16-1 Samuel 14:24 – 2 Samuel 2
Apr. 11, 2009
We will begin our study this week in the Book of 1 Samuel 14:24. We finished up last week with the victory over the Philistines led by Saul’s son Jonathan. This week we will start off with a foolish order that was given by King Saul during the battle. Saul made the people take an oath that they would not eat anything until evening, or until the battle was won, or they would die. Jonathan did not hear his father, and when he came to a forest there was honey on the ground. Jonathan was hungry and dipped his staff into the honeycomb and ate some honey. The men with him told him of his father’s order, but Jonathan replied to them that the order was foolish; they could have done much better in the battle if they were not so hungry. The men went to their enemies and killed and ate from the spoils, mainly the meat along with its blood. Saul was told of this and he had the people bring their sheep and oxen and eat without sinning against the Lord. Jonathan was brought to him and Saul would have killed him if the people did not intercede because of his great victory. Israel was in a constant state of warfare for all the days of Saul’s reign. The Lord spoke to Saul through Samuel the prophet. Samuel told Saul to go up against the Amalekites for what they had done to Israel. Saul gathered his men and went to fight. Saul defeated and destroyed the Amalekites that day, but did not obey the Lord. Saul spared the Kenites and took king Agag of the Amalekites prisoner. Israel killed the people, but kept everything of value as spoil. God had told them to completely destroy the Amalekites, and all that was theirs. Samuel came and rebuked Saul for their sin and told him in Chapter 15:22-23 “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.” Saul acknowledged his sin, but the damage was already done. He asked Samuel to come with him to worship the Lord. Samuel refused and as he turned to leave Saul grabbed him and tore his robe. Samuel turned to Saul and told him these words from Chapter 15:28-29 “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you.“Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” Samuel then went with Saul to worship the Lord. He asked Saul for King Agag. Agag came cheerfully, but Samuel took a sword and hacked King Agag to pieces before the Lord. He then left Saul and did not see him again until the day of his death. Samuel mourned Saul, and the Lord regretted making Saul king over Israel. In Chapter16 the Lord told Samuel not to grieve over Saul, but to go to Bethlehem to the house of Jesse, where He would select Israel’s next king. Samuel filled his horn with oil and went to Bethlehem. He called the house of Jesse to sacrifice. He had Jesse bring his sons before him to find out who the Lord had selected. The Lord told Samuel in Chapter 16:7 “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Jesse had seven of his sons come before Samuel, but none of them were chosen. Samuel asked Jesse if these were all his sons. Jesse replied that his youngest son was tending his sheep. Samuel had David brought before him, and the Lord said this was the one. Samuel poured the oil from his horn on David’s head to anoint him king. The Spirit of the Lord was mighty in David from that day forward. From the moment that David was anointed by Samuel the Spirit of the Lord left Saul. The Lord sent an evil spirit to torment Saul after this time. Saul’s servants looked for a musician to comfort him when the evil spirit was plaguing him. They had heard that the son of Jesse the Bethlehemite had a son who was skilled with the harp. David was brought to Saul to play for him. Saul loved David and had him become his armor bearer. Whenever the evil spirit from God would come on Saul, David would play for him. The Philistines were still against Israel. They gathered their armies to fight them in Socoh. The Philistines sent out a champion to meet Israel. Their champion was a giant from Gath named Goliath. Goliath was one of the Anakim Joshua had left alive that was recorded in Joshua 11:21-22 “Then Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab and from all the hill country of Judah and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.There were no Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod some remained.” God had Joshua leave these giants for this time so He could show the fearlessness, and devotion of His chosen king, David. Goliath was extremely strong and stood over nine feet tall. His weapons and armor were larger and heavier then any other mans. He challenged Israel to send out their champion to meet him in combat. This challenge went on for forty days. Israel was very afraid of Goliath. Jesse had his son David take food to his brothers who were on the battle line with Israel near Goliath. He wanted David to bring him news of his other sons. When David arrived he ran to the frontline to greet his brothers. When he was there Goliath came and gave his challenge again. The people were still afraid, but David said in Chapter 17:26 “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?” The people answered, but his brothers were angry with him for what he had asked. David was not afraid of Goliath and offered to go against him. Saul did not want to send a boy to meet a true warrior and tried to stop David. David told Saul that he had killed both a bear and a lion himself when they threatened his sheep. Saul then agreed and gave David his sword and armor to wear. David tried on the armor and could not move in it. He removed the armor and selected five smooth stones from the brook for his sling and went to face Goliath. When Goliath saw who Israel had sent to face him he laughed. The Philistine said to David in Chapter 17:43 “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” He cursed David by his gods and told him he would feed his flesh to the birds and beasts. David replied to Goliath in kind and told him in Chapter 17:45-47 “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted.“This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.” David then took one of the stones from his pouch and loaded his sling. He rushed towards Goliath and let the stone fly. It hit Goliath in his forehead and sank in deep. Goliath fell to the ground and David came to him and killed him with his own sword. David then cut off the head of the Philistine champion. When they saw their champion was dead they fled in fear from Israel. Israel chased the Philistines and defeated them and plundered their cities. David took the head of Goliath to Jerusalem but left his weapons in his tent. David took the head to the stronghold of the Jebusites to strike fear in them. The sword was preserved where David left it as a memorial to what the Lord had done. Saul did not remember David and asked who the boy was that defeated Goliath. Saul brought David to his house after this. Jonathan, Saul’s son struck up a friendship with David and the two became very close. Jonathan made a covenant with David the text says because he loved him as himself. David prospered in all he did, and his fame spread throughout the land. Saul became jealous of David when he overheard the women of the town singing “Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.” Saul feared for his kingdom and became suspicious of David from that day forward. The next day as Saul was raving from the evil spirit, he tried to kill David with his spear as he played his harp for him. David escaped from Saul and was made the commander of his army. Saul feared David because the Lord was now with him and wished to be rid of him. David continued to prosper in all he did and Israel loved him. Saul had promised his daughter to David, but withheld her so he would continue to fight the Philistines for him. Instead of David Saul gave his firstborn daughter to another man. Saul’s other daughter, Michal loved David, and Saul thought that giving her to him would be advantageous to him in his quest to destroy him. He told his servants to tell him he required the foreskins of one hundred Philistines for the hand of Michal. David did this and Saul gave him Michal to marry. Saul then became even more afraid of David. In Chapter 19 Saul told his son Jonathan and his servants to put David to death. Jonathan loved David and told him what his father had said. He told David to be on his guard and hide while he spoke to his father. Jonathan went to Saul and convinced him to spare David for what he had done for Israel. Things returned to what they had been when David lived with Saul and he was not seeking to harm him. There was another war with the Philistines and David again delivered Israel. The evil spirit from the Lord again came on Saul and he tried to pin David to his wall again with his spear. David again escaped and his wife Michal disguised a household idol with clothes as David and placed it in his bed. She deceived the messengers from her father into believing David was sick. This gave him enough time to escape to Ramah and the prophet Samuel. Every messenger that Saul sent to retrieve David was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied with Samuel and the other prophets. Saul himself came to Ramah and the Spirit of the Lord also entered him and he stripped naked and prophesied before Samuel all that day and night. David again escaped from Saul. In Chapter 20 Jonathan made a covenant with David that he would find out if his father still wanted him dead. Jonathan knew that David would someday rule Israel and he wanted safety for his house from his enemies. Their friendship was so great Jonathan could not go against David and help his father. Saul became angry with Jonathan and told him he would never be king as long as David lived. Jonathan had no desire to be king and went to David and told him what his father had said. They both wept and Jonathan returned to the city. David went with his men to the city of Nob and told the priest Ahimelech there he was on a mission for the king. He asked the priest for bread. The only bread the priest had was the bread from the Table of Presence that was reserved for the priests. He also asked Ahimelech for a sword and was given the sword of Goliath that was kept behind the ephod there. The priest gave David and his men what they wanted. Jesus used this story to rebuke the Pharisees in Matthew Chapter 12:1-7 “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat.But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions,how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?“Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent?“But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here.“But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.” A servant of Saul named Doeg was there in Nob and knew David was not on a mission for the king. David left Nob and fled Saul to king Achish of Gath. The king’s servants thought they recognized David as the man who had killed so many of their people. David faked insanity to deceive king Achish of his true identity and escaped to the cave of Adullam. David was joined by his brothers and many other men who were distressed and in debt. David left them in the stronghold in Moab for their safety. The prophet Gad told him to leave the stronghold and go back to the land of Judah. Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered and was told by Doeg that he had been seen in Nob and was given provisions and the sword of Goliath by Ahimelech the priest. Saul was very angry with the priests of Nob. Because of David’s deception to Ahimelech the priest of Nob, every priest and the entire city was destroyed by Saul. David then went to Keilah and delivered the city from the Philistines. Saul pursued David until they came to a place they called the Rock of Escape. Saul entered the cave where David and his men were hiding to relieve himself. David rose up and cut off a piece of Saul’s robe. Saul did not realize David was there in the cave and had spared his life. David left the cave and told his men in Chapter 24:7 “Far be it from me because of the Lord that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.” He persuaded his men with those words and allowed Saul to leave the cave unaware. David then went after Saul to show him what he had done. He said he would not seek to harm him. Saul realized what David had done and it is recorded in Chapter 24:16-21 “You are more righteous than I; for you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you.“You have declared today that you have done good to me, that the Lord delivered me into your hand and yet you did not kill me.“For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safely? May the Lord therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day.“Now, behold, I know that you will surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.“So now swear 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 household.” David swore to Saul and left for the stronghold at Engedi. In Chapter 25 Samuel the prophet died and was mourned by all of Israel. David then went down to the wilderness of Paran. While David and his men were there they spent the time protecting the flocks of a wealthy man of Maon named Nabal who had business in Carmel. David heard that Nabal was shearing his sheep in Carmel and sent men to him to collect something from him for their services. Nabal was ignorant to the messengers and said to them in Chapter 25:10-11 “Who is David? And who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are each breaking away from his master.“Shall I then take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men whose origin I do not know?” Nabal’s servants told his beautiful wife Abigail what her husband had done, and how David and his men had been very good to them in protecting their sheep. Abigail gathered together much wine and food and went to David to correct her husband’s mistake. When she came to David she asked him not to pay attention to her “worthless” husband and accept what she had for him. She asked for restraint for her house for what her husband had done. David was impressed with Abigail and blessed her and thanked her for restraining him from causing bloodshed that day. Abigail returned to Nabal and waited until morning when he was not drunk to tell him what she had done. When Nabal heard what his wife had done the text says that his heart died within him and he became as a stone. It is believed he had a stroke and became immobile for ten days until the Lord killed him. When David found out Nabal was dead he sent for Abigail to be his wife. David also took another woman of Jezreel as a wife. Saul had given his first wife Michal to another man. We see that even though David was a man after God’s own heart there were many things in his life that God could not have approved of. We have heard so far of multiple wives, deceptions, and idols in his home. Even with all of David’s faults God continued to be with him and he became the most beloved king in all of the history of Israel. In Chapter 28 David again spared Saul’s life when he could have taken it. Even though Saul pursued David to kill him, David refused to touch God’s anointed. David fled from Saul and lived with the Philistines for a year and four months. Saul was afraid of the Philistines, but he no longer had anyone to consult. God had left him and Samuel was dead. He had also removed all of the mediums and spiritists from the land. His servants knew of a woman of Endor who was a medium. Saul disguised himself and asked the witch to conjure up someone for him. She was afraid because she knew what Saul had done to the other mediums in the land. She wanted to know why he wanted to set a trap for her. Saul swore an oath to the woman in the name of the Lord that no harm would come to her if she did what he asked. She agreed and asked him who he wanted. Saul told her he wanted Samuel, and when she saw him she cried out and realized she had been deceived and the man was actually Saul. Saul told her not to be afraid and tell him what she saw. She said she saw a divine being coming up from the earth. Saul asked her his form and she replied that he looked like an old man wrapped in a robe. Saul knew it was Samuel and bowed down to him. Samuel asked Saul why he had disturbed him. Saul answered that he was distressed with the Philistines making war on them and that the Lord would no longer answer him so he called Samuel to tell him what to do. Samuel told Saul in Chapter 28:16-19 “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your adversary?“The Lord has done accordingly as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David.“As you did not obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day.“Moreover the Lord will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines; therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!” Samuel had predicted the death of Saul and his sons the next day. The Philistines did not trust David and sent him away. On their return David and his men came to Ziklag and found it in ruins. The Amalekites had come and destroyed the city. All of the women and children there were taken captive including David’s wives. David and the people wept over their lost families and the men were bitter with David over what had happened. They even considered stoning him. David strengthened himself in the Lord and asked for the ephod to consult the Lord’s will in this matter. The Lord told him to pursue the Amalekites and he left with four hundred men. David found the Amalekites and slaughtered them and retrieved all that was theirs. He also retrieved his wives. David divided the spoils to the men who went with him and also those who stayed behind. He also divided a portion of the spoil among the elders of Judah. In Chapter 31 the Philistines fought against Israel on Mount Gilboa. Many men of Israel were killed. The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons and killed Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. Saul was also severely wounded. He asked his armor bearer to kill him so he would not fall into enemy hands, but the man refused. Saul then fell on his own sword and died. The Philistines found Saul and his sons. They cut off Saul’s head and took his weapons and sent them throughout the land to prove their victory. They fastened his body to a wall in Beth-shan. Men of Israel that lived in Jabesh-Gilead came and retrieved the body of Saul and his sons. They burned the bodies in Jabesh and buried their bones under a tamarisk tree. The men then fasted seven days. Saul was only mourned by these men in Jabesh. He had died in disgrace. This ends the Book of 1 Samuel. We will now begin the Book of 2 Samuel. Chapter 1 begins with David finding out about the death of Saul and his sons. David and his men were staying in Ziklag after the defeat of the Amalekites. After the third day a man full of dust with torn clothes came and lied to David about the battle with Saul. He told David that he had killed Saul. David and his men tore their clothes and mourned the death of Saul and his sons. David also killed the messenger because he admitted that he had killed God’s anointed. David then went to Hebron and was anointed king over the land of Judah. Saul had another son named Ish-bosheth who Abner the son of Ner who was the commander of Saul’s army took to Mahanaim and had anointed king over Israel. Ish-bosheth reigned over Israel for two years. David reigned over Judah in Hebron for seven and one half years. A civil war broke out in Palestine between the people under the two kings. We will end our study here this week in 2 Samuel Chapter 2 and pick up next week in 2 Samuel 3 with more on the history of events during the reign of King David.