Week 16
This week we are delving deeper into the story of David and his conflict with Saul. The way these daily readings are set up in case you did not notice, is that Psalms corresponds approximately with what David was going through and likely when he wrote them.
1 Samuel 20-21 & Psalm 34, 56
A breach has now occurred between David and Saul, which will not be
mended. Saul seeks to kill David, and he flees from him after getting
confirmation from Jonathan.
David is still a young man at this time, but he is already famous in Israel, and
is well known among Israel’s enemies. David goes to the Philistines, but has to
feign madness in order to keep from being discovered.
David is writing these wonderful psalms even while on the run from Saul, and
when he is still young. David is a man after God’s own heart, and that is
reflected in what he writes, and how he will trust God, even though there are
many on all sides who seek to kill him.
1 Samuel 22-23 & 1 Chronicles 12:8-18 & Psalm 52, 54, 63, 142
Saul kills 85 priests of God, including Ahimelech, the high priest, thinking that
they were conspiring against him with David. Only Abiathar escapes and goes to
David, and he will be high priest in the place of his father.
David remains faithful in heart to the king, even though he is now on the run
for his life. David rescues the city fo Keilah from the Philistines, but they are
willing to betray him to Saul, so he flees again. Some in Israel take sides with
Saul against David, but many brave men align themselves with him as he is on
the run. Throughout all of these years of running from Saul, David continually
relies upon the Lord, and God is faithful to always protect him.
1 Samuel 24-25 & Psalm 57
David has opportunity to kill Saul in the cave, but he refuses to lift his hand
against the king that God had anointed. This will be his position as long as Saul
is king in Israel.
Nabal is a foolish man who offends David in his pride, but his wife Abigail is a
wise lady who intervenes before David takes revenge on her husband. Within 10
days Nabal is dead at the hand of God, and David takes Abigail as one of his
wives.
God said that vengeance belongs to Him (Deuteronomy 32:35), and this was
true in the life of David, and it is true for us. Paul said in Romans 12:19 that we
should not avenge ourselves, but give God that responsibility when we have
been wronged or harmed.
1 Samuel 26-29 1 Chronicles 12:1-7, 19-22
Saul continues to pursue David in the wilderness of Israel, but God gives him
favor and protects him in whatever he does. David is steadfast in refusing to
bring any harm to Saul, since he had been anointed king at God’s command,
rather choosing to let God work out His timing for the future.
Can we find a better example of faith in God’s Providence for us to follow?
The Lord is far better in managing our future than us, even though there may be
times when it seems like He has forsaken us.
David finally goes down and spend a year and four months with Achish, a
Philistine leader, and even there God gives him favor.
The Philistines gather for war against Israel, and Saul is unable to get any
response from God in his queries, so he resorts to divination. The witch of Endor
conjures up the spirit of Samuel from the grave, but his words do nothing to calm
Saul’s fears, and he tells him that his end is upon him as he goes forth to fight
the Philistines.
1 Samuel 30-31 & 1 Chronicles 10 & 2 Samuel 1
These chapters record the final days of king Saul and his sons. At the same
time that Saul and the army of Israel was fighting against the Philistines, David
and his men destroyed the Amalekite army that had done great damage in
Judah, and burned the city of Ziklag, where David and his men had been living.
David retrieved their wives and families that had been taken captive, and took
back much spoil, which he shared among the cities where he and his men went
in and out.
The Philistines party strong over the death of Saul and Jonathan and the army
of Israel, and David finds out about these events from an Amalekite who
retrieved Saul’s crown, and who claimed to have put him out of his misery.
2 Samuel 2–4
David and his men move to the city of Hebron, and all of the tribe of Judah
make him king of Judah, although the rest of Israel chose Saul’s son to be their
king. For several years there is war between Judah and Israel, until the death of
Ishbosheth, the son of Saul who was (a weak) king in Israel.
Two of David’s nephews, Joab and Abishai (sons of David’s sister), murdered
Abner, who was the power behind Ishbosheth’s throne in Israel, after he had
made peace with David. Joab and Abishai will remain as key figures in David’s
army, but he will never fully trust Joab again, and declares a curse upon both of
them for their unrighteous act against Abner.
2 Samuel 5-6:11 & 1 Chronicles 11:1-9, 12:23-40, 13-14:17
After the death of Ishbosheth, all of Israel goes to David at Hebron and
unanimously make him king over the entire nation. Almost 350,000 men of war,
from all of Israel, submit themselves to David’s leadership. Twice the Philistines
attempt to fight David and his army, but twice he consults with God about what to
do, and in both cases the Philistines are defeated.
After reigning as king in Hebron for 7 1/2 years, David goes up against the
stronghold of the Jebusites, and takes the city of Jerusalem, where he will then
reign as king for another 33 years. David enjoys an alliance with Hiram, the king
of Lebanon, who provides cedar for David’s construction projects in Jerusalem.
David attempts to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, but he fails to
follow God’s laws pertaining to the transportation of the ark, and God strikes
Uzzah dead for touching the ark when it might have fallen off the cart it was
riding on. David parks the ark in Obed Edom’s garage for several months, and
God blesses Obed Edom’s house while it is there.