WEBVTT 00:00:00.020 --> 00:00:01.220 That's always a good plan. 00:00:03.700 --> 00:00:06.840 Together again, this is the LifeSpring One Year Bible Rewind 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:11.160 and coming to you from right here at LifeSpring Central, Riverside, California, 00:00:11.960 --> 00:00:13.420 podcasting since 2004. 00:00:13.760 --> 00:00:16.379 I am your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. 00:00:16.900 --> 00:00:19.660 This is the podcast that comes to you every single day, 00:00:19.850 --> 00:00:22.420 and we're reading the entire Bible together in a year. 00:00:22.900 --> 00:00:23.860 I'm so glad you're here. 00:00:24.330 --> 00:00:24.460 Welcome. 00:00:24.790 --> 00:00:27.320 The website is lifespringmedia.com. 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:29.900 Today is National Carrot Cake Day. 00:00:30.330 --> 00:00:30.460 Yum. 00:00:30.770 --> 00:00:34.380 I gotta tell you, I love a great carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting. 00:00:34.760 --> 00:00:36.940 Almost as much as I love German chocolate cake. 00:00:37.300 --> 00:00:37.820 How about you? 00:00:38.340 --> 00:00:39.800 I may just have to bake one today. 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:41.260 Are you a carrot cake fan? 00:00:41.580 --> 00:00:42.600 What's your favorite version? 00:00:43.360 --> 00:00:44.480 This is History Tuesday. 00:00:44.850 --> 00:00:49.300 We'll complete the book of 1 Samuel with the reading of chapters 26 through 31. 00:00:49.960 --> 00:00:50.480 Let's begin. 00:00:51.340 --> 00:00:54.760 Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for our time together. 00:00:55.230 --> 00:00:57.500 We pray, God, that you would teach us today as we read. 00:00:58.060 --> 00:01:00.160 I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:01:02.720 --> 00:01:04.440 1 Samuel chapter 26 00:01:06.020 --> 00:01:08.640 The people of Ziph came to Saul at Gibeah. 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:12.980 David is hiding at the hill of Hekilah near Jashimon, they said. 00:01:13.660 --> 00:01:19.280 Saul went to the desert of Ziph, taking with him 3,000 of Israel's best-trained men to search for David. 00:01:20.240 --> 00:01:24.920 Saul camped by the road at the hill of Hekilah near Jashimon, but David stayed in the desert. 00:01:25.420 --> 00:01:30.840 When he realized Saul had come to the desert for him, David sent spies to confirm that Saul had 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:36.800 arrived. Then David went to the place where Saul had camped. David saw the place where Saul and 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:42.760 Ner's son Abner, the commander of the army, were lying. Saul was lying in the camp, and the troops 00:01:42.900 --> 00:01:48.840 were camped around him. David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai, who was Zeruiah's son and 00:01:48.980 --> 00:01:54.680 Joab's brother, who will go with me to Saul in the camp. Abishai answered, I'll go with you. 00:01:55.380 --> 00:02:01.460 So David and Abishai went amongst Saul's troops that night. Saul was lying asleep inside the camp 00:02:01.470 --> 00:02:06.700 with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him. 00:02:07.520 --> 00:02:13.380 Abishai said to David, Today God has turned your enemy over to you. Please let me nail him to the 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:19.540 ground with one stab of the spear. I won't have to do it twice. Don't kill him, David told Abishai. 00:02:20.100 --> 00:02:23.620 No one has ever attacked the Lord's anointed king and remained free of guilt. 00:02:24.420 --> 00:02:30.180 I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives, David added, the Lord will strike him. Either his time will 00:02:30.340 --> 00:02:35.660 come when he'll die naturally, or he'll go into battle and be swept away. It would be unthinkable 00:02:35.660 --> 00:02:40.860 for me to attack the Lord's anointed king. But please, take that spear near his head and that 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:47.280 jar of water, and let's go. David took the spear and the jar of water near Saul's head, and they 00:02:47.460 --> 00:02:53.719 left. All of them were asleep. No one saw them, knew about it, or woke up. The Lord had made them 00:02:53.740 --> 00:02:59.160 fall into a deep sleep. David went over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some 00:02:59.430 --> 00:03:05.180 distance away. There was a wide space between them. Then David called to the troops and to 00:03:05.300 --> 00:03:11.560 Ner's son Abner. Won't you answer, Abner? he asked. Who is calling the king? Abner asked. 00:03:12.420 --> 00:03:18.299 David asked Abner, Aren't you a man? Is there anyone like you in Israel? Then why didn't you 00:03:18.320 --> 00:03:24.160 guard your master, the king. Someone came to kill his royal majesty. What you've done isn't good. 00:03:24.610 --> 00:03:29.900 I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives, you are a dead man. You didn't guard your master, 00:03:30.010 --> 00:03:34.660 the Lord's anointed king. Look at the king's spear and the jar of water that were near his head. 00:03:35.580 --> 00:03:40.460 Saul recognized David's voice. Is that your voice, my servant David? he asked. 00:03:40.990 --> 00:03:46.200 It is my voice, your royal majesty, David answered. Why are you pursuing me? he added. 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:51.680 What have I done? What crime have I committed? Your Majesty, please listen to my words. 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:55.940 If the Lord has turned you against me, let him be satisfied with an offering. 00:03:56.610 --> 00:04:00.480 But if mere mortals have turned you against me, let them be cursed by the Lord. 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:04.100 They have prevented me from having a share of the Lord's inheritance. 00:04:04.880 --> 00:04:10.340 Go and serve other gods, they tell me. Don't let my blood fall to the ground away from the Lord's 00:04:10.490 --> 00:04:15.619 presence. The King of Israel has come to search for one flea like someone hunting a partridge in 00:04:15.640 --> 00:04:22.600 the hills. My servant David, Saul said, I have sinned. Come back. I will not harm you again 00:04:22.960 --> 00:04:27.200 because you valued my life today. I've acted like a fool and made a terrible mistake. 00:04:28.340 --> 00:04:33.180 David responded, Here's the king's spear. One of the young men should come over and get it. 00:04:33.780 --> 00:04:38.980 The Lord will reward any person who is righteous and faithful. The Lord handed you over to me today, 00:04:39.140 --> 00:04:44.580 but I refused to attack the Lord's anointed king. As I placed great value on your life today, 00:04:45.180 --> 00:04:48.800 May the Lord place great value on my life and rescue me from all trouble. 00:04:49.620 --> 00:04:52.600 Then Saul said, Blessed are you, my servant David. 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:56.200 You will accomplish many things and certainly will succeed. 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:00.100 So David went his way while Saul returned home. 00:05:01.060 --> 00:05:02.560 1 Samuel chapter 27 00:05:04.340 --> 00:05:08.140 David said to himself, One of these days Saul will sweep me away. 00:05:08.780 --> 00:05:12.540 The best thing for me to do is to make sure that I escape to Philistine territory. 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:17.100 Then Saul will give up looking all over Israel for me, and I'll escape from him. 00:05:17.940 --> 00:05:22.220 So David went with his six hundred men to King Achish of Gath, Moach's son. 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:25.260 David and his men stayed with Achish at Gath. 00:05:26.260 --> 00:05:30.440 Each one had his family, and David had his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel, 00:05:30.940 --> 00:05:33.600 and Abigail, who had been Nabal's wife, from Carmel. 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:38.340 When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he didn't search for him anymore. 00:05:39.860 --> 00:05:45.160 David said to Achish, If you will permit me, let me have a place in one of the outlying towns so 00:05:45.200 --> 00:05:50.680 that I can live there. Why should I live in the royal city with you? So Achish immediately gave 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:57.160 him Ziklag, which is why Ziklag still belongs to the kings of Judah today. David stayed in 00:05:57.340 --> 00:06:02.720 Philistine territory for one year and four months. Then David and his men went to raid the Geshurites, 00:06:02.840 --> 00:06:08.419 the Gerzites, and the Amalekites. They lived in the territory which extends from Talaam to Shur 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:15.280 and Egypt. Whenever David attacked the territory, he left no man or woman alive. He also took sheep, 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:21.160 cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing, and returned to Achish. Achish would ask, 00:06:21.620 --> 00:06:27.360 Whom did you raid today? And David would answer, The Negev in Judah, or the portion of the Negev 00:06:27.370 --> 00:06:31.960 where the descendants of Jeromiel live, or the portion of the Negev where the Kenites live. 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:36.480 He did not bring a single man or woman back to Gath alive. He thought, 00:06:36.540 --> 00:06:41.720 they could tell Achish what I really did. This was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine 00:06:41.880 --> 00:06:47.440 territory, and Achish believed David. Achish thought, He has definitely made his own people 00:06:47.470 --> 00:06:53.580 in Israel despise him. He'll be my servant from now on. 1 Samuel chapter 28 00:06:55.380 --> 00:06:58.860 At that time the Philistines had gathered their army to fight against Israel. 00:06:59.590 --> 00:07:04.260 Then Achish said to David, You need to know that you and your men will be going with me into battle. 00:07:04.820 --> 00:07:09.140 Very well, David responded to Achish. You will then know what I can do. 00:07:09.840 --> 00:07:13.760 Very well, Achish told David. I will make you my bodyguard for life. 00:07:14.880 --> 00:07:19.660 Meanwhile, Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his hometown, 00:07:20.060 --> 00:07:23.360 Ramah. Saul had rid the land of mediums and psychics. 00:07:24.740 --> 00:07:30.060 The Philistines assembled and camped in Shunem. Saul also assembled the whole Israelite army, 00:07:30.260 --> 00:07:35.480 and they camped at Gilboa. When Saul looked at the Philistine army, he was very afraid, 00:07:36.020 --> 00:07:40.200 terrified. He prayed to the Lord, but the Lord didn't answer him through dreams, 00:07:40.570 --> 00:07:46.520 the Urim, or prophets. Saul told his officers, Find me a woman who conjures up the dead, 00:07:46.960 --> 00:07:52.720 then I'll go to her and ask for her services. His officers told him, There is a woman at Endor 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:58.759 who conjures up the dead. After disguising himself by putting on other clothes, Saul left with two 00:07:58.780 --> 00:08:04.100 men and came to the woman that night. He said to her, Please consult with a dead person for me. 00:08:04.660 --> 00:08:10.520 Conjure up the person I request. The woman told him, You know that Saul rid the land of mediums 00:08:10.520 --> 00:08:16.340 and psychics. Why are you trying to trap me and have me killed? But Saul took an oath in the Lord's 00:08:16.500 --> 00:08:22.939 name. I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives, you will not be harmed if you do this. Whom shall I conjure 00:08:22.960 --> 00:08:29.460 up for you? the woman asked. Conjure up Samuel for me, he answered. When the woman saw Samuel, 00:08:29.760 --> 00:08:34.860 she cried out loudly and asked, Why did you deceive me? You're Saul. Don't be afraid, 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:40.020 the king said to her. What do you see? I see a god rising from the ground, 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:45.920 the woman answered. In what form? he asked her. She answered, An old man is coming up, 00:08:46.040 --> 00:08:52.019 and he's wearing a robe. Then Saul knew it was Samuel. Saul knelt down with his face touching 00:08:52.040 --> 00:08:59.380 the ground. Samuel asked Saul, Why did you disturb me by conjuring me up? Saul answered, I'm in 00:08:59.640 --> 00:09:04.580 serious trouble. The Philistines are at war with me, and God has turned against me and doesn't 00:09:04.700 --> 00:09:09.940 answer me anymore, either by the prophets or in dreams, so I've called on you to tell me what to do. 00:09:10.680 --> 00:09:15.620 Samuel said, Why are you asking me when the Lord has turned against you and become your enemy? 00:09:16.160 --> 00:09:20.679 The Lord has done to you exactly what He spoke through me. The Lord has torn the kingship out 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:26.380 of your hands and given it to your fellow Israelite, David. The Lord is doing this to you today because 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:32.220 you didn't listen to him or unleash his burning anger on Amalek. For the same reasons, the Lord 00:09:32.220 --> 00:09:37.420 will hand you and Israel over to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. 00:09:38.100 --> 00:09:41.400 And then the Lord will hand Israel's army over to the Philistines. 00:09:42.860 --> 00:09:48.759 Immediately Saul fell flat on the ground. He was frightened by Samuel's words. He also had no 00:09:48.780 --> 00:09:54.140 strength left, because he hadn't eaten anything all day or night. The woman came over to Saul and 00:09:54.210 --> 00:09:59.620 saw that he was terrified. I listened to you, she told him, and I took my life in my hands when I 00:09:59.820 --> 00:10:05.980 did what you told me to do. Now please listen to me. I will serve you something to eat. Eat it so 00:10:06.060 --> 00:10:11.340 that you will have strength when you leave. But he refused. I don't want to eat, he said. 00:10:11.980 --> 00:10:17.359 Nevertheless, his officers and the woman kept urging him until he listened to them. So he got 00:10:17.380 --> 00:10:22.880 up from the ground and sat on the bed. The woman immediately butchered a fattened calf that she 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:28.900 owned. She took flour, kneaded it, and baked some unleavened bread. Then she served it to Saul and 00:10:28.900 --> 00:10:36.840 his officers. They ate and left that same night. 