Through the Bible – Day 100

₅₅After King Saul had watched David go out to fight Goliath, Saul turned to the commander of his army and said, “Abner, who is that young man?”

“Your Majesty,” Abner answered, “I swear by your life that I don't know.”

₅₆“Then find out!” Saul told him.

₅₇When David came back from fighting Goliath, he was still carrying Goliath's head.

Abner took David to Saul, ₅₈and Saul asked, “Who are you?”

“I am David the son of Jesse, a loyal Israelite from Bethlehem.”

₁David and Saul finished talking, and soon David and Jonathan became best friends. Jonathan thought as much of David as he did of himself. ₂From that time on, Saul kept David in his service and would not let David go back to his own family.

₃Jonathan liked David so much that they promised they would always be loyal friends. ₄Jonathan took off the robe that he was wearing and gave it to David. He also gave him his military clothes, his sword, his bow and arrows, and his belt.

₅David was a success in everything that Saul sent him to do, and Saul made him a high officer in his army. That pleased everyone, including Saul's other officers.

₆David had killed Goliath, the battle was over, and the Israelite army set out for home. As the army went along, women came out of each Israelite town to welcome King Saul. They were singing happy songs and dancing to the music of tambourines and harps. ₇They sang:

₈This song made Saul very angry, and he thought, “They are saying that David has killed ten times more enemies than I ever did. Next they will want to make him king.” ₉Saul never again trusted David.

₁₀The next day the LORD let an evil spirit take control of Saul, and he began acting like a mad man inside his house. David came to play the harp for Saul as usual, but this time Saul had a spear in his hand. ₁₁Saul thought, “I'll pin David to the wall.” He threw the spear at David twice, but David dodged and got away both times.

₁₂Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was helping David and was no longer helping him. ₁₃Saul put David in charge of a thousand soldiers and sent him out to fight. ₁₄The LORD helped David, and he and his soldiers always won their battles. ₁₅This made Saul even more afraid of David. ₁₆But everyone else in Judah and Israel was loyal to David, because he led the army in battle.

₁₇One day, Saul told David, “If you'll be brave and fight the LORD's battles for me, I'll let you marry my eldest daughter Merab.” But Saul was really thinking, “I don't want to kill David myself, so I'll let the Philistines do it for me.”

₁₈David answered, “How could I possibly marry your daughter? I'm not very important, and neither is my family.”

₁₉But when the time came for David to marry Saul's daughter Merab, Saul told her to marry Adriel from the town of Meholah.

₂₀Saul had another daughter. Her name was Michal, and Saul found out that she was in love with David. This made Saul happy, ₂₁and he thought, “I'll tell David he can marry Michal, but I'll set it up so that the Philistines will kill him.” He told David, “I'm going to give you a second chance to marry one of my daughters.”

_22-23Saul ordered his officials to speak to David in private, so they went to David and said, “Look, the king likes you, and all his officials are loyal to you. Why not ask the king if you can marry his daughter Michal?”

“I'm not rich or famous enough to marry princess Michal!” David answered.

₂₄The officials went back to Saul and told him exactly what David had said. ₂₅Saul was hoping that the Philistines would kill David, and he told his officials to tell David, “The king doesn't want any silver or gold. He only wants to get even with his enemies. All you have to do is to bring back proof that you have killed a hundred Philistines!” ₂₆The officials told David, and David wanted to marry the princess.

King Saul had set a time limit, and before it ran out, ₂₇David and his men left and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought back the proof and showed it to Saul, so he could marry Michal. Saul agreed to let David marry Michal. ₂₈Saul knew that she loved David, and he also realized that the LORD was helping David. ₂₉But knowing those things made Saul even more afraid of David, and he was David's enemy for the rest of his life.

₃₀The Philistine rulers kept coming to fight Israel, but whenever David fought them, he won. He was famous because he won more battles against the Philistines than any of Saul's other officers.

₁One day, Saul told his son Jonathan and his officers to kill David. But Jonathan liked David a lot, _2-3and he warned David, “My father is trying to have you killed, so be very careful. Hide in a field tomorrow morning, and I'll bring him there. Then I'll talk to him about you, and if I find out anything, I'll let you know.”

_4-5The next morning, Jonathan reminded Saul about the many good things David had done for him. Then he said, “Why do you want to kill David? He hasn't done anything to you. He has served in your army and has always done what's best for you. He even risked his life to kill Goliath. The LORD helped Israel win a great victory that day, and it made you happy.”

