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David's Kindness Towards Saul - The Book of 1 Samuel · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And the men of David said unto him,
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  Speaker 1: Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold,
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  Speaker 1: I will deliver thine enemy into thy hand, that thou
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  Speaker 1: mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee.
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  Speaker 1: Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's
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  Speaker 1: robe privily. 1 Samuel 24.4 Thank you, Lord, for continually
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  Speaker 1: keeping my heart clean and pure. when others try to
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  Speaker 1: obtain advancement by deceitful means. I praise you that even
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  Speaker 1: when it seems like I've suffered another setback, like David,
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  Speaker 1: through my tears, my worship will remain a light in
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  Speaker 1: the midst of my darkness. I decree and declare that
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  Speaker 1: no matter what happens, my desire will always remain to
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  Speaker 1: dwell in your presence and to live in divine obedience
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  Speaker 1: to your plan for my life. And when I have
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  Speaker 1: the opportunity to get revenge and get even against my accusers,
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  Speaker 1: I will remain true to myself and declare that it
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  Speaker 1: is the Lord that rights the wrongs against me. Through
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  Speaker 1: my kindness, Lord, like Saul and David, you will reward
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  Speaker 1: my mercy and forgiveness because it restores peace on a
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  Speaker 1: troubled mind. Today is the day I declare that I
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  Speaker 1: am free from the wrongdoings of others, because love and
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  Speaker 1: forgiveness now floods my heart. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you for making prayer a priority in your day. To
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  Speaker 1: learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story.
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  Speaker 1: Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: David's kindness towards Saul. Previously, we learned about David's escape
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  Speaker 2: from Saul. David had to lie to priests, pretend to
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  Speaker 2: be insane to kings, and escape to caves in order
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  Speaker 2: to preserve his life. However, God continued to bless David. Outcasts, misfits,
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  Speaker 2: and debaters from Israel began to band around him. In
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  Speaker 2: the forests of Judah, David began to lead a community
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  Speaker 2: of over 300 mighty men. Meanwhile, Saul was hell-bent on
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  Speaker 2: killing all who aided David. Saul slaughtered nearly 100 priests
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  Speaker 2: and their families for helping David. In this story, David
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  Speaker 2: and Saul meet for the first time since David's escape.
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  Speaker 2: We will witness the madness of King Saul as he
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  Speaker 2: goes after David. Yet even in Saul's complete wickedness, David
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  Speaker 2: cannot help but feel connected to Saul like a son,
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  Speaker 2: as inspired by the book of 1 Samuel.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In our most recent episode,
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  Speaker 3: we followed David through his encounter with Elimelech into the
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  Speaker 3: Philistine country of Gath and into the caves of Adullam.
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  Speaker 3: God saw David through each step of the way, providing
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  Speaker 3: for him and keeping him safe from the hand of Saul.
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  Speaker 3: David began to gather a following of outcasts that would
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  Speaker 3: become his army. Saul, who was blinded to all reason
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  Speaker 3: by his hateful desire to kill David, continued to hunt
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  Speaker 3: him down and even slaughtered priests and their families who
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  Speaker 3: he believed had betrayed him when they helped David. Today
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  Speaker 3: we will continue to see Saul seething with rage, pursuing David.
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  Speaker 3: But even when given the chance to harm Saul, David
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  Speaker 3: shows the pureness and integrity of his heart and the
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  Speaker 3: tenderness that he would show toward his enemy. Let's now
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  Speaker 3: listen to God's Word today.
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  Speaker 2: David and his ragtag group of men continued to build
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  Speaker 2: their community in the forests of Judah. The social outcasts
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  Speaker 2: and misfits had found purpose in taking care of one another.
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  Speaker 2: They had been rejected by Israel, but accepted by David.
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  Speaker 2: Because of this, they followed him without question. One day
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  Speaker 2: the men were building homes in the shade among the trees.
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  Speaker 2: Some men lounged near the streams, while others wove baskets
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  Speaker 2: or hunted. Life was peaceful. Until David was given a
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  Speaker 2: message that the Philistines were robbing the village of Kilah.
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  Speaker 2: After months of hiding, David's heroic nature re-emerged within him.
