When David and his men reach their home they find Ziklag burned down and their women and children taken captive by the Amalekites. The men weep and then they want to stone David. “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” So David and 400 men attack the Amalekites and recover all that was taken. Some selfish men who fought with David didn’t want to share the spoil with the 200 men they left behind in Ziklag. David rebukes them for wanting to keep all the goods for themselves and says “…you shall not do so with what the Lord has given us…” See, David can easily share with others bc he realizes that anything he has is a gift from the Lord. So David goes on to share not only with his men but also with the elders in Judah, his friends, who showed him and his men kindness while on the run.

Back at the battle scene with the Philistines, Saul and his sons, including Jonathan, die during battle. An Amalekite ran and told David that he killed wounded Saul. Well we know this guy is lying bc we read that Saul fell on his own sword so he wouldn’t fall into the hands of the Philistines. So instead of getting the award the Amalekite was hoping for, David has him killed for killing the Lord’s anointed as he said he did. Then David mourns the death of Saul and Jonathan.

We discover today that Jonathan has a 5 year old son named Mephibosheth who became lame in his feet when his nurse dropped him while on the run. Mephibosheth is in hiding but David will find him soon so keep reading to meet Jonathan’s son.

(1 Samuel 30:1-31, 1 Chronicles 12:20-22, 1 Samuel 31:1-13, 1 Chronicles 10:1-14, 1 Chronicles 9:40-44, 2 Samuel 4:4, 2 Samuel 1:1-27)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Today Saul is back to chasing David and David gets another chance to take Saul’s life but David doesn’t touch the Lord’s anointed one. So David yells to Saul letting him know that he spared him again and Saul once again tells David that he was wrong and says, “May you be blessed, my son David!” David knows Saul is full of it and says in his heart that Saul would continue to chase him. Therefore David and all who are with him go to live with the Philistines. “And it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.”

They dwell with Achish, the king of Gath, for over a year and David and his men begin attacking the enemies of Israel, raiding them, and killing everyone so no one could get word back to Achish. David lies to Achish and tells him that they were raiding the people of Israel. So when the Philistines gather to go to war against Israel, Achish asks David and his men to join them.

Meanwhile, Saul, out of fear of the Philistines, inquires of the Lord but the Lord doesn’t answer bc He has rejected Saul as king. The now totally desperate Saul consults a medium in order to speak to Samuel. This was a practice that was forbidden by the Lord. (There is a lot of discussion around whether it was really the spirit of Samuel or a demonic spirit. 🤷‍♀️ Not sure but what I am sure about are the truths we have learned so far; God is in control of all and evil can only do what the Lord allows to accomplish His purposes. I believe that is what is going on here. Now back to the Story.) The medium brings Samuel up from the dead. Samuel informs Saul that the Lord has torn the kingdom from him and given it to David bc he “…did not obey the voice of the Lord nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek”. Samuel then tells Saul that Saul and his 2 sons will be killed in battle tomorrow and Israel will be delivered to the Philistines.

Lastly we read that the princes of the Philistines do not trust David and his men to fight with them so they send them home. Tomorrow David will discover that while they were gone, the Amalekites attacked their town and took their women and children as captives. This would not have happened if Saul obeyed the Lord and destroyed them! Disobedience always has consequences. Keep reading to find out how David responds.

(1 Samuel 26:1-27:7, 1 Chronicles 12:1-7, 1 Samuel 27:8-29:11, 1 Chronicles 12:19, Psalm 56)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Today 3 major events happen: Saul is spared, Samuel dies, and David acquires more wives.

1) Now David and his 600 men are hiding out in the wilderness while Saul and his 3,000 men are trying to hunt him down. David demonstrates his trust in the Lord when he has an opportunity to kill Saul while Saul is relieving himself in the cave where David and his men are hiding but David doesn’t kill him. Afterwards, David yells to Saul that he has no desire to kill him, the Lord’s anointed king, and that he will trust the Lord to judge between them. Saul declares that David is more righteous than himself and he has David swear that once he becomes king he will not cut off Saul’s descendants. Saul then goes home but unfortunately not for good as we will read about tomorrow.

