In these chapters I see the beginning of the rise of King David’s reign.  Saul and his son Jonathan died in battle. The soldier who killed Saul brought the news to David personally.  Was Saul’s hatred for David so famous that everyone in the area knew about it?  Did the soldier expect David to praise him for killing his enemy?  If so, he was mistaken.  David had Saul’s killer killed. Later, when two brothers murdered Saul’s son Ishbosheth, who was Israel’s king (David was the king of Judah — the tribes had divided into two kingdoms), David had them killed … Continue reading 2 Samuel 1-4: Showing restraint

Tonight I’m going to write out Psalm 130 as a prayer.  I am feeling overwhelmed.  As usual, arrows start to fly when my husband has to travel for work.  Somehow, the Lord gets me through.  Tonight my sweet doggy is sicker than…well, a dog…so my plans for tomorrow are now thrown by the wayside because I have to get her to the vet.  I wonder if I can somehow turn that into a field trip for our homeschool? None of these issues will drag me under because like David, I know where my help comes from.  The LORD is my … Continue reading Psalm 121; 123-125; 128-130: In My Words

The Lord protected David from all sides…and Saul continued to spiral lower and lower into a pit, resorting to consulting a spirit medium when he found the Lord would not answer his questions. Saul and his sons died in a fierce battle with the Philistines… And David wrote a beautiful psalm thanking the Lord for his protection and deliverance from Saul.  Look at this imagery: 2You are my mighty rock, [a] my fortress, my protector, the rock where I am safe, Only you are a mighty rock. [c] 32You give me strength and guide me right. 46You are the living LORD! I … Continue reading 1 Samuel 28-31; Psalm 18: Mighty Fortress

Abigail is one of my Biblical heroes.  She did not stand by and let her husband ridicule the soon-to-be-king David with insults.  She somehow quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread (how in the world did she do that?  There was no Kroger in those days!) and fruit and hurried to meet David and his men before they came to destroy her family in revenge for her husband Nabal’s foolish insults. She was also quite a wordsmith.  The Lord used her to remind David that revenge is the LORD’s, not man’s.  David stopped his intention to kill all of the men … Continue reading 1 Samuel 25-27: One Smart Woman