David Mourns Saul and Jonathan's Deaths. II Samuel 1

 

II Samuel -David Mourns Saul and Jonathan’s Deaths.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

War and defeat had come to the Israelites because they were out of the will of God. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Isa. 57:21. Isaiah said that three times. I wonder if that might not be applicable to us today.

David did not know what happened in the battle. He and his men had been recovering their loved ones from the Amalekites. They had been back in Ziklag for two days without hearing a word. Then disheveled man stumbled into David’s camp. He said that he came from the war. He told David that the Philistines had won the war and that Saul was dead. This young man confessed to David what he had done, and it sounds as though he expected David to give him a medal for his deed.

If this man did slay Saul, it was because Saul had disobeyed God when he refused to slay all the Amalekites back in I Samuel. Had Saul obeyed God, this man would not have been alive to kill him, and perhaps Saul would have survived. David asked this man how it was that he was unafraid to touch the Lord’s anointed.

As long as Saul was king, David would not touch him. No one else had better touch him either because God is the one who put the crown on his head, and God should be the one to take it off when the time comes. David told him, “If you have lied to me, then your blood is upon you, because you confessed that you killed the Lord’s anointed.”

No one could say that either Saul or Jonathan was a coward. Saul had brought prosperity to the land. David and Jonathan were bosom friends. They loved each other. David’s grief is sincere. This is a tremendous tribute to Jonathan in particular. David’s grief over the deaths of Saul and Jonathan is touching. It is one of the most striking lamentations in the Word of God.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

Saul and Jonathan Die in Battle. I Samuel 31

 

I Samuel 31- Saul and Jonathan die in Battle

 

The Philistines fought against Israel. It is the beginning of the end for Saul. First he was hit in battle by an archer. It is also tragic that Jonathan was slain in battle. This is remarkable because on another occasion when Jonathan was fighting the Philistines, he killed 250 of the enemy at one time. This shows how outnumbered Israel was at that time. This could well have been a battle in which David and Jonathan would have been on opposite sides, but God had intervened.

When Saul saw that he was mortally wounded, he felt that the enemy would come and abuse him and taunt him. Saul was a proud, egotistical man, and he did not feel that such an end was becoming to him.  His armor bearer was afraid to lay a hand on the king when Saul asked him to thrust him through with a sword. So, Saul took a sword and fell upon it.

Death reigned over Israel; their soldiers died, Saul and his armorbearer died, and Saul’s son died. Such is the high cost of one man’s rebellion. “For to be carnally minded is death.” Romans 8:6.

Had Israel won, God would have been glorified. Instead, the pagan idols were honored, and the dead were desecrated.  It is bad enough to die in a losing battle, but not to be buried was an even greater disgrace.

The brave men of Jabesh Gilead risked their lives to give Saul and his sons a decent burial. After all, Saul had rescued their city forty years before, and they were showing their gratitude. David later honored them for their feat.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary

 

 

David and His Lost Loved Ones. I Samuel 30

 

I Samuel 30 -David and His Lost Loved Ones

 

After David and his men returned to Ziklag, they discovered that their homes were burned, and their loved ones taken. Among those were David’s wives Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess, and Abigail. David was very distressed, not only because he lost his loved ones, but because his men spoke of stoning him. David made many mistakes like we do. His last one was when he left Israel to live among the Philistines. His own followers, under this great emotional strain of having lost their loved ones, wanted to stone him. “But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.” There are times when we find ourselves in dark places, and the situation looks hopeless. Should we be discouraged? Give up? Will we turn to God at times like this?

“Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.” Heb.7:25

With the Ephod, the garment of prayer, David went to God for direction. He talked to his High Priest, the One who was his Shepherd. David appealed to his Lord, and the Lord encouraged him to go after the enemy. All provisions had been taken, and these men were faint. Two hundred of them could not make the trip because they had marched double time.

On their way, they found an Egyptian in the field. He was sick and they left him to die. The man tells David what had happened at the burning of Ziklag, then leads him to the Amalekites.

David makes a surprise attack upon the Amalekites as they are rejoicing over the victory and the spoils they have taken.

Only 400 of the men had transportation and were able to get away from David and his men. When the war was over David returned to Ziklag, along with their wives and children and flocks. The men argued over the spoils until David said they had to share equally with the men that stayed behind. That revealed justice on the part of David.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary

David's Life Among the Philistines.I Samuel 29

 

I Samuel 29 – David’s Life Among the Philistines

 

When war was about to break out, David and his men marched with the Philistines. All the lords of the Philistines knew David, and when they saw him marching with them, they did not like it. I am sure that if you saw a person who had been your enemy suddenly turn and be on your side, you would want to make sure that he was not going to come up from the rear and attack you. Achish, however, had full confidence in David. But Achish is outvoted and outnumbered. To have harmony in their midst, Achish asks David to leave. This is the providence of God, it delivers David from fighting his own people.

