My husband Elkanah has two wives. Every year we go up to Shiloh to worship, and every year Peninnah makes sure I know she has children and I don’t. Every single year. I end up crying and can’t eat.
1 SAMUEL 1:6–7 · BSB
Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival would provoke her viciously to taunt her. And this went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival taunted her until she wept and would not eat.
Went to the house of the LORD and wept. Told him: if you’ll look at me and give me a son, I’ll give him back to you. His whole life.
1 SAMUEL 1:10–11 · BSB
In her bitter distress, Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept with many tears. And she made a vow, saying, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”
As Hannah kept on praying before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine!” “No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have not had any wine or strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman, for all this time I have been praying out of the depth of my anguish and grief.”
In my defence, your lips were moving and nothing was coming out.
1 SAMUEL 1:13–14 · BSB
Hannah was praying in her heart, and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine!”
I said I hoped the God of Israel would give you what you’d asked for. He did.
1 SAMUEL 1:17; 1 SAMUEL 1:27 · BSB
“Go in peace,” Eli replied, “and may the God of Israel grant the petition you have asked of Him.” I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him,
Took him up to Shiloh today. He’s still so little. I prayed for this boy, and the LORD gave him to me. So now I’m giving him to the LORD, for as long as he lives.
1 SAMUEL 1:24–28 · BSB
Once she had weaned him, Hannah took the boy with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. Though the boy was still young, she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. And when they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. “Please, my lord,” said Hannah, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him, I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.
There’s no Rock like our God. He lifts the poor out of the dust and sits them down with princes.
1 SAMUEL 2:2; 1 SAMUEL 2:8 · BSB
There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.
Can we talk about Shiloh? The priests there are Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas. You bring your sacrifice, and while it’s boiling their servant sticks a three-pronged fork in your pot. Whatever comes up, they keep. Every time.
1 SAMUEL 1:3; 1 SAMUEL 2:12–14 · BSB
Year after year Elkanah would go up from his city to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of Hosts at Shiloh, where Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the LORD. Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD or for the custom of the priests with the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling and plunge it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot. And the priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh.
Said the fat had to be burned for the LORD first. He said hand it over now or he’d take it by force. Lovely.
1 SAMUEL 2:15–16 · BSB
Even before the fat was burned, the servant of the priest would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast, because he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.” And if any man said to him, “The fat must be burned first; then you may take whatever you want,” the servant would reply, “No, you must give it to me right now. If you refuse, I will take it by force!”
I’ve told my sons. Everyone is talking about what they’re doing. If a man sins against another man, God can step in. If he sins against the LORD, who’s going to speak up for him?
1 SAMUEL 2:23–25 · BSB
“Why are you doing these things?” Eli said to his sons. “I hear about your wicked deeds from all these people. No, my sons; it is not a good report I hear circulating among the LORD’s people. If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since the LORD intended to put them to death.
If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since the LORD intended to put them to death.
New little robe for him, like every year. Also: three more boys and two girls since. The LORD has been kind to me.
1 SAMUEL 2:19; 1 SAMUEL 2:21 · BSB
Each year his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. So the LORD attended to Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.
A man of God brings Eli a message from the LORD. The gist: God honours people who honour him, and people who look down on him get looked down on. And a sign: both his sons will die on the same day.
1 SAMUEL 2:27; 1 SAMUEL 2:30; 1 SAMUEL 2:34 · BSB
Then a man of God came to Eli and told him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh’s house? Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it from Me! For I will honor those who honor Me, but those who despise Me will be disdained. And this sign shall come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas: They will both die on the same day.
Someone called my name in the night. Ran to Eli. He said he hadn’t called. Back to bed. Again. Same thing. Third time, Eli went quiet.
1 SAMUEL 3:4–8 · BSB
Then the LORD called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.” He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. Once again the LORD called, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “My son, I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, because the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. Once again, for the third time, the LORD called to Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy.
Third time you came in, I understood. It was the LORD calling you. So I told you: if he calls again, say “Speak, LORD. I’m listening.”
1 SAMUEL 3:8–9 · BSB
Once again, for the third time, the LORD called to Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy. “Go and lie down,” he said to Samuel, “and if He calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
What he told me would make anyone’s ears ring. It was about Eli’s family. Lay awake till morning, scared to tell him.
1 SAMUEL 3:11–15 · BSB
Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel at which the ears of all who hear it will tingle. On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his house, from beginning to end. I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them. Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, ‘The iniquity of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’” Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,
“What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God punish you, and ever so severely, if you hide from me anything He said to you.” So Samuel told him everything and did not hide a thing from him. “He is the LORD,” replied Eli. “Let Him do what is good in His eyes.”
Samuel grows up, and every word he says comes true. From Dan to Beersheba, everyone knows he’s a prophet of the LORD.
1 SAMUEL 3:19–20 · BSB
And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.
Lost to the Philistines today. The question is why the LORD allowed it. Proposal: we fetch the ark of the covenant from Shiloh, the chest that holds God’s agreement with us. If it comes out with us, it will save us.
1 SAMUEL 4:3 · BSB
When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.”
