Through the Bible – Day 99

₁One day he said, “Samuel, I've rejected Saul, and I refuse to let him be king any longer. Stop feeling sad about him. Put some olive oil in a small container and go and visit a man named Jesse, who lives in Bethlehem. I've chosen one of his sons to be my king.”

₂Samuel answered, “If I do that, Saul will find out and have me killed.”

“Take a calf with you,” the LORD replied. “Tell everyone that you've come to offer it as a sacrifice to me, ₃then invite Jesse to the sacrifice. When I show you which one of his sons I have chosen, pour the olive oil on his head.”

₄Samuel did what the LORD told him and went to Bethlehem. The town leaders went to meet him, but they were terribly afraid and asked, “Is this a friendly visit?”

₅“Yes, it is!” Samuel answered. “I've come to offer a sacrifice to the LORD. Get yourselves ready to take part in the sacrifice and come with me.” Samuel also invited Jesse and his sons to come to the sacrifice, and he got them ready to take part.

₆When Jesse and his sons arrived, Samuel noticed Jesse's eldest son, Eliab. “He must be the one the LORD has chosen,” Samuel said to himself.

₇But the LORD told him, “Samuel, don't think Eliab is the one just because he's tall and handsome. He isn't the one I've chosen. People judge others by what they look like, but I judge people by what is in their hearts.”

₈Jesse told his son Abinadab to go over to Samuel, but Samuel said, “No, the LORD hasn't chosen him.”

₉Next, Jesse sent his son Shammah to him, and Samuel said, “The LORD hasn't chosen him either.”

₁₀Jesse sent all seven of his sons over to Samuel. Finally, Samuel said, “Jesse, the LORD hasn't chosen any of these young men. ₁₁Do you have any more sons?”

“Yes,” Jesse answered. “My youngest son David is out taking care of the sheep.”

“Send for him!” Samuel said. “We won't start the ceremony until he gets here.”

₁₂Jesse sent for David. He was a healthy, good-looking boy with a sparkle in his eyes. As soon as David came, the LORD told Samuel, “He's the one! Get up and pour the olive oil on his head.”

₁₃Samuel poured the oil on David's head while his brothers watched. At that moment, the Spirit of the LORD took control of David and stayed with him from then on.

Samuel returned home to Ramah.

₁₄The Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD was terrifying him. ₁₅“It's an evil spirit from God that's frightening you,” Saul's officials told him. ₁₆“Your Majesty, let us go and look for someone who is good at playing the harp. He can play for you whenever the evil spirit from God bothers you, and you'll feel better.”

₁₇“All right,” Saul answered. “Find me someone who is good at playing the harp and bring him here.”

₁₈“A man named Jesse who lives in Bethlehem has a son who can play the harp,” one official said. “He's a brave warrior, he's good-looking, he can speak well, and the LORD is with him.”

₁₉Saul sent a message to Jesse: “Tell your son David to leave your sheep and come here to me.”

₂₀Jesse loaded a donkey with bread and a goatskin full of wine, then he told David to take the donkey and a young goat to Saul. ₂₁David went to Saul and started working for him. Saul liked him so much that he put David in charge of carrying his weapons. ₂₂Not long after this, Saul sent another message to Jesse: “I really like David. Please let him stay with me.”

₂₃Whenever the evil spirit from God bothered Saul, David would play his harp. Saul would relax and feel better, and the evil spirit would go away.

₁The Philistines got ready for war and brought their troops together to attack the town of Socoh in Judah. They set up camp at Ephes-Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. _2-3King Saul and the Israelite army set up camp on a hill overlooking Elah Valley, and they got ready to fight the Philistine army that was on a hill on the other side of the valley.

₄The Philistine army had a hero named Goliath who was from the town of Gath and was about three metres tall. _5-6He wore a bronze helmet and had bronze armour to protect his chest and legs. The chest armour alone weighed about fifty-seven kilogrammes. He carried a bronze sword strapped on his back, ₇and his spear was so big that the iron spearhead alone weighed about seven kilogrammes. A soldier always walked in front of Goliath to carry his shield.

₈Goliath went out and shouted to the army of Israel:

₁₁Saul and his men heard what Goliath said, but they were so frightened of Goliath that they couldn't do a thing.

₁₂David's father Jesse was an old man, who belonged to the Ephrath clan and lived in Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons: _13-14the eldest was Eliab, the next was Abinadab, and Shammah was the third. The three of them had gone off to fight in Saul's army.

David was Jesse's youngest son. ₁₅He took care of his father's sheep, and he went back and forth between Bethlehem and Saul's camp.

₁₆Goliath came out and gave his challenge every morning and every evening for forty days.

₁₇One day, Jesse told David, “Hurry and take this sack of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers at the army camp. ₁₈And here are ten large chunks of cheese to take to their commanding officer. Find out how your brothers are doing and bring back something that shows that they're all right. ₁₉They're with Saul's army, fighting the Philistines in Elah Valley.”

₂₀David obeyed his father. He got up early the next morning and left someone else in charge of the sheep; then he loaded the supplies and started off. He reached the army camp just as the soldiers were taking their places and shouting the battle cry. ₂₁The army of Israel and the Philistine army stood there facing each other.

