Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / Running from Saul - The Book of 1 Samuel

Transcript

Running from Saul - The Book of 1 Samuel · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And David answered the priest and said unto him, Of
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: a truth, women have been kept from us about these
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: three days, since I came out. And the vessels of
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the young men are holy, and the bread is in
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: a manner common, yea, though it were sacrificed this day
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: in the vessel. 1 Samuel 21.5 Dear Heavenly Father, When
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: the weight and burden of pursuing my calling becomes too much,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: fortify my mind, so that the thought of going crazy
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: isn't even an option. Instead, when my vision begins to
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: wear on me, I will position myself and begin to
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: worship you for who you are and for your faithfulness.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: For I know that that worship is my worship and
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: will allow me to regain mental growth when I feel
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: that my foundation is becoming unstable. Thank you for always
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: placing me on the heart of my family and loved ones.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Thank you that, like David in today's reading, at just
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: the right time, they will come and comfort me in
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: my time of need. Lord, as you begin to build
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: the community for my dreams, I will not be taken
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: back by what appears to be misfits, for I know
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: that it is in the unlikeliest of relationships that greatness
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: and loyalty are formed. So, I celebrate the difference. I
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: celebrate the uniqueness. I celebrate the fact that through uncommon relationships,
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: uncommon blessings and breakthroughs are born. In Jesus' name, amen.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with me today. Continue listening for
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: an incredible Bible story brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: In our last story, we learned how David and Jonathan
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: made promises to one another. Jonathan would protect David from Saul,
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: and David would show favor and love to Jonathan and
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: his family for all his days. Jonathan learned that Saul's
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: hatred for David still burned hot, so he warned David.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: David fled to the wilderness. In this story, we will
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: learn how David continues to flee and visits Ahimelech, is
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: given Goliath's sword, and then in Gath pretends to be
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: crazy in front of Achish, as inspired by the book
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: of 1 Samuel.
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. In yesterday's story, we heard
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: how Jonathan helped David evade Saul and how the two
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: made an oath, a covenant together, that they would always
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: seek each other's good. This is a touching picture of
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: a friendship that is stronger even than family bonds. We
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: saw how David fled from an increasingly angry and insane king,
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: King Saul. Today, we'll continue this story with David on
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: the run. He will use clever deception to protect himself.
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: His intentions are always noble, and soon other outcasts will
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: gather around him, furthering the anger of Saul. Let's listen
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: now to today's reading from God's Word.
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: David's chest was about to burst. Heavy rain fell and
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: lightning filled the skies with light. David's heart was racing
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: and his lungs couldn't gasp fast enough. He was completely exhausted.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: Running from Saul had cost him a great deal of energy.
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: David needed food. David stumbled to Nob near the temple
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: and Ahimelech the priest came out to greet him. Ahimelech
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: was afraid to see David, for he knew he was
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: one of Saul's commanders.
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: Why are you here alone?
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: Ahimelech asked. David was overcome with hunger, thirst, and exhaustion.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: Out of angst, David lied to Ahimelech, saying, The king
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: sent me on an important mission. I have an appointment
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: with a young man.
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: Here in Nob.
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: Please, give me five loaves of bread or whatever you
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: have here. The priest shook his head and said, Sadly,
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: I only have the holy bread meant for ceremony. Only
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: the priests and men who have kept themselves from women.
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: Are allowed to eat it.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: David regained his composure and spoke with less desperation in
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: his voice, saying, Whenever I or my men are on expedition,
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: we are kept from women. We are truly worthy of
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: the bread. David acted as though he was with a
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: whole team of people to get more bread. The priest,
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: not wanting to question David's authority, took the bread off
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: of the altar and gave it to David. Do you
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: have any weapons?
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: David asked.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: The king's business required I leave immediately, so I did
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: not bring any sword or spear. The priest's eyes lit up.
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: He said nothing and beckoned David inside.
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: The temple was warm and dry.
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: David held the bread close to his chest, still feeling
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: a slight sting of guilt as he carried it.
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: The priest led David into a room.