2) Samuel dies in today’s reading and all of Israel mourns for him.

3) We meet Nabal, whose name actually means fool. He is a rich big jerk who is married to a wise beautiful wife, Abigail. Nabal harshly refuses to help David and his men, who have been protecting rich Nabal and all his stuff. David lets his anger get the best of him and decides to respond by killing Nabal and all the males in his household. Brave Abigail intercedes and reminds David of what David already knows…to trust the Lord and let Him deal with the fools. Sometimes the Lord will send someone to remind us to trust Him when we are blinded by our emotions. So David responds to her “…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”. Soon after, the Lord strikes Nabal and he dies. David takes Abigail as his wife. He also takes Ahinoam as his wife and we learn that Michal, who is Saul’s daughter and David’s first wife, was given to another man. Keep reading to find out if David gets Michal back.

(1 Samuel 23:13-29, Psalm 54, 1 Samuel 24:1-25:44)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

(Note: God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman. There will be negative consequences that come with having multiple wives and children by multiple wives. We will learn more about this as the Story continues.
“‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.” Mark 10:7-8)

David runs to the cave of Abdullah. His brothers and all his father’s house come to him and “everyone who was discontented gathered to him”. David says to the Lord, “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge”. A man of the Lord, David, now becomes a refuge for ones in distress. There is something about a person who is trusting in the Lord that draws others to them. The Lord hears David’s prayers and He protects David and the others by sending them mighty warriors from the tribe of Gad who say, “We are on your side, O son of Jesse! …For your God helps you”. This is good news bc Saul is still trying his best to kill David.

Doeg told Saul how Ahimelech, the priest, helped David. Saul repaid Ahimelech’s kindness to David with murder. Doeg kills 85 priests and the entire city of Nob in response to Saul’s jealousy. One of Ahimelech‘s sons, Ahitub, escapes and seeks refuge with David. David writes in Psalm 52, “Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually…You love evil more than good…God shall likewise destroy you forever”.

There will come a day when the Lord will put an end to evil forever. (Rev 21:1-8) But today in the Story David is still on the run from evil. After he saves the town of Keilah from the Philistines, David finds out that Saul is coming after him. Tomorrow David has an opportunity to kill Saul. Will he take it? Keep reading to find out.

(1 Samuel 22:1-2, Psalm 57, Psalm 142, 1 Chronicles 12:8-18, 1 Samuel 22:3-23, Psalm 52, I samuel 23:1-12)

#bibleliteracymovement#chronologicalbibleteaching

David finds Jonathan and asks him, “What have I done?” 🤔 Why is your dad trying to kill me? Well David, you didn’t do anything except try to help Saul and the kingdom and you did a better job at it than Saul. Saul has a major jealousy problem! “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones”. (Proverbs 14:30 NLT) “Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?” (Proverbs 27:4 ESV)

Unfortunately, David, a man who is doing great works for the kingdom, is on the run bc of one man’s jealousy. Jonathan tells David he will find out if Saul is still trying to kill him. Then Jonathan says, “And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die; but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever…” We will see David honor this vow later in the Story with Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth. “Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.” Jonathan understands what Jesus later commands in Matthew 12:31. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jonathan even lays down his own rights, as the son of Saul, to the kingdom for David. Well, Saul tells Jonathan, “For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom”. But see, Jonathan was not all about Jonathan. So Jonathan reports back to David his dad’s plan to kill him.

David, on the run again, goes to a priest named Ahimelech in Nob. There is no bread there for David and his men so the priest gives David the holy bread. Jesus will later use this story of giving the holy bread in a time of need in Mark 2:23-28 to rebuke the Pharisees who were beating people over the head with the law.

The reading ends today with David having to act like a madman to spare his life. Even in the midst of his terrible circumstances David is still praising God. “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” David knows that even when man is against him, God is for him. He also knows that “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart”. Tomorrow, Doeg, Saul’s servant, reports back a David sighting to Saul. Keep reading to find out what happens.

