The Living Bible (92 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
One day Samuel said to Saul, “I crowned you king of Israel because God told me to. Now be sure that you obey him.
2
Here is his commandment to you: ‘I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for refusing to allow my people to cross their territory when Israel came from Egypt.
3
Now go and completely destroy the entire Amalek nation—men, women, babies, little children, oxen, sheep, camels, and donkeys.’”
4
So Saul mobilized his army at Telaim. There were two hundred thousand troops in addition to ten thousand men from Judah.
5
The Amalekites were camped in the valley below them.
6
Saul sent a message to the Kenites, telling them to get out from among the Amalekites or else die with them. “For you were kind to the people of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt,” he explained. So the Kenites packed up and left.
7
Then Saul butchered the Amalekites from Havilah all the way to Shur, east of Egypt.
8
He captured Agag, the king of the Amalekites, but killed everyone else.
9
However, Saul and his men kept the best of the sheep and oxen and the fattest of the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.
10
Then the Lord said to Samuel,
11
“I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has again refused to obey me.”
Samuel was so deeply moved when he heard what God was saying, that he cried to the Lord all night.
12
Early the next morning he went out to find Saul. Someone said that he had gone to Mount Carmel to erect a monument to himself and had then gone on to Gilgal.
13
When Samuel finally found him, Saul greeted him cheerfully.
“Hello there,” he said. “Well, I have carried out the Lord’s command!”
14
“Then what was all the bleating of sheep and lowing of oxen I heard?” Samuel demanded.
15
“It’s true that the army spared the best of the sheep and oxen,” Saul admitted, “but they are going to sacrifice them to the Lord your God; and we have destroyed everything else.”
16
Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! Listen to what the Lord told me last night!”
“What was it?” Saul asked.
17
And Samuel told him, “When you didn’t think much of yourself, God made you king of Israel.
18
And he sent you on an errand and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’
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Then why didn’t you obey the Lord? Why did you rush for the loot and do exactly what God said not to?”
20
“But I
have
obeyed the Lord,” Saul insisted. “I did what he told me to; and I brought King Agag but killed everyone else.
21
And it was only when my troops demanded it that I let them keep the best of the sheep and oxen and loot to sacrifice to the Lord.”
22
Samuel replied, “Has the Lord as much pleasure in your burnt offerings and sacrifices as in your obedience? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. He is much more interested in your listening to him than in your offering the fat of rams to him.
23
For rebellion is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. And now because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, he has rejected you from being king.”
24
“I have sinned,” Saul finally admitted. “Yes, I have disobeyed your instructions and the command of the Lord, for I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded.
25
Oh, please pardon my sin now and go with me to worship the Lord.”
26
But Samuel replied, “It’s no use! Since you have rejected the commandment of the Lord, he has rejected you from being the king of Israel.”
27
As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed at him to try to hold him back and tore his robe.
28
And Samuel said to him, “See? The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to a countryman of yours who is better than you are.
29
And he who is the glory of Israel is not lying, nor will he change his mind, for he is not a man!”
30
Then Saul pleaded again, “I have sinned; but oh, at least honor me before the leaders and before my people by going with me to worship the Lord your God.”
31
So Samuel finally agreed and went with him.
32
Then Samuel said, “Bring King Agag to me.” Agag arrived all full of smiles, for he thought, “Surely the worst is over and I have been spared!”
33
But Samuel said, “As your sword has killed the sons of many mothers, now your mother shall be childless.” And Samuel chopped him in pieces before the Lord at Gilgal.
34
Then Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to Gibeah.
35
Samuel never saw Saul again, but he mourned constantly for him; and the Lord was sorry that he had ever made Saul king of Israel.
Finally the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul, for I have rejected him as king of Israel. Now take a vial of olive oil and go to Bethlehem and find a man named Jesse, for I have selected one of his sons to be the new king.”
2
But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
“Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord.
3
Then call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint.”
4
So Samuel did as the Lord had told him to. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the city came trembling to meet him.
“What is wrong?” they asked. “Why have you come?”
5
But he replied, “All is well. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.”
And he performed the purification rite on Jesse and his sons, and invited them too.
6
When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the man the Lord has chosen!”
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But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by a man’s face or height, for this is not the one. I don’t make decisions the way you do! Men judge by outward appearance, but I look at a man’s thoughts and intentions.”
8
Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But the Lord said, “This is not the right man either.”
9
Next Jesse summoned Shammah, but the Lord said, “No, this is not the one.” In the same way all seven of his sons presented themselves to Samuel and were rejected.
10-11
“The Lord has not chosen any of them,” Samuel told Jesse. “Are these all there are?”
“Well, there is the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep.”
“Send for him at once,” Samuel said, “for we will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”
12
So Jesse sent for him. He was a fine looking boy, ruddy-faced, and with pleasant eyes. And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”
13
So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the olive oil he had brought and poured it upon David’s head; and the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him and gave him great power from that day onward. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.
14
But the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and instead, the Lord had sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.
15-16
Some of Saul’s aides suggested a cure.
“We’ll find a good harpist to play for you whenever the tormenting spirit is bothering you,” they said. “The harp music will quiet you and you’ll soon be well again.”
17
“All right,” Saul said. “Find me a harpist.”
