1 Death of Samuel
- All Israel mourns for Samuel; he is buried in Ramah.
- David goes to the wilderness of Paran.
- Introducing Nabal of Maon, with property in Carmel, a Calebite who is "surly and mean" and is shearing his sheep in Carmel.
- His wife is Abigail, "clever and beautiful."
- David sends 10 young men from his camp in the wilderness to ask Nabal for food on a feast day. Nabal's shearers have worked near David's camp, and they have not harmed them.
- Nabal refuses, accusing them of being deserters. When they report back to David, he tells the men to arm themselves, and 400 men go with him to confront Nabal, while 200 stay with the baggage.
- One of Nabal's servants tells Abigail of the situation.
- Abigail gathers a feast of food, loads them on donkeys, and follows her young men to carry the food to David.
- Though David is determined to destroy Nabal and his servants, Abigail disarms him by humbling herself before him, apologizes for Nabal, presents her gifts, and asks his forgiveness.
- David thanks her for keeping him from his vengeance, accepts her food, and sends her back home.
- When Abigail gets home, Nabal is hosting a drunken feast, so she waits until morning to tell him of what has transpired with David. When she does, he has some kind of stroke - "he became like a stone," and ten days later, God "strikes him," and he dies.
- David acknowledges God's own vengeance, which has saved him from doing evil.
- He sends servants to Abigail, proposing marriage. She takes 5 maids with her and becomes David's wife.
- David also marries Ahinoam of Jezreel; Saul has given Michael to Palti, son of Laish.
1-25 David Spares Saul's Life a Second Time
- Again the Ziphites inform Saul of David's whereabouts, and again Saul takes 3000 men to find him. It just occurred to me that Saul is using an army for personal purposes. Either that, or he views David's ascendancy to the throne as treason, which means -- since Saul recognizes David is God's anointed (15:26; 24:20)-- God himself is a traitor.
- David, still in the wilderness, finds out where Saul's army is encamped and takes Abishai, Joab's brother, with him to the camp by night, where the whole army is sleeping (heavily, with God's help).
- Abishai offers to kill Saul -- with one blow -- but David stops him, because
- Saul is the LORD's anointed
- Either God himself will take care of Saul, or he will die naturally, or he will die in battle. David has recently experienced God's taking vengeance on an enemy of David's, in the encounter with Nabal. David is already greatly respectful of the king's position, adding to it is this belief that "vengeance belongs to the LORD."
- David gets close enough to Saul -- surrounded by his army -- to take his spear and water jar.
- Then he goes to the top of a hill some distance away and shouts not to Saul, but to Abner, the army commander, telling him he deserves to die for not protecting his king better.
- Saul recognizes David's voice, calling him "Son." What a peculiar man! Does his affection for David really waver this much, or does he just pretend?
- David tells Saul he is just chasing a flea, and that he has forced David to have company with idolaters rather than with his own people.
- Saul apologizes, admits to being a fool; David gives his spear to one of Saul's men, and again they go their separate ways.
1-12 David Serves King Achish of Gath
- Despite Saul's promises, David says to himself, "I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines." We certainly don't pursue our own spiritual brothers or sisters to kill them, but how many times do we cause them to "defect to the enemy" because we lose their trust?
- Sure enough, when Saul learns that David and his 600 men (and 2 wives) are in Gath, he no longer pursues him.
- King Achish of Gath allows David and his company to live in Ziklag; they stay there for 16 months.
- David begins leading raids on Achish's behalf, capturing booty but being careful to destroy all the people, including women, so they won't reveal his conquests on behalf of Israel.
1-2 Genealogies
- All Israel enrolled by genealogy, written in the "Book of the Kings of Israel." Does this refer to what we know as 1 and 2 Kings?
- After the Babylonian captivity of Judah, the first ones to return to the towns were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants
- Listing of Ancestral House Heads
- Descendants of Judah, Benjaim, Ephraim, and Manasseh
14-34 Levitical families - Gatekeepers, Temple Servants, Singers
35-44 Family of King Saul
- Ancestors and Descendants
- Identical, as far as I can tell, to the list in previous chapter: 8:29-38
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