April 2 - 1 Sam 26-29; 1Chron 12:1-7, 19-20
Saul sought to kill David with 3000 of his best men. What matters of the kingdom were ignored while he was on his obsessive quest?
David defects to Philistia, and the king grants him the town of Ziklag. It is a bit horrifying that David went out raiding so much while he lived in Philistine territory – leaving no man or woman alive in the cities he conquered. He obviously developed his military skills during this period. We see that he has two wives – Abigail and Ahinoam of Jezreel (from the tribe of Issachar).
David seems more than willing to go to war with the Philistines against Israel. What was his plan? Would he have actually killed his countrymen, or would he have turned against the Philistines, leading to victory for Israel. Obviously we will never know.
Saul’s visit with the witch of Endor is interesting, too. He obviously was desperate for advice of any sort. When he collapsed from grief and hunger, the woman butchered a calf and baked some bread for him. I went out on the internet to see how long this might take – in current times it can take up to 2 weeks, including curing time. It probably took several hours to a full day in Israelite times. Unleavened bread would have taken a much shorter time and that probably held Saul over until the meat was ready.
We see in Chronicles that around this time more warriors joined David. It’s a fun fact that the Benjamites (the clan of Saul) were ambidextrous!
TOMORROW’S TEXT: 1 Samuel 30-31; 1 Chronicles 10; 2 Samuel 1
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