to you! He it is who shall rule over my people." So when Saul met Samuel
in the gate, and said, "Tell me, if you will, where the seer's house
is," Samuel answered Saul, "I am the seer; go up before me to the high
place, for you shall eat with me to-day; and in the morning I will let
you go and will tell you all that is in your mind. As for your asses
that were lost three days ago, do not trouble yourself about them for
they have been found. And to whom belongs all that is best in Israel?
Does it not belong to you and to your father's house?" Saul answered and
said, "Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel,
and is not my family the least of all the families of the tribe of
Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?"
But Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall and
made them sit at the head of the guests (who were about thirty in
number). Samuel also said to the cook, "Bring the part which I gave you
and told you to put aside." So the cook took up the leg and what was on
it and placed them before Saul. Then Samuel said, "See what has been
kept for you! Set it before you and eat, for it was kept for you until
the appointed time, that you might eat with the people whom I have
invited." So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
After they came down from the high place into the town, they spread a
bed for Saul on the roof, and he lay down. Then at daybreak Samuel
called to Saul on the roof, saying, "Rise, that I may send you away." So
Saul rose, and he and Samuel went out into the street. As they were
going out of the town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on
before us, but you stand here that I may tell you the message from God."
Then Samuel took the flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head, and
kissed him and said, "Has not Jehovah anointed you to be a prince over
his people Israel? You shall rule over Jehovah's people and deliver
them from the power of their enemies on every side. This is the sign
that Jehovah has anointed you to be a prince over his own people: when
you go from me to-day you shall find two men at Rachel's tomb; and they
will say to you, 'The asses that you went to seek are found, and now
your father is thinking no more about the asses but is worrying about
you, saying, "What shall I do for my son?"' Then you shall go on from
there and come to the oak of Tabor. There three men going up to God at
Bethel will meet you, one carrying three kids, another carrying three
loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. They will greet
you and give you two loaves of bread which you shall take from their
hand. After that you shall come to Gibeah. As you come to the city you
will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a
lyre, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them, while they
prophesy. Then the spirit of Jehovah will come suddenly upon you, and
you shall prophesy with them, and shall be changed into another man.
When these signs come to you, do whatever you can, for God is with you."
So when Saul turned away from Samuel, God gave him a new heart, and all
those signs came to pass that day.
Saul's uncle also said to him and to his servant, "Where did you go?" He
said, "To seek the asses; and when we saw that they were not to be
found, we went to Samuel." Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said
to you." Saul replied, "He told us that the asses were surely found."
But Saul did not tell him that Samuel had said he should become the
ruler.
After about a month, Nahash, the Ammonite, came up and besieged Jabesh
in Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make terms with us
and we will serve you." But Nahash, the Ammonite, said to them. "On this
condition will I make terms with you: that I bore out the right eye of
each of you, and so bring disgrace upon all Israel." The elders of
Jabesh said to him, "Let us have seven days in which to send messengers
through all the land of Israel. Then, if there are none to save us, we
will come to you."
So the messengers came to Gibeah where Saul lived and told the facts in
the hearing of the people, and they all set up a loud wail. Just then
Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he said, "What is
the trouble with the people that they are wailing?" Then they told him
what the men of Jabesh had said. When he heard it, the spirit of Jehovah
came suddenly upon him and he became very indignant. He took a pair of
oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent them through all the land of Israel
by messengers, who said, "Whoever does not come out after Saul and after
Samuel, the same shall be done to his oxen!"
Then a terror from Jehovah fell upon the people, and they all gathered
together. And Saul said to the messengers who came, "Say to the men of
Jabesh in Gilead, 'To-morrow by the time the sun grows hot help shall
come to you.'"
So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh, and they were glad.
Therefore the men of Jabesh said to the Ammonites, "To-morrow we will
come out to you, and you shall do to us whatever you please." So on the
following day, Saul divided the people into three divisions; and they
went into the midst of the camp early in the morning, and fought against
the Ammonites until noon. The Ammonites who stayed behind were so
scattered that not two of them were left together.
Then all the people went to Gilgal and there in the presence of Jehovah
made Saul their ruler, and they offered sacrifices there to Jehovah; and
Saul and all the men of Israel were very happy.
JONATHAN'S BRAVE DEED
Saul picked out three thousand men from the Israelites. Two thousand
were with Saul in Michmash and on the highland of Bethel, and a thousand
were with his son Jonathan in Gibeah. But Saul had sent the rest of the
people each to his home.
Then Jonathan attacked the company of the Philistines in Gibeah; and the
Philistines heard of it. But Saul sounded a call to arms throughout all
the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear!" So all Israel heard the report
that Saul had attacked the Philistines, and also that Israel was hated
by them.