1 Samuel chapter 29. The Philistines assembled 00:10:36.860 --> 00:10:42.579 their whole army at Aphek, and Israel camped at the spring in Jezreel. The Philistine leaders were 00:10:42.600 --> 00:10:47.440 marching by with their companies and regiments. David and his men were marching in the rear with 00:10:47.540 --> 00:10:54.120 Achish. The Philistine officers asked, What are these Hebrews doing here? Achish asked the Philistine 00:10:54.260 --> 00:11:00.020 officers, Isn't this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me now for a year 00:11:00.020 --> 00:11:05.940 or two? I found nothing wrong with him from the day he defected until now. But the Philistine 00:11:06.280 --> 00:11:11.979 officers were angry with Achish. Send the man back, the Philistine officers told him. Return him to 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:16.560 the place you assigned him. He shouldn't go with us into battle. He shouldn't be allowed to become 00:11:16.650 --> 00:11:22.420 our enemy during the battle. Is this man going to try to regain his master's favor? He'll do it with 00:11:22.420 --> 00:11:28.340 the lives of our men. Isn't this David of whom people sing in dances, Saul has defeated thousands, 00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:35.220 but David tens of thousands? Then Achish called David and told him, I solemnly swear as the Lord 00:11:35.400 --> 00:11:41.059 lives, you are a dependable man. I consider your campaigning with me a good thing, because I've 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:46.840 never found anything wrong with you from the day you came to me until now. But the rulers don't 00:11:46.840 --> 00:11:51.900 approve of you, so leave peaceably without doing anything to displease the Philistine rulers. 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:58.520 What have I done? David asked Achish. What have you learned about me from the time I came to you 00:11:58.630 --> 00:12:05.399 until now? Why shouldn't I fight your enemies, your majesty? Achish answered David. I admit that in 00:12:05.420 --> 00:12:11.540 my judgment, you're as good as God's messenger. However, the Philistine officers said, He shouldn't 00:12:11.620 --> 00:12:16.640 go into battle with us. Get up early in the morning with Saul's servants who came with you, 00:12:17.120 --> 00:12:22.300 and go to the place I have assigned to you. Don't worry about the unkind words, because I still 00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:28.760 approve of you. Get up in the morning and leave when it's light. Early the next morning, David and 00:12:28.760 --> 00:12:32.900 his men returned to Philistine territory, while the Philistines went to Jezreel. 00:12:33.920 --> 00:12:41.200 1 Samuel 30. David and his men arrived in Ziklag on the third day. The Amalekites had raided the 00:12:41.260 --> 00:12:46.760 Negev and attacked and burned down Ziklag. They also had kidnapped the women and everyone in it, 00:12:46.890 --> 00:12:52.080 from the youngest to the oldest. They had killed no one, but they had carried them off as they went 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:58.100 on their way. When David and his men arrived at the town, they found it burned down. Their wives, 00:12:58.440 --> 00:13:03.880 sons, and daughters had been kidnapped. David and the troops with him wept loudly until they 00:13:03.900 --> 00:13:10.040 strength left to weep. David's two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the widow 00:13:10.180 --> 00:13:15.240 of Nabal the Carmelite, had also been kidnapped. David was in a difficult position because 00:13:15.460 --> 00:13:19.560 the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over the loss of their 00:13:19.620 --> 00:13:23.780 sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God. 00:13:24.740 --> 00:13:30.820 David said to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." So Abiathar 00:13:30.880 --> 00:13:36.060 brought it to him, and David asked the Lord, Should I pursue these raiders? Will I overtake them? 00:13:36.680 --> 00:13:41.800 The Lord replied to him, Pursue them, for you will certainly overtake them and rescue the people. 00:13:42.780 --> 00:13:47.400 David and the six hundred men with him went as far as the Wadi Bezor, where two hundred men who 00:13:47.400 --> 00:13:52.520 were to remain behind would stop. They stopped because they were too exhausted to cross the 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:58.660 Wadi Bezor. David and four hundred of the men continued in pursuit. They found an Egyptian in 00:13:58.680 --> 00:14:03.280 the open country and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink. 00:14:04.100 --> 00:14:09.600 Then they gave him some pressed figs and two clusters of raisins. After he ate, he revived, 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:13.480 for he hadn't eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights. 