18
One of them said he knew a young fellow in Bethlehem, the son of a man named Jesse, who was not only a talented harp player, but was handsome, brave, and strong, and had good, solid judgment. “What’s more,” he added, “the Lord is with him.”
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So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, asking that he send his son David the shepherd.
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Jesse responded by sending not only David but a young goat and a donkey carrying a load of food and wine.
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From the instant he saw David, Saul admired and loved him; and David became his bodyguard.
22
Then Saul wrote to Jesse, “Please let David join my staff, for I am very fond of him.”
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And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp and Saul would feel better, and the evil spirit would go away.
The Philistines now mustered their army for battle and camped between Socoh in Judah and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.
2
Saul countered with a buildup of forces at Elah Valley.
3
So the Philistines and Israelis faced each other on opposite hills, with the valley between them.
4-7
Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was a giant of a man, measuring over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet, a two-hundred-pound coat of mail, bronze leggings, and carried a bronze javelin several inches thick, tipped with a twenty-five-pound iron spearhead, and his armor bearer walked ahead of him with a huge shield.
8
He stood and shouted across to the Israelis, “Do you need a whole army to settle this? I will represent the Philistines, and you choose someone to represent you, and we will settle this in single combat!
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If your man is able to kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, then you must be our slaves!
10
I defy the armies of Israel! Send me a man who will fight with me!”
11
When Saul
*
and the Israeli army heard this, they were dismayed and frightened.
12
David (the son of aging Jesse, a member of the tribe of Judah who lived in Bethlehem) had seven older brothers.
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The three oldest—Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah—had already volunteered for Saul’s army to fight the Philistines.
14-15
David was the youngest son and was on Saul’s staff on a part-time basis. He went back and forth to Bethlehem to help his father with the sheep.
16
For forty days, twice a day, morning and evening the Philistine giant strutted before the armies of Israel.
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One day Jesse said to David, “Take this bushel of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread to your brothers.
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Give this cheese to their captain and see how the boys are getting along; and bring us back a letter
*
from them!”
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(Saul and the Israeli army were camped at the valley of Elah.)
20
So David left the sheep with another shepherd and took off early the next morning with the gifts. He arrived at the outskirts of the camp just as the Israeli army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries.
21
Soon the Israeli and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army.
22
David left his luggage with a baggage officer and hurried out to the ranks to find his brothers.
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As he was talking with them, he saw Goliath the giant step out from the Philistine troops and shout his challenge to the army of Israel.
24
As soon as they saw him the Israeli army began to run away in fright.
25
“Have you seen the giant?” the soldiers were asking. “He has insulted the entire army of Israel. And have you heard about the huge reward the king has offered to anyone who kills him? And the king will give him one of his daughters for a wife, and his whole family will be exempted from paying taxes!”
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David talked to some others standing there to verify the report. “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his insults to Israel?” he asked them. “Who is this heathen Philistine, anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”
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And he received the same reply as before.
28
But when David’s oldest brother, Eliab, heard David talking like that, he was angry. “What are you doing around here, anyway?” he demanded. “What about the sheep you’re supposed to be taking care of? I know what a cocky brat you are; you just want to see the battle!”
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“What have I done now?” David replied. “I was only asking a question!”
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And he walked over to some others and asked them the same thing and received the same answer.
31
When it was finally realized what David meant, someone told King Saul, and the king sent for him.
32
“Don’t worry about a thing,” David told him. “I’ll take care of this Philistine!”
33
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “How can a kid like you fight with a man like him? You are only a boy, and he has been in the army
since
he was a boy!”
34
But David persisted. “When I am taking care of my father’s sheep,” he said, “and a lion or a bear comes and grabs a lamb from the flock,
35
I go after it with a club and take the lamb from its mouth. If it turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.
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I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this heathen Philistine too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!
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The Lord who saved me from the claws and teeth of the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine!”
Saul finally consented, “All right, go ahead,” he said, “and may the Lord be with you!”
38-39
Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. “I can hardly move!” he exclaimed, and took them off again.
40
Then he picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them in his shepherd’s bag and, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, started across to Goliath.
41-42
Goliath walked out toward David with his shield-bearer ahead of him, sneering in contempt at this nice little red-cheeked boy!
43
“Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods.
44
“Come over here and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals,” Goliath yelled.
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David shouted in reply, “You come to me with a sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of the armies of heaven and of Israel—the very God whom you have defied.
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Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head; and then I will give the dead bodies of
your
men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!
47
And Israel will learn that the Lord does not depend on weapons to fulfill his plans—he works without regard to human means! He will give you to us!”
48-49
As Goliath approached, David ran out to meet him and, reaching into his shepherd’s bag, took out a stone, hurled it from his sling, and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and the man fell on his face to the ground.
50-51
So David conquered the Philistine giant with a sling and a stone. Since he had no sword, he ran over and pulled Goliath’s from its sheath and killed him with it, and then cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.
52
Then the Israelis gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road to Shaaraim.
53
Then the Israeli army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp.
54
(Later David took Goliath’s head to Jerusalem, but stored his armor in his tent.)
55
As Saul was watching David go out to fight Goliath, he asked Abner, the general of his army, “Abner, what sort of family does this young fellow come from?”
*
“I really don’t know,” Abner said.
56
“Well, find out!” the king told him.
57
After David had killed Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.
58
“Tell me about your father, my boy,” Saul said.
And David replied, “His name is Jesse and we live in Bethlehem.”