Not good. A god has come into their camp. Nothing like this has ever happened. These are the gods who hit Egypt with all those plagues. We’re in trouble.
the Philistines were afraid. “The gods have entered their camp!” they said. “Woe to us, for nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
Israel is beaten. Thirty thousand foot soldiers dead. The ark of God is captured. Hophni and Phinehas are both killed. On the same day.
1 SAMUEL 4:10–11 · BSB
So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great—thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
Ran from the battle to Shiloh, clothes torn, dust on my head. Eli was sitting by the road, trembling for the ark.
1 SAMUEL 4:12–13 · BSB
That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he arrived, there was Eli, sitting on his chair beside the road and watching, because his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the whole city cried out.
Told him: your sons are dead, and the ark of God has been taken. When I said the ark, he fell backwards off his seat and broke his neck. He was ninety-eight.
1 SAMUEL 4:15; 1 SAMUEL 4:17–18 · BSB
Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his gaze was fixed because he could not see. The messenger answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” As soon as the ark of God was mentioned, Eli fell backward from his chair by the city gate, and being old and heavy, he broke his neck and died. And Eli had judged Israel forty years.
The news brings on Phinehas’s wife’s labour, and it kills her. She names the boy Ichabod, “no glory”. The glory has gone from Israel, because the ark of God has been taken.
1 SAMUEL 4:19–22 · BSB
Now Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news of the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth, for her labor pains overtook her. As she was dying, the women attending to her said, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son!” But she did not respond or pay any heed. And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband had been killed. “The glory has departed from Israel,” she said, “for the ark of God has been captured.”
Things that have happened in Dagon’s temple this week:
1. We put the captured ark next to Dagon.
2. Next morning, Dagon flat on his face in front of it.
3. Stood him back up.
4. Next morning, on his face again. Head and hands broken off.
1 SAMUEL 5:2–4 · BSB
carried it into the temple of Dagon, and set it beside his statue. When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on his face before the ark of the LORD, with his head and his hands broken off and lying on the threshold. Only the torso remained.
No because it cannot stay here. Their God is coming down hard on us, and on Dagon.
1 SAMUEL 5:7 · BSB
And when the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not stay here with us, because His hand is heavy upon us and upon our god Dagon.”
Ashdod sent it to Gath. Gath’s now sent it to us. Why us? They’re literally trying to kill us.
1 SAMUEL 5:8–10 · BSB
So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and asked, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” “It must be moved to Gath,” they replied. So they carried away the ark of the God of Israel. But after they had moved the ark to Gath, the LORD’s hand was also against that city, throwing it into great confusion and afflicting the men of the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors. So they sent the ark of God to Ekron, but as it arrived, the Ekronites cried out, “They have brought us the ark of the God of Israel in order to kill us and our people!”
Tumours and panic all over the city. Send it back before it kills us all.
1 SAMUEL 5:11–12 · BSB
Then the Ekronites called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. It must return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people!” For a deadly confusion had pervaded the city; the hand of God was very heavy upon it. Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.
Our formal advice: place the ark on a new cart, pulled by two cows that have just calved and never worn a yoke, and let them go. Should they head for Israel, it was their God who did this. If not, it was chance.
1 SAMUEL 6:7–9 · BSB
Now, therefore, prepare one new cart with two milk cows that have never been yoked. Hitch the cows to the cart, but take their calves away and pen them up. Take the ark of the LORD, set it on the cart, and in a chest beside it put the gold objects you are sending back to Him as a guilt offering. Then send the ark on its way, but keep watching it. If it goes up the road to its homeland, toward Beth-shemesh, it is the LORD who has brought on us this great disaster. But if it does not, then we will know that it was not His hand that punished us and that it happened by chance.”
And the cows headed straight up the road toward Beth-shemesh, staying on that one highway and lowing as they went, never straying to the right or to the left. The rulers of the Philistines followed behind them to the border of Beth-shemesh.
Then some of the men of Beth-shemesh look inside the ark of the LORD, and God strikes down seventy of them. The town mourns.
1 SAMUEL 6:19 · BSB
But God struck down some of the people of Beth-shemesh because they looked inside the ark of the LORD. He struck down seventy men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck them with a great slaughter.
The ark stays at Kiriath-jearim for twenty years. All Israel mourns, and longs for the LORD.
1 SAMUEL 7:2 · BSB
And from that day a long time passed, twenty years in all, as the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim. And all the house of Israel mournfully sought the LORD.
If you’re really coming back to the LORD with all your heart, get rid of the other gods. Serve him only, and he will rescue you.
1 SAMUEL 7:3 · BSB
Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and Ashtoreths among you, prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only. And He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”
The Philistines attack while Samuel is still offering the sacrifice. The LORD thunders at them so loud they panic and run.
1 SAMUEL 7:10 · BSB
As the Philistines drew near to fight against Israel, Samuel was offering up the burnt offering. But that day the LORD thundered loudly against the Philistines and threw them into such confusion that they fled before Israel.
Samuel is old, and his sons take bribes. The elders therefore went to Ramah and formally requested a king. Like every other nation has.
