The Story of the Chosen People (Yesterday's Classics) (14 page)

She took an ample supply of food, and brought it to David in person; then, falling at his feet, she implored him to spare her husband and family. Pleased by her gifts, and touched by her beauty, David consented; and when Nabal died, he took Abigail for his wife, for Michal, the king's daughter, had during his absence been given in marriage to another man.

The memory of David's generosity did not linger long in Saul's mind, so we soon hear of his starting out again to seize and kill David. But the young hero, accompanied by only one servant, slipped one night into the king's camp and tent, and left it unseen, carrying off Saul's spear and cup.

When he reached a hill opposite the sleeping army, David raised his voice and awoke the sleepers. Then, holding up his trophies in full sight of them all, he again told Saul what he had done. As in the meeting at the cave of Engedi, Saul felt touched by David's kindness in sparing his life, and, instead of continuing the pursuit, went away, after he had sent one of his soldiers to get his spear and cup, as David bade him.

David and Saul never saw each other again, after this strange conversation from one hilltop to another; for, fearing that the king would again forget his solemn promise, David went away with all his followers to take refuge among his old enemies, the Philistines. They were so glad to get the help of so good a warrior that they gave him a city to live in. David dwelt here for about one year, fighting with great success against the Amalekites and other tribes, and bringing back much spoil.

The King of the Philistines was so pleased with his share of the booty that he treated David as a friend, and told him all his secrets. One day he even made known to him a plan which he had made to attack the Israelites, and asked him to join the army. David did not dare to refuse, but when the other Philistines heard what the king had done, they would not let David fight with them, and had him sent back to his town.

S
AUL,
in the mean while, had heard that the Philistines were coming, and he was very anxious to know how the war would end. As the spirit of the Lord had left him, and he could not find out what would happen in any other way, he now made up his mind to do as many people did then, and consult a witch.

Saul had often rebuked the Israelites for doing this, and as they did not heed him he had killed nearly all the witches in his land some time before. Only one had escaped him, and she now dwelt at Endor, where Saul went in disguise to ask her advice.

The witch soon recognized the king, although he came without his usual train of followers; but, after making him promise that he would not harm her in any way, she consented to use her magic arts in his presence. By spells and incantations she then called up the spirit of the prophet Samuel, whom Saul said he wished to see.

Saul questioned the spirit when it rose up before him, and learned not only that his army would meet with a terrible defeat, but that he and his sons would perish on that same fatal day.

In a gloomy frame of mind he left the witch of Endor, and went forth to meet the Philistines. As Samuel's wraith had foretold, the Israelites were beaten, and Saul's sons were killed. Then the king and his armor-bearer, unwilling to survive and become the prisoners of their foes, fell upon their swords and died also.

David, coming back to his town among the Philistines after a short absence, now found that the Amalekites had taken and burned it, and had carried off his two wives, Abigail and Ahinoam. After consulting the high priest Abiathar, and getting his leave to fight, David pursued and defeated the Amalekites, and gave their spoil to his own followers. As he came back to his own town, he was met by a messenger, an eyewitness of the terrible battle between the Philistines and the Israelites.

This man told David about the defeat of the Israelites and the death of the king and his sons. Then, hoping to win David's favor, he added that it was he that had killed Saul with his own hand. This untruth received a speedy punishment; for David, believing it, bade one of his soldiers cut off the man's head.

The death of all the royal family was a great blow to David, but he mourned especially for his friend Jonathan. Several of his psalms, which bear the impress of his grief, are supposed to have been composed at this time, and to be a sort of funeral lament for the royal race.

The whole country was in a terrible condition at this time. Although Abner, general-in-chief of the Israelite army, had proclaimed Ishbosheth, the youngest son of Saul, as king, the Philistines had taken possession of the greater part of the country.

For two years Ishbosheth made a feeble attempt to reign; but Abner saw that David's party daily became more powerful, so he finally proposed to make peace with him and join him. David accepted these proposals, and promised to receive Abner kindly, provided that his wife Michal was given back to him.

All would have gone well, and the two parties would have been good friends, had not Joab, David's captain, slain Abner soon after he left his master's presence. This act of treachery so angered David that he cursed Joab and all his family, and mourned publicly for the murdered Abner.

When the rest of the people saw how just David was, they all said that they were in favor of him. Two captains then slew Ishbosheth and carried his head to David, from whom they expected a reward. But David, who despised all treachery, put them both to death.

Although some members of Saul's family were left, David was now called sole king; and he reigned at Hebron seven and a half years before he moved to Jerusalem. In this new capital, "David went on, and grew great, for the Lord God of hosts was with him." It was here, too, that Hiram, King of Tyre, sent to ask his alliance, promising him in exchange cedar wood from Mount Lebanon for the building of a new palace at Jerusalem.

This palace was very grand and spacious; for David, not content with Michal, Abigail, and Ahinoam, had many other wives, and was the father of many children, who all dwelt under his own roof.

