Category: Scripture

The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah at Epes-dammim. Saul countered by gathering his Israelite troops near the valley of Elah. So the Philistines and Israelites faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.

Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 14 pounds. HI armor bearer waked ahead of him carrying his shield.

Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only servants of Saul. Chose one man to come down here and fight me. If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! Send me a man who will fight me!” When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken. (vv 1-11, NLT)

Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.

Some of Saul’s servants said to him, “A tormenting spirit from God is troubling you. Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again.”

“All right,” Saul said, “Find me someone who plays well, and bring him here.”

One of the servants said to Saul,:”One of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that, he is a brave warrior, a man of war, and he has good judgment. He is also a fine-looking young man, and the Lord is with him.”

So Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “send me your son David, the shepherd.” Jesse responded by sending David to Saul, along with a young goat, a donkey loaded with bread, and a wineskin full of wine.

So David went to Saul and began serving him. Saul loved him very much, and David became his armor bearer.

Then Saul sent word to Jesse asking, “Please let David remain in my service, for I am very pleased with him.”

And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp. Then Saul would feel better, and the tormenting spirit would go away. (vv. 14-23, NLT)

Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons tor be My king.”

But Samuel said, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

“Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me.” (vv 1-3, NLT)

When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

Bt the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge from outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (vv. 6-7, NLT)

In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, ” The Lord has not chosen any of these. Then Samuel asked, “Are these all your sons?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he is out in the fields watching sheep and goats.”

“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. ” Will will not sit down until he arrives.”

So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes.

And the Lord said, “This is the on; anoint him.”

So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah. (vv. 10-13, NLT)

Just as Saul was finishing with the burn offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet and welcome him, but Samuel said, “What is this that you have done?”

Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.”

“How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the commandment the Lord you God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established you kingdom over Israel forever. But now you kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of His people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” (vv 10-15, NLT)

Saul was thirty years old when he became king and he reigned for forty-two years. Saul selected 3,000 special troops from the army of Israel and sent the rest of them men home. He took 2,000 of the chosen men with him to Micmash and the hill country of Babel. The other 1,000 went with Saul’s son Jonathan to Gibeah in the land of Benjamin.

Soon after this, Jonathan attacked and defeated the garrison of Philistines at Geba. The news spread quickly among the Philistines. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land saying, “Hebrews, hear this! Rise up in revolt!” All of Israel heard the news that Saul had destroyed the Philistine garrison at Geba and that that and that the Philistines now hated the Israelites more than ever. So the entire Israelite army was summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

The Philistines mustered a mighty army of 3,000 chariots, 6,000 charioteers, and as many warriors as the grains of sand on the seashore! They camped at Micmash east ob Beth-aven. The men of Israel saw what a spot they were in; and because they were hard pressed by the enemy, they tried to hide in caves, thickets, rocks, holes and cisterns. Som of them crossed the Jordan River and escaped to the land of Gad and Gilead. (vv. 1-7, NLT)

So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people were terrified of the Lord and of Samuel. “Pray to the Lord your God for us or we will die!” they all said to Samuel. “For we have now added to our sins by asking for a king.”

“Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on Him. Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you-they are totally useless! The Lord will not abandon His people, because that would dishonor His great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you His very own people.”

“As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve Him. Think of all the wonderful things He has done for you. But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away.” (vv. 18-25, NLT)

Later Samuel called all the people of Israel to meet before the Lord at Mizpah. And he said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has declared: ‘I brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all the nations that were oppressing you. But though I have rescued you from your misery and distress, you have rejected your God today and have said, ‘No, we want a king instead!’ Not, therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by tribes and clans.”

So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel before the Lord, and and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the Lord, and the family of Matrites was chosen. And finally Saul son of Kish was chosen from among them. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared! So they asked the Lord, “Where is he?”

And the Lord replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.” So they found him and brought him our, and he stood a head and shoulders taller than anyone else.

Then Samuel said to all the people, “This is the man the Lord has chosen as your king. No one in all Israel is like him!”

And all the people shouted, “Long Live the king!” (vv. 17-24, NLT)

Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head and said, “I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, His special possession. When you leave me today, you will see two men outside Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah, on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father has stopped worrying about them and is now worried about you. He is asking, ‘Have you seen my son?'”

“When you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on the their way to worship God at Bethel. One will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and a third will b carrying a wineskin full of wine. They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept.”

“When you arrive at Gibeah of God where the garrison of the Philistines is located you will meet a band of prostitutes coming down from the place of worship. They will be playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre, and they will be prophesying. At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person. After these signs take place, do what must be done, for God is with you. Then go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I will join you there to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. You must wait for seven days until I arrive and give you further instructions.” (vv. 1-8, NLT)

Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him. But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.”

“Here I am,” Samuel replied.

“What did the Lord say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me! So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the Lord’s will,” Eli replied. “Let Him do what He thinks is best.”

As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle. And Samuel’s words went out to all the people of Israel. (vv. 15-21, NLT)

Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rate, and visions were quite uncommon.

One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God. Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!”

“Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it? ” He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I an. Did you call me?”

“I didn’t call you,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.” so he did.

Then the Lord called out again, “Samuel!” Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am.” Did you call me?”

“I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed”

Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. So the Lord called a third time, and once more, Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”

Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls you again, say, ‘Speak , Lord, your servant is listening.” So Samuel went back to bed.

And the Lord cam and called as before, “Samuel!”

And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”

Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. I am going to carry out all my threats agains Eli and his family, from beginning to end. I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them. So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices and offerings.” (vv. 1-14, NLT)