Then the Philistines were gathered together to fight with Israel: three
thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and foot soldiers as many as
the sand of the seashore. They came up and camped in Michmash. When the
men of Israel saw that they were in a tight place (for the people were
hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves, in holes, in the
rocks, in tombs, and in pits. Also many people crossed over the Jordan
to the land of Gad and Gilead.
Then Saul counted the people who were with him and found that there
were about six hundred men. And Saul and his son Jonathan, together with
the people who were with them, remained in Gibeah, while the Philistines
camped in Michmash. Then the Philistines came out of the camp in three
divisions to steal whatever they could find: one division turned toward
Ophrah, in the land of Shual, another toward Bethhoron, and another
toward the hill that looks down over the valley of Zeboim. But the
garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
Now on that day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who
carried his armor, "Come, let us go over against the Philistines'
garrison that is on the other side." But he did not tell his father.
Meantime Saul was sitting just outside of Gibeah under the
pomegranate-tree which is near the threshing-floor, and there were with
him about six hundred men. But the people did not know that Jonathan had
gone.
Along the ravine by which Jonathan tried to go over against the
Philistines there was a steep rock on one side, and a steep rock on the
other; one was named The Shining, and the other The Thorny. One rock
rose up north of Michmash, and the other south of Geba.
So Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, "Come, let us
go over to the camp of these heathen Philistines. Perhaps Jehovah will
act for us, for there is nothing that can keep Jehovah from delivering
his people either by many or by few." His armor-bearer replied, "Do
whatever you wish, I will do my best to help you." Then Jonathan said,
"See, we will cross over to the men and show ourselves to them. If they
say to us, 'Stand still until we can reach you,' then we will stand
still in our place, and will not go up to them. But if they say, 'Come
up to us,' then we will go up; for this shall be the proof that Jehovah
has given them into our power."
When both of them showed themselves to the Philistines, the Philistines
said, "There are Hebrews coming out of the holes where they have
hidden." So they called to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, "Come up to
us, and we will show you something!" Then Jonathan said to his
armor-bearer, "Come up after me, for Jehovah has given them into the
power of Israel."
So Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet and his armor-bearer after
him. And the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer
followed and put them to death. In the first attack Jonathan and his
armor-bearer killed about twenty men with spears and rocks from the
field. Then there was a great panic in the camp, in the open field, and
among all the Philistines. Even those who were out robbing were
panic-stricken, and the earth quaked, so that it produced a God-sent
panic.
The watchmen of Saul in Gibeah looked and saw the great company of
Philistines melting away and rushing here and there. Then Saul said to
the people who were with him, "Look now and see who is gone from us."
When they searched they found that Jonathan and his armor-bearer were
not there. So Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring the ark of God here," for at
that time it was with the Israelites. While Saul was still speaking to
the priest, the noise and disorder among the Philistines kept on
increasing. Therefore, Saul said to the priest, "Do not wait to consult
Jehovah!"
Then Saul and all the people that were with him gathered together and
went into battle. And every Philistine's sword was turned upon his
fellow, so that there was a very great confusion among them. The Hebrews
who once were on the side of the Philistines and who had joined their
army also went over to the side of the Israelites who were with Saul and
Jonathan. Likewise all the men of Israel who were hiding in the
highlands of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines had fled,
closely followed them in the battle. So Jehovah delivered Israel that
day, and the battle passed over beyond Bethhoron. But Saul made a great
mistake that day, for he strictly commanded the people, saying, "The man
who shall eat any food until evening and until I take vengeance on my
enemies shall be punished." So none of the people tasted food.
Now there was honey on the surface of the ground; and when the people
came to the forest, they saw a stream of honey, but no one put his hand
to his mouth, for the people feared the punishment. But Jonathan had not
heard when his father commanded the people. Therefore he reached out the
end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and
put his hand to his mouth, and he felt refreshed. Then one of the people
spoke up and said, "Your father strictly commanded the people, saying,
'The man who eats food this day shall be punished.'" But Jonathan
replied, "My father has brought great trouble on the land. See how I
have been refreshed because I tasted a little of this honey. If only the
people had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies, many more
of the Philistines would have been slain."
Then Saul said, "Let us go down after the Philistines by night and take
spoil until daybreak, and let us not leave one of them." They said, "Do
whatever you think best." But the priest said, "Let us ask of God." So
Saul asked of God, "Shall I go down after the Philistines? Wilt thou
deliver them over to Israel?" But he did not answer him that day.
Therefore Saul said, "Come here, all you leaders of the people, and find
out who has done wrong to-day. For as surely as Jehovah the deliverer of
Israel lives, even though it be Jonathan my son, he shall die." But not
one of the people answered him.