(1 Samuel 20:1-21:15, Psalm 34)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

After David’s brother belittles him when he arrives to the battle field, David tells Saul he will fight the giant Goliath. See, David isn’t concerned about his brother’s verbal beat down bc David knows God has a plan for him. Well, Saul tries to give David his armor but David doesn’t need it bc his armor is the Lord! So David walks toward Goliath with a sling shot and 5 stones and takes him down! 💪 Then David chops off Goliath’s head with Goliath’s own sword.

Now, all of a sudden, Saul is wanting to know all about David…you know, the one who has been playing the harp for him. I guess for some people it takes chopping off the head of a giant to get their attention. 🤷‍♀️ So David comes to Saul with Goliath’s head in his hand and there he meets Jonathan. Jonathan and David quickly bond as friends and Saul gives David command over His army. David is a very successful commander. So much so that the women are now singing about the ten thousands that David has killed compared to Saul’s thousands.

Saul, out of jealousy, now wants to kill David. 😏 Go figure. Saul comes up with a plan to send David out against the Philistines in the hopes that David will get killed. Saul offers his daughter, Michal, to become David’s wife in exchange for 100 Philistine foreskins. David, the brave warrior that he is, brings back not 100 foreskins but 200 foreskins! 👏👏 So Saul continues to try to kill David but his kids, Jonathan and Michal, protect David.

David is now on the run and crying out to the Lord, “Deliver me from my enemies, O my God”. David goes to Samuel in Ramah and Saul sends men there to kill David which ultimately ends with Saul on the ground naked in front of Samuel. 🙈 Tomorrow, David continues to run from Saul. Will Saul catch him? Keep reading to find out.

(1 Samuel 17:32-19:17, Psalm 59, 1 Samuel 19:18-24)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Today Samuel told Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites for the attack that we read about on Feb 6th in Exodus 17. After that battle the Lord had Moses write in the Book of the Law that “…I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven”. “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lamb, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.” 🧐 This does not sound like what God said to do. When Samuel confronts Saul, Saul said he saved the best for the Lord and then started blaming the people. Well, God ain’t buying what Saul is selling so Samuel tells Saul that God as rejected him as king. Saul, proving his true motives, begs Samuel to at least go and worship with him to “…honor me now, before the elders of my people and before Israel”. Jesus will later say in John 5:44, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”

Next the Lord sends Samuel to Jesse, from the tribe of Judah, in Bethlehem to anoint the next king. Samuel incorrectly assumes the older son was God’s pick so God says “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical statue, 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”. So Jesse passes 7 sons before Samuel but the Lord didn’t chose any of them. God chose the boy out in the field whose daddy didn’t even consider to be in the lineup. God chose the boy who was out in the field playing his harp and working his sling shot. Meet King David! The Lord uses those harp playing skills to get David into the kingdom and to sooth Saul’s distressed spirit. Tomorrow we will read how David’s sling shot skills come in handy against that pestering Philistine, Goliath Keep reading.

(1 Samuel 15:1-17:31)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

The Israelites are going up against the Philistines but the men of Israel run and hide in caves bc they are scared since they don’t have any swords or spears. Now Saul, afraid of losing his men, doesn’t wait on Samuel to arrive at the camp but instead offers a burnt offering to the Lord, an act only the Levites were to perform (Numbers 8). Because Saul was more concerned about the men leaving than obeying the Book of the Law, God says he is going to take the kingdom from him and give it to a man after His own heart. “The fear of man lays a snare but whoever trust the Lord is safe.” (John 5:44)

Today we meet Saul’s son Jonathan who, unlike his dad, has great faith in the Lord! Jonathan decides to sneak into the Philistines’ camp with his armor-bearer. He tells him, “For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or a few”. 💪 The men hiding in caves hear the commotion of Jonathan and his armor-bearer defeating the Philistines and they come out to fight with them. “So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle shifted to Beth Aven.”

