Latest / Lamp and Light Bible Reading Plan / November 2, 2026 - 1 Samuel 26 & Proverbs 22:21-29

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November 2, 2026 - 1 Samuel 26 & Proverbs 22:21-29 · Lamp and Light Bible Reading Plan

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Lamp and Light Bob Reading Plan, where we're seeking to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength with God's word lighting the way.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Josiah Smith, Lead Pastor of Compass South Valley.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Today is Monday, November 2nd, 2026.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Listen intently to God's written word.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: 1 Samuel 26.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hakalah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Zif with three thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Zif.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: And Saul encamped on the hill of Hakalah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: But David remained in the wilderness.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: When he saw that Saul came after him in the wilderness, David spent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped, and David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner, the son of Ner, the commander of his army.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab's brother, Abishai, the son of Zarui, who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: And Abishai said, I will go down with you.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear struck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Then Abishai said to David, God has given your enemy into your hand this day.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now please, let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: But David said to Abishai, Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: And David said, As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed, but take now the spear that is at his head, and the jar of water, and let us go.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: So David took the spear and a jar of water from Saul's head, and they went away.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Nur, saying, Will you not answer, Abner?
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Then Abner answered, Who are you who calls to the king?
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: And David said to Abner, Are you not a man?
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Who is like you in Israel?
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: For one of the people came in to destroy the king, your lord.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: This thing that you have done is not good, as the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord's anointed, and now see where the king's spear is, and the jar of water that was at his head.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Saul recognized David's voice and said, Is this your voice, my son David?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: And David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king, and he said, Why does my Lord pursue after his servant?
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: For what have I done?
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: What evil is on my hands?
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now therefore, let my Lord the king hear the words of his servant.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: But if it is men, may they sure be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a patriot in the mountains.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Then Saul said, I have sinned.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: And David answered and said, Here is the spear, O king, let one of the young men come over and take it.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord's anointed.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Then Saul said to David, Blessed be you, my son David, you will do many things and will succeed in them.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Proverbs twenty two, twenty one through twenty nine.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: To make you know what is right and true, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Do not rob the poor because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways, and entangle yourself in a snare.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Be not one of those who gives pledges, who put up security for debts.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Do you see a man skillful in his work?
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: He will stand before kings.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: He will not stand before obscure men.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now, first Samuel twenty six shows us some continuing conflict between Saul and David.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Now what's interesting is that this is their last face-off.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: This is their last interaction, uh, at least in this capacity, where Saul gathers an army, he hears of David's location, and he marches over there to capture and seemingly kill him.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is the last time.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now David thinks that Saul is going to take his life in chapter 27, and he makes some plans and he flees and ends up in different places, and ultimately Saul will end up dying while David is separated from him in a way.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: So really their whole relationship continues to be marked with separation and conflict until the end.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: But at least here in 1 Samuel 26, this is the last face-off that they have.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: And it's interesting because it's a second time, very clear time, where David had the most overt opportunity to take vengeance into his own hand.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: And again, now he wasn't in a cave surrounded by many men, 300 men that were kind of egging him on, but he had at least one man that wanted him to take his life, to take Saul's life.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, the man even volunteered to do it himself, almost to say, hey, if you want to keep your hands clean, that's fine.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm willing to do it.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: And he wanted to drive a spear through his body into the earth, he said.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: And he he kind of said, I'll only strike him once, I won't strike him a second time.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of that feels like a euphemism for basically, hey, it's going to be quick, it's going to be clean, it's going to be painless, it's going to be swift.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's kind of the idea that we see in this text.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: So 1 Samuel 26, again, is showcasing David's trust in the Lord.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: He's vacillated a little bit on that, because remember, in the previous chapter, he's uh he's given over to anger, he gets his men, he wants to, he wants to go to war himself.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: But here he remembers the faithfulness of the Lord, he remembers to entrust himself to the Lord, and he does not seek to take vengeance on Saul, even though he had every opportunity to do that.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: So here in verse 7 it says again, so David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there lay Saul sleeping within the account in the encampment.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: So you can imagine Saul's at the very center, the safest place, seemingly, in the entire camp.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: And from there, radiating outward is three thousand soldiers.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: And it sounds like the captain of the army is right next to Saul.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so David and Abishai are able to, in the night, in the cover of night, sneak past all of these people, all of these soldiers, go directly into the tent of the king.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: And it says, with his spear struck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: Then Abishai said to David, God has given your enemy, please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: And here's the incredible response that David has in verse 9.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: David said to Abishai, Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: So here again he continues to trust the Lord, to refuse to take matters into his own hands, to believe the reality that vengeance belongs to the Lord.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: And he does something similar to what he did in the cave.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: Remember in the cave, he cut off the corner of his robe and he called out to him.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: He does something similar, but this time instead of calling directly to the king, he calls uh to the king's guard, uh Nur, and basically is like, What are you doing?
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like you're asleep at the wheel.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you were not doing your job.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: And as a result, the the life of the king is essentially saying you treated frivolously, and uh that there's a responsibility here that you had that you did not fulfill.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, and that's exactly what David says.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Are you not a man?
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: Who is like you in Israel?
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: Why then have you not kept watch over your Lord the King?