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  Speaker 2: The innocent villagers were being tormented, raped, and robbed by
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  Speaker 2: the sworn enemies of Israel. Saul was so busy pursuing
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  Speaker 2: David that he had neglected to protect his people. David
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  Speaker 2: took his band of outcasts up against the armies of
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  Speaker 2: the Philistines. Together, they delivered a great blow and saved Calah.
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  Speaker 2: The men once rejected by Israel were now responsible for
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  Speaker 2: saving it. Once Calah was delivered, Saul came up to
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  Speaker 2: pursue David. David and his men fled back into the wilderness,
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  Speaker 2: back into exile. They returned to the caves among the mountains, dirty, tired,
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  Speaker 2: and dejected. The joy of saving the village was replaced
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  Speaker 2: with fear of being captured once again. David anguished over
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  Speaker 2: the loss of freedom for him and his men. In
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  Speaker 2: the darkness of the caves, David wept before God. David
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  Speaker 2: battled day after day with his own hopelessness and self-worth.
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  Speaker 2: At night he would sing songs to God, reminding his
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  Speaker 2: soul to maintain hope. David's poetry and music was honest, raw,
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  Speaker 2: and filled with praise. It would be these psalms that
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  Speaker 2: would bring hope to millions of people all throughout history.
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  Speaker 2: For that time, they comforted the storm in David's heart.
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  Speaker 2: The sweet songs of praise kept David's heart alive in him.
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  Speaker 2: and gave his men strength to continue. In the stillness
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  Speaker 2: of the evening, the men would lay down and listen
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  Speaker 2: to David's voice echo throughout the caves as he sung,
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  Speaker 2: The Lord is my light, whom shall I fear? He
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  Speaker 2: is my fortress, whom shall I fear? WHEN THE WICKED
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  Speaker 2: SEEK TO DEVOUR ME, IT IS THEY WHO WILL FALL.
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  Speaker 2: THOUGH ARMIES SEEK MY LIFE, MY HEART SHALL NOT FEAR.
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  Speaker 2: THOUGH WAR COMES TO ME, I WILL BE CONFIDENT. JUST
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  Speaker 2: ONE THING I ASK IS THAT I MAY DWELL IN
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  Speaker 2: THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD FOREVER. ALL THE DAYS OF
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  Speaker 2: MY LIFE I WANT TO GAZE UPON THE BEAUTY OF
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  Speaker 2: MY GOD. FOR IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE HE WILL
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  Speaker 2: KEEP ME SAFE. HE IS MY SHELTER FOREVER. As David
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  Speaker 2: sang in the night to the Lord, Saul stood in
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  Speaker 2: his own hatred. He became obsessed with killing David and
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  Speaker 2: raised an army of three thousand soldiers to rise up
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  Speaker 2: against David and his men. Saul's army camped outside the caves,
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  Speaker 2: not knowing that David and his men dwelled inside. Saul
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  Speaker 2: and his men set up camp, and Saul went into
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  Speaker 2: the entrance of the cave to rest and attend to
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  Speaker 2: his own needs. David's men whispered to him, saying, Now
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  Speaker 2: is your chance. God has given Saul to you on
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  Speaker 2: a silver platter. David approached Saul quietly. Saul was dozing off,
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  Speaker 2: an easy target. It would be nothing for David to
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  Speaker 2: cut his throat and be done with the madness. David
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  Speaker 2: stood over Saul in the darkness of the cave for
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  Speaker 2: a few moments. Quietly, David drew his blade and crouched
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  Speaker 2: down next to Saul. He grabbed a part of his robe,
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  Speaker 2: raised the blade... and cut off a small sliver of
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  Speaker 2: his robe. Then David left quietly and did not disturb
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  Speaker 2: Saul any further. David walked back into the cave where
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  Speaker 2: his men were waiting for him. Illuminated by the fire,
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  Speaker 2: small tears could be seen on David's cheeks. David looked
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  Speaker 2: at them and said, I shall not put my hand
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  Speaker 2: against God's anointed. I should not have laid even a
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  Speaker 2: finger on him. So David persuaded his men to not
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  Speaker 2: harm Saul. Back at the entrance of the cave, Saul
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  Speaker 2: rose up at dawn and went on his way to
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  Speaker 2: continue his search for David. David watched Saul pack up
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  Speaker 2: and begin his departure. His stomach was in knots and
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  Speaker 2: his hands were shaking. David had faced Goliath, a giant
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  Speaker 2: unlike anyone has ever seen, and slew him. David had
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  Speaker 2: faced enemies of great force and number. David had slain
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  Speaker 2: thousands of men with bravery. Yet now David stood at
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  Speaker 2: the entrance of the cave, about to do the bravest
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  Speaker 2: thing he had ever done. David arose after Saul and
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  Speaker 2: went out of the cave.' My king!' he shouted as
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  Speaker 2: Saul was mounting his horse. As Saul looked behind him,
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  Speaker 2: David bowed his face into the dirt. David beat his
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  Speaker 2: chest and spoke to Saul, saying,' Why do you listen
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  Speaker 2: to those who say I would mean you harm?' David
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  Speaker 2: then lifted up the piece of his robe he tore
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  Speaker 2: off and said,'' I was standing above you in the cave.