1 SAMUEL 8:3–5 · BSB
But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice. So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. “Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”
What a king will do, since you asked:
1. Take your sons for his chariots.
2. Take your daughters to cook for him.
3. Take your best fields for his officials.
4. Take a tenth of your flocks.
5. Make you his slaves.
1 SAMUEL 8:11–17 · BSB
He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to serve his own chariots and horses, and to run in front of his chariots. He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and grape harvest and give it to his officials and servants. And he will take your menservants and maidservants and your best cattle and donkeys and put them to his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.
No. We want a king. Everyone else has one. Someone to lead us and fight our battles.
1 SAMUEL 8:19–20 · BSB
Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to judge us, to go out before us, and to fight our battles.”
Okay so Dad’s donkeys wandered off. Three days looking. Nothing. Thinking we head home before he stops worrying about the donkeys and starts worrying about us.
1 SAMUEL 9:3–5 · BSB
One day the donkeys of Saul’s father Kish wandered off, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants and go look for the donkeys.” So Saul passed through the hill country of Ephraim and then through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find the donkeys. He and the servant went through the region of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they went through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not find them. When they reached the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, “Come, let us go back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us.”
To be fair, asking the man of God in that town was my idea. Everything he says comes true. You said we had nothing to give him. I had a quarter shekel of silver on me. Just saying.
1 SAMUEL 9:6–8 · BSB
“Look,” said the servant, “in this city there is a man of God who is highly respected; everything he says surely comes to pass. Let us go there now. Perhaps he will tell us which way to go.” “If we do go,” Saul replied, “what can we give the man? For the bread in our packs is gone, and there is no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?” The servant answered him again. “Look,” he said, “I have here in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way.”
Asked a man at the gate where the seer lived. Turns out he was the seer. Said the donkeys had turned up. Then said all Israel’s hopes are on me and my family. Sorry, what?
1 SAMUEL 9:18–20 · BSB
Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?” “I am the seer,” Samuel replied. “Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today. And when I send you off in the morning, I will tell you all that is in your heart. As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found. And upon whom is all the desire of Israel, if not upon you and all your father’s house?”
I said: me? I’m from Benjamin, the smallest tribe, and my clan’s the least in it. Why say that to me?
1 SAMUEL 9:21 · BSB
Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjamite from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of Benjamin? So why would you say such a thing to me?”
Early next morning, at the edge of town, Samuel sends the servant on ahead. Then he pours a flask of oil on Saul’s head and kisses him. The LORD has anointed you to lead his people, he tells him.
1 SAMUEL 9:27; 1 SAMUEL 10:1 · BSB
As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us, but you stay for a while, and I will reveal to you the word of God.” So the servant went on. Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?
Not Kish’s son out there prophesying with the prophets. Is Saul among the prophets now?
1 SAMUEL 10:10–11 · BSB
When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them. When all those who had formerly known Saul saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
My uncle asked what Samuel said. I told him Samuel said the donkeys had been found.
1 SAMUEL 10:14–16 · BSB
Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” “To look for the donkeys,” Saul replied. “When we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” “Tell me,” Saul’s uncle asked, “what did Samuel say to you?” And Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.
They cast lots for the king at Mizpah today. Benjamin. Then the clan of Matri. Then Saul son of Kish. And the man himself is nowhere to be found.
1 SAMUEL 10:20–21 · BSB
Thus Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected. Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the clan of Matri was selected. Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they looked for him, they could not find him.
Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There’s no one like him in all Israel.
1 SAMUEL 10:24 · BSB
Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
Nahash the Ammonite had us surrounded. We had seven days to find someone. Saul came. By the time the sun got hot the next day, we were free.
1 SAMUEL 11:1–3; 1 SAMUEL 11:11 · BSB
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you on one condition, that I may put out everyone’s right eye and bring reproach upon all Israel.” “Hold off for seven days,” replied the elders of Jabesh, “and let us send messengers throughout Israel. If there is no one to save us, we will surrender to you.” The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions, and during the morning watch they invaded the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them, until the hottest part of the day. And the survivors were so scattered that no two of them were left together.
People wanted the ones who’d looked down on me put to death. No. Nobody dies today. Today the LORD has rescued Israel.
1 SAMUEL 11:12–13 · BSB
Then the people said to Samuel, “Who said that Saul should not reign over us? Bring those men here so we can kill them!” But Saul ordered, “No one shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel.”
I’m old and grey. Whose ox have I taken? Who have I cheated? Who’s paid me to look the other way? Tell me.
1 SAMUEL 12:2–3 · BSB
Now here is the king walking before you, and I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.”
Wheat harvest, the dry season. Samuel prays, and that day it thunders and pours.
1 SAMUEL 12:17–18 · BSB
Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you have committed in the sight of the LORD by asking for a king.” So Samuel called to the LORD, and on that day the LORD sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
Fun fact: there isn’t one blacksmith in Israel. The Philistines made sure of it. We go to them to get our ploughs sharpened.
1 SAMUEL 13:19–21 · BSB
And no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews must not be allowed to make swords or spears.” Instead, all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles. The charge was a pim for sharpening a plowshare or mattock, a third of a shekel for sharpening a pitchfork or an axe, and a third of a shekel for repointing an oxgoad.
