Through the Bible – Day 95

₃One day, Samuel told all the people of Israel, “If you really want to turn back to the LORD, then prove it. Get rid of your foreign idols, including the ones of the goddess Astarte. Turn to the LORD with all your heart and worship only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”

₄The people got rid of their idols of Baal and Astarte and began worshipping only the LORD.

₅Then Samuel said, “Tell everyone in Israel to meet together at Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD for you.”

₆The Israelites met together at Mizpah with Samuel as their leader. They drew water from the well and poured it out as an offering to the LORD. On that same day they went without eating to show their sorrow, and they confessed they had been unfaithful to the LORD.

₇When the Philistine rulers found out about the meeting at Mizpah, they sent an army there to attack the people of Israel.

The Israelites were afraid when they heard that the Philistines were coming. ₈“Don't stop praying!” they told Samuel. “Ask the LORD our God to rescue us.”

_9-10Samuel begged the LORD to rescue Israel, then he sacrificed a young lamb to the LORD. Samuel had not even finished offering the sacrifice when the Philistines started to attack. But the LORD answered his prayer and made thunder crash all around them. The Philistines panicked and ran away. ₁₁The men of Israel left Mizpah and went after them as far as the hillside below Beth-Car, killing every enemy soldier they caught.

_12-13The Philistines were so badly beaten that it was quite a while before they attacked Israel again. After the battle, Samuel set up a monument between Mizpah and the rocky cliffs. He named it “Help Monument” to remind Israel how much the LORD had helped them.

For as long as Samuel lived, the LORD helped Israel fight the Philistines. ₁₄The Israelites were even able to recapture their towns and territory between Ekron and Gath.

Israel was also at peace with the Amorites.

₁₅Samuel was a leader in Israel all his life. ₁₆Every year he would go around to the towns of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah where he served as judge for the people. ₁₇Then he would go back to his home in Ramah and do the same thing there. He also had an altar built for the LORD at Ramah.

_1-2Samuel had two sons. The elder one was Joel, and the younger one was Abijah. When Samuel was getting old, he let them be leaders at Beersheba. ₃But they were not like their father. They were dishonest and accepted bribes to give unfair decisions.

₄One day the nation's leaders came to Samuel at Ramah ₅and said, “You are an old man. You set a good example for your sons, but they haven't followed it. Now we want a king to be our leader, just like all the other nations. Choose one for us!”

₆Samuel was upset to hear the leaders say they wanted a king, so he prayed about it. ₇The LORD answered:

₁₀Samuel told the people who were asking for a king what the LORD had said:

_19-20The people would not listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want to be like other nations. We want a king to rule us and lead us in battle.”

₂₁Samuel listened to them and then told the LORD exactly what they had said. ₂₂“Do what they want,” the LORD answered. “Give them a king.”

Samuel told the people to go back to their homes.

₁Kish was a wealthy man who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. His father was Abiel, his grandfather was Zeror, his great-grandfather was Becorath, and his great-great-grandfather was Aphiah. ₂Kish had a son named Saul, who was better looking and more than a head taller than anyone else in all Israel.

₃Kish owned some donkeys, but they had run off. So he told Saul, “Take one of the servants and go and look for the donkeys.”

₄Saul and the servant went through the hill country of Ephraim and the territory of Shalishah, but they could not find the donkeys. Then they went through the territories of Shaalim and Benjamin, but still there was no sign of the donkeys. ₅Finally they came to the territory where the clan of Zuph lived. “Let's go back home,” Saul told his servant. “If we don't go back soon, my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us!”

₆“Wait!” the servant answered. “There's a man of God who lives in a town near here. He's amazing! Everything he says comes true. Let's talk to him. Perhaps he can tell us where to look.”

₇Saul said, “How can we talk to the prophet when I don't have anything to give him? We don't even have any bread left in our sacks. What can we give him?”

₈“I have a small piece of silver,” the servant answered. “We can give him that, and then he will tell us where to look for the donkeys.”

_9-10“Great!” Saul replied. “Let's go to the man who can see visions!” He said this because in those days God would answer questions by giving visions to prophets.

Saul and his servant went to the town where the prophet lived. ₁₁As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to get water, and the two men said to them, “We're looking for the man who can see visions. Is he in town?”