₆Saul agreed and promised, “I swear by the living LORD that I won't have David killed!”

₇Jonathan called to David and told him what Saul had said. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in Saul's army just as he had done before.

₈The next time there was a war with the Philistines, David fought hard and forced them to retreat.

_9-10One night, David was in Saul's home, playing the harp for him. Saul was sitting there, holding a spear, when an evil spirit from the LORD took control of him. Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but David dodged, and it stuck in the wall. David ran out of the house and escaped.

₁₁Saul sent guards to watch David's house all night and then to kill him in the morning.

Michal, David's wife, told him, “If you don't escape tonight, they'll kill you tomorrow!” ₁₂She helped David go through a window and climb down to the ground. As David ran off, ₁₃Michal put a statue in his bed. She put goat hair on its head and dressed it in some of David's clothes.

₁₄The next morning, Saul sent guards to arrest David. But Michal told them, “David is sick.”

₁₅Saul sent the guards back and told them, “Get David out of his bed and bring him to me, so I can have him killed.”

₁₆When the guards went in, all they found in the bed was the statue with the goat hair on its head.

₁₇“Why have you tricked me this way?” Saul asked Michal. “You helped my enemy get away!”

She answered, “He said he would kill me if I didn't help him escape!”

₁₈Meanwhile, David went to Samuel at Ramah and told him what Saul had done. Then Samuel and David went to Prophets Village and stayed there.

₁₉Someone told Saul, “David is at Prophets Village in Ramah.”

₂₀Saul sent a few soldiers to bring David back. They went to Ramah and found Samuel in charge of a group of prophets who were all prophesying. Then the Spirit of God took control of the soldiers and they started prophesying too.

₂₁When Saul heard what had happened, he sent another group of soldiers, but they prophesied the same way. He sent a third group of soldiers, but the same thing happened to them. ₂₂Finally, Saul left for Ramah himself. He went as far as the deep pit at the town of Secu, and he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?”

“At Prophets Village in Ramah,” the people answered.

₂₃Saul left for Ramah. But as he walked along, the Spirit of God took control of him, and he started prophesying. Then, when he reached Prophets Village, ₂₄he stripped off his clothes and prophesied in front of Samuel. He dropped to the ground and lay there naked all day and night. That's how the saying started, “Is Saul now a prophet?”

₂₂Jesus told his disciples, “The nation's leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. They will reject him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life.”

₂₃Then Jesus said to all the people:

₂₈About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up on a mountain to pray. ₂₉While he was praying, his face changed, and his clothes became shining white. ₃₀Suddenly Moses and Elijah were there speaking with him. ₃₁They appeared in heavenly glory and talked about all that Jesus' death in Jerusalem would mean.

₃₂Peter and the other two disciples had been sound asleep. All at once they woke up and saw how glorious Jesus was. They also saw the two men who were with him.

₃₃Moses and Elijah were about to leave, when Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But Peter did not know what he was talking about.

₃₄While Peter was still speaking, a shadow from a cloud passed over them, and they were frightened as the cloud covered them. ₃₅From the cloud a voice spoke, “This is my chosen Son. Listen to what he says!”

₃₆After the voice had spoken, Peter, John, and James saw only Jesus. For some time they kept quiet and did not say anything about what they had seen.

₃₇The next day Jesus and his three disciples came down from the mountain and were met by a large crowd. ₃₈Just then someone in the crowd shouted, “Teacher, please do something for my son! He is my only child! ₃₉A demon often attacks him and makes him scream. It shakes him until he foams at the mouth, and it won't leave him until it has completely worn the boy out. ₄₀I begged your disciples to force out the demon, but they couldn't do it.”

₄₁Jesus said to them, “You people are stubborn and don't have any faith! How much longer must I be with you? Why do I have to put up with you?”

Then Jesus said to the man, “Bring your son to me.” ₄₂While the boy was being brought, the demon attacked him and made him shake all over. Jesus ordered the demon to stop. Then he healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ₄₃Everyone was amazed at God's great power.

While everyone was still amazed at what Jesus was doing, he said to his disciples, ₄₄“Pay close attention to what I am telling you! The Son of Man will be handed over to his enemies.” ₄₅But the disciples did not know what he meant. The meaning was hidden from them. They could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask.