Thursday, December 22, 2011 - David protects Saul again; Saul dies;

8:30 a.m. Prayer, Devotion
9:15 a.m. Cardio / Lower Weights
7:00 p.m. Zumba

May 21 "One Year Bible"

1 Samuel 29:1-31:13; John 11:55-12:19; Psalm 118:1-18; Proverbs 15:24-26;

1 Samuel 29-31:13

New Living Translation (NLT)

1 Samuel 29

The Philistines Reject David

 ¹ The entire Philistine army now mobilized at Aphek, and the Israelites camped at the spring in Jezreel. ² As the Philistine rulers were leading out their troops in groups of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched at the rear with King Achish. ³ But the Philistine commanders demanded, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”   And Achish told them, “This is David, the servant of King Saul of Israel. He’s been with me for years, and I’ve never found a single fault in him from the day he arrived until today.”
 ⁴ But the Philistine commanders were angry. “Send him back to the town you’ve given him!” they demanded. “He can’t go into the battle with us. What if he turns against us in battle and becomes our adversary? Is there any better way for him to reconcile himself with his master than by handing our heads over to him? ⁵ Isn’t this the same David about whom the women of Israel sing in their dances,
   ‘Saul has killed his thousands,
      and David his ten thousands’?”
 ⁶ So Achish finally summoned David and said to him, “I swear by the Lord that you have been a trustworthy ally. I think you should go with me into battle, for I’ve never found a single flaw in you from the day you arrived until today. But the other Philistine rulers won’t hear of it. ⁷ Please don’t upset them, but go back quietly.”
 ⁸ “What have I done to deserve this treatment?” David demanded. “What have you ever found in your servant, that I can’t go and fight the enemies of my lord the king?”
 ⁹ But Achish insisted, “As far as I’m concerned, you’re as perfect as an angel of God. But the Philistine commanders are afraid to have you with them in the battle. ¹⁰ Now get up early in the morning, and leave with your men as soon as it gets light.”
 ¹¹ So David and his men headed back into the land of the Philistines, while the Philistine army went on to Jezreel.

1 Samuel 30

David Destroys the Amalekites

 ¹ Three days later, when David and his men arrived home at their town of Ziklag, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid into the Negev and Ziklag; they had crushed Ziklag and burned it to the ground. ² They had carried off the women and children and everyone else but without killing anyone. ³ When David and his men saw the ruins and realized what had happened to their families, ⁴ they wept until they could weep no more. ⁵ David’s two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel, were among those captured. ⁶ David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the Lord his God.
 ⁷ Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought it. ⁸ Then David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?”
   And the Lord told him, “Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!”
 ⁹ So David and his 600 men set out, and they came to the brook Besor. ¹⁰ But 200 of the men were too exhausted to cross the brook, so David continued the pursuit with 400 men.
 ¹¹ Along the way they found an Egyptian man in a field and brought him to David. They gave him some bread to eat and water to drink. ¹² They also gave him part of a fig cake and two clusters of raisins, for he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights. Before long his strength returned.
 ¹³ “To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?” David asked him.
   “I am an Egyptian—the slave of an Amalekite,” he replied. “My master abandoned me three days ago because I was sick. ¹⁴ We were on our way back from raiding the Kerethites in the Negev, the territory of Judah, and the land of Caleb, and we had just burned Ziklag.”
 ¹⁵ “Will you lead me to this band of raiders?” David asked.
   The young man replied, “If you take an oath in God’s name that you will not kill me or give me back to my master, then I will guide you to them.”
 ¹⁶ So he led David to them, and they found the Amalekites spread out across the fields, eating and drinking and dancing with joy because of the vast amount of plunder they had taken from the Philistines and the land of Judah. ¹⁷ David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them throughout that night and the entire next day until evening. None of the Amalekites escaped except 400 young men who fled on camels. ¹⁸ David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ Nothing was missing: small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken. David brought everything back. ²⁰ He also recovered all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock. “This plunder belongs to David!” they said.
 ²¹ Then David returned to the brook Besor and met up with the 200 men who had been left behind because they were too exhausted to go with him. They went out to meet David and his men, and David greeted them joyfully. ²² But some evil troublemakers among David’s men said, “They didn’t go with us, so they can’t have any of the plunder we recovered. Give them their wives and children, and tell them to be gone.”
 ²³ But David said, “No, my brothers! Don’t be selfish with what the Lord has given us. He has kept us safe and helped us defeat the band of raiders that attacked us. ²⁴ Who will listen when you talk like this? We share and share alike—those who go to battle and those who guard the equipment.” ²⁵ From then on David made this a decree and regulation for Israel, and it is still followed today.
 ²⁶ When he arrived at Ziklag, David sent part of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends. “Here is a present for you, taken from the Lord’s enemies,” he said.
 ²⁷ The gifts were sent to the people of the following towns David had visited: Bethel, Ramoth-negev, Jattir, ²⁸ Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa, ²⁹ Racal,^[a] the towns of the Jerahmeelites, the towns of the Kenites, ³⁰ Hormah, Bor-ashan, Athach, ³¹ Hebron, and all the other places David and his men had visited.