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: There was a figure on a table wrapped in cloth.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: The priest took it in his hands and began to
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: unwrap it. A beautiful sword glistened in the candlelight. The
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: priest lifted it up and gave it to David. He
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: held it in his hands. It was a large sword
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: but felt familiar to David. The priest smiled and said,
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: This is the sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: defeated in battle. It is the only weapon we have here.
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: David's heart began to flutter as he held the sword
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: he once used to cut the giant's head off.
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: It seemed like a lifetime ago.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: Not long had passed before Saul caught wind of where
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: David was. So, in a hurry, David fled to Gath
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: to escape. Gath was the homeland of Goliath and Philistine country. David,
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: afraid and alone, ventured into enemy territory with Goliath's sword
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: sheathed on his side. Achish, the king of Gath, was
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: perplexed by David's arrival. The people of Gath had thought
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: all along that David was the king of Israel. This
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: meant David was in more danger than he realized. Achish's
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: servants brought David in. So David, in an attempt to
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: save himself, began to act insane. He marked his chambers
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: with odd symbols and drooled all over himself. Achish was
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: perturbed by his servants bringing David in. Do you think
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: I need more madmen in my home? So he had David.
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: Depart from his presence.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: David departed immediately from Gath and escaped to a cave
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: in Adullam. David wallowed in the loneliness of the cave,
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: crying out to God in his distress. There he wrote
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: songs to God. In the darkness he questioned God, praised God,
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: and loved God. It was not long before David's family
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: discovered where he was. They came to him and ministered
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: to him. Shortly after, many men from Israel began to
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: flock to David. Men who were outcasts, debaters, and bitter
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: found hope in the presence of David. Four hundred men
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: stood in front of David, following his every command and
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: hanging on every word. This was David's new flock, a
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: flock of misfits and social outcasts. Broken were given purpose
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: under David's command. This would be a foreshadowing of the
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: Christ to come hundreds of years later. David and his
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: men dwelled in the land of Moab for a short while,
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: and then departed to the forests of Judah. There David
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: and his men became close, and their strength in numbers
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: grew day by day. Saul was told of David's new community,
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: and how four hundred unruly men followed him everywhere he went.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: All of the sudden, David was an even bigger threat
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: to Saul. He became furious with his servants that they
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: had allowed his whereabouts to go unreported for so long.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: More so, he was outraged with Jonathan, who had made
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: a covenant with David. Saul raged in his throne room.
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: One of his servants then told him that David was
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: given the sword of Goliath by Ahimelech. This caused Saul
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: to pause. Saul said nothing. His eyes were glazed over
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: in rage. He gathered his things and his men, and
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: they departed to Nob to find Ahimelech. Saul burst open
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: the temple doors where Ahimelech and the priests of Nob served.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: The priests cowered in fear as Saul approached them with
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: his armed men. Saul's face was red, and his eyes
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: were piercing. Saul walked among the priests, pointing his sword
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: at Ahimelech. The priest was trembling as Saul's sword lightly
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: touched his robes. Hear me, priest, Saul spoke with silent rage.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: Why have you conspired against me and armed David? You
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: clothed him, fed him, and gave him a weapon of
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: great importance. Ahimelech could barely speak, he was so afraid.
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: He managed to stutter out a few words, saying, My lord,
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: I thought David was one of your most faithful servants.
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: He is your son-in-law and a captain over your army.
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: I know very little of any dispute you have with him.
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: Saul did not listen to the words of the priest.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: His rage had blinded his eyes and cut off his hearing.
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: He turned to his men and said, Kill them all.
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: But his men did not move. To kill a priest
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: over this would be an absolute sin, and these men
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: would not budge.
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: Saul yelled again, Kill them! But the men did not move.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: So Saul turned to his trusted servant Doeg, who then
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: killed 85 priests.
• 10:06
  Speaker 4: And their families.
