into his own hands and murder Saul, but David restrained Abishai’s hand, leaving Saul’s fate to the Lord to determine.

I SAMUEL 26:12-16

12 So David took the spear and the jug of water by Saul's head, and they got away; and no man saw or knew it or awoke. For they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.

13 Now David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill afar off, a great distance being between them.

14 And David called out to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, "Do you not answer, Abner?" Then Abner answered and said, "Who are you, calling out to the king?"

15 So David said to Abner, "Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king.

16 "This thing that you have done is not good. As the LORD lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the LORD's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head."

Sleeping on watch and failing to guard the king during wartime was punishable by death, and David is accusing Abner, the commander of the army with dereliction of duty. Even worse, David was able to take Saul’s spear and water bottle from beside his head, showing that he could have easily assassinated the king, an incredible embarrassment to Abner!

I SAMUEL 26:17-25

17 Then Saul knew David's voice, and said, "Is that your voice, my son David?" David said, "It is my voice, my lord, O king."

18 And he said, "Why does my lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand?

19 "Now therefore, please, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the LORD, for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, 'Go, serve other gods.'

20 "So now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains."

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

22 And David answered and said, "Here is the king's spear. Let one of the young men come over and get it.

23 "May the LORD repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the LORD delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the LORD's anointed.

24 "And indeed, as your life was valued much this day in my eyes, so let my life be valued much in the eyes of the LORD, and let Him deliver me out of all tribulation."

25 Then Saul said to David, "May you be blessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also still prevail." So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

David is again showing Saul that he will not cause any harm to Saul and he will not try to overthrow him, He subtly rebukes Saul for chasing him and not governing Israel as he should. David also shows that God will bless those who obey Him and curse those who do not.

I SAMUEL 27:1-4

1 And David said in his heart, "Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand."

2 Then David arose and went over with the six hundred men who were with him to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

3 So David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's widow.

4 And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.

David knew he couldn’t live anywhere in Israel without Saul coming against him. Saul had broken his word too many times and David knew he would do so again. I would be curious to find out how David was able to convince Achish to take him in, especially after David had fought and won numerous battles against the Philistines.

I SAMUEL 27:5-12

5 Then David said to Achish, "If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?"

6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

7 Now the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.

8 And David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt.

9 Whenever David attacked the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to Achish.

10 Then Achish would say, "Where have you made a raid today?" And David would say, "Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of the Kenites."

11 David would save neither man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, "Lest they should inform on us, saying, 'Thus David did.'" And thus was his behavior all the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.

12 So Achish believed David, saying, "He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever."

David continued to defeat the enemies of Israel, even though he was “exiled” and Achish believed David was attacking the people of Judah. He also probably gave Achish part of the spoils of was that he took. And at this time in Israel, Israel was no longer fighting the enemies the Lord had told them to defeat. As Scripture records;

JUDGES 2:20-23

20 Then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice,

21 I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died,

22 so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the Lord, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not.”

23 Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out immediately; nor did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua.

So the Lord used David to continue with His command to defeat these peoples. Achish thought David was raiding towns in Judah, but he was raiding enemy areas around Judah.

We also need to remember that no matter where the Lord places us, we must do His will. Instead of whining about our circumstances, we should ask the Lord “what can I do for You while I’m here?” The Apostle Paul was thrown into prison and I’m sure he didn’t want to be there, but he used the time to share the gospel with the other prisoners, the guards, and eventually most of Nero Caesar’s household, many of whom came to know and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

God had told the prophet Isaiah;

ISAIAH 55:11

11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Paul also wrote;

ROMANS 8:28

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

I SAMUEL 28:1-5

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

2 So David said to Achish, "Surely you know what your servant can do." And Achish said to David, "Therefore I will make you one of my chief guardians forever."

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

4 Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa.

5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

Achish posed an interesting loyalty test to David and it put David in a quandary, as he would have to fight his own countrymen if he went to battle with Achish. David didn’t protest, he apparently waited to see how the Lord would handle this sticky situation.

Saul was afraid, for Samuel had died and Saul had no one to inquire of the Lord for him.

I SAMUEL 28:6-14

6 And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.

7 Then Saul said to his servants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her." And his servants said to him, "In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor."

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

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

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

11 Then the woman said, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" And he said, "Bring up Samuel for me."

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

13 And the king said to her, "Do not be afraid. What did you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth."

14 So he said to her, "What is his form?" And she said, "An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle." And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down.