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: For one of the people came in to destroy the king, your Lord.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: This thing that you have done, this being asleep at the wheel is not good, he says.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord's anointed.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now just remember who he's saying this to, and who he's saying this about.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: He's saying this to Nur, right, the captain of the of the army, but he's he's uh challenging this guy who didn't do a good enough job of protecting the other guy who was trying to murder him.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: So you can kind of just see spotlights of uh David's character coming through here.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: He's he's it seems like he's genuinely upset.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, the life of the king was put in danger because you weren't doing your job.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: And that again just shows uh that David really was sincerely trusting in the Lord uh and he was refusing to take matters into his own hand.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: So, of course, David and um Saul have another interaction.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Saul recognizes his voice, and uh Saul says, Is that you, David?
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: Is that you, my son?
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: More language of kind of familial tenderness, or at least seemingly so.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: So they have this back and forth, and Saul admits once again that he sinned, that he did wrong.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and here's how really the chapter ends in verse 25.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Then Saul said to David, Blessed be you, my son David, you will do many things and will succeed in them.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so this is the second overt time that Saul has said, I'm sorry, my son, I won't harm you, I won't do something uh that is evil against you.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: The second time that he's apologized for his sin, for his wrongdoing, uh, but really we see that it's not genuine, or at least it doesn't last uh because the conflict never really ends and the reconciliation uh that we kind of hope for never really happens.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now, as we transition to Proverbs 22, we continue to see more of what was referred to in the previous reading as the 30 wise sayings, the collections of sayings here, and kind of the the structure of that, it seems to be a father who has written and preserved these sayings for his son to hold on to, to remember, um kind of like the different books that have been written, thoughts for young men and things like that that we have uh today.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Something similar to that here in Proverbs 22.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh one thing that he says that I think is really interesting and of course really helpful, um, verse 24 and 25, make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Now, as a pastor, I've I've gotten questions kind of that touch on this from a variety of different angles.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Basically, that the question goes something like how or when or why do you create separation uh in relationships?
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe another way, when is it okay to walk away from a relationship?
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: When is it okay to have some sense of um boundaries and know that we're gonna be used um in ways that are not necessarily appropriate and and ways that are very appropriate?
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: But the question is just how do we distinguish when we are to walk away from a relationship or when is that unwise or perhaps unkind or something like that?
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: But what's interesting here in Proverbs 22, 24 is it it seems there seems to be a very clear line, if we want to call it that, of someone to walk away from.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: Make no friendship with a man given to anger.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: And of course you can you know put woman in there as well.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: Make no friendship with a man or woman given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Why would you create separation from this kind of person?
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it says in verse 25, lest you learn his or her ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: The snare of anger that they're given over to, uh, it seems like if if you're not careful and there's too too much closeness, too much relational proximity, their snare will become your snare, and you learn their ways, that the anger that they're easily given over to, you yourself could be entangled by.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: So this doesn't answer you know every question about every relationship that's uh is complex and we we wonder about you know separation and distance and things like that.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: But this does give us a very clear line of the the types of friendships that perhaps we need to separate ourselves from, make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, unless you learn his ways and be entangled yourself in a snare.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: So uh if if that's something in this current season that you're in, you find yourself asking and wondering about.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I have a relationship, I have a person.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: I know again, this isn't gonna help answer all the questions of every nuanced relationship or uh circumstance, but it gives you at least some kind of starting point of the type of people that I think biblically we're we're called to have some level of separation from because we we don't want to entangle ourselves in the snare of anger, as it's outlined here specifically.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now, one thing that I just want to answer, uh I had a question even myself of Proverbs 22, 28.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: It says, Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I was just kind of wondering to myself, what's the ancient landmark?
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I did some research on this, and very simply it seems to be a reference to stones specifically that were placed strategically throughout the kingdom of Israel, throughout the territory of Israel, to kind of demarcate the boundary lines of clan and land allotments.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we read about those in previous books in the Lamp and Light Bible plan, all the land allotments through all the tribes, how the land was all divvied up, and they used stones to mark those areas so that people would know, kind of like how we have fence lines, we have property lines and things like that, so that you know, if there was a legal dispute, we could see on a you know land plot or something like that, uh, that this is actually my boundary.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: This is the land that I actually own.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: They had something similar with stones here.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_00: So this seems to be a reference to a stay in what you've been given and what you've been allotted to, and do not move the ancient landmark.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there could be some level of implication here uh of trying to mess with uh the boundaries.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: We we've seen that kind of uh maybe tongue in cheek in in the neighbor disputes where the you know a fence is encroached on someone's uh property line or or vice versa, and so there can be some kind of playing and and rigging the game uh in your favor to take advantage of uh perhaps more space or more property than you really actually own.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so there seems to be some level of don't move it.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um and there's a wisdom principle in that.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think it's just for the sake of like, oh, we'll lose track, uh, though that could be part of it.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: I think it this is also implying, hey, be honest, don't try to take more than what you've been actually given and allotted, uh, don't be underhanded.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: We want equal weights and measures.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's God despises unequal weights and measures.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I think this is a kind of a call to all of those things.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's been set, it's been decided.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, don't try to rig the game, don't try to pretend like you have more than what you actually do.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but just leave it and trust yourself to the Lord again.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh be faithful and uh don't try to move the landmarks that clearly mark the territories between the clans uh and ultimately the tribes of Israel.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of good things here in Proverbs 22.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: There's talk of the poor here, the the first couple of verses.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: Do not rob the poor.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord will plead their cause.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh be not one of those who gives pledges, who put up security for debt.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a lot of very practical, hands-on kind of uh wheels on the ground application for a variety of areas in our lives.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much for joining us today on the Lamp and Light Bible Reading Podcast.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit compass Bible SV.org.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: Keep reading, keep growing.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: God's word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.