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: The priestly town of Nob was painted red with Saul's jealousy.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: At this moment, Saul was completely given over to sin's
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: hold over his mind. One of the sons of Ahimelech
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: escaped the bloodshed and fled to the forest where David
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: and his men lived. David's heart was tied in knots
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: over the news. He felt responsible for their deaths, since
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: he had sought refuge there and lied to Ahimelech. David's
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: self-preservation had caused the needless slaughter of priests. David anguished
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: over this and protected Ahimelech's son.
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: Today's story in God's Word begins with David fearfully on
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: the run, desperate for a place to hide. He flees
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: to Nob where he encounters a priest named Elimelech. His
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: presence is concerning to the priest. Why would one of
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: Saul's generals be there? David was desperate. But he also
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: may have wanted to provide this man some plausible deniability
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: when Saul came asking questions. Whatever the reason, David actually
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: lies and tells Elimelech he's on a mission from the king.
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: He asks the priest for bread or whatever food he
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: might have. Elimelech tells him all he has is the
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: ceremonial holy bread meant only for the priest and men
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: who have refrained from intimacy with women. David says he
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: and his men are always kept from women while on
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: an expedition. His words led Elimelech to believe he was
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: not alone, and so the priest gave David the bread
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: from the altar. Here's something very important. Christ would later
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: use this story to teach the Pharisees about the true
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: purposes of the Sabbath and God's ceremonial laws. David's heart
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: was being obedient to God and eating the bread meant
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: for priests was justified in such a time of need
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: to strengthen David for what he was facing. David then
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: reveals that he is traveling without a weapon, so Halimelech
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: shows him something surprising. For some reason, the sword that
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: Goliath had carried The very one David had used to
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: chop off the giant's head is in the temple. Why
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: it is there is unclear. But David is given this
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: sword to take as protection for his journey. This is
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: ironic since David was the one who of course defeated
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: the giant and now has his sword. But what David
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: does next is unusual. When Saul discovers where he is,
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: David ventures into Gath which is not only Philistine territory
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: but Goliath's homeland. Alone, David is easily captured by the
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: people of Gath, who believed him to be Israel's king.
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: But when he is taken into the palace, David pretends
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: to be insane. He puts on quite an act, so
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: the king sends him away unharmed. Finally, David is able
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: to escape to a cave where he is joined by
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: his family. His family gives him comfort and aid. He
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: is also joined by other outcasts, men of Israel who
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: stood by David and found hope in this man who
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: would one day soon be king. 1 Samuel 22 and
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: verse 2 records this. Listen to how they foreshadow another
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: who would come to Bethlehem and gather the broken and
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: the hurting unto himself. And everyone who was in distress
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: and everyone who was in debt and everyone who was
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: bitter in soul gathered to him, and he became commander
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: over them. In David, we see here a glimpse of Christ,
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: who would one day bring hope not only to Israel,
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: but the whole world. Meanwhile, Saul, consumed by hatred and
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: completely given over to evil, confronts Elimelech. He accuses him
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: of betrayal. He will hear none of the priest's reasons.
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: Elimelech was a man of God, but Saul was so
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: far gone he had his servants slaughter this man and
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: more than 80 priests and their families that day. Only
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: one would escape, Elimelech's son, who told David what had happened.
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: David knew his deception was to blame for the bloodshed,
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: and he was terribly grieved. He promised to protect Elimelech's
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: son and remain there with the ragtag group of outcasts
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: that had become his army. We'll hear what happens the
• 14:23
  Speaker 3: next time in God's Word. Dear God, thank you for
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: your Word. Thank you for the story of David's life
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: that ultimately points us to the greater David, the good
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: shepherd who is the Lord Jesus Christ. who was born,
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: who lived, who died, and rose again to bring hope
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: to the world. And it is in the name of
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: Jesus that we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: Download the Pray.com app and make prayer and Bible study
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: a priority in your life. If you enjoyed this podcast,
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: share it with someone you love or know. And by
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: sharing this podcast, we can get the Word of God
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: to the world. And if you want more resources on
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: how to tap into God's power for Christian living, be
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: sure to visit jackgram.org. God bless you.
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: This episode is sponsored by MediShare, an innovative health care
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.