Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / February 14 - 1 Samuel 30

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February 14 - 1 Samuel 30 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends. It's shown here.
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  It is Wednesday. It is the 14th of February.
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  Happy Valentine's Day friend. I hope you go and just great if
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  today is the day that you can celebrate love in your life then
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  go and tell that special someone how special they are.
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  And I pray that this is a truly wonderful celebration.
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  And I'm also very cognizant that this is also a day that reminds
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  people of loss. And if that's you, friend, I am
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  sorry. And I hope that today you can
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  find some peace. And we will at the beginning of
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  this day, or the middle, or the end, wherever it is for you.
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  We will rest in the God that brings us peace, who brings us
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  love. And we will listen to a romantic
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  story about David destroying the Amalekites.
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  No, not much romance here, I'm afraid.
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  Yeah, No, thank you, Old Testament.
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  Thank you, First Samuel. This is another one of those
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  warring chapters. But we draw closer to the end as
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  we see God setting up this character of David.
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  No, not a perfect character. But in this journey, we see him
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  setting up what he wants us to know about him as king.
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  So all that's left is for us to read it and tease out the
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  mysteries therein. So, friends, join me.
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  Let us read together. First Samuel, chapter 30.
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  Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their
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  town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid
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  into the Negev and Ziklag. They had crushed Ziklag and
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  burned it to the ground. They had carried off the women
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  and children and everyone else, but without killing anyone.
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  When David and his men saw the ruins and realised what had
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  happened to their families, they wept until they could weep no
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  more. David's two wives, a high noon
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  from Jezreel, and Abigail, the widow of Nabel from Carmel, were
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  among those captured. David was now in great danger
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  because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons
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  and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him.
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  But David found strength in the Lord his God.
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  Then he said to Abiathar the priest.
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  Bring me the Ephod, Sir Abiathar brought it.
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  Then David asked the Lord, should I chase after this band
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  of Raiders? Will I catch them?
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  And the Lord told him, yes, go after them.
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  You will surely recover everything that was taken from
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  you. So David and his 600 men set out
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  and they came to the Brook Besar.
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  But 200 of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so
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  David continued the pursuit with 400 men.
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  Along the way. They found an Egyptian man in a
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  field and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat
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  and bought it to drink. They also gave him part of a fig
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  cake and two clusters of raisins, for he hadn't had
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  anything to eat or drink for three days and nights.
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  Before long his strength returned.
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  To whom do you belong and where do you come from?
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  David asked him. I am an Egyptian, the slave of
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  an Amalekite, he replied. My master abandoned me three
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  days ago because I was sick. We were on our way back from
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  raiding the Karratha sites in the Negev, the territory of
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  Judah and the land of Caleb, and we just burned Ziklag.
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  Will you lead me to this band of Raiders?
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  David asked. The young man replied.
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  If you take an oath in God's name that you will not kill me
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  or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them.
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  So he led David to them, and they found the Amalekites spread
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  out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with
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  joy. Because of the vast amount of
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  plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of
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  Judah, David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered
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  them throughout that night and the entire next day until
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  evening. None of the Amalekites escaped
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  except 400 young men who fled on camels.
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  David got back everything the Amalekites had taken and he
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  rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing, small or
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  great son or daughter, nor anything else that had been
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  taken. David brought everything back.
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  He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove
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  them ahead of the other livestock.
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  This plunder belongs to David, they said.
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  Then David returned to the Brook Besor and met up with the 200
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  men who have been left behind because they were too exhausted
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  to go with him. They went out to meet David and
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  his men, and David greeted them joyfully.
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  But some evil troublemakers among David's men said they
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  didn't go with us, so they can't have any of the plunder we
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  recovered. Give them their wives and
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  children and tell them to be gone.
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  But David said no. My brothers, don't be selfish
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  with what the Lord has given us. He has kept us safe and helped
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  us defeat the band of Raiders that attacked us Who will listen
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  when you talk like this. We share and share alike those
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  who go to battle and those who guard the equipment.
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  From then on, David made this a decree and regulation for Israel
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  and it is still followed today. When he arrived at Ziklag, David
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  sent part of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his
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  friends. Here is a present for you, taken
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  from the Lord's enemies, he said.
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  The gifts were sent to the people of the following towns.
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  David had visited Bethel, Ramoth, Negev, Jatta, Arawa,
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  Sidmouth, Esta, Moa, Rattle, and the towns of the Jeremy Elites,
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  the towns of the Kenites. Horma Bore, Ashan, Athach,
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  Hebron, and all the other places David and his men had visited
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  Jesus. You are our saviour.
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  You are a God of love. That is your very identity and
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  Lord, you know that so often we find it hard to love beyond
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  ourselves or our immediate circle.
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  I pray today that you enlarge our hearts.
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  That your love would fill our hearts to overflowing.
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  That our hearts could only but grow so that your love can
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  continue to find place in them, and so that we can love those
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  around us not with our finite human love, but with your
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  endless gift of love. Hope that be the defining way
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  that people know us. Help that be our posture as we
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  approach others today. With your love.
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  With your heart of love that we wouldn't be quick to judge.
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  That we wouldn't be quick to anger put That we would love and
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  forgive and draw close and Lord. Why we will never be able to
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  live up to your example of love. Your perfect example of love.
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  Gee, we could be closer. So please transform us to be
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  more like you. We pray all of this in the
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  loving name of Jesus. Ah man.