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1 Samuel 23-24
Now they told David, ‘The Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and are robbing the threshing-floors.’ David inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall I go and attack these Philistines?’ The Lord said to David, ‘Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.’ 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?’ Then David inquired of the Lord again. The Lord answered him, ‘Yes, go down to Keilah; for I will give the Philistines into your hand.’ So David and his men went to Keilah, fought with the Philistines, brought away their livestock, and dealt them a heavy defeat. Thus David rescued the inhabitants of Keilah.
When Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he came down with an ephod in his hand. Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, ‘God has given him into my hand; for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.’ Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men. When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to the priest Abiathar, ‘Bring the ephod here.’ David said, ‘O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. And now, will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Lord, the God of Israel, I beseech you, tell your servant.’ The Lord said, ‘He will come down.’ Then David said, ‘Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?’ The Lord said, ‘They will surrender you.’ Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they wandered wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but the Lord did not give him into his hand.
David was in the Wilderness of Ziph at Horesh when he learned that Saul had come out to seek his life. Saul’s son Jonathan set out and came to David at Horesh; there he strengthened his hand through the Lord. He said to him, ‘Do not be afraid; for the hand of my father Saul shall not find you; you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be second to you; my father Saul also knows that this is so.’ Then the two of them made a covenant before the Lord; David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.
Then some Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, ‘David is hiding among us in the strongholds of Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon. Now, O king, whenever you wish to come down, do so; and our part will be to surrender him into the king’s hand.’ Saul said, ‘May you be blessed by the Lord for showing me compassion! Go and make sure once more; find out exactly where he is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning. Look around and learn all the hiding-places where he lurks, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.’ So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul.
David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. Saul and his men went to search for him. When David was told, he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard that, he pursued David into the wilderness of Maon. Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, while Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them. Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, ‘Hurry and come; for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.’ So Saul stopped pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; therefore that place was called the Rock of Escape. David then went up from there, and lived in the strongholds of En-gedi.
When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, ‘David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.’ Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to look for David and his men in the direction of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheepfolds beside the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. The men of David said to him, ‘Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, “I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.” ’ Then David went and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s cloak. Afterwards David was stricken to the heart because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s cloak. He said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to raise my hand against him; for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ So David scolded his men severely and did not permit them to attack Saul. Then Saul got up and left the cave, and went on his way.
Afterwards David also rose up and went out of the cave and called after Saul, ‘My lord the king!’ When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance. David said to Saul, ‘Why do you listen to the words of those who say, “David seeks to do you harm”? This very day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you into my hand in the cave; and some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, “I will not raise my hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed.” See, my father, see the corner of your cloak in my hand; for by the fact that I cut off the corner of your cloak, and did not kill you, you may know for certain that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you are hunting me to take my life. May the Lord judge between me and you! May the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you. As the ancient proverb says, “Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness”; but my hand shall not be against you. Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A single flea? May the Lord therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you. May he see to it, and plead my cause, and vindicate me against you.’
When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, ‘Is that your voice, my son David?’ Saul lifted up his voice and wept. He said to David, ‘You are more righteous than I; for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. Today you have explained how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. For who has ever found an enemy, and sent the enemy safely away? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. Now I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not wipe out my name from my father’s house.’ So David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home; but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
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MARINATE
Helps for Soaking in God’s Word
What is Marinate?
It’s a tool for personal Bible study and/or Kinship Group sharing. It focuses on next Sunday’s scripture passage. We hope that you will “marinate” in God’s Word this week!
Scripture for August 1, 2010: 1 Samuel 24
Introduction:
Whose life story is most detailed in the Bible? It’s Jesus – no huge surprise there. But whose is second? Here’s a surprise: it’s David. His story stretches through 1 and 2 Samuel, and into 1 Kings. Then it is retold in Chronicles. You’ll find his name over 600 times in the Old Testament, and over 60 times in the New Testament! How could an ancient Middle-Eastern warrior king with eight wives be an everyman in the biblical story? We’ll see as we ponder David’s story as a part of THE story.
What are we reading?
We’ll be reading David’s story from the books of Samuel and Kings. They are historical books, but not in the way we often think of history, as a secular recounting of events. They are true to the events. But they are more, for they also recognize God’s hand at work in those events, making history truly His-story.
Some things to notice:
This is an amazing encounter in the midst of several chapters that feel like the ancient equivalent of a Hollywood car chase. Saul is now in hot pursuit of David. As word spread, about 400 other fugitives and malcontents gathered around David, and in essence became his ragtag army (22:2). But Saul’s forces outnumbered David’s 5 to 1, and Saul was more than ruthless in his pursuit – threatening and killing anyone who showed even a hint of helping David and his men (e.g., 22:13,19).
In the midst of this chase is a comical scene, chapter 24. In the midst of this chase is a comical scene, chapter 24. David and his men are fleeing in the wilderness near the Dead Sea. You may have seen pictures of this barren land, honeycombed with ravines and caves. That made for lots of hiding places for David, but also made it important that he not get trapped in a place where he had no retreat.
The comedy ensues when Saul goes into a cave to relieve himself, but it’s the cave where David and his men are hiding. Saul, coming in from the bright sun, can’t see David and his men. David and the men see the chance to kill Saul while he “has his pants down.” Indeed, David’s men want him to do so. But David refuses, for he respects Saul as God’s anointed.
David’s and Saul’s speeches are recounted in detail (vv. 8-21). David shows great respect to Saul in his speech, as he has in his actions. David asks that he be found innocent, but looks to the Lord, not to Saul, to vindicate him. Saul, stricken by the moment, not only recognizes David’s innocence. He sees that David will indeed be king, and asks that his own descendants not be “cut off,” as David has just “cut off” a corner of his robe.
Psalm 57 is marked as the Psalm which arose from David’s experience in the wilderness cave. It makes a good touch-point for this chapter, as we see how David came to pray about this episode of peril and deliverance. He might have seen the wilderness as simply full of Saul’s peril, but instead he saw it as full of God, which shaped both his thanksgiving in the Psalm, and his grace in dealing with Saul.
Questions for Thought and Discussion:
· Who has been a difficult authority figure for you? How did you handle it? Well? Poorly? What would the Lord have you learn from that episode?
· Was Saul’s repentance (vv. 16-22) sincere? If so, why didn’t he change? What role does sincerity have in changing our ways? What else do we need?
· Jesus also spent a season in the wilderness, with a deadly opponent in pursuit (Mt. 4:1-11). What parallels do you see? How does Jesus’ wilderness experience assure us in our own wilderness times?
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