So on the day of the battle, only Saul and Jonathan had a sword.
1 SAMUEL 13:22 · BSB
So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hands of the troops with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.
Waited seven days for Samuel. He didn’t come, and my men were slipping away. So I offered the burnt offering myself. I felt I had to.
1 SAMUEL 13:8–12 · BSB
And Saul waited seven days for the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the troops began to desert Saul. So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him. “What have you done?” Samuel asked. And Saul replied, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me, and that you did not come at the appointed time and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will descend upon me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
That was foolish. You didn’t keep the LORD’s command. Your kingdom could have lasted for ever. Now it won’t. The LORD has already found a man after his own heart.
1 SAMUEL 13:13–14 · BSB
“You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that the LORD your God gave you; if you had, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”
One day Jonathan, Saul’s son, slips out with his armour-bearer towards the Philistine outpost across the pass. He doesn’t tell his father.
1 SAMUEL 14:1 · BSB
One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father.
Come on, let’s go over to their outpost. Maybe the LORD will act for us. Nothing stops the LORD saving, whether there are loads of us or just a few.
1 SAMUEL 14:6 · BSB
Jonathan said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the outpost of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will work on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
They spotted us and yelled that the Hebrews were crawling out of their holes. Come on up, they said, we’ll teach you a lesson. So up the cliff he went on hands and feet, me right behind.
1 SAMUEL 14:11–13 · BSB
So the two of them showed themselves to the outpost of the Philistines, who exclaimed, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they were hiding!” So the men of the outpost called out to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come on up, and we will teach you a lesson!” “Follow me,” Jonathan told his armor-bearer, “for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.” So Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer behind him. And the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and finished them off.
Then panic sweeps through the whole Philistine camp. The ground shakes. A panic sent from God.
1 SAMUEL 14:15 · BSB
Then panic struck the Philistines in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even those in the outposts and raiding parties trembled. Indeed, the earth quaked, and panic spread from God.
Saul said to the troops who were with him, “Call the roll and see who has left us.” And when they had called the roll, they saw that Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there.
Nobody eats before evening, before I’ve had my revenge on my enemies. Anyone who does is cursed.
1 SAMUEL 14:24 · BSB
Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.
So we fought all day on nothing. Went through a wood with honey on the ground. Nobody touched it.
1 SAMUEL 14:24–26 · BSB
Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food. Then all the troops entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground. And when they entered the forest and saw the flowing honey, not one of them put his hand to his mouth, because they feared the oath.
Nobody told me. Dipped the end of my stick in some honey, had a bit, and could see straight again. Imagine if the men had eaten.
1 SAMUEL 14:27–30 · BSB
Jonathan, however, had not heard that his father had bound the people with the oath. So he reached out the end of the staff in his hand, dipped it into the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened. Then one of the soldiers told him, “Your father bound the troops with a solemn oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food today.’ That is why the people are faint.” “My father has brought trouble to the land,” Jonathan replied. “Just look at how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. How much better it would have been if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder they took from their enemies! Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been much greater?”
Then the lots. It fell on Jonathan. He said he’d only tasted a bit of honey, and now he had to die? Saul swore he would.
1 SAMUEL 14:41–44 · BSB
So Saul said to the LORD, the God of Israel, “Why have You not answered Your servant this day? If the fault is with me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the fault is with the men of Israel, respond with Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were selected, but the people were cleared of the charge. Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was selected. “Tell me what you have done,” Saul commanded him. So Jonathan told him, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. And now I must die?” And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!”
Jonathan die? After what he did today? Nobody’s touching one hair on his head.
1 SAMUEL 14:45 · BSB
But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.
The LORD told me he regrets making Saul king. Saul has turned away from him and not done what he said. I cried out to him all night.
1 SAMUEL 15:10–11 · BSB
Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.
Apparently he’s been to Carmel to put up a monument to himself.
1 SAMUEL 15:12 · BSB
Early in the morning Samuel got up to confront Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel, and behold, he has set up a monument for himself and has turned and gone down to Gilgal.”
He greets me with “I’ve done what the LORD said!” Then what’s all this bleating of sheep I can hear?
1 SAMUEL 15:13–14 · BSB
When Samuel reached him, Saul said to him, “May the LORD bless you. I have carried out the LORD’s instructions.” But Samuel replied, “Then what is this bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?”
Okay, that was the troops. They spared the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God. The rest we destroyed.
1 SAMUEL 15:15 · BSB
Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but the rest we devoted to destruction.”
Obeying is better than sacrifice. Listening is better than the fat of rams.
1 SAMUEL 15:22 · BSB
But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.
As I turned to go, he grabbed my robe and it tore. So I told him: the LORD has torn the kingdom from you today, and given it to someone better than you.
1 SAMUEL 15:27–28 · BSB
As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.
I admitted it. I’d sinned. I was afraid of the people, so I did what they wanted. After that, all I asked was that you’d honour me in front of the elders.