₂₂David left his things with the man in charge of supplies and ran up to the battle line to ask his brothers if they were well. ₂₃While David was talking with them, Goliath came out from the line of Philistines and started boasting as usual. David heard him.

₂₄When the Israelite soldiers saw Goliath, they were scared and ran off. ₂₅They said to each other, “Look how he keeps coming out to insult us. The king is offering a big reward to the man who kills Goliath. That man will even get to marry the king's daughter, and no one in his family will ever have to pay taxes again.”

₂₆David asked some soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and stopping him from insulting our people? Who does that worthless Philistine think he is? He's making fun of the army of the living God!”

₂₇The soldiers told David what the king would give the man who killed Goliath.

₂₈David's eldest brother Eliab heard him talking with the soldiers. Eliab was angry with him and said, “What are you doing here, anyway? Who's taking care of that little flock of sheep out in the desert? You spoilt brat! You came here just to watch the fighting, didn't you?”

₂₉“Now what have I done?” David answered. “Can't I even ask a question?” ₃₀Then he turned and asked another soldier the same thing he had asked the others, and he got the same answer.

₃₁Some soldiers overheard David talking, so they told Saul what David had said. Saul sent for David, and David came. ₃₂“Your Majesty,” he said, “this Philistine shouldn't turn us into cowards. I'll go out and fight him myself!”

₃₃“You don't have a chance against him,” Saul replied. “You're only a boy, and he's been a soldier all his life.”

₃₄But David told him:

“All right,” Saul answered, “go ahead and fight him. And I hope the LORD will help you.”

₃₈Saul had his own military clothes and armour put on David, and he gave David a bronze helmet to wear. ₃₉David strapped on a sword and tried to walk around, but he was not used to wearing those things.

“I can't move with all this stuff on,” David said. “I'm just not used to it.”

David took off the armour ₄₀and picked up his shepherd's stick. He went out to a stream and picked up five smooth stones and put them in his leather bag. Then with his sling in his hand, he went straight towards Goliath.

₄₁Goliath came towards David, walking behind the soldier who was carrying his shield. ₄₂When Goliath saw that David was just a healthy, good-looking boy, he made fun of him. ₄₃“Do you think I'm a dog?” Goliath asked. “Is that why you've come after me with a stick?” He cursed David in the name of the Philistine gods ₄₄and shouted, “Come on! When I'm finished with you, I'll feed you to the birds and wild animals!”

₄₅David answered:

₄₈When Goliath started forward, David ran towards him. ₄₉He put a stone in his sling and swung the sling around by its straps. When he let go of one strap, the stone flew out and hit Goliath on the forehead. It cracked his skull, and he fell face down on the ground. ₅₀David defeated Goliath with a sling and a stone. He killed him without even using a sword.

₅₁David ran over and pulled out Goliath's sword. Then he used it to cut off Goliath's head.

When the Philistines saw what had happened to their hero, they started running away. ₅₂But the soldiers of Israel and Judah let out a battle cry and went after them as far as Gath and Ekron. The bodies of the Philistines were scattered all along the road from Shaaraim to Gath and Ekron.

₅₃When the Israelite army returned from chasing the Philistines, they took what they wanted from the enemy camp. ₅₄David took Goliath's head to Jerusalem, but he kept Goliath's weapons in his own tent.

₁Jesus called together his twelve apostles and gave them complete power over all demons and diseases. ₂Then he sent them to tell about God's kingdom and to heal the sick. ₃He told them, “Don't take anything with you! Don't take a walking stick or a travelling bag or food or money or even a change of clothes. ₄When you are welcomed into a home, stay there until you leave that town. ₅If people won't welcome you, leave the town and shake the dust from your feet as a warning to them.”

₆The apostles left and went from village to village, telling the good news and healing people everywhere.

₇Herod the ruler heard about all that was happening, and he was worried. Some people were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life. ₈Others were saying that Elijah had come or that one of the prophets from long ago had come back to life. ₉But Herod said, “I had John's head cut off! Who is this I hear so much about?” Herod was eager to meet Jesus.

₁₀The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He then took them with him to the village of Bethsaida, where they could be alone. ₁₁But a lot of people found out about this and followed him. Jesus welcomed them. He spoke to them about God's kingdom and healed everyone who was sick.

₁₂Late in the afternoon the twelve apostles came to Jesus and said, “Send the crowd to the villages and farms around here. They need to find a place to stay and something to eat. There is nothing in this place. It is like a desert!”

₁₃Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.”

But they replied, “We have only five small loaves of bread and two fish. If we are going to feed all these people, we will have to go and buy food.” ₁₄There were about five thousand men in the crowd.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Tell the people to sit in groups of fifty.” ₁₅They did this, and all the people sat down. ₁₆Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up towards heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and fish and handed them to his disciples to give to the people.

₁₇Everyone ate all they wanted. What was left over filled twelve baskets.

₁₈When Jesus was alone praying, his disciples came to him, and he asked them, “What do people say about me?”

₁₉They answered, “Some say that you are John the Baptist or Elijah or a prophet from long ago who has come back to life.”

₂₀Jesus then asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah sent from God.”

₂₁Jesus strictly warned his disciples not to tell anyone about this.