Saul added to his many sins, not only seeking out a witch who had a ‘familiar spirit’, but having her perform a ‘seance’ (necromancy, communicating with the dead). He also swore by the Lord that she would suffer no harm by doing so. These were in direct violation of the following commandments;

EXODUS 22:18

18 “You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

DEUTERONOMY 18:10-12

10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,

11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.

12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.

LEVITICUS 20:27

27 ‘A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.’ ”

LEVITICUS 20:6

6 ‘And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.

 SAMUEL 28:15-19

15 Now Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" And Saul answered, "I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do."

16 Then Samuel said: "So why do you ask me, seeing the LORD has departed from you and has become your enemy?

17 "And the LORD has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David.

18 "Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the LORD has done this thing to you this day.

19 "Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines."

Know this; the witch did NOT call up Samuel, but a ‘familiar spirit’ (demon) posing as Samuel. Satan cannot raise or call up the dead, only God can do that.

The demon spoke the truth in prophesying that Saul and his sons would be dead and Israel would be defeated the following day. Satan will use the truth when it suits his purposes, but usually mixes it with some kind of deception as well, in this case the demon saying that Saul and his sons would be with him after death.

Unfortunately many people believe that Saul actually talked to Samuel, when Scripture actually states;

I CHRONICLES 10:13

13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.

I SAMUEL 28:20-25

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

21 And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was severely troubled, and said to him, "Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice, and I have put my life in my hands and heeded the words which you spoke to me.

22 "Now therefore, please, heed also the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way."

23 But he refused and said, "I will not eat." So his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he heeded their voice. Then he arose from the ground and sat on the bed.

24 Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she hastened to kill it. And she took flour and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it.

25 So she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.

I think that Saul finally realized that his time was about ended. He kept his word and didn’t harm the witch.

God will sometimes allow Satan to deceive men that He has marked for destruction. Approximately 100 years later king Ahab, (husband of notorious queen Jezebel) of the Northern kingdom of Israel (Israel split into two separate kingdoms, Israel and Judah about 930 B.C.) was to battle the Aramaeans east of the Jordan River.

All of his ‘prophets’ had prophesied victory... except one. A prophet of the Lord from Judah prophesied before Ahab, saying;

I KINGS 22:19-23

19 Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left.

20 "And the LORD said, 'Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?' So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner.

21 "Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, 'I will persuade him.'

22 "The LORD said to him, 'In what way?' So he said, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And the LORD said, 'You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.'

23 "Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you."

Scripture and history both record that Ahab was killed in battle just as prophesied.

As for the dead, once a man is dead he will not reappear to anyone here on earth in the spirit or as a ghost. These apparitions are demonic in nature. Remember that demons can take any form they want and may appear as people we once knew.

I SAMUEL 29:1-11

1 Then the Philistines gathered together all their armies at Aphek, and the Israelites encamped by a fountain which is in Jezreel.

2 And the lords of the Philistines passed in review by hundreds and by thousands, but David and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish.

3 Then the princes of the Philistines said, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years? And to this day I have found no fault in him since he defected to me."

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

5 "Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying: 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"

6 Then Achish called David and said to him, "Surely, as the LORD lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you.

7 "Therefore return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines."

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

9 Then Achish answered and said to David, "I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, 'He shall not go up with us to the battle.'

10 "Now therefore, rise early in the morning with your master's servants who have come with you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart."

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

God once again protected David and his men. They would not have to fight against the Israelites in the battle in which Saul and his sons will be killed. This way Saul’s blood would not be on on David’s hands, nor would he be a traitor to his countrymen.

I SAMUEL 30:1-8

1 Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag, on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire,

2 and had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way.

3 So David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire; and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive.

4 Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

5 And David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive.

6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, "Please bring the ephod here to me." And Abiathar brought the ephod to David.

8 So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?" And He answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all."

David had done nothing wrong as Achish had at first commanded David to go with him to war. The Amalekites more than likely had spies in Ziklag and took advantage of David’s absence and struck the city. Oddly enough the usually merciless Amalekites merely took the people prisoner rather than slaughter them.

Embittered, the people with David looked for a ‘scapegoat’ to vent their wrath and grief against and threatened to stone David even though what had happened was not his fault. David enquired of God and was told to pursue the Amalekites. The attackers would have been slowed down by their prisoners so a fast strike force could catch them quickly.

