1 Samuel 28-31

1 Samuel 30 (The Message)

- v18-20 David rescued everything the Amalekites had taken. And he rescued his two wives! Nothing and no one was missing—young or old, son or daughter, plunder or whatever. David recovered the whole lot. He herded the sheep and cattle before them, and they all shouted, "David's plunder!"

- v21 Then David came to the two hundred who had been too tired to continue with him and had dropped out at the Brook Besor. They came out to welcome David and his band. As he came near he called out, "Success!"

- v22 But all the mean-spirited men who had marched with David, the rabble element, objected: "They didn't help in the rescue, they don't get any of the plunder we recovered. Each man can have his wife and children, but that's it. Take them and go!"

- v23-25 "Families don't do this sort of thing! Oh no, my brothers!" said David as he broke up the argument. "You can't act this way with what God gave us! God kept us safe. He handed over the raiders who attacked us. Who would ever listen to this kind of talk? The share of the one who stays with the gear is the share of the one who fights—equal shares. Share and share alike!" From that day on, David made that the rule in Israel—and it still is.

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Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (The Message)

- v17-18 If you start thinking to yourselves, "I did all this. And all by myself. I'm rich. It's all mine!"—well, think again. Remember that God, your God, gave you the strength to produce all this wealth so as to confirm the covenant that he promised to your ancestors—as it is today.

1 Samuel 27

1 Samuel 27 (The Message)

- v7 David lived in Philistine country a year and four months.

- v8 From time to time David and his men raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites...

- v10 Achish would ask, "And whom did you raid today?"

- v11 David would tell him, "Oh, the Negev of Judah," or "The Negev of Jerahmeel," or "The Negev of the Kenites." He never left a single person alive lest one show up in Gath and report what David had really been doing. This is the way David operated all the time he lived in Philistine country.

- v12 Achish came to trust David completely. He thought, "He's made himself so repugnant to his people that he'll be in my camp forever."

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David wasn't naive and stupid.

1 Samuel 26

1 Samuel 26

- v8 Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!”

- v9-11 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?” David said furthermore, “As the LORD lives, the LORD shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD’s anointed...

1 Samuel 25

1 Samuel 25 (The Message)

- v28 (Abigail to David) "Forgive my presumption! But God is at work in my master, developing a rule solid and dependable. My master fights God's battles! As long as you live no evil will stick to you.

- v30-31 (Abigail to David) "When God completes all the goodness he has promised my master and sets you up as prince over Israel, my master will not have this dead weight in his heart, the guilt of an avenging murder. And when God has worked things for good for my master, remember me."

- AMP v33 (David to Abigail) And blessed be your discretion and advice, and blessed be you who have kept me today from bloodguiltiness and from avenging myself with my own hand.

1 Samuel 24

1 Samuel 24

- v4-7 Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. And he said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.” So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.

- v12 Let the LORD judge between you and me, and let the LORD avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you.

- MSG v17-18 (Saul to David) "You're the one in the right, not me," he continued. "You've heaped good on me; I've dumped evil on you. And now you've done it again—treated me generously. God put me in your hands and you didn't kill me.

- v19-20 (Saul to David) ... Therefore may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.

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David followed his heart (the Lord's leading), and not what people said / told him to do.

1 Samuel 22-23

1 Samuel 22

- v3 Then David went from there to Mizpah of Moab; and he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother come here with you, till I know what God will do for me.”

1 Samuel 23

- v1 Then they told David, saying, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah, and they are robbing the threshing floors.”

- v2 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”
And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines, and save Keilah.”

- v3-5 But David’s men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” Then David inquired of the LORD once again.

And the LORD answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.” And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

- v6 Now it happened, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he went down with an ephod in his hand.

- v7-8 And Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah. So Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

- v9-11 When David knew that Saul plotted evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” Then David said, “O LORD God of Israel, Your servant has certainly heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as Your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.”

And the LORD said, “He will come down.”

- v12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?”
And the LORD said, “They will deliver you.”

- v13 So David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah and went wherever they could go. Then it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah; so he halted the expedition.

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Saul judged by circumstances, David inquired of the Lord.

1 Samuel 20-21

1 Samuel 20

- MSG v23 Regarding all the things we've discussed, remember that God's in on this with us to the very end!"

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1 Samuel 21

- MSG v3 Now, what's there here to eat? Do you have five loaves of bread? Give me whatever you can scrounge up!"

- MSG v6 So the priest gave them the holy bread. It was the only bread he had, Bread of the Presence that had been removed from God's presence and replaced by fresh bread at the same time.