David’s lapse of faith in stepping out of the land meant he was also stepping out of the will of God. You will always get into trouble when you step out of the will of God. David stepped out of God’s will and was about to commit an awful sin when God intervened.

Jezreel is in the north. It is here that scripture tells us the last great war of

Armageddon will be fought. As the Philistines go up to Jezreel, David and his men return to Ziklag.

While David and his men were away from home, an enemy from the south, the Amalekites, invaded the Philistine country and destroyed Ziklag. They returned to find it burned with fire and deserted. David and his men were distraught. They had lost their wives and children! As far as they knew, their loved ones had been slain.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary

 

 

Saul Consults the Witch of Endor. I Samuel 28

 

I Samuel 28 – Saul Consults the Witch of Endor

 

Once again the Philistines were gathering their armies together to fight Israel. Saul gathered his troops at Gilboa. Since God was not speaking to Saul, he turned to the witch of Endor. Deuteronomy 18:9-14 says, “When you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone that makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, or uses divinations, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a wizard, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination to the Lord. Because of these abominations, the Lord drives them out before you. You shall be perfect with the Lord your God.”  We are living in a day when there is a great deal of practice in the areas mentioned. In I Timothy 4:1 Paul says, “Now the spirit speaks expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and the doctrine of the devil.”

When a spirit, thought to be Samuel appears, this frightens the old witch. She sees supernatural creatures coming out of the ground. Saul did not see Samuel, the witch may never have seen Samuel while he was alive, who said she saw an old man covered with a mantle. They jumped to the conclusion that it was Samuel. Keep in mind that demons can impersonate. Saul had laid himself wide open for Satan, and Satan has moved in.

Samuel before his death, had already pronounced the death, the destruction, and the rejection of Saul. Saul did not gain any comfort, any direction, or any new information from the spirit world. It is obvious God was not in this.

I Cor. 10:13 said Saul died for his transgression against the Lord for asking counsel of a familiar spirit. God condemned what Saul did.

Christ was the only One. He says, “I was dead. I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of the grave.” If you want any information, go to Him. If you want help, go to Him. If you want Salvation, go to Him. He went down through the portal of death for you and for me, and He came out in mighty power which He makes available to His own.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

 

 

David Lives Among the Philistines. I Samuel 27

 

I Samuel 27 – David Lives Among the Philistines

 

David won a great victory over Saul, only to be overwhelmed by despair. He is discouraged, despondent, and doing something he should not have done. He leaves the land of Israel and goes to live among the Philistines. Such feelings are not unusual. You cannot have mountaintops without valleys. David should have talked to the Lord. He and Abiathar could have sought the mind of God together.

 

David had made some foolish decisions because he did not stop to ask the Lord. He stopped serving God and started thinking about survival. He trusted the enemy for protection and did not trust the Lord. As a result, he had to plot, kill, and lie to survive.

 

When you are discouraged, ask a trusted Christian friend to pray with you, and seek the Lord’s direction. Take time to confide in your friend. It gives a clearer perspective.

 

“Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart.” Psalm 27:14

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

David Spares Saul's Life Again. I Samuel 26

 

I Samuel 26 – David Spares Paul’s Life Again.

 

David fled into the wilderness, and Saul went after him. David was a great soldier, and he knew the terrain, which made him an expert General. He also had loyal men who were willing to die for him and with him. Saul did not know the terrain. His followers were not as loyal as they could be, and Saul suspected them.

David could not believe that Saul would come into a territory that was unfamiliar to him. David sent spies out to see if Saul really was in the area. His scouts reported that Saul was in the wilderness.

David and Abishai went into Saul’s camp and looked around. Saul was sleeping in a trench, surrounded by his men. At the head of his bed, he had stuck his spear in the ground. Abishai said to David, “If you just let me at him, I will strike him once. One blow is all I need, and you will be rid of your enemy.”

David would not raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed. David says, “God will have to take care of him.” He took Saul’s spear and cruse of water, and no one wakened because the Lord had caused a deep sleep to fall upon Saul and his men. David went to the other side of the camp and stood on top of the hill. It was a place where he could easily escape if anyone came after him.  David starts ridiculing Abner, He tells him that the king could have been destroyed. The king and his men wake up, and they wonder what has happened. David shouts, “Where is Saul’s spear and cruse of water? They are gone.” “I could have slain Saul, but I did not.”

Again, Saul admitted he was wrong and gave up his pursuit of David, David knew it was only a temporary respite. David’s heart is becoming very discouraged. He is weary of this continuous running away and hiding in the dens of the earth.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

If you have missed any lessons, you can go to: God Plans For You at https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

J. Vernon McGee Commentary and Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.