₁₂“Yes, he is,” they replied. “He's in town today because there's going to be a sacrifice and a sacred meal at the place of worship. In fact, he's just ahead of you. Hurry ₁₃and you should find him just inside the town gate. He's on his way out to the place of worship to eat with the invited guests. They can't start eating until he blesses the sacrifice. If you go now, you should find him.”

₁₄They went to the town, and just as they were going through the gate, Samuel was coming out on his way to the place of worship.

₁₅The day before Saul came, the LORD had told Samuel, ₁₆“I've seen how my people are suffering, and I've heard their call for help. About this time tomorrow I'll send you a man from the tribe of Benjamin, who will rescue my people from the Philistines. I want you to pour olive oil on his head to show that he will be their leader.”

₁₇Samuel looked at Saul, and the LORD told Samuel, “This is the man I told you about. He's the one who will rule Israel.”

₁₈Saul went over to Samuel in the gateway and said, “A man who can see visions lives here in town. Could you tell me the way to his house?”

₁₉“I am the one who sees visions!” Samuel answered. “Go on up to the place of worship. You will eat with me today, and in the morning I'll answer your questions. ₂₀Don't worry about your donkeys that ran off three days ago. They've already been found. Everything of value in Israel now belongs to you and your family.”

₂₁“Why are you telling me this?” Saul asked. “I'm from Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my clan is the least important in the tribe.”

₂₂Samuel took Saul and his servant into the dining room at the place of worship. About thirty people were there for the dinner, but Samuel gave Saul and his servant the places of honour. _23-24Then Samuel told the cook, “I gave you the best piece of meat and told you to set it aside. Bring it here now.”

The cook brought the meat over and set it down in front of Saul. “This is for you,” Samuel told him. “Go ahead and eat it. I had this piece saved especially for you, and I invited these guests to eat with you.”

After Saul and Samuel had finished eating, ₂₅they went down from the place of worship and back into town. A bed was set up for Saul on the flat roof of Samuel's house, ₂₆and Saul slept there.

About sunrise the next morning, Samuel called up to Saul on the roof, “Time to get up! I'll help you get started on your way.”

Saul got up. He and Samuel left together ₂₇and had almost reached the edge of town when Samuel stopped and said, “Tell your servant to go on. Stay here with me for a few minutes, and I'll tell you what God has told me.”

After the servant had gone,

₃₆A Pharisee invited Jesus to have dinner with him. So Jesus went to the Pharisee's home and got ready to eat.

₃₇When a sinful woman in that town found out that Jesus was there, she bought an expensive bottle of perfume. ₃₈Then she came and stood behind Jesus. She cried and started washing his feet with her tears and drying them with her hair. The woman kissed his feet and poured the perfume on them.

₃₉The Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this and said to himself, “If this man really were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him! He would know that she is a sinner.”

₄₀Jesus said to the Pharisee, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

“Teacher, what is it?” Simon replied.

₄₁Jesus told him, “Two people were in debt to a moneylender. One of them owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other owed him fifty. ₄₂Since neither of them could pay him back, the moneylender said that they didn't have to pay him anything. Which one of them will like him more?”

₄₃Simon answered, “I suppose it would be the one who had owed more and didn't have to pay it back.”

“You are right,” Jesus said.

₄₄He turned towards the woman and said to Simon, “Have you noticed this woman? When I came into your home, you didn't give me any water so I could wash my feet. But she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. ₄₅You didn't greet me with a kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. ₄₆You didn't even pour olive oil on my head, but she has poured expensive perfume on my feet. ₄₇So I tell you that all her sins are forgiven, and that is why she has shown great love. But anyone who has been forgiven for only a little will show only a little love.”

₄₈Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

₄₉Some other guests started saying to one another, “Who is this who dares to forgive sins?”

₅₀But Jesus told the woman, “Because of your faith, you are now saved. May God give you peace!”

₁Soon after this, Jesus was going through towns and villages, telling the good news about God's kingdom. His twelve apostles were with him, ₂and so were some women who had been healed of evil spirits and all sorts of diseases. One of the women was Mary Magdalene, who once had seven demons in her. ₃Joanna, Susanna, and many others had also used what they owned to help Jesus and his disciples. Joanna's husband Chuza was one of Herod's officials.