HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 640
1 S A MU EL 2 9
12 When the woman saw Sam u el, she
screamed, “You’ve deceived me! You are Saul!”
13 “Don’t be afraid!” the king told her. “What
do you see?”
“I see a god* coming up out of the earth,”
she said.
14 “What does he look like?” Saul asked.
“He is an old man wrapped in a robe,” she
replied. Saul realized it was Samuel, and he fell
to the ground before him.
15 “Why have you disturbed me by calling me
back?” Samuel asked Saul.
“Because I am in deep trouble,” Saul replied. “The Philistines are at war with me, and
God has left me and won’t reply by prophets or
dreams. So I have called for you to tell me what
to do.”
16 But Samuel replied, “Why ask me, since the
Lord has left you and has become your enemy?
17 The Lord has done just as he said he would.
He has torn the kingdom from you and given it to
your rival, David. 18 The Lord has done this to you
today because you refused to carry out his fierce
anger against the Amalekites. 19 What’s more, the
Lord will hand you and the army of Israel over to
the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons
will be here with me. The Lord will bring down
the entire army of Israel in defeat.”
20 Saul fell full length on the ground, paralyzed with fright because of Samuel’s words.
He was also faint with hunger, for he had eaten
nothing all day and all night.
21 When the woman saw how distraught he
was, she said, “Sir, I obeyed your command at
the risk of my life. 22 Now do what I say, and let
me give you a little something to eat so you can
regain your strength for the trip back.”
23 But Saul refused to eat anything. Then his
advisers joined the woman in urging him to eat,
so he finally yielded and got up from the ground
and sat on the couch.
24 The woman had been fattening a calf, so
she hurried out and killed it. She took some
flour, kneaded it into dough and baked unleavened bread. 25 She brought the meal to Saul
and his advisers, and they ate it. Then they went
out into the night.
The Philistines Reject David
The entire Philistine army now mobilized at Aphek, and the Israelites
camped at the spring in Jezreel. 2 As the Philistine rulers were leading out their troops in
groups of hundreds and thousands, David and
his men marched at the rear with King Achish.
3 But the Philistine commanders demanded,
“What are these Hebrews doing here?”
And Achish told them, “This is David, the
servant of King Saul of Israel. He’s been with
me for years, and I’ve never found a single fault
in him from the day he arrived until today.”
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4 But the Philistine commanders were angry.
“Send him back to the town you’ve given him!”
they demanded. “He can’t go into the battle with
us. What if he turns against us in battle and becomes our adversary? Is there any better way for
him to reconcile himself with his master than by
handing our heads over to him? 5 Isn’t this the
same David about whom the women of Israel
sing in their dances,
‘Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands’?”
6 So Achish finally summoned David and said
to him, “I swear by the Lord that you have been
a trustworthy ally. I think you should go with
me into battle, for I’ve never found a single flaw
in you from the day you arrived until today.
But the other Philistine rulers won’t hear of it.
7 Please don’t upset them, but go back quietly.”
8 “What have I done to deserve this treatment?” David demanded. “What have you ever
found in your servant, that I can’t go and fight
the enemies of my lord the king?”
9 But Achish insisted, “As far as I’m concerned, you’re as perfect as an angel of God.
But the Philistine commanders are afraid to
have you with them in the battle. 10 Now get up
early in the morning, and leave with your men
as soon as it gets light.”
11 So David and his men headed back into the
land of the Philistines, while the Philistine army
went on to Jezreel.
David Destroys the Amalekites
Three days later, when David and his
men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made
a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had
crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground.
2 They had carried off the women and children
and everyone else but without killing anyone.
3 When David and his men saw the ruins and
realized what had happened to their families,
4 they wept until they could weep no more.
5 David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and
Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, were
among those captured. 6 David was now in great
danger because all his men were very bitter
about losing their sons and daughters, and they
began to talk of stoning him. But David found
strength in the Lord his God.
7 Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring
me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought it. 8 Then
David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this
band of raiders? Will I catch them?”
And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them.
You will surely recover everything that was
taken from you!”
9 So David and his 600 men set out, and they
came to the brook Besor. 10 But 200 of the men
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28:13 Or gods.