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  Speaker 2: I could have taken your life, but I dared not
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  Speaker 2: lay a hand on you. I have not sinned against you.
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  Speaker 2: I have been nothing but faithful. My life has been yours,
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  Speaker 2: and now you seek to end it.'' David stood to
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  Speaker 2: his feet, threw his sword onto the floor, and spread
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  Speaker 2: his arms.'' May God judge between you and me.'' He
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  Speaker 2: may punish you, but I will not. Saul stood there
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  Speaker 2: in silence. He looked at David, now grizzled and dirty
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  Speaker 2: from months of battle and exile. He was then reminded
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  Speaker 2: of the young boy who once tried on his armor.
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  Speaker 2: He remembered the young boy who would play music to
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  Speaker 2: calm his soul. Saul's hardened heart began to melt under
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  Speaker 2: the warm mercy of David. Saul dismounted his horse and
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  Speaker 2: walked towards David, trembling. His lips were quivering and his
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  Speaker 2: eyes began to water. The dark clouds over Saul's mind
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  Speaker 2: began to part and he began to weep. Is that you,
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  Speaker 2: my son David? Saul whispered. and the two of them
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  Speaker 2: embraced as Saul wept. Saul fell into David's arms as
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  Speaker 2: if he had been carrying a weight on his shoulders
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  Speaker 2: for years. David held Saul. God had rewarded David's mercy,
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  Speaker 2: for mercy restores peace to a weary mind. Saul held
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  Speaker 2: David's face and said, You are far more righteous than I, David.
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  Speaker 2: God put me in your hands, and you did not
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  Speaker 2: kill me. Saul's eyes met David's, and he said, You
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  Speaker 2: will be a better king than I. The entire kingdom
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  Speaker 2: of Israel will thrive under your care, though I do
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  Speaker 2: not deserve it. Please show me in my house kindness.
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  Speaker 2: So David made his promise to Saul. Saul left with
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  Speaker 2: his army back home, but David returned to the wilderness
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  Speaker 2: with his men. David experienced the comforts and mercies of
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  Speaker 2: God alone in the wilderness. In that same place, He
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  Speaker 2: had the courage to show Saul mercy. David was chosen
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  Speaker 2: by God to be king, not because he was mighty, strong,
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  Speaker 2: or courageous, but because David's heart was continually seeking after God's.
