DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SUNDAY MARCH 26:
DAILY BIBLE READING
1 Samuel 22-24New King James Version (NKJV)
David's Four Hundred Men
22 David therefore departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam.
So when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down
there to him. 2 And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt,
and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over
them. And there were about four hundred men with him.
3 Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of
Moab, "Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what
God will do for me." 4 So he brought them before the king of Moab, and they
dwelt with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.
5 Now the prophet Gad said to David, "Do not stay in the stronghold; depart,
and go to the land of Judah." So David departed and went into the forest of
Hereth.
Saul Murders the Priests
6 When Saul heard that David and the men who were with him had been
discovered-now Saul was staying in Gibeah under a tamarisk tree in Ramah,
with his spear in his hand, and all his servants standing about him- 7 then
Saul said to his servants who stood about him, "Hear now, you Benjamites!
Will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make
you all captains of thousands and captains of hundreds? 8 All of you have
conspired against me, and there is no one who reveals to me that my son has
made a covenant with the son of Jesse; and there is not one of you who is
sorry for me or reveals to me that my son has stirred up my servant against
me, to lie in wait, as it is this day."
9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, who was set over the servants of Saul, and
said, "I saw the son of Jesse going to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.
10 And he inquired of the Lord for him, gave him provisions, and gave him
the sword of Goliath the Philistine."
11 So the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all
his father's house, the priests who were in Nob. And they all came to the
king. 12 And Saul said, "Hear now, son of Ahitub!"
He answered, "Here I am, my lord."
13 Then Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and the
son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have
inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as
it is this day?"
14 So Ahimelech answered the king and said, "And who among all your servants
is as faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, who goes at your
bidding, and is honorable in your house? 15 Did I then begin to inquire of
God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king impute anything to his
servant, or to any in the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing
of all this, little or much."
16 And the king said, "You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your
father's house!" 17 Then the king said to the guards who stood about him,
"Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with
David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me." But
the servants of the king would not lift their hands to strike the priests of
the Lord. 18 And the king said to Doeg, "You turn and kill the priests!" So
Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests, and killed on that day
eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod. 19 Also Nob, the city of the
priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children
and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep-with the edge of the sword.
20 Now one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar,
escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had
killed the Lord's priests. 22 So David said to Abiathar, "I knew that day,
when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have
caused the death of all the persons of your father's house. 23 Stay with
me; do not fear. For he who seeks my life seeks your life, but with me you
shall be safe."
David Saves the City of Keilah
23 Then they told David, saying, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against
Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors."
2 Therefore David inquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go and attack these
Philistines?"
And the Lord said to David, "Go and attack the Philistines, and save
Keilah."
3 But David's men said to him, "Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much
more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?" 4 Then
David inquired of the Lord once again.
And the Lord answered him and said, "Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will
deliver the Philistines into your hand." 5 And David and his men went to
Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and
took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.
6 Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at
Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand.
7 And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, "God has
delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town
that has gates and bars." 8 Then Saul called all the people together for
war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.
9 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar
the priest, "Bring the ephod here." 10 Then David said, "O Lord God of
Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah
to destroy the city for my sake. 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me into
his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O Lord God of
Israel, I pray, tell Your servant."
And the Lord said, "He will come down."
12 Then David said, "Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the
hand of Saul?"
And the Lord said, "They will deliver you."
13 So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah
and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had
escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.
David in Wilderness Strongholds
14 And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the
mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did
not deliver him into his hand. 15 So David saw that Saul had come out to
seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest.[a] 16
Then Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David in the woods and
strengthened his hand in God. 17 And he said to him, "Do not fear, for the
hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel,
and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that." 18 So the two
of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and
Jonathan went to his own house.
19 Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "Is David not hiding
with us in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on
the south of Jeshimon? 20 Now therefore, O king, come down according to all
the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him
into the king's hand."
21 And Saul said, "Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion on
me. 22 Please go and find out for sure, and see the place where his hideout
is, and who has seen him there. For I am told he is very crafty. 23 See
therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides; and
come back to me with certainty, and I will go with you. And it shall be, if
he is in the land, that I will search for him throughout all the clans[b] of
Judah."
24 So they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. But David and his men were in
the Wilderness of Maon, in the plain on the south of Jeshimon. 25 When Saul
and his men went to seek him, they told David. Therefore he went down to the
rock, and stayed in the Wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard that, he
pursued David in the Wilderness of Maon. 26 Then Saul went on one side of
the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain. So
David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were encircling
David and his men to take them.
27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, "Hurry and come, for the
Philistines have invaded the land!" 28 Therefore Saul returned from
pursuing David, and went against the Philistines; so they called that place
the Rock of Escape.[c] 29 Then David went up from there and dwelt in
strongholds at En Gedi.
David Spares Saul
24 Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines,
that it was told him, saying, "Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En
Gedi." 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went
to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3 So he came to
the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to
attend to his needs. (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the
cave.) 4 Then the men of David said to him, "This is the day of which the
Lord said to you, 'Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that
you may do to him as it seems good to you.'" And David arose and secretly
cut off a corner of Saul's robe. 5 Now it happened afterward that David's
heart troubled him because he had cut Saul's robe. 6 And he said to his
men, "The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord's
anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of
the Lord." 7 So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not
allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on
his way.
8 David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul,
saying, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped
with his face to the earth, and bowed down. 9 And David said to Saul: "Why
do you listen to the words of men who say, 'Indeed David seeks your harm'?
10 Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into
my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared
you, and I said, 'I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is
the Lord's anointed.' 11 Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of
your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did
not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my
hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my life to take it.
12 Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you.
But my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients
says, 'Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.' But my hand shall not be
against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you
pursue? A dead dog? A flea? 15 Therefore let the Lord be judge, and judge
between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your
hand."
16 So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that
Saul said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" And Saul lifted up his voice
and wept. 17 Then he said to David: "You are more righteous than I; for you
have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. 18 And
you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when the Lord
delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. 19 For if a man finds his
enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore may the Lord reward you
with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now I know indeed
that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be
established in your hand. 21 Therefore swear now to me by the Lord that you
will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my
name from my father's house."
22 So David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up
to the stronghold.
Footnotes:
a.1 Samuel 23:15 Or in Horesh
b.1 Samuel 23:23 Literally thousands
c.1 Samuel 23:28 Hebrew Sela Hammahlekoth
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James VersionR. Copyright C 1982 by Thomas
Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