D
AVID
was soon obliged to leave his new capital, to go forth and fight his old foes, the Philistines. When he had conquered these enemies, he felt that it was time to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, and to build a temple where it might take up its abode for good. With an escort of thirty thousand men, he therefore set out. The Ark was placed on a new cart, driven by the sons of the high priest, and the procession slowly wended its way towards Jerusalem.

God had commanded that no one should venture to touch the Ark while on its way, but one of the high priest's sons stretched out his hand to steady it when the cart tipped. No sooner had he touched it than he fell down dead.

Awed by this accident, the king ordered the journey stopped, and the Ark was placed for safe keeping in a house near by, where it remained three months. Then, seeing that it brought great blessings to the place where it was kept, the people again became anxious to have it in Jerusalem; and as soon as the new tent, or tabernacle, was finished, they sent the Levites to bring it thither.

To show his respect for the God of Israel, David went ahead of the Ark on foot, in the simple garb of a minstrel; and, dancing and playing upon his harp, he led the way to Mount Zion, where the Ark was to remain.

In his joy at the recovery of this precious Ark, David also gave alms to all the poor, and he offered up costly sacrifices. His joy was marred, however, when Michal, his wife, taunted him for dancing and singing before his people. David finally grew so angry with her that he sent her away from him forever.

Although David had thus safely brought the sacred Ark to Jerusalem, and had placed it in the new tabernacle, he did not consider a tent a sufficiently handsome abode, and wished to build a fine temple for it.

But when he consulted the prophet Nathan, he learned that the honor of building this temple was reserved for one of his sons. He also received a renewal of the old promise of the birth of the Messiah. This promise gave him great pleasure, and was the probable source of the joyful psalms which are known as the Messianic psalms.

As David did not dare to undertake the building of the temple after Nathan's words, he made use of his time in completing the defeat of the Philistines. Then, too, he punished the Moabites for the treacherous murder of his parents, whom he had left in their care.

David also made war against the Edomites, one of whose young princes fled to Egypt. There he grew up and plotted revenge, coming back to Palestine with a mighty army in the days of the next king, Solomon.

By all these victories, which are celebrated in some of the psalms, David little by little enlarged his kingdom, till it reached as far as the banks of the Red Sea. All the Promised Land now belonged to the Chosen People; but their hold on it was rather uncertain, because they had not always been faithful to the Lord.

David was now so firmly placed upon the throne that he no longer feared the family of Saul. He even received Saul's last descendants in his palace, where he made them welcome and treated them like his own sons.

But the consequences of Saul's sins were not yet ended. Because he had murdered the Gibeonites, a great famine came over the land a few years later, and lasted three years, causing much suffering. David, hoping to end this famine, finally offered to give the Gibeonites satisfaction, and in answer to their demands he gave up into their hands seven of the former king's family. The Gibeonites, like most people of the time, believed in revenge; so they hung these seven men on the hill of Gibeon, and decreed that their corpses should swing there for several months.

RIZPAH PROTECTING THE BODIES OF HER SONS

Rizpah, the distracted mother of two of the dead, wished to protect their bodies from the beaks and claws of the vultures and other birds of prey, so she took up her position at the foot of the gallows. There she wildly strove to drive away the birds by day and the wild beasts by night, until David, touched by her devotion, had the bodies taken down and buried.

A
LTHOUGH
the wars with the enemies of Israel were not yet entirely ended, David left the army to the care of Joab, and came back to his capital, Jerusalem. It was while looking out of his palace window one day, that he saw a beautiful woman at her toilet, and fell deeply in love with her.

He now asked who she was, and soon found out that her name was Bathsheba, and that she was the wife of Uriah, one of his soldiers. As David wanted to have this beautiful woman for his own wife, he began to plot how he could get rid of her husband, Uriah; for he knew very well that he could marry her only after she was a widow.

After much thought, David decided on a plan. He sent word to the captain of his army to place Uriah in such an exposed spot, when the next battle took place, that he would surely be killed. The captain obeyed, Uriah fell, and David soon married Bathsheba, the widow, whom he had thus won by the greatest crime of his life.

Of course so wicked a deed as this greatly displeased the Lord, and he sent Nathan, one of his prophets, to reprove the king. Nathan came before David, and, to make sure that he would listen, began to tell this parable:

There was once upon a time a poor man, who had only one ewe lamb. He fed this little creature out of his hand, and cared for it very tenderly both night and day. Near this poor man there dwelt a rich farmer, who had great flocks, and more lambs than he could count.

One day a stranger came to visit the rich man, and the latter gave orders that a feast should be made ready for his guest. As there was no meat in the house, he bade his servant go catch the poor man's pet lamb and kill it, so that they might have enough to eat.

David listened attentively to this story, and was very angry when he heard that the rich man, instead of killing one of his own lambs, had taken the poor man's pet. He said that such a thing was mean, unjust, and cruel, and vowed that the rich man should be severely punished.