Text: 1 Samuel 24:1-22 King Saul continued to hunt David down; this drove David deeper into the hills of the wilderness. David and his men were hiding in a cave; Saul entered the same cave to relieve himself and David could have killed him, as his men had encouraged him to do so. But he[…]

Text: 1 Samuel 23:1-29 The Philistines attacked the town of Keilah; so David and his men went and rescued the city. When King Saul heard that David was there, Saul made plans to capture him there. God told David that the men of the city would not protect him from Saul. When David learnt of[…]

Text: 1 Samuel 22:1-23 King Saul was becoming more and more bitter and paranoid about anything that was God-ward. In his hunt for David (God’s next anointed king) Saul learned that David was assisted by priests (the servants of God’s worship). So Saul sent for those priests from the town of Nob. The priests tried[…]

Text: 1 Samuel 21:1-15 David is fleeing King Saul, who is trying to kill him. He arrived in the town of Nob, where many priests were staying (22:18). David was hungry and asked for bread. The only bread available was holy bread used in the tabernacle worship, the symbol of God’s provision, and only the[…]

Text: 1 Samuel 20:1-42 Because Jonathan loved David, he tried to protect him (David). In this Chapter, we read how Jonathan planned to learn of Saul’s unjust desire to kill David and then provide a signal for him to escape. King Saul was so hateful of David that he even tried to kill his own[…]

Text: 1 Samuel 19:1-24 In 18:29, we learn that David became Saul’s perpetual enemy, not because David was evil but because Saul was envious and hateful. Although Jonathan was always trying to defend David and prove to Saul that David was a faithful servant, the King raged against David. Saul even deployed spies to assist[…]

Text: 1 Samuel 18:1-30 After David’s defeat of Goliath, King Saul spoke to him. At that point Jonathan loved David as he loved himself. The two men made a covenant with each other, a relationship of union (please do not think it meant homosexuality), which included kindness to each other’s descendants (cf. 20:42). Jonathan gave[…]

Text: 1 Samuel 17:1-58 This is one of the well-loved stories of the Bible. David killed the giant Goliath. David did not fight with common weapons. He treated Goliath like he would have treated a bear which would attack his sheep. David used a sling-shot and a stone, hitting the giant in the forehead, and[…]

Text: 1 Samuel 16:1-23 Yahweh tells Samuel to anoint the next king, even though he will not begin to serve for several more years to come. Samuel goes to Bethlehem, takes a cow for a sacrifice, and invites Jesse. When Samuel saw Jesse’s firstborn son, Eliab, he was impressed by Eliab’s height and looks. But[…]

Text: 1 Samuel 15:1-35 Yahweh commands King Saul to destroy the Amalekites – people (men, women, children) and animals (cf. Ex.17:8-16). But Saul kept the King of Amalek and the best animals alive. Saul pleaded that they were for a sacrifice; but Samuel said to him that to obey God is better than sacrifice (v.22).[…]