1 SAMUEL 15:24; 1 SAMUEL 15:30 · BSB
Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have transgressed the LORD’s commandment and your instructions, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. “I have sinned,” Saul replied. “Please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God.”
Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”
Samuel turned up in Bethlehem today with a heifer. The elders went out to meet him literally shaking. Asked if it was a friendly visit. He says yes, he’s here to make a sacrifice, and he’s invited Jesse and his sons.
1 SAMUEL 16:2–5 · BSB
“How can I go?” Samuel asked. “Saul will hear of it and kill me!” The LORD answered, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you are to do. You are to anoint for Me the one I indicate.” So Samuel did what the LORD had said and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, “Do you come in peace?” “In peace,” he replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
Jesse’s eldest, Eliab, walks in, and Samuel is sure this is the one. The LORD tells him: don’t look at his looks or his height. People look at the outside. The LORD looks at the heart.
1 SAMUEL 16:6–7 · BSB
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Surely here before the LORD is His anointed.” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him; the LORD does not see as man does. For man sees the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”
Seven of Jesse’s sons, and the LORD hasn’t chosen any of them. Samuel asks if that’s all of them. There’s still the youngest, Jesse says. He’s out looking after the sheep.
1 SAMUEL 16:10–11 · BSB
Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel told him, “The LORD has not chosen any of these.” And Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is tending the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel replied. “For we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”
Samuel won’t let anyone sit down to eat until he’s fetched.
1 SAMUEL 16:11 · BSB
And Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied, “but he is tending the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel replied. “For we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”
He comes in, red-cheeked, with bright eyes. The LORD says: “That’s the one.” Samuel anoints David in front of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD comes powerfully on him from that day on.
So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him in. He was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for he is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Surely here before the LORD is His anointed.” The three older sons of Jesse had followed Saul into battle: The firstborn was Eliab, the second was Abinadab, and the third was Shammah.
The king’s been tormented by a troubling spirit ever since the Spirit of the LORD left him. We need a harp player. I know a guy: one of Jesse’s sons, in Bethlehem. Plays well, brave, good with words, and the LORD is with him.
1 SAMUEL 16:14–18 · BSB
Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a spirit of distress from the LORD began to torment him. Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely a spirit of distress from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command your servants here to seek out someone who can skillfully play the harp. Whenever the spirit of distress from God is upon you, he is to play it, and you will be well.” And Saul commanded his servants, “Find me someone who plays well, and bring him to me.” One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a mighty man of valor, a warrior, eloquent and handsome, and the LORD is with him.”
And whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would pick up his harp and play. Then Saul would find relief and feel better, and the spirit of distress would depart from him.
Day forty. Every morning and every evening this Philistine from Gath comes out and shouts for one of us to fight him. Nearly three metres tall. Nobody moves. Not one of us.
1 SAMUEL 17:4–11; 1 SAMUEL 17:16 · BSB
Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height, and he had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a bronze coat of mail weighing five thousand shekels, and he had armor of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. In addition, his shield bearer went before him. And Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and array yourselves for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me. If he is able to fight 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 work for us.” Then the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day! Give me a man to fight!” On hearing the words of the Philistine, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and greatly afraid. For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening to take his stand.
Dad’s sent me to the front with grain and bread for my brothers. And ten cheeses for their commander.
1 SAMUEL 17:17–18 · BSB
One day Jesse said to his son David, “Take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take also these ten portions of cheese to the commander of their unit. Check on the welfare of your brothers and bring back an assurance from them.
Who does this Philistine think he is, taunting the armies of the living God?
1 SAMUEL 17:26 · BSB
David asked the men who were standing with him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
You’re meant to be dropping off cheese. Who’s minding those few sheep, then? I know you. You only came down to watch the battle.
1 SAMUEL 17:28 · BSB
Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and wickedness of heart—you have come down to see the battle!”
Saul says I’m just a boy. When a lion or a bear takes one of my lambs, I go after it. The LORD who saved me from the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine.
1 SAMUEL 17:33–37 · BSB
But Saul replied, “You cannot go out against this Philistine to fight him. You are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” David replied, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, I went after it, struck it down, and delivered the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” David added, “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the LORD be with you.”
David added, “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the LORD be with you.”
Tried on Saul’s armour. Couldn’t even walk in it. Took five smooth stones from the stream instead.
1 SAMUEL 17:38–40 · BSB
Then Saul clothed David in his own tunic, put a bronze helmet on his head, and dressed him in armor. David strapped his sword over the tunic and tried to walk, but he was not accustomed to them. “I cannot walk in these,” David said to Saul. “I am not accustomed to them.” So David took them off. And David took his staff in his hand, selected five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag. And with his sling in hand, he approached the Philistine.
Am I a dog? You’re coming at me with sticks? Come here, kid. I’ll feed you to the birds.
1 SAMUEL 17:43–44 · BSB
“Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
You’ve got a sword and a spear. I’ve come in the name of the LORD of armies. This battle is the LORD’s.
1 SAMUEL 17:45–47 · BSB
But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”
One stone. It sank into his forehead and he went down on his face. David didn’t even have a sword. He used Goliath’s own.
1 SAMUEL 17:49–51 · BSB
Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword and pulled it from its sheath and killed him, and he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.