There Saul has the men make a stupid oath that they will not eat until the Philistines have been defeated. 🤨 Jonathan didn’t hear the oath and he eats some honey which revives him and gives him more energy for battle. Saul’s foolish oath had 3 consequences:
1) Israelites could have had a greater victory if they had more energy.
2) The men sinned bc they were so starving when they could finally eat that they didn’t handle the meat properly and ate the blood (Gen 9:4, Lev 17).
3) Saul almost killed his son Jonathan but the people stepped in to save him.

See, Saul has a position and a title but Jonathan has the respect and influence of the people. Tomorrow Saul continues to show his disregard for the Book of the Law which he should be reading everyday per Deut. 17:18-20. Don’t be like Saul, keep reading! 😁

(1 Chronicles 9:35-39, 1 Samuel 13:1-5, 19-23, 6-18, 1 Samuel 14:1-52)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching

Today we meet Saul from the small tribe of Benjamin and “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”. Wow! 😍 The Israelites, who often make decisions based on sight, are gonna love this guy!

While Saul is out looking for some lost donkeys he meets Samuel. Samuel ends up anointing Saul as king and sends him home telling him, “The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you…and (you will) be turned into another man”. “So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart…” Later Samuel gathers all the tribes of Israel and makes Saul king…well, after the people drag him out from behind the baggage where he is hiding. 🤔 Sort of a cowardly move for a tall handsome king.

But next we read that Saul catches wind of the Amorites threatening the children of God. “Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard the news, and his anger was greatly aroused.” Saul leads the Israelites in victory over the Ammonites. Well, that sounds promising; maybe he won’t turn out to be totally weak. We shall see!

Lastly, Samuel says farewell to the Israelites now that they have a king to rule over them. He reminds the people of God’s faithfulness in the same way as Moses and Joshua did, by telling the Story. “When Jacob had gone into Egypt…your fathers cried out to the Lord…sent Moses and Aaron…forgot the Lord…sold into hand of Sisera…cried out…sent Jerubbaal…” and so forth. Samuel ends his address by saying although the people were wicked in asking for a king, “…the Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, for it has pleased the Lord to make you His people”. “But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.” Tomorrow we see more of Saul’s true colors so keep reading.

(1 Samuel 9:1-12:25)

#bibleliteracymovement#chronologicalbibleteaching

A messenger tells Eli that his 2 sons have been killed and that the ark of God has been taken. At the news of the ark of God, Eli falls off his chair, breaks his neck and dies. The shock of the news sends Eli’s pregnant daughter-n-law into labor. She gives birth to Ichabod whose name means “the glory has departed from Israel”, and she also dies. Tragic. 😥

Ok, so you can’t just take the ark of God and have no repercussions. The Philistines discover this once they break out in tumors which were likely hemorrhoids, 😳 and their beloved false god Dagon is decapitated. Well, this was a real pain in the rear for them. So after 7 months of moving the ark of God around and experiencing tumors and death everywhere the ark goes, the Philistines decide to return it. They load it on a cart with a guilt offering of 5 golden tumors and 5 golden rats representing the 5 Philistine rulers, and cows pull it to the field of Joshua at Beth Shemesh. After a mishap there, the people of Beth Shemesh have the ark of God taken to Abinadab’s house in Kirjarh Jearim. It will remain there until King David brings it to Jerusalem later in the Story.

Twenty years after the ark is in Kirjarh Jearim, Samuel tells the people to put away their false gods AGAIN and return to the Lord so He will give them victory over the Philistines. The people return to the Lord and He subdues the Philistines. When Samuel is older he makes his wicked sons judges over the people. I guess he didn’t learn from Eli and his corrupt sons. 🤦‍♀️ Anyway, bc of Samuel’s sons’ wickedness the people ask Samuel to give them a king like the nations around them. God tells Samuel to give the people what they want “…for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them”. But first, the Lord tells Samuel to warn the people about what will happen when they have a king. He will take your sons, take your daughters, take your fields, take your grain and vintage, and take your servants. That’s a lot of taking but the people don’t care, they still want a king. Keep reading bc tomorrow the Lord gives the people what they want.

(1 Samuel 4:12-8:22)

#bibleliteracymovement #chronologicalbibleteaching