1 Samuel 31

The Death of Saul

 ¹ Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. ² The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons—Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. ³ The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him severely. ⁴ Saul groaned to his armor bearer, “Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to run me through and taunt and torture me.”
   But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. ⁵ When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died beside the king. ⁶ So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all died together that same day.
 ⁷ When the Israelites on the other side of the Jezreel Valley and beyond the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns.
 ⁸ The next day, when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ So they cut off Saul’s head and stripped off his armor. Then they proclaimed the good news of Saul’s death in their pagan temple and to the people throughout the land of Philistia. ¹⁰ They placed his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan.
 ¹¹ But when the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² all their mighty warriors traveled through the night to Beth-shan and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall. They brought them to Jabesh, where they burned the bodies. ¹³ Then they took their bones and buried them beneath the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Samuel 30:29 Greek version reads Carmel.

John 11:55-12:19

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ⁵⁵ It was now almost time for the Jewish Passover celebration, and many people from all over the country arrived in Jerusalem several days early so they could go through the purification ceremony before Passover began. ⁵⁶ They kept looking for Jesus, but as they stood around in the Temple, they said to each other, “What do you think? He won’t come for Passover, will he?” ⁵⁷ Meanwhile, the leading priests and Pharisees had publicly ordered that anyone seeing Jesus must report it immediately so they could arrest him.

John 12

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

 ¹ Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. ² A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate^[a] with him. ³ Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar^[b] of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. ⁴ But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, ⁵ “That perfume was worth a year’s wages.^[c] It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” ⁶ Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.
 ⁷ Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
 ⁹ When all the people^[d] heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, ¹¹ for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them^[e] and believed in Jesus.

Jesus’ Triumphant Entry

 ¹² The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors ¹³ took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted,    “Praise God!^[f]
   Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
   Hail to the King of Israel!”^[g]
 14 Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:
 ¹⁵ “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem.^[h]
   Look, your King is coming,
      riding on a donkey’s colt.”^[i]
 16 His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.
 ¹⁷ Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others^[j] about it. ¹⁸ That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign. ¹⁹ Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone^[k] has gone after him!”

Footnotes:

1. John 12:2 Or who reclined.
2. John 12:3 Greek took 1 litra [327 grams].
3. John 12:5 Greek worth 300 denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.
4. John 12:9 Greek Jewish people; also in 12:11.
5. John 12:11 Or had deserted their traditions; Greek reads had deserted.
6. John 12:13 Greek Hosanna, an exclamation of praise adapted from a Hebrew expression that means “save now.”
7. John 12:13 Ps 118:25-26; Zeph 3:15.
8. John 12:15 Greek daughter of Zion.
9. John 12:15 Zech 9:9.
10. John 12:17 Greek were testifying.
11. John 12:19 Greek the world.

Psalm 118:1-18

New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 118

 ¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
      His faithful love endures forever.
 ² Let all Israel repeat:
      “His faithful love endures forever.”
 ³ Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat:
      “His faithful love endures forever.”
 ⁴ Let all who fear the Lord repeat:
      “His faithful love endures forever.”
 ⁵ In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
      and the Lord answered me and set me free.
 ⁶ The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
      What can mere people do to me?
 ⁷ Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me.
      I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
 ⁸ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
      than to trust in people.
 ⁹ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
      than to trust in princes.
 ¹⁰ Though hostile nations surrounded me,
      I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
 ¹¹ Yes, they surrounded and attacked me,
      but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
 ¹² They swarmed around me like bees;
      they blazed against me like a crackling fire.
      But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
 ¹³ My enemies did their best to kill me,
      but the Lord rescued me.
 ¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my song;
      he has given me victory.
 ¹⁵ Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly.
      The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
 ¹⁶ The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph.
      The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
 ¹⁷ I will not die; instead, I will live
      to tell what the Lord has done.
 ¹⁸ The Lord has punished me severely,
      but he did not let me die.

s

Proverbs 15:24-26

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ²⁴ The path of life leads upward for the wise;
      they leave the grave^[a] behind.
 ²⁵ The Lord tears down the house of the proud,
      but he protects the property of widows.
 ²⁶ The Lord detests evil plans,
      but he delights in pure words.

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 15:24 Hebrew Sheol.