What may appear as hopeless and impossible to us is nothing to God. As Christians this should be our reaction also, no matter what the situation may be. As Jesus said;

MARK 10:27

27 But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."

I SAMUEL 30:9-19

9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind.

10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor.

11 Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water.

12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights.

13 Then David said to him, "To whom do you belong, and where are you from?" And he said, "I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick.

14 "We made an invasion of the southern area of the Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire."

15 And David said to him, "Can you take me down to this troop?" So he said, "Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this troop."

16 And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

17 Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.

18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. 

19 And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; David recovered all.

David was shrewd in attacking by twilight. The Amalekites were relaxed, intoxicated and were partying hard, having had an easy time capturing the spoils and people of Ziklag and were certainly not expecting to be attacked in turn!! They had more than likely removed their armor and weapons and would have been easily defeated by vengeance-minded attackers.

As the Amalekites lived east of the Jordan river, they were used to the desert and used camels instead of horses because of the difficult desert terrain. Thus 400 men were able to escape back to their homeland.

God always keeps His word! Just as He had said, everything was recovered and nothing was lost.

I SAMUEL 30:20-25

20 Then David took all the flocks and herds they had driven before those other livestock, and said, "This is David's spoil."

21 Now David came to the two hundred men who had been so weary that they could not follow David, whom they also had made to stay at the Brook Besor. So they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. And when David came near the people, he greeted them.

22 Then all the wicked and worthless men of those who went with David answered and said, "Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man's wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart."

23 But David said, "My brethren, you shall not do so with what the LORD has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us.

24 "For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike."

25 So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

David understood that it doesn’t matter what your job is, but how well you do it. Everyone gets an equal share for their part. As Christians we often place a greater admiration or respect on those who have “special gifts” from the Lord. Whether you are a teacher, pastor, spiritual warrior, prayer warrior, counselor, praise singer, comforter, etc. There should never be any envy toward one another over these things.

I SAMUEL 30:26-31

26 Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, "Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD"

27 to those who were in Bethel, those who were in Ramoth of the South, those who were in Jattir,

28 those who were in Aroer, those who were in Siphmoth, those who were in Eshtemoa,

29 those who were in Rachal, those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, those who were in the cities of the Kenites,

30 those who were in Hormah, those who were in Chorashan, those who were in Athach,

31 those who were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men were accustomed to rove.

David shared the spoils of war with all of those who had helped him when he needed help. Ziph was in the vicinity, but David gave them nothing because they had betrayed him to king Saul.

I SAMUEL 31:1-6

1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons.

3 The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers.

4 Then Saul said to his armorbearer, "Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me." But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it.

5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him.

6 So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.

As prophesied, Saul and his sons died on the same day. Jonathan, being Saul’s direct heir to the throne had to die along with his brothers in order to clear the way for David to become king. Saul committed suicide so his blood will be on his own head at his Judgment.

Saul committed suicide rather than have the enemy find him still alive to torture, mock and kill. Saul’s pride and desire to rule Israel was so great that he still wouldn’t repent before the Lord, even at the end.

I SAMUEL 31:7-10

7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

9 And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people.

10 Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.

The book of Chronicles says a bit more;

I CHRONICLES 10:7-10

7 And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities and fled; then the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

9 And they stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among the people.

10 Then they put his armor in the temple of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.

Notice how fast the Israelites fled their homes when they saw that they had lost the battle, they weren’t calling on the Lord.

The Philistines wanted to display the bodies of the leaders of the enemy for 3 reasons:

1) To dishearten the Israelites

2) Show their contempt for Saul and his sons

3) To show their own people their victory over the Israelites, attributing their victory to Dagon, their god.

I SAMUEL 31:11-13

11 Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

12 all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.

13 Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

The book of I Chronicles reports;

I CHRONICLES 10:11-14

11 And when all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,

12 all the valiant men arose and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons; and they brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.

14 But he did not inquire of the LORD; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

The men of Jabesh showed Saul and his sons honor as Israelites and as the anointed King and the sons of an anointed king. They remembered that Saul had defended them when the Ammonites had come against them (see I Samuel Chapter 11). These men risked their lives to retrieve the bodies, burn the remains and bury their bones in Israel.

Questions? Comments? E-mail: watchmen_777@yahoo.com

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