David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword and pulled it from its sheath and killed him, and he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran.
As Saul had watched David going out to confront the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “As surely as you live, O king,” Abner replied, “I do not know.”
I love him as myself. Gave him my robe, my sword, my bow and my belt.
1 SAMUEL 18:1–4 · BSB
After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself. And from that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.
Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands!
1 SAMUEL 18:6–7 · BSB
As the troops were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, and with tambourines and other instruments. And as the women danced, they sang out: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
And Saul was furious and resented this song. “They have ascribed tens of thousands to David,” he said, “but only thousands to me. What more can he have but the kingdom?”
Playing the harp for the king. He threw his spear at me. Twice.
1 SAMUEL 18:10–11 · BSB
The next day a spirit of distress sent from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house while David played the harp as usual. Now Saul was holding a spear, and he hurled it, thinking, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.
Dad told all of us to kill David. I asked him why he’d kill an innocent man for no reason. He actually listened. Swore David won’t die.
1 SAMUEL 19:1–6 · BSB
Then Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Jonathan delighted greatly in David, so he warned David, saying, “My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning; find a secret place and hide there. I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, so I can ask about you. And if I find out anything, I will tell you.” Then Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul and said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David; he has not sinned against you. In fact, his actions have been highly beneficial to you. He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?” Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and swore an oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be put to death.”
The king sent us to David’s house to bring him in. Michal, the king’s daughter, his wife, said he was ill. King said bring him in the bed then. Pulled back the covers: an idol with goat hair on its head. He’d gone out the window.
1 SAMUEL 19:11–16 · BSB
Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal warned him, “If you do not run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!” So Michal lowered David from the window, and he ran away and escaped. Then Michal took a household idol and laid it in the bed, placed some goat hair on its head, and covered it with a garment. When Saul sent the messengers to seize David, Michal said, “He is ill.” But Saul sent the messengers back to see David and told them, “Bring him up to me in his bed so I can kill him.” And when the messengers entered, there was the idol in the bed with the goat hair on its head.
My own daughter tricked me and let my enemy get away.
1 SAMUEL 19:17 · BSB
And Saul said to Michal, “Why did you deceive me like this? You sent my enemy away, and he has escaped!” Michal replied, “He said to me, ‘Help me get away, or I will kill you!’”
Saul came to Naioth after David, and the Spirit of God came on him too. Lay there prophesying all day and all night. Is Saul among the prophets? Apparently.
So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. But the Spirit of God came upon even Saul, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah. Then Saul stripped off his robes and also prophesied before Samuel. And he collapsed and lay naked all that day and night. That is why it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
Stood up for David at dinner. My father threw his spear at me.
1 SAMUEL 20:30–33 · BSB
Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Now send for him and bring him to me, for he must surely die!” “Why must he be put to death?” Jonathan replied. “What has he done?” Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David.
Said as long as David lives, I’ll never be king. Left the table and didn’t eat all day.
1 SAMUEL 20:31; 1 SAMUEL 20:34 · BSB
For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Now send for him and bring him to me, for he must surely die!” Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger and did not eat any food that second day of the month, for he was grieved by his father’s shameful treatment of David.
Next morning Jonathan goes out to the field with a young boy to fetch his arrows. He shoots one past the boy and shouts: isn’t the arrow beyond you? Hurry! The boy hasn’t a clue. David, hiding by the stone, knows exactly what it means. Go.
1 SAMUEL 20:35–39 · BSB
In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for the appointment with David, and a small boy was with him. He said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” And as the boy ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. When the boy reached the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called to him, “Isn’t the arrow beyond you?” Then Jonathan cried out, “Hurry! Make haste! Do not delay!” So the boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. But the boy did not know anything; only Jonathan and David knew the arrangement.
When the young man had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone, fell facedown, and bowed three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept together—though David wept more.
Go. Go safely. We’ve sworn it in the LORD’s name, you and me, and our kids after us, for ever.
1 SAMUEL 20:42 · BSB
And Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘May the LORD be a witness between you and me, and between your descendants and mine forever.’” Then David got up and departed, and Jonathan went back into the city.
David turned up here at Nob, where we priests live, on his own. That scared me. The only bread we had was the holy bread from the LORD’s table, so I gave him that. And Goliath’s sword.
1 SAMUEL 21:1–9 · BSB
Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And when Ahimelech met David, he trembled and asked him, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” “The king has given me a mission,” David replied. “He told me no one is to know about the mission on which I am sending you. And I have directed my young men to meet me at a certain place. Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.” “There is no common bread on hand,” the priest replied, “but there is some consecrated bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women.” David answered, “Women have indeed been kept from us, as is usual when I set out. And the bodies of the young men are holy even on common missions. How much more so today!” So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there but the Bread of the Presence, which had been removed from before the LORD and replaced with hot bread on the day it was taken away. Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD. And his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief shepherd for Saul. Then David asked Ahimelech, “Is there not a spear or sword on hand here? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s mission was urgent.” The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want, you may take it. For there is no other but this one here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
My servants have brought me David. He is scratching marks on the gate and drooling into his beard. Am I short of madmen? Kindly do not bring him into my house.