1 Samuel 19

1 Samuel 19

- v18 So David fled and escaped, and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth.

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David is now fleeing from Saul, who is out to persecute/kill him even though he had sworn not to after Johnathan had persuaded him.

And this time, his own army is out to get him. And Samuel brought him to Naioth in Ramah.

Interestingly,

Naioth means to rest (as at home); causatively (through the implied idea of beauty, to celebrate (with praises)

Ramah means to be high actively, to rise or raise (in various applications, literally or figuratively):--bring up, exalt (self), extol, give, go up, haughty, heave (up), (be, lift up on, make on, set up on, too) high(-er, one), hold up, levy, lift(-er) up

So what do you do when the world persecutes you?

REST, SING PRAISES, AND BE LIFTED UP.

Saul himself went to Naioth in Ramah, and with the Spirit of God stopped him from killing David.

1 Samuel 18

1 Samuel 18

- NKJV v5 So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

- MSG v5 Whatever Saul gave David to do, he did it—and did it well. So well that Saul put him in charge of his military operations. Everybody, both the people in general and Saul's servants, approved of and admired David's leadership.

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- NKJV v12-16 Now Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, but had departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the LORD was with him. Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.

- MSG v12-16 Now Saul feared David. It was clear that God was with David and had left Saul. So, Saul got David out of his sight by making him an officer in the army. David was in combat frequently. Everything David did turned out well. Yes, God was with him. As Saul saw David becoming more successful, he himself grew more fearful. He could see the handwriting on the wall. But everyone else in Israel and Judah loved David. They loved watching him in action.

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- NKJV v28-30 Thus Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him; and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David’s enemy continually. Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.

- MSG v28-30 As Saul more and more realized that God was with David, and how much his own daughter, Michal, loved him, his fear of David increased and settled into hate. Saul hated David. Whenever the Philistine warlords came out to battle, David was there to meet them—and beat them, upstaging Saul's men. David's name was on everyone's lips.

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I think it's quite obvious by now that:

The Lord is with you
= You behave wisely (i.e. wisdom)
= Everything you do turns out well (and you become more and more successful)
= Your enemies will fear you (and then hate you)
= People will approve, admire, highly-esteem and love you (more and more!)

1 Samuel 17

1 Samuel 17 (The Message)

- v33 Saul answered David, "You can't go and fight this Philistine. You're too young and inexperienced—and he's been at this fighting business since before you were born."

- v34-37 David said, "I've been a shepherd, tending sheep for my father. Whenever a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I'd go after it, knock it down, and rescue the lamb. If it turned on me, I'd grab it by the throat, wring its neck, and kill it. Lion or bear, it made no difference—I killed it. And I'll do the same to this Philistine pig who is taunting the troops of God-Alive. God, who delivered me from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me from this Philistine."

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- v45-47 David answered, "You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel's troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day God is handing you over to me. I'm about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there's an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn't save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to God—he's handing you to us on a platter!"

- v48-49 That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine. David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine hard in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply. The Philistine crashed, facedown in the dirt.

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You will always be seen as inexperienced in the eyes of people who do not know what you have gone through. I always get warnings / sincere advice from people who care, who tell me things that I already know, and advise me to reconsider what I intend to do. They always tell me of the stories of people who failed and you start to think that if you do try and end up failing, you prove them right that God can't be with you.

I used to see these warnings/advice as signs from God telling me that I'm not ready yet, that I must have the approval of the people around me before I can deemed "fit" to go out and do what I wanna do.

But I guess it takes a certain amt of discernment to know how "experienced" you really are, and the realisation that you can never be fully ready. David did have some prior experience killing animals, but does all that experience really qualify him to be able to kill a walking, thinking, murdering giant? No, but the fact that he knows the battle belongs to God, that makes all the difference.

And as long as he got the go-ahead by the king (i.e. the person whose opinion mattered the most, e.g. mummy), that was all he needed. You can imagine more than 90% of the army thinking who is this young punk to take on Goliath, who has never even gone through formal army training, who can't even walk while wearing the full body armour. How unqualified in the natural is that?

And even facing the giant, David knew there was a chance he would turn back and run away. But he didn't think twice. He ran towards his giant, and the rest was in God's hands.

1 Samuel 16

1 Samuel 16

- v12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”

- v13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

- v14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him.

- v18 Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the LORD is with him.”

- v21 So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer.

- v23 And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.

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After David was anointed by God, God created the time and chance for him to appear before Saul, and set him on his journey to becoming king over Israel.