Through the Bible – Day 103

₁Samuel died, and people from all over Israel gathered to mourn for him when he was buried at his home in Ramah. Meanwhile, David moved his camp to Paran Desert.

_2-3Nabal was a very rich man who lived in Maon. He owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats, which he kept at Carmel. His wife Abigail was sensible and beautiful, but he was from the Caleb clan and was rough and mean.

₄One day, Nabal was in Carmel, while his servants cut the wool from his sheep. David was in the desert when he heard about it. _5-6So he sent ten men to Carmel with this message for Nabal:

₉David's men went to Nabal and gave him David's message, then they waited for Nabal's answer.

₁₀This is what he said:

₁₂The men returned to their camp and told David everything Nabal had said.

₁₃“Everybody get your swords!” David ordered.

They all strapped on their swords. Two hundred men stayed behind to guard the camp, but the other four hundred followed David.

_14-16Meanwhile, one of Nabal's servants told Abigail:

₁₈Abigail quickly got together two hundred loaves of bread, two large clay jars of wine, the meat from five sheep, a large sack of roasted grain, a hundred handfuls of raisins, and two hundred handfuls of dried figs. She loaded all the food on donkeys ₁₉and told her servants, “Take this on ahead, and I'll catch up with you.” She didn't tell her husband Nabal what she was doing.

₂₀Abigail was riding her donkey on the path that led around the hillside, when suddenly she met David and his men heading straight at her.

₂₁David had just been saying, “I wasted my time guarding Nabal's things in the desert and keeping them from being stolen! I was good to him, and now he pays me back with insults. ₂₂I swear that by morning, there won't be a man or boy left from his family or his servants' families. I pray that God will punish me if I don't do it!”

₂₃Abigail quickly got off her donkey and bowed down in front of David. ₂₄Then she said:

₃₂David told her:

₃₅David accepted the food Abigail had brought. “Don't worry,” he said. “You can go home now. I'll do what you asked.”

₃₆Abigail went back home and found Nabal throwing a party fit for a king. He was very drunk and feeling good, so she didn't tell him anything that night. ₃₇But when he sobered up the next morning, Abigail told him everything that had happened. Nabal had a heart attack, and he lay in bed as still as a stone. ₃₈Ten days later, the LORD took his life.

_39-40David heard that Nabal had died. “I praise the LORD!” David said. “He has judged Nabal guilty for insulting me. The LORD kept me from doing anything wrong, and he made sure that Nabal hurt only himself with his own evil.”

Abigail was still at Carmel. So David sent messengers to ask her if she would marry him.

₄₁She bowed down and said, “I would willingly be David's slave and wash his servants' feet.”

₄₂Abigail quickly got ready and went back with David's messengers. She rode on her donkey, while five of her servant women walked beside her. She and David were married as soon as she arrived.

₄₃David had earlier married Ahinoam from the town of Jezreel, so both she and Abigail were now David's wives. ₄₄Meanwhile, Saul had arranged for Michal to marry Palti the son of Laish, who came from the town of Gallim.

₁Once again, some people from Ziph went to Gibeah to talk with Saul. “David has a hideout on Mount Hachilah near Jeshimon out in the desert,” they told him.

₂Saul took three thousand of Israel's best soldiers and went to look for David there in Ziph Desert. ₃Saul set up camp on Mount Hachilah, which is across the road from Jeshimon. But David was hiding out in the desert.

When David heard that Saul was following him, ₄he sent some spies to find out if it was true. ₅Then he sneaked up to Saul's camp. He noticed that Saul and his army commander Abner the son of Ner were sleeping in the middle of the camp, with soldiers sleeping all around them. ₆David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Joab's brother Abishai, “Which one of you will go with me into Saul's camp?”

“I will!” Abishai answered.

₇That same night, David and Abishai crept into the camp. Saul was sleeping, and his spear was stuck in the ground not far from his head. Abner and the soldiers were sound asleep all around him.

₈Abishai whispered, “This time God has let you get your hands on your enemy! I'll pin him to the ground with one thrust of his own spear.”

₉“Don't kill him!” David whispered back. “The LORD will punish anyone who kills his chosen king. ₁₀As surely as the LORD lives, the LORD will kill Saul, or Saul will die a natural death or be killed in battle. ₁₁But I pray that the LORD will keep me from harming his chosen king. Let's grab his spear and his water jar and get out of here!”

₁₂David took the spear and the water jar, then left the camp. None of Saul's soldiers knew what had happened or even woke up—the LORD had made all of them fall sound asleep. ₁₃David and Abishai crossed the valley and went to the top of the next hill, where they were at a safe distance. ₁₄“Abner!” David shouted towards Saul's army. “Can you hear me?”

Abner shouted back. “Who dares disturb the king?”

₁₅“Abner, what kind of a man are you?” David replied. “Aren't you supposed to be the best soldier in Israel? Then why didn't you protect your king? Anyone who went into your camp could have killed him tonight. ₁₆You're a complete failure! I swear by the living LORD that you and your men deserve to die for not protecting the LORD's chosen king. Look and see if you can find the king's spear and the water jar that were near his head.”

₁₇Saul could tell it was David's voice, and he called out, “David, my son! Is that you?”

“Yes it is, Your Majesty. ₁₈Why are you after me? Have I done something wrong, or have I committed a crime? ₁₉Please listen to what I have to say. If the LORD has turned you against me, perhaps a sacrifice will make him change his mind. But if some people have turned you against me, I hope the LORD will punish them! They have forced me to leave the land that belongs to the LORD and have told me to worship foreign gods. ₂₀Don't let me die in a land far away from the LORD. I'm no more important than a flea! Why should the king of Israel hunt me down as if I were a bird in the mountains?”

₂₁“David, you had the chance to kill me today. But you didn't. I was very wrong about you. It was a terrible mistake for me to try to kill you. I've acted like a fool, but I'll never try to harm you again. You're like a son to me, so please come back.”

₂₂“Your Majesty, here's your spear! Let one of your soldiers come and get it. ₂₃The LORD put you in my power today, but you are his chosen king and I wouldn't harm you. The LORD rewards people who are faithful and live right. ₂₄I saved your life today, and I pray that the LORD will protect me and keep me safe.”

₂₅“David, my son, I pray that the Lord will bless you and make you successful!”

Saul went back home. David also left,

₂₁But others said, “How could anyone with a demon in him say these things? No one like that could give sight to a blind person!”

₂₂That winter, Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Temple Festival. ₂₃One day he was walking in that part of the temple known as Solomon's Porch, ₂₄and the people gathered all around him. They said, “How long are you going to keep us guessing? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly!”

₂₅Jesus answered:

₃₁Once again the Jewish leaders picked up stones in order to kill Jesus. ₃₂But he said, “I have shown you many good things that my Father sent me to do. Which one are you going to stone me for?”

₃₃They answered, “We are not stoning you because of any good thing you did. We are stoning you because you did a terrible thing. You are just a man, and here you are claiming to be God!”

₃₄Jesus replied:

₃₉Again they wanted to arrest Jesus. But he escaped ₄₀and crossed the Jordan to the place where John had earlier been baptizing. While Jesus was there, ₄₁many people came to him. They were saying, “John didn't perform any miracles, but everything he said about Jesus is true.” ₄₂A lot of those people also put their faith in Jesus.