Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from 1 Samuel chapter
17 through 19. Chapter 17 Now the Philistines
gathered their armies together to battle, and
were gathered at Soco, which belongs to Judah.
They encamped between Soco and Azekah in Ephes
-Demim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered
together, and they encamped in the valley of
Elah. and drew up in battle array against the
philistines the philistines stood on a mountain
on one side and israel stood on a mountain on
the other side with a valley between them and
a champion went out from the camp of the philistines
named goliath from gat whose height was six cubits
and a span he had a bronze helmet on his head
and he was armed with a coat of mail and the
weight of the coat was five thousand shekels
of bronze and he had bronze armor on his legs
and a bronze javelin between his shoulders now
the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam
And his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels,
and a shield -bearer went before him. Then he
stood and cried out to the armies of Israel and
said to them, Why have you come out to line up
for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the
servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves
and let him come down to me. If he is able to
fight with 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 service.
And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of
Israel this day. Give me a man that we may fight
together. When Saul and all Israel heard these
words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and
greatly afraid. Now David was the son of that
Ephratite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was
Jesse and who had eight sons. and the man who
was old advanced in years in the days of Saul.
The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow
Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons
who went to the battle were Eliab, the firstborn,
next to him Abinadab, and the third, Shammah.
David was the youngest, and the three oldest
followed Saul. But David occasionally went and
returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep
at Bethlehem. And a Philistine drew near and
presented himself forty days, morning and evening.
Then Jesse said to his son David, Take now for
your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and
these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at
the camp, and carry these ten cheeses to the
captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers
fare, and bring back news of them. Now Saul and
they and all the men of Israel were in the valley
of Elah fighting with the Philistines. So David
rose early in the morning, left the sheep with
a keeper, and took the things, and went as Jesse
had commanded him. And he came to the camp as
the army was going out to the fight, and shouting
for the battle. For Israel and the Philistines
had drawn up in battle array, army against army.
And David left his supplies in the hand of the
supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and
greeted his brothers. Then as he talked with
them, there was the champion, the Philistine
of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the
armies of the Philistines. And he spoke according
to the same words. So David heard them. And all
the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled
from him and were dreadfully afraid. So the men
of Israel said, Have you seen this man who has
come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel.
And it shall be that the man who kills him, the
king will enrich with great riches, will give
him his daughter and give his father's house
exemption from taxes in Israel. Then David spoke
to the men who stood by him, saying, What shall
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 defy the armies of the living God? And
the people answered him in this manner, saying,
So shall it be done for the man who kills him.
Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke
to the men, and Eliab's anger was aroused against
David. And he said, Why did you come down here?
And with whom have you left those few sheep in
the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence
of your heart, for you have come down to see
the battle. And David said, What have I done
now? Is there not a cause? Then he turned from
him toward another and said the same thing. And
these people answered him as the first ones did.
Now when the words which David spoke were heard,
they reported them to Saul, and he sent for him.
Then David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail
because of him. Your servant will go and fight
with this Philistine. And Saul said to David,
You are not able to go against this Philistine
to fight with him, for you are a youth, and he
a man of war from his youth. But David said to
Saul, Your servant used to keep his father's
sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took
a lamb out of the flock, I went after it and
struck it and delivered the lamb from its mouth.
And when it arose against me, I caught it by
its beard and struck and killed it. Your servant
has killed both lion and bear, and this uncircumcised
Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he
has defied the armies of the living God. Moreover,
David said, The Lord who delivered me from the
paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear,
he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.
And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with
you. So Saul clothed David with his armor, and
he put a bronze helmet on his head. He also clothed
them with a coat of mail. David fastened his
sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he
had not tested them. And David said to Saul,
I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested
them. So David took them off. Then he took his
staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five
smooth stones from the brook, and put them in
a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and
his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to
the Philistine. So the Philistine came, and began
drawing near to David. And the man who bore the
shield went before him. And when the Philistine
looked about and saw David, he disdained him,
for he was only a youth, ruddy and good -looking.
So the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog,
that you come to me with sticks? And the Philistine
cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine
said to David, Come to me, and I will give your
flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts
of the field. Then David said to the Philistine,
You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and
with 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 defied. This day the Lord
will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike
you and take your head from you. And this day
I will give the carcasses of the camp of the
Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild
beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know
that there is a God in Israel. Then all this
assembly shall know that the Lord does not save
with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord's,
and he will give you into our hands. So it was
when the Philistine arose and came and drew near
to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward
the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put
his hand in his bag and took out a stone. And
he slung it and struck the Philistine in his
forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead,
and he fell on his face to the earth. So David
prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and
a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed
him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.
Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine,
took his sword and drew it out of its sheath,
and killed him, and cut off his head with it.
And when the Philistine saw that their champion
was dead, they fled. Now the men of Israel and
Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines
as far as the entrance of the valley and to the
gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines
fell along the road to Sherem, even as far as
Gath and Ekron. Then the children of Israel returned
from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered
their tents. And David took the head of the Philistine
and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor
in his tent. When Saul saw David going out against
the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander
of the army, Abner, whose son is this youth?
And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I
do not know. So the king said, Inquire whose
son this young man is. Then as David returned
from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took
him and brought him before Saul with the head
of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said
to him, Whose son are you, young man? So David
answered, I am the son of your servant Jesse
the Bethlehemite. Now when he had finished speaking
to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the
soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his
own soul. Saul took him that day and would not
let him go home to his father's house anymore.
Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because
he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan took
off the robe that was on him and gave it to David
with his armor, even to his sword and his bow
and his belt. So David went out wherever Saul
sent him and behaved wisely. And Saul set him
over the men of war, and he was accepted in the
sight of all the people and also in the sight
of Saul's servants. Now it had happened, as they
were coming home, when David was returning from
the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women
had come out of all the cities of Israel singing
and dancing to meet King Saul with tambourines,
with joy, and with musical instruments. So the
women sang as they danced and said, Saul has
slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
Then Saul was very angry. And the saying displeased
him, and he said, They have ascribed to David
ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only
thousands. Now what more can he have but the
kingdom? So Saul eyed David from that day forward.
And it happened on the next day that the distressing
spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied
inside the house. So David played music with
his hand, as at other times, but there was a
spear in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the spear,
and he said, I will pin David to the wall. But
David escaped his presence twice. Now Saul was
afraid of David, because the Lord was with him,
but had departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed
him from his presence, and made him his captain
over a thousand. And he went out and came in
before the people. And David behaved wisely in
all his ways, and the Lord was with him. Therefore
when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he
was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved
David, because he went out and came in before
them. Then Saul said to David, Here is my older
daughter Merab. I will give her to you as a wife.
Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord's battles.
For Saul thought, Let my hand not be against
him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against
him. So David said to Saul, Who am I, and what
is my life or my father's family in Israel, that
I should be son -in -law to the king? But it
happened at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter,
should have been given to David, that she was
given to Adriel, the Meholatite, as a wife. Now
Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David, and they
told Saul, and the thing pleased him. So Saul
said, I will give her to him, that she may be
a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines
may be against him. Therefore Saul said to David
a second time, You shall be my son -in -law today.
And Saul commanded his servants, Communicate
with David secretly and say, Look, the king has
delight in you, and all his servants love you.
Now therefore become the king's son -in -law.
So Saul's servants spoke those words in the hearing
of David. And David said, Does it seem to you
a light thing to be a king's son -in -law, seeing
I am a poor and lightly esteemed man? And the
servants of Saul said to him, saying, In this
manner David spoke. Then Saul said, Thus you
shall say to David, The king does not desire
any dowry but one hundred foreskins of the Philistines
to take vengeance on the king's enemies. But
Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of
the Philistines. So when his servants told David
these words, it pleased David well to become
the king's son -in -law. Now the days had not
expired. Therefore David arose and went, he and
his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines.
And David brought their foreskins, and they gave
them in full count to the king, that he might
become the king's son -in -law. Then Saul gave
him Michal his daughter as a wife. Thus Saul
saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and
that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him. And
Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul
became David's enemy continually. Then the princes
of the Philistines went out to war. And so it
was, whenever they went out, that David behaved
more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so
that his name became highly esteemed. Chapter
19 Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to
all his servants that they should kill David.
But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted greatly in
David. So Jonathan told David, saying, My father
Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore, please be
on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret
place and hide. And I will go out and stand beside
my father in the field where you are, and I will
speak with my father about you. Then what I observe
I will tell you. Thus Jonathan spoke well of
David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let
not the king sin against his servant, against
David, because he has not sinned against you,
and because his works have been very good toward
you. For he took his life in his hands and killed
the Philistine. And the Lord brought about a
great deliverance for all Israel. You saw it
and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent
blood to kill David without a cause? So Saul
heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore,
As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed. Then
Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him
all these things. So Jonathan brought David to
Saul, and he was in his presence as in times
past. And there was war again, and David went
out and fought with the Philistines, and struck
them with a mighty blow, and they fled from him.
Now the distressing spirit from the Lord came
upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear
in his hand, and David was playing music with
his hand. Then Saul sought to pin David to the
wall with the spear, but he slipped away from
Saul's presence, and he drove the spear into
the wall. So David fled and escaped that night.
Saul also sent messengers to David's house to
watch him and to kill him in the morning. And
Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, If you
do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will
be killed. So Michal led David down through a
window, and he went and fled and escaped. And
Michal took an image and laid it in the bed,
put a cover of goat's hair for his head, and
covered it with cloth. So when Saul sent messengers
to take David, she said, He is sick. Then Saul
sent the messengers back to see David, saying,
Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill
him. And when the messengers had come in, there
was the image in the bed, with a cover of goat's
hair for his head. Then Saul said to Michal,
Why have you deceived me like this, and sent
my enemy away so that he has escaped? And Michal
answered Saul, He said to me, Let me go, why
should I kill you? So David fled and escaped,
and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all
that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel
went and stayed in Naid. Now it was told Saul,
saying, Take note, David is at Naid in Ramah.
Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and
when they saw the group of prophets prophesying,
and Samuel standing as leader over them, the
Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul,
and they also prophesied. And when Saul was told,
he sent other messengers, and they prophesied
likewise. Then Saul sent messengers again the
third time, and they prophesied also. Then he
also went to Ramah, and came to the great well
that is at Seqo. So he asked and said, Where
are Samuel and David? And someone said, Indeed,
they are at Naid in Ramah. So he went there to
Naid in Ramah. Then the Spirit of God was upon
him also. And he went on and prophesied until
he came to Naid in Ramah. And he also stripped
off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel
in like manner, and laid down naked all that
day and all that night. Therefore they say, Is
Saul also among the prophets? I hope you enjoyed
today's reading as much as I did and I look forward
to seeing you again tomorrow to continue on our
journey. God bless you and have a great day.