1 SAMUEL 21:10; 1 SAMUEL 21:13–15 · BSB
That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. So he changed his behavior before them and feigned madness in their hands; he scratched on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you can see that the man is insane! Why have you brought him to me? Am I in need of madmen, that you have brought this man to rave in my presence? Must this man come into my house?”
Now David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. So he changed his behavior before them and feigned madness in their hands; he scratched on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down his beard. So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.
Everyone in trouble, everyone in debt, everyone fed up ended up in the cave at Adullam with David. About four hundred of us.
1 SAMUEL 22:1–2 · BSB
So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. And all who were distressed or indebted or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
Saul hunts David every day. Jonathan finds him anyway, at Horesh, and helps him find his strength in God. Don’t be afraid, he tells him. My father won’t lay a hand on you. You’ll be king, and I’ll be second to you. Even my father knows it.
1 SAMUEL 23:14–17 · BSB
And David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God would not deliver David into his hand. While David was in Horesh in the Wilderness of Ziph, he saw that Saul had come out to take his life. And Saul’s son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and strengthened his hand in God, saying, “Do not be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. And you will be king over Israel, and I will be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows this is true.”
Saul on one side of the mountain, us on the other, and he’s closing in. Then a messenger: the Philistines are raiding. He just turns round and goes.
1 SAMUEL 23:26–28 · BSB
Saul was proceeding along one side of the mountain, and David and his men along the other side. Even though David was hurrying to get away, Saul and his men were closing in on David and his men to capture them. Then a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!” So Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why that place is called Sela-hammahlekoth.
You won’t believe what happened today. We were hiding at the back of a cave near En-gedi, and who walks in to relieve himself? Saul.
1 SAMUEL 24:3 · BSB
Soon Saul came to the sheepfolds along the road, where there was a cave, and he went in to relieve himself. And David and his men were hiding in the recesses of the cave.
Told David this was the day the LORD talked about. He crept up and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. That’s it. A corner.
1 SAMUEL 24:4 · BSB
So David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do with him as you wish.’” Then David crept up and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
When David had finished saying these things, Saul called back, “Is that your voice, David my son?” Then Saul wept aloud and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, though I have rewarded you with evil.
Samuel died. All Israel mourned for him, and they buried him at his home in Ramah.
1 SAMUEL 25:1 · BSB
When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.
David’s men asked our master Nabal for some food at shearing time. He screamed at them. Who is David? Who’s this son of Jesse? Honestly.
1 SAMUEL 25:10–14 · BSB
But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters. Why should I take my bread and water and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give them to these men whose origin I do not know?” So David’s men turned around and went back, and they relayed to him all these words. And David said to his men, “Strap on your swords!” So David and all his men strapped on their swords, and about four hundred men followed David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies. Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s young men informed Nabal’s wife Abigail, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed at them.
Those men were a wall round us, night and day, the whole time we were out with the sheep.
1 SAMUEL 25:15–16 · BSB
Yet these men were very good to us. When we were in the field, we were not harassed, and nothing of ours went missing the whole time we lived among them. They were a wall around us, both day and night, the whole time we were herding our sheep near them.
One of the shepherds tells Abigail, Nabal’s wife. She doesn’t wait. Bread, wine, five sheep ready to cook, two hundred fig cakes, all on donkeys, and she rides out to meet four hundred armed men. She doesn’t tell her husband.
1 SAMUEL 25:14; 1 SAMUEL 25:18–20 · BSB
Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s young men informed Nabal’s wife Abigail, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he screamed at them. Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys and said to her young men, “Go ahead of me. I will be right behind you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. As Abigail came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, she saw David and his men coming down toward her, and she met them.
I had sworn not one male of his would live till morning. Then she turned up. Thank the LORD for sending her, and thank God for her good sense. She stopped me killing people today.
1 SAMUEL 25:22; 1 SAMUEL 25:32–33 · BSB
May God punish David, and ever so severely, if I let one male belonging to Nabal survive until morning.” Then David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me this day! Blessed is your discernment, and blessed are you, because today you kept me from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand.
When Abigail tells Nabal what happened, his heart gives out and he goes still as a stone. About ten days later the LORD strikes him dead.
1 SAMUEL 25:37–38 · BSB
In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him, and he became like a stone. About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal dead.
On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has upheld my cause against the reproach of Nabal and has restrained His servant from evil. For the LORD has brought the wickedness of Nabal down upon his own head.” Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife. When his servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said, “David has sent us to take you as his wife.” She arose, bowed facedown, and said, “Here is your servant, ready to serve and to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.” So Abigail hurried and got on a donkey, and attended by five of her maidens, she followed David’s messengers and became his wife.
Went down into Saul’s camp at night with David. Saul asleep in the middle of it, his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Told David: say the word. One thrust and he’s pinned to the ground. I won’t need two.
1 SAMUEL 26:6–8 · BSB
And David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” “I will go with you,” answered Abishai. That night David and Abishai came to the troops, and Saul was lying there asleep in the inner circle of the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. And Abner and the troops were lying around him. Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand. Now, therefore, please let me thrust the spear through him into the ground with one stroke. I will not need to strike him twice!”