Then he said to all Israel, "You be on one side, and I and Jonathan my
son will be on the other." The people said to Saul, "Do what you think
best." Therefore Saul said, "Jehovah, God of Israel, why hast thou not
answered thy servant this day? If the sin be mine or that of Jonathan my
son, Jehovah, God of Israel, show it by the lot marked Urim; but if the
sin lies with thy people Israel, show it by the lot marked Thummim."
Then the lot fell on Jonathan and Saul and not on the people. So Saul
said, "Cast the lot between me and Jonathan my son. He whom Jehovah
selects must die." The people said to Saul, "It shall not be so!" But
Saul made the people do as he said, and they cast the lot between him
and Jonathan his son; and it fell on Jonathan.
Then Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done." So Jonathan
told him, "I did indeed taste a little honey with the end of the staff
that was in my hand. Here I am! I am ready to die." Saul said, "God do
so to me and more too; Jonathan, you shall surely die!" But all the
people said to Saul, "Shall Jonathan die who has brought this great
deliverance to Israel? Far from it! As surely as Jehovah lives, not one
hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has done this day what
God wished." So the people saved Jonathan from death.
DAVID'S VICTORY OVER THE GIANT
As long as Saul lived there was bitter war with the Philistines.
Whenever Saul saw a strong or able man, he would take him into his
service.
[Illustration: (C)_Curtis Publishing Company_
_Saul and David_
Painted by W. L. Taylor]
Now the spirit of Jehovah had left Saul and an evil spirit from Jehovah
troubled him. So Saul's servants said to him, "See now, an evil
spirit from Jehovah is troubling you. Let your servants who are here
advise you, and let them seek a man skilled in playing the lyre. Then,
whenever the evil spirit comes upon you, he shall play on the lyre, and
you will be well." Saul said to his servants, "Find me a man who plays
well, and bring him to me."
Then one of the young men said, "I have seen a son of Jesse the
Bethlehemite who is a skilled musician, a strong and able man, a
soldier, careful in speech, handsome, and Jehovah is with him." So Saul
sent messengers to Jesse with the command, "Send me David your son, who
is with the flock."
Then Jesse took ten loaves of bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent
them to Saul by his son David. So David came to Saul and entered his
service; and Saul loved him and he became his armor-bearer. Saul sent
this message to Jesse: "Let David remain in my service, for I am well
pleased with him." And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul,
David would take the lyre and play, and Saul would breathe more easily
and would be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.
Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war, and camped between
Socoh and Ezekah in Ephesdammim. Saul and the men of Israel came
together and camped in the valley of Elah; and they were drawn up ready
for battle against the Philistines.
The Philistines were standing on the hill on one side, and the
Israelites were standing on the hill on the other side with the valley
between them. Then there came out from the ranks of the Philistines a
champion named Goliath, who was about ten feet tall. He had a helmet of
bronze on his head and wore a bronze breastplate of scales which weighed
one hundred and fifty pounds. He also had bronze greaves upon his legs
and a bronze back-plate between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear
was like a weaver's beam, and the head of his iron spear weighed about
twenty pounds; and his shield-bearer went before him.
He stood and called to the ranks of Israel: "Why have you come out to
form the line of battle? Am I not a Philistine and you servants of Saul?
Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. If he is able
to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if
I conquer and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve
us." The Philistine added, "I defy the ranks of Israel to-day; give me a
man that we may fight together."
When Saul and all the Israelites heard these words of the Philistine,
they were terrified. But David said to Saul, "Let not my lord's courage
fail him; I will go and fight this Philistine." Saul said to David, "You
are not able to go and fight against this Philistine, for you are only a
youth and he has been a warrior from his youth." But David said to Saul,
"Your servant kept his father's sheep, and whenever a lion or a bear
came and took a lamb out of the flock, I would go out after him and kill
him and rescue it from his mouth. If he attacked me, I would seize him
by his throat and kill him with a blow. Your servant has killed both
lion and bear. Now this heathen Philistine shall be like one of them,
for he has defied the armies of the living God. Jehovah who saved me
from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will save me from
the hand of this Philistine." So Saul said to David, "Go, and may
Jehovah be with you."
Saul clothed David with his own garments, and put a helmet of bronze on
his head and gave him a coat of mail. And David fastened on his sword
over his coat and was not able to walk, for he was not used to them. So
he said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I am not used to them." So
David took them off.
Then he took his club in his hand, and he chose five smooth stones from
the bed of the brook and put them in his bag, and he took his sling in
his hand and drew near to the Philistine. When the Philistine looked and
saw David, he despised him, for he was but a fair and ruddy youth. So
the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog that you come against me with
a club?" And he cursed David by his gods, and said, "Come to me that I
may give your flesh to the birds of the heavens and to the beasts of the
field."
Then David answered the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and
spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of Jehovah of hosts and
of the God of the armies of Israel whom you have insulted this day.
Jehovah will deliver you into my hand that I may kill you and cut off
your head."
