December 1, 2023 — Grim News From The Battlefield

David was far from the battle when he got the news, but his heart wasn’t far from Jonathan. Obviously, 1 and 2 Samuel were originally one volume. The narrative flows seamlessly from the one to the other. The last chapter of 1 Samuel recounts the tragic deaths of Saul and his sons, unknown to David, […]

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November 30, 2023 — Still Some Valiant Men

My father used to say, “Failure doesn’t have to be final.” It certainly wasn’t for Jabesh Gilead. “Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day” (1 Sam 31:6). This caused such panic that local Israelites abandoned their towns “and the Philistines came and dwelt in them” (v 7). […]

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November 29, 2023 — Off With Their Heads!

Ever heard the phrase, “He’s caput”? Caput is Latin for “head” and refers to capital beheading. Losing one’s head is a rather startling motif in the book of 1 Samuel. Without going into much detail for discretion’s sake, beheading was a common form of execution in ancient cultures, a stark way of proclaiming total victory. […]

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November 28, 2023 — Saul & Sons: A Tragic End

Jezreel means “God sows.” But man also sows, and here he finds that whatever he sows he reaps. Israel’s first attempt at kingship had been a debacle. Although the Lord had anticipated Israel becoming a monarchy (Deut 17:14-20), leading to its climax in the eternal reign of the King of kings (Gen 49:10; 2 Sam […]

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November 27, 2023 — Sharing The Spoils

Look who’s leading David’s army now—the same One ministering to those too tired to fight. As we noted in our last episode, when David and his 400 men suddenly swooped down on the Amalekite encampment, they “recovered all” (1 Sam 30:19). But don’t you think more was recovered through this heartbreaking tragedy than family and […]

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