Took Saul’s spear and water jug and walked out. Nobody woke up.
1 SAMUEL 26:12 · BSB
So David took the spear and water jug by Saul’s head, and they departed. No one saw them or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up; they all remained asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.
So David took the spear and water jug by Saul’s head, and they departed. No one saw them or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up; they all remained asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.
Shouted across from the hilltop to Abner, Saul’s commander: aren’t you the best man in Israel? Why weren’t you guarding your king? Where’s his spear? And his water jug?
1 SAMUEL 26:14–16 · BSB
And David shouted to the troops and to Abner son of Ner, “Will you not answer me, Abner?” “Who are you who calls to the king?” Abner replied. So David said to Abner, “You are a man, aren’t you? And who in Israel is your equal? Why then did you not protect your lord the king when one of the people came to destroy him? This thing you have done is not good. As surely as the LORD lives, all of you deserve to die, since you did not protect your lord, the LORD’s anointed. Now look around. Where are the king’s spear and water jug that were by his head?”
I’ve done wrong. Come home, David, my son. I won’t hurt you again. I’ve been a fool.
1 SAMUEL 26:21 · BSB
Then Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. I will never harm you again, because today you considered my life precious. I have played the fool and have committed a grave error!”
One of these days Saul is going to get me. So we’ve gone over to the Philistines.
1 SAMUEL 27:1–2 · BSB
David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.” So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.
The Philistine army is camped at Shunem. Saul sees it and shakes with fear. He asks the LORD. No answer. Not by dreams, not by lots, not by prophets.
1 SAMUEL 28:4–6 · BSB
The Philistines gathered together and camped at Shunem, while Saul gathered all Israel and camped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and trembled violently. He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
Three men at my door at night asking me to call up a spirit. You know what Saul does to people like me, I said. Is this a trap?
1 SAMUEL 28:7–9 · BSB
Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.” “There is a medium at Endor,” his servants replied. So Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and he set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I name.” But the woman replied, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has killed the mediums and spiritists in the land. Why have you set a trap to get me killed?”
He asked for Samuel. When I saw Samuel, I screamed at him: you tricked me. You’re Saul!
1 SAMUEL 28:11–12 · BSB
“Whom shall I bring up for you?” the woman asked. “Bring up Samuel,” he replied. But when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out in a loud voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”
But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with Achish and told him, “Send that man back and let him return to the place you assigned him. He must not go down with us into battle only to become our adversary during the war. What better way for him to regain the favor of his master than with the heads of our men? Is this not the David about whom they sing in their dances: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”
I have found no fault in him since the day he arrived. To me he is as good as an angel of God. The commanders, however, will not have him.
1 SAMUEL 29:6–9 · BSB
So Achish summoned David and told him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been upright, and it seems right in my sight that you should march in and out with me in the army, because I have found no fault in you from the day you came to me until this day. But you are not good in the sight of the leaders. Therefore turn back now and go in peace, so that you will not do anything to displease the leaders of the Philistines.” “But what have I done?” David replied. “What have you found against your servant, from the day I came to you until today, to keep me from going along to fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” Achish replied, “I know that you are as pleasing in my sight as an angel of God. But the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.’
Got back to Ziklag and it’s been burned. Wives, sons, daughters, all taken. We cried until we couldn’t cry any more.
1 SAMUEL 30:1–4 · BSB
On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down. They had taken captive the women and all who were there, both young and old. They had not killed anyone, but had carried them off as they went on their way. When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep.
And David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of every man grieved for his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
My master left me in a field when I got sick. Three days with no food or water. David’s men found me and gave me fig cake and raisins.
1 SAMUEL 30:11–13 · BSB
Now his men found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David. They gave the man water to drink and food to eat— a piece of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins. So he ate and was revived, for he had not had any food or water for three days and three nights. Then David asked him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” “I am an Egyptian,” he replied, “the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me three days ago when I fell ill.
So David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing, young or old, son or daughter, or any of the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David brought everything back.
The two hundred who stayed behind at the brook don’t get a share. We did the fighting. They can take their wives and kids and go.
1 SAMUEL 30:21–22 · BSB
When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Brook of Besor, they came out to meet him and the troops with him. As David approached the men, he greeted them, but all the wicked and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered, except for each man’s wife and children. They may take them and go.”
No, brothers. Not with what the LORD has given us. The one who stays with the supplies gets the same as the one who goes into battle. Everyone shares alike.
1 SAMUEL 30:23–24 · BSB
But David said, “My brothers, you must not do this with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiders who came against us. Who will listen to your proposal? The share of the one who went to battle will match the share of the one who stayed with the supplies. They will share alike.”
Mount Gilboa. The Philistines kill Jonathan and his brothers. Saul is badly wounded by archers. His armour-bearer is too afraid to kill him, so Saul falls on his own sword. Saul and his three sons die together that day.
1 SAMUEL 31:1–6 · BSB
Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines hotly pursued Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.
They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan. When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there. Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
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The book of Ruth