When the Philistine started to attack him, David put his hand into his
bag and took from it a stone, and slung it and struck the Philistine in
the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face
to the earth. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine, and drawing
his sword from its sheath, he killed him and cut off his head with it.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. The
men of Israel and of Judah rose up and raised the battle-cry and
followed the Philistines to the entrance to Gath and to the gates of
Ekron, so that the wounded of the Philistines fell all the way from the
battle-field even to Gath and Ekron.
SAUL'S MEAN JEALOUSY
When the Israelites and David returned from slaying the Philistines, the
women came out from all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to
meet Saul with tambourines, with cries of rejoicing, and with cymbals.
The women sang gaily to each other and said,
"Saul has slain his thousands,
And David his tens of thousands."
Saul was very angry, for their words displeased him, and he said, "To
David they give credit for ten thousands, but to me only thousands; what
more can he have but the rulership?" So Saul kept his eye on David from
that day onward. Saul feared David and did not let him stay near him. He
made him commander over a thousand men; and David went out and came in
at the head of the soldiers. In all that he did David acted wisely and
had success, for Jehovah was with him. When Saul saw that he acted
wisely, he was still more afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved
David, for he went out and came in at their head.
Michal, Saul's daughter, also loved David, and when they told Saul, he
was pleased, for he said, "I will give her to him, that she may lead him
to destruction and that the Philistines may capture him." So Saul
commanded his servants, "Say to David secretly: 'See, the ruler is
pleased with you and all his servants love you; now therefore become his
son-in-law.'" When Saul's servants told this to David, he said, "Do you
think it easy for me to become the son-in-law of a ruler when I am poor
and have no reputation!" When Saul's servants told him David's answer,
he commanded, "Say to David: 'Saul wishes no price for his daughter
except the proof that you have killed a hundred Philistines;'" for Saul
thought that David would be killed by them.
So David went with his men and killed a hundred Philistines; and Saul
gave him his daughter Michal as his wife. Then Saul knew that Jehovah
was with David and that all Israel loved him, so he feared David still
more.
Then Saul commanded his son Jonathan and all his servants to put David
to death. But Jonathan was very fond of David. And Jonathan spoke well
of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Do not sin against your
servant David, for he has not wronged you and his behavior toward you
has been excellent; for he risked his life and killed the Philistine, so
that Jehovah saved all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will
you sin by shedding innocent blood in killing David without cause?"
So Saul listened to Jonathan and gave his solemn promise: "As surely as
Jehovah lives, he shall not be put to death."
Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. And Jonathan
brought David to Saul and he was with him as before.
But there was war again, and David went out and fought against the
Philistines and killed so many of them that they fled before him. Then
an evil spirit from Jehovah came upon Saul while he was sitting in his
house with his spear in his hand and while David was playing on the
lyre. Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but David
slipped away so that Saul drove the spear into the wall; and David fled
and so escaped.
That night Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, so as to
kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, "If you do
not save your life to-night, you will be killed to-morrow." So Michal
let David down through the window; and he fled away and escaped. Then
Michal took the household god and laid it in the bed, and she put a
pillow of goat's hair under its head and covered it with a garment. And
when Saul sent messengers to seize David, she said, "He is sick."
Again Saul sent the messengers to the house of David with the command,
"Bring him up to me on the bed, that I may put him to death." When the
messengers came in, there was the household god in the bed with the
pillow of goat's hair under its head. Saul said to Michal, "Why have you
deceived me thus and let my enemy go?" Michal answered Saul, "He said to
me: 'Let me go; why should I kill you?'"
JONATHAN'S LOVE FOR DAVID
Then David went and found Jonathan and said, "What have I done? What is
my guilt, and what is my sin in the mind of your father, that he is
seeking my life?" Jonathan replied, "No, no! You shall not die. You know
that my father does nothing great or small that he does not tell me, and
why should my father hide this from me? He surely will not." David
answered, "Your father well knows that you are fond of me, and he is
saying to himself, 'Do not let Jonathan know this that he may not be
grieved.' But as surely as Jehovah lives and as you live, there is only
a step between me and death."
Then Jonathan said to David, "What do you wish me to do for you?" David
answered, "To-morrow is the festival of the New Moon and I ought to sit
at the table with Saul, but let me go and I will hide myself in the
field until evening. If your father misses me, then say, 'David asked
permission of me to run to Bethlehem, his native town, for the yearly
sacrifice is there for all his family.' If he says, 'Good,' then it is
well with your servant; but if he gets angry, then you will know that he
is planning to harm me. Now show kindness to your servant, for in the
presence of Jehovah you have made a solemn agreement with your servant.
But if I am at all guilty, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me
to your father?" Jonathan said, "That shall never be! If I learn that my
father is planning to do you harm, I will tell you."