00:14:14.640 --> 00:14:19.440 Then David said to him, Who do you belong to? Where are you from? I am an Egyptian, 00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:25.180 the slave of an Amalekite man, he said. My master abandoned me when I got sick three days ago. 00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:30.540 We raided the south country of the Carathites, the territory of Judah, and the south country of Caleb, 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:37.600 and we burned down Ziklag. David then asked him, Will you lead me to these raiders? He said, 00:14:37.940 --> 00:14:42.940 Swear to me by God that you won't kill me or turn me over to my master, and I will lead you to them. 00:14:43.920 --> 00:14:49.540 So he led them, and there were the Amalekites, spread out over the entire area, eating, drinking, 00:14:49.740 --> 00:14:53.320 and celebrating because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the 00:14:53.340 --> 00:14:58.380 Philistines and the land of Judah. David slaughtered them from twilight until the 00:14:58.470 --> 00:15:03.860 evening of the next day. None of them escaped except four hundred young men who got on camels 00:15:03.860 --> 00:15:09.900 and fled. David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken. He also rescued his two wives. 00:15:10.680 --> 00:15:15.040 Nothing of theirs was missing from the youngest to the oldest, including the sons and daughters, 00:15:15.580 --> 00:15:21.800 of all the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David got everything back. He took all the sheep and 00:15:21.820 --> 00:15:26.660 cattle, which were driven ahead of the other livestock, and the people shouted, This is David's 00:15:26.820 --> 00:15:32.040 plunder. When David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to go with him, 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:36.940 and had been left at the Wadi Bezor, they came out to meet him and to meet the troops with him. 00:15:37.860 --> 00:15:42.640 When David approached the men, he greeted them, but all the corrupt and worthless men among those 00:15:42.640 --> 00:15:47.120 who had gone with David argued, Because they didn't go with us, we will not give any of the 00:15:47.140 --> 00:15:52.760 plunder we recovered to them, except for each man's wife and children. They may take them and go. 00:15:53.620 --> 00:15:57.600 But David said, My brothers, you must not do this with what the Lord has given us. 00:15:58.100 --> 00:16:01.640 He protected us and handed over to us the raiders who came against us. 00:16:02.390 --> 00:16:07.260 Who can agree to your proposal? The share of the one who goes into battle is to be the same as the 00:16:07.380 --> 00:16:12.960 share of the one who remains with the supplies. They will share equally. And it has been so from 00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:18.500 that day forward. David established this policy as a law and as an ordinance for Israel, and it 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:24.640 continues to this very day. When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of his plunder to his friends, 00:16:24.750 --> 00:16:29.280 the elders of Judah, saying, Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the Lord's enemies. 00:16:30.300 --> 00:16:35.420 He sent gifts to those in Bethel, in Ramoth of the Negev, and in Jadar, to those in Aror, 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:41.040 in Sifmoth, and in Eshtimoah, to those in Rakil, in the towns of the Jeromielites, 00:16:41.160 --> 00:16:47.200 and in the towns of the Kenites, to those in Horma, in Boratian, and in Athak, to those in Hebron, 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:53.020 and to those in all the places where David and his men had roamed. 1 Samuel chapter 31. 00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:59.760 The Philistines fought against Israel, and Israel's men fled from them. Many were killed on Mount 00:16:59.960 --> 00:17:05.680 Gilboa. The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons and killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:10.980 and Malchishua. When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers caught up with him, 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:16.620 and severely wounded him. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, Draw your sword and run me through 00:17:16.660 --> 00:17:22.579 with it, for these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me. But his armor-bearer 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:28.840 would not do it, because he was terrified. Then Saul took his sword and fell on it. When his armor-bearer 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:35.780 saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him. So on that day Saul died, 00:17:35.880 --> 00:17:41.700 together with his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men. When the men of Israel on the 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:46.220 other side of the valley and on the other side of the Jordan saw that Israel's men had run away, 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:51.800 and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. So the Philistines 00:17:52.040 --> 00:17:56.880 came and settled in them. The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, 00:17:57.280 --> 00:18:02.480 they found Saul and his three sons dead on Mount Gilboa. They cut off Saul's head, 00:18:03.100 --> 00:18:07.640 stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to spread 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:12.700 the good news in the temples of their idols and among the people. Then they put his armor in the 00:18:12.820 --> 00:18:18.920 temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Bethshan. When the residents of Jabesh 00:18:19.080 --> 00:18:24.500 Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their brave men set out, journeyed at night, 00:18:24.840 --> 00:18:30.320 and retrieved the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan. When they 00:18:30.340 --> 00:18:36.160 arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there. Afterward, they took their bones and buried them 00:18:36.280 --> 00:18:44.900 under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. I have comments today on chapters 26, 27, 00:18:45.420 --> 00:18:52.320 and 28. In chapter 26, once more, David passes on an opportunity to take out Saul because David 00:18:52.560 --> 00:18:58.900 refuses to touch God's anointed, even though he knows that Saul is unjustly after his blood. 00:18:59.380 --> 00:19:04.600 David knows that God has promised to give the throne to him, and he won't force the issue by 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:10.380 taking matters into his own hands. Have you ever heard the phrase, God helps those who help 00:19:10.540 --> 00:19:15.000 themselves? Well, wouldn't it make sense for David to take advantage of the situation here? 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:20.280 Well, not really, because that phrase is not in the Bible. God gave David the promise, 00:19:20.760 --> 00:19:25.520 and it's up to God to make it come to pass. It is not up to David, and David knows it. 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:31.760 When David shows Saul the spear in the water jug, Saul is finally convinced that David is not after 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:38.420 him, and we have no more recorded instances that they ever saw each other again. So what of David's 00:19:38.580 --> 00:19:44.300 statement at the beginning of chapter 27 that, quote, one of these days Saul will sweep me away, 00:19:44.740 --> 00:19:51.340 unquote. David may have convinced Saul, but David doesn't trust Saul, and he's having an episode of 00:19:51.360 --> 00:19:56.740 weak faith here. If his faith was strong, he would know that there is no way God will allow 00:19:56.850 --> 00:20:03.360 Saul to harm him. I've known some wonderful men of God who sometimes had doubts. I myself have had, 00:20:03.460 --> 00:20:09.220 and by the way, I'm not equating myself with the men of God that I've known, but I've had doubts 00:20:09.350 --> 00:20:15.080 in my own life where I wasn't sure of God's will for my life or whether I was even on God's radar. 00:20:15.700 --> 00:20:20.539 This is a good reminder to pray for our pastors and other people in our lives who come under 00:20:20.560 --> 00:20:26.440 attack. Our leaders, whether they be spiritual leaders or family leaders or governmental leaders, 00:20:27.040 --> 00:20:32.460 often come under really intense pressure from all kinds of sources, even those who we think 00:20:32.460 --> 00:20:38.660 are pillars of strength. In their hearts, they sometimes doubt. Pray for them. Encourage them. 00:20:39.160 --> 00:20:46.040 Lift them up. Now, in chapter 28, it's a little bit comical. Saul seldom fails to do the wrong 00:20:46.100 --> 00:20:51.320 thing, does he? He's terrified at the prospect of fighting the Philistines who've gathered an army 00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:57.600 to fight Israel. Had Saul been willing to turn to God? Had he truly repented of his previous sinful 00:20:57.800 --> 00:21:03.000 actions? He wouldn't be facing the Philistines here and now, and God would be his closest ally. 00:21:03.720 --> 00:21:10.380 But now Saul receives no comfort or guidance from the Lord. So Saul decides that if God won't answer 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:16.780 him, the next best thing is to go to see a psychic. Makes sense to me. Let's conjure up a dead person. 