Tag Archives: Determined

Witch of Endor

96 – Witch of Endor

1 Samuel 28:1-25

The Philistines started their massive invasion of Israel. They entered the land and set up camp. Saul gathered his army and made preparations for war. His body shook with fear when he saw how large the Philistine army was.

He asked the Lord for guidance, but God didn’t talk to him. All was silent. There wasn’t a dream, or a priest, or a prophet that gave him a message from the Lord. 

He wanted to talk to Samuel, but he was dead and Saul had removed everyone who claimed to be able to speak to the dead. Still he desperately wanted to talk to Samuel. He said to his servants, “Find a woman who can talk to the spirits of those who have died. I need to find out what’s going to happen.” 

They said, “There is a woman at Endor. She says she can talk