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  Speaker 3: We begin today's story with David leading a community in
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  Speaker 3: the wilderness. These people that had been rejected and cast
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  Speaker 3: out had bonded to David and will follow him and
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  Speaker 3: be faithful to him wherever he goes. David then hears
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  Speaker 3: that a nearby village is being attacked and terrorized by
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  Speaker 3: the Philistines. His loving shepherd's heart is stirred and he
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  Speaker 3: knows God's people must be protected. But rather than rushing
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  Speaker 3: into battle, David seeks God first for guidance. God confirms
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  Speaker 3: the calling and tells David he must save Kelah from
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  Speaker 3: the Philistines. This should have been Saul's job as king,
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  Speaker 3: but he was so intent on killing David that his
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  Speaker 3: people's cries mattered nothing to him. So David assembled an
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  Speaker 3: army of the faithful men that he was leading, and
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  Speaker 3: they rescued Kelah from the enemy. Their success got Saul's attention,
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  Speaker 3: and he came in pursuit of David once again. Despite
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  Speaker 3: David having just saved the city, God told him that
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  Speaker 3: when Saul arrived, the people of Kelah would hand him
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  Speaker 3: over to Saul. This was because they feared what Saul
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  Speaker 3: would do to them if they refused. So David and
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  Speaker 3: his men fled back into the wilderness in exile. This
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  Speaker 3: was a very dark time for David, and we know
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  Speaker 3: that it is in this period that he prayed and
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  Speaker 3: sought God. David wrote many psalms praising God and lamenting
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  Speaker 3: this situation, this time in the desert when God seemed
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  Speaker 3: so far away at times when he was under attack.
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  Speaker 3: But no matter his circumstances, David never abandoned God, and
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  Speaker 3: he would always praise God and wrote the most profound
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  Speaker 3: and beautiful poems we know as the Psalms. Saul did
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  Speaker 3: not give up, however. He continued to pursue David with
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  Speaker 3: an army of 3,000. The madness of the king consumed him,
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  Speaker 3: and they went up into the mountains after David and
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  Speaker 3: his men. They set up camp outside the very caves
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  Speaker 3: where David and his men were hiding. Then, that night,
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  Speaker 3: Saul retreated into the quietness of a cave to relieve himself.
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  Speaker 3: David's men told him that this was his chance. God
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  Speaker 3: had given his enemy Saul into his hands, but David
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  Speaker 3: could not bring himself to kill the king. the one
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  Speaker 3: that God had previously anointed. Evil or not, Saul meant
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  Speaker 3: something to David. And most of all, God's will and
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  Speaker 3: God's purposes overruled his heart. So instead, he secretly came
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  Speaker 3: into where Saul was and cut a piece of his
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  Speaker 3: robe and retreated into the darkness of safety. But even
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  Speaker 3: this act troubled David's heart. And in 1 Samuel 24
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  Speaker 3: verse 6, we read this, He said to his men,
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  Speaker 3: The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to
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  Speaker 3: the Lord's anointed, to put out my hand against him,
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  Speaker 3: seeing he is the Lord's anointed. But David understood something very,
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  Speaker 3: very important to us. Not every opportunity is necessarily from God.
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  Speaker 3: He could have easily justified taking Saul's life. But David,
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  Speaker 3: always the man after God's heart, was willing to have
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  Speaker 3: mercy on his enemy and leave vengeance to the Lord.
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  Speaker 3: David then revealed himself to Saul, showing him the strip
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  Speaker 3: of his robe as proof that he could have easily
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  Speaker 3: ended his life. In that moment, Saul is broken. He
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  Speaker 3: recognizes the worthiness of David and the evil of his
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  Speaker 3: own sin. The two men embrace and weep, and David
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  Speaker 3: promises that whatever God does to punish Saul, it will
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  Speaker 3: not be by his hand that carries out the justice.
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  Speaker 3: This is the heart that God saw in young David
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  Speaker 3: years before in Jesse's home. a heart that seeks God's wisdom,
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  Speaker 3: that obeys God at all costs, that lives in love
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  Speaker 3: and mercy. In that moment, David showed us how he
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  Speaker 3: was everything Saul was not and why he was fit
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  Speaker 3: and ready to be king, a man after God's own heart.
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  Speaker 3: Dear Lord, help us to learn from David's example of mercy.
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  Speaker 3: Help us also to seek your wisdom and guidance always
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  Speaker 3: and never to take the easy way just because it
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  Speaker 3: may make sense to us. May we have a heart
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  Speaker 3: of compassion for even our enemies as Jesus told us.
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  Speaker 3: We know that you have had immeasurable compassion and mercy
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  Speaker 3: on us. Thank you for your love that went to
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  Speaker 3: the cross to die and that you lived to be
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  Speaker 3: our Savior and Lord. In your name we pray. Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com app
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  Speaker 3: and make prayer and Bible study a priority in your life.
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  Speaker 3: power for Christian living, be sure to visit JackGraham.org. God
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  Speaker 3: bless you.