00:21:17.140 --> 00:21:24.480 That's always a good plan. Let's conjure up a man of God. Unbelievable. So the psychic, or witch, 00:21:24.560 --> 00:21:30.260 as some translations have it, does see something, but what she sees cannot be Samuel because, 00:21:30.780 --> 00:21:38.640 A, this practice is against God's law. B, we know from Luke 16, verses 19 through 31, 00:21:39.300 --> 00:21:44.840 that God does not allow the dead to communicate with the living, and, C, the message from this 00:21:45.080 --> 00:21:51.060 demonic spirit is meant to discourage and defeat Saul. The real Samuel would have told him to return 00:21:51.080 --> 00:21:58.340 to God, to ask forgiveness. This demon reminds Saul of his failures and wraps up by telling Saul 00:21:58.600 --> 00:22:05.120 that he and his sons will be dead tomorrow. This, by the way, is one of Satan's favorite ploys. 00:22:05.720 --> 00:22:08.480 He loves to remind us of our failures, of our sins, 00:22:09.080 --> 00:22:12.120 even sins that we have already taken to God and turned from, 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:14.940 sins that we have asked forgiveness for. 00:22:15.580 --> 00:22:20.280 1 John 1.9 tells us that if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. 00:22:21.040 --> 00:22:27.480 Psalm 103.12 tells us that God removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:31.960 But Satan tries to dredge them back up and rub our nose in them. 00:22:32.660 --> 00:22:36.200 He wants us to feel defeated and unworthy to do anything for God. 00:22:37.120 --> 00:22:38.000 Satan is a liar. 00:22:38.540 --> 00:22:39.260 He's a cheater. 00:22:39.820 --> 00:22:40.400 He's a thief. 00:22:41.180 --> 00:22:42.000 Don't listen to him. 00:22:42.310 --> 00:22:48.340 And don't ever put yourself in the position Saul put himself in here by voluntarily seeking 00:22:48.390 --> 00:22:48.900 him out. 00:22:49.320 --> 00:22:52.300 That's just stupid, stupid, stupid. 00:22:53.060 --> 00:22:53.920 Pardon my French. 00:22:54.820 --> 00:22:55.400 What do you think? 00:23:00.860 --> 00:23:07.300 Today's verse of the day is 1 Samuel 29.5. Isn't this David, of whom people sing and dances, 00:23:07.840 --> 00:23:13.260 Saul has defeated thousands, but David tens of thousands? 1 Samuel 29.5. 00:23:18.860 --> 00:23:24.760 On this date in church history, February 3rd. We often think of the Reformation as a movement 00:23:24.820 --> 00:23:31.580 of ideas, but every great movement needs a vehicle. On February 3, 1468, a man died in 00:23:31.780 --> 00:23:36.140 Germany who provided that vehicle, though he never lived to see the revolution he sparked. 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:42.420 His name was Johannes Gutenberg. To understand his impact, you have to imagine a world where 00:23:42.430 --> 00:23:48.780 a single Bible cost as much as a small farm and took a scribe a full year to copy by hand. 00:23:49.330 --> 00:23:53.440 In that world, the Word of God was physically locked away in monasteries, 00:23:53.560 --> 00:23:55.800 and literacy was a gate-kept luxury. 00:23:56.740 --> 00:24:00.160 Gutenberg, a goldsmith by trade, spent years in secret 00:24:00.580 --> 00:24:03.360 perfecting a way to cast individual metal letters 00:24:03.940 --> 00:24:06.000 that could be rearranged and reused. 00:24:06.600 --> 00:24:09.180 When he finally printed his famous 42-line Bible, 00:24:09.570 --> 00:24:12.780 he didn't just invent a machine, he broke a monopoly. 00:24:13.300 --> 00:24:15.760 His press combined the mechanics of a wine press 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:18.120 with durable metal alloys, 00:24:18.620 --> 00:24:22.140 allowing for speed, scale, and, crucially, accuracy. 00:24:22.860 --> 00:24:26.140 For the first time, every copy of a text was identical. 00:24:26.940 --> 00:24:32.540 That meant that when theological debates arose, everyone was finally on the same page, literally. 00:24:33.660 --> 00:24:39.160 Church historians often call Gutenberg's press the information superhighway of the 16th century. 00:24:39.680 --> 00:24:43.540 Without him, Martin Luther might have remained a local monk with a few complaints. 00:24:44.140 --> 00:24:51.720 Instead, because of the press, Luther's 95 theses were translated, printed, and spread across Europe in just weeks. 00:24:51.840 --> 00:25:01.900 Yes, Gutenberg made the priesthood of all believers a practical reality because, for the first time, the believers could actually afford to own the book. 00:25:02.580 --> 00:25:09.200 Gutenberg died in relative obscurity, but his legacy is found in every pew and on every bookshelf today. 00:25:09.980 --> 00:25:13.360 He proved that when the word is unleashed, the world changes. 