March 31 - Evening
"Once more war broke out, and David went out and fought the Philistines. He struck them with such force that they fled before him.
But an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the lyre, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape."
- First Samuel 19:8-10
But an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the lyre, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall. That night David made good his escape."
- First Samuel 19:8-10
Saul Attacks David
Saul has tried unsuccessfully to put David into impossible situations where the Philistines would kill him. Saul even gave one of his daughters, Michal, to David as his wife in hopes that she would help bring David’s reputation and success down. But, instead David’s marriage to the king’s daughter only made him more popular and secured a position as a possible successor to Saul on the throne.
Everything Saul does to try to harm David backfires on him and advances David. After multiple attempts to derail David’s success and popularity Saul finally resorts to another physical attack. David had just returned from stopping another Philistine advance into Israeli territory when he and Saul where hanging out in the palace while David played on the lyre. For the second time Saul tries to kill David himself with a spear. David, who was most likely anticipating some form of attack, reacted quickly, dodged the attack and escaped.
The word “escape” or “fled” is nas wayyimmalet. This word marks a turning point in the life of David and a permanent change in his relationship with Saul and the public’s understanding and opinion of David’s motives. David will never return to Saul but will spend the rest of his time under Saul’s reign on the run and hiding.
The concept of an “evil spirit” coming from the Lord is the result of Saul’s rebellion against the Lord and Saul’s rejection of the God’s Word. This is not saying the Lord is evil nor that the Lord desires evil, but when men create a vacuum by separating themselves from God through sin and rebellion the presence of evil is brought into the situation. (Also, consider the days of Abimelech’s sin in Judges 9:23.)
Sumboulion (Gr) – Council (Eng) – sumboulion is a Greek word that means “a uniting in counsel.” Sumboulion refers to a few men or a larger number of men conferring together concerning a situation or an issue. (Matthew 12:14; Matthew 22:15 and Acts 25:12.)
Can I recognize a false teacher?
I will learn the truth and practice critical thinking concerning the things that are taught and people who claim to be speaking the Truth of God's Word.
I will learn the truth and practice critical thinking concerning the things that are taught and people who claim to be speaking the Truth of God's Word.
Bible Reading Descriptions Here
Personal
Food and healthy diet
Church
Grow in love for God
Nation
Urban growth
World
Central African Republic
Someone to Quote
"God does not call us 'Sheep' because we are fluffy."
- Galyn Wiemers,
"Hope for America's Last Generation"
- Galyn Wiemers,
"Hope for America's Last Generation"
Something to Ponder
The biblical text in Genesis 29:24 and 29:29 records Laban giving each of his two daughters a hand maiden at the time of their marriage to Jacob. This text is almost word for word from parallel cuneiform texts seen in the Nuzi documents that also record fathers giving their daughter a handmaiden as part of the bridal gift, inheritance or dowry at the time of the wedding. (details here and here) In the case of a wife being barren the handmaiden would serve the wife by bearing children for her. (here, here and here)
Here’s a Fact
On the east side of excavated Philippi (Acts 16:13-15) is the Neapolis Gate which sets next to an ancient stream. A church from the time of Constantine (325 AD) has been excavated there beside the stream. This church may have been built here in the early days to recognize the location of Paul meeting with Lydia when he arrived at Philippi. A second church built and dedicated to Paul sets just inside the Neapolis Gate with an octagonal shape and mosaic floors from the early 300’s AD. (Today ancient Krenides)
(Details here and here.
Photos here and here .)
Proverb
"Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know!"
- Proverbs 30:4
- Proverbs 30:4
Coach’s Corner
There are times when actions can follow a time of thought and reflection. Then, there are times when it is necessary to act spontaneously. It is in these times of spontaneous response that your character and your discipline reign supreme.
1 Samuel 13
New International Version (NIV)
Samuel Rebukes Saul
13 Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty- two years.
2 Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Mikmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.
3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 So all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become obnoxious to the Philistines.” And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.
5 The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. 6 When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.
Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. 8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. 9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. 10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
11 “What have you done?” asked Samuel.
Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, 12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
13 “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
15 Then Samuel left Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.
Israel Without Weapons
16 Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in Gibeah in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Mikmash. 17 Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned toward Ophrah in the vicinity of Shual, 18 another toward Beth Horon, and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboyim facing the wilderness.
19 Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!” 20 So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plow points, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened. 21 The price was two-thirds of a shekel for sharpening plow points and mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads.
22 So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
Jonathan Attacks the Philistines
23 Now a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the pass at Mikmash.
New International Version (NIV)
Samuel Rebukes Saul
13 Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty- two years.
2 Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Mikmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.
3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 So all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become obnoxious to the Philistines.” And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.
5 The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. 6 When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.
Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. 8 He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. 9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. 10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
11 “What have you done?” asked Samuel.
Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, 12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
13 “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
15 Then Samuel left Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.
Israel Without Weapons
16 Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in Gibeah in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Mikmash. 17 Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned toward Ophrah in the vicinity of Shual, 18 another toward Beth Horon, and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboyim facing the wilderness.
19 Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!” 20 So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plow points, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened. 21 The price was two-thirds of a shekel for sharpening plow points and mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads.
22 So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
Jonathan Attacks the Philistines
23 Now a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the pass at Mikmash.
Judges 5
New International Version (NIV)
The Song of Deborah
5 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
2
“When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves— praise the Lord!
3
“Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.
4
“When you, Lord, went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water.
5
The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel.
6
“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths.
7
Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8
God chose new leaders when war came to the city gates, but not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.
9
My heart is with Israel’s princes, with the willing volunteers among the people. Praise the Lord!
10
“You who ride on white donkeys, sitting on your saddle blankets, and you who walk along the road, consider 11 the voice of the singers at the watering places. They recite the victories of the Lord, the victories of his villagers in Israel.
“Then the people of the Lord went down to the city gates.
12
‘Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, break out in song! Arise, Barak! Take captive your captives, son of Abinoam.’
13
“The remnant of the nobles came down; the people of the Lord came down to me against the mighty.
14
Some came from Ephraim, whose roots were in Amalek; Benjamin was with the people who followed you. From Makir captains came down, from Zebulun those who bear a commander’s staff.
15
The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes, Issachar was with Barak, sent under his command into the valley. In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.
16
Why did you stay among the sheep pens to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.
17
Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. And Dan, why did he linger by the ships? Asher remained on the coast and stayed in his coves.
18
The people of Zebulun risked their very lives; so did Naphtali on the terraced fields.
19
“Kings came, they fought, the kings of Canaan fought. At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo, they took no plunder of silver.
20
From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21
The river Kishon swept them away, the age-old river, the river Kishon. March on, my soul; be strong!
22
Then thundered the horses’ hooves— galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.
23
‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord. ‘Curse its people bitterly, because they did not come to help the Lord, to help the Lord against the mighty.’
24
“Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
25
He asked for water, and she gave him milk; in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.
26
Her hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman’s hammer. She struck Sisera, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple.
27
At her feet he sank, he fell; there he lay. At her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell—dead.
28
“Through the window peered Sisera’s mother; behind the lattice she cried out, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’
29
The wisest of her ladies answer her; indeed, she keeps saying to herself,
30
‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils: a woman or two for each man, colorful garments as plunder for Sisera, colorful garments embroidered, highly embroidered garments for my neck— all this as plunder?’
31
“So may all your enemies perish, Lord! But may all who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength.”
Then the land had peace forty years.
New International Version (NIV)
The Song of Deborah
5 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:
2
“When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves— praise the Lord!
3
“Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.
4
“When you, Lord, went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water.
5
The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel.
6
“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned; travelers took to winding paths.
7
Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8
God chose new leaders when war came to the city gates, but not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand in Israel.
9
My heart is with Israel’s princes, with the willing volunteers among the people. Praise the Lord!
10
“You who ride on white donkeys, sitting on your saddle blankets, and you who walk along the road, consider 11 the voice of the singers at the watering places. They recite the victories of the Lord, the victories of his villagers in Israel.
“Then the people of the Lord went down to the city gates.
12
‘Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, break out in song! Arise, Barak! Take captive your captives, son of Abinoam.’
13
“The remnant of the nobles came down; the people of the Lord came down to me against the mighty.
14
Some came from Ephraim, whose roots were in Amalek; Benjamin was with the people who followed you. From Makir captains came down, from Zebulun those who bear a commander’s staff.
15
The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes, Issachar was with Barak, sent under his command into the valley. In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.
16
Why did you stay among the sheep pens to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.
17
Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. And Dan, why did he linger by the ships? Asher remained on the coast and stayed in his coves.
18
The people of Zebulun risked their very lives; so did Naphtali on the terraced fields.
19
“Kings came, they fought, the kings of Canaan fought. At Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo, they took no plunder of silver.
20
From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera.
21
The river Kishon swept them away, the age-old river, the river Kishon. March on, my soul; be strong!
22
Then thundered the horses’ hooves— galloping, galloping go his mighty steeds.
23
‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord. ‘Curse its people bitterly, because they did not come to help the Lord, to help the Lord against the mighty.’
24
“Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women.
25
He asked for water, and she gave him milk; in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk.
26
Her hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman’s hammer. She struck Sisera, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple.
27
At her feet he sank, he fell; there he lay. At her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell—dead.
28
“Through the window peered Sisera’s mother; behind the lattice she cried out, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?’
29
The wisest of her ladies answer her; indeed, she keeps saying to herself,
30
‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoils: a woman or two for each man, colorful garments as plunder for Sisera, colorful garments embroidered, highly embroidered garments for my neck— all this as plunder?’
31
“So may all your enemies perish, Lord! But may all who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength.”
Then the land had peace forty years.