00:25:14.100 --> 00:25:15.140 And I'll just add this. 00:25:15.740 --> 00:25:32.380 When God woke me from a deep sleep in 2004 while I was on a Cub Scout camping trip in the Joshua Tree National Park desert here in Southern California with my two youngest sons to call me to begin what would end up being the world's first Christian podcast, not based on repurposed church sermons, 00:25:33.040 --> 00:25:43.000 one of the things he said to me that early morning was that the Gutenberg Press was really the very first form of mass media, and the first thing that came from it was the Gutenberg Bible. 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:48.140 Then he said that he wanted to be a part of this new mass medium called podcasting, 00:25:48.540 --> 00:25:51.780 and he wanted me to start a podcast that proclaimed his name. 00:25:52.760 --> 00:25:55.120 That camping trip was in October 2004, 00:25:55.840 --> 00:26:00.320 and the first episode of the Lifespring podcast was published on November 13, 2004. 00:26:01.160 --> 00:26:03.920 I've published well over 4,000 episodes since then, 00:26:04.060 --> 00:26:07.840 and I truly have no idea how many millions of downloads there have been. 00:26:08.360 --> 00:26:13.520 I haven't kept records because, in my mind, it's up to the Lord to do with the show what He will. 00:26:13.540 --> 00:26:19.820 I simply try to do my best to create shows that he calls me to do with as high quality as I'm able to produce. 00:26:20.500 --> 00:26:24.580 I certainly don't do it for recognition or money because there is very little of either. 00:26:25.060 --> 00:26:27.320 I do it because he called me, period. 00:26:28.120 --> 00:26:34.180 And when the time comes that I can no longer do it because of health or I'm no longer able to sustain the show financially, 00:26:34.780 --> 00:26:36.880 I'll shut off this microphone for the last time. 00:26:37.540 --> 00:26:41.880 Anyway, when I saw that this is the date that Johannes Gutenberg went to be with the Lord, 00:26:42.270 --> 00:26:44.540 I couldn't not talk about him on the show. 00:26:49.380 --> 00:26:54.740 Speaking of finances, it is through the generosity of the Lifespring family that I can bring the 00:26:54.860 --> 00:26:57.160 Lifespring One Year Bible Rewind to you each day. 00:26:57.720 --> 00:26:58.660 Have you donated yet? 00:26:59.240 --> 00:27:04.040 The only income the show has is through your value-for-value donations and whatever I can 00:27:04.620 --> 00:27:05.340 pull out of my wallet. 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:07.280 The show needs your support. 00:27:07.940 --> 00:27:10.600 And I'm speaking now to those of you who listen regularly. 00:27:11.220 --> 00:27:14.120 Obviously, the show brings value to your life in some way. 00:27:14.980 --> 00:27:17.600 Would you miss it if it stopped showing up in your podcast app? 00:27:18.120 --> 00:27:21.080 If so, I'm asking you to, maybe for the first time, 00:27:21.460 --> 00:27:24.500 really pray about whether the Lord would have you make a donation. 00:27:25.140 --> 00:27:26.600 Ask Him what He would have you do. 00:27:27.020 --> 00:27:29.440 And then, in faith, obey Him. 00:27:30.140 --> 00:27:30.840 That's all I ask. 00:27:31.420 --> 00:27:32.680 Time, talent, or treasure. 00:27:33.460 --> 00:27:34.220 Now is the time. 00:27:42.300 --> 00:27:43.500 Well, tomorrow is Wednesday. 00:27:43.950 --> 00:27:44.800 You know what that means. 00:27:45.280 --> 00:27:46.400 Praises and prayer requests. 00:27:46.880 --> 00:27:52.060 It means that now's the time to go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com to share with me and the Lifespring family. 00:27:52.660 --> 00:27:55.920 We'll rejoice with you for what praiseworthy things God has done in your life, 00:27:56.500 --> 00:27:59.860 and we'll pray with you and for you about the things you need His touch for. 00:28:00.580 --> 00:28:03.560 We are the Lifespring family, and family shares with family. 00:28:03.840 --> 00:28:08.760 It doesn't work if you don't participate. That's prayer.lifespringmedia.com. 00:28:17.900 --> 00:28:23.700 Beloved, even when we know God's promises, it can be easy to let fear or the enemy's lies cloud 00:28:23.710 --> 00:28:30.240 our vision. Let's choose to trust in God's timing and his forgiveness rather than taking matters into 00:28:30.260 --> 00:28:36.300 our own hands or listening to the voice of defeat. Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thank you 00:28:36.420 --> 00:28:41.620 for inviting me to be a part of your day. I can't wait to see you again tomorrow. My name is Steve 00:28:41.760 --> 00:28:50.120 Webb. Bye. All the programs in the Lifespring Media family are made possible by your value-for-value 00:28:50.350 --> 00:28:57.920 support. Thank you. The Lifespring One Year Bible Rewind is a Lifespring Media production hosted by 00:28:57.940 --> 00:29:00.000 Steve Webb, the OG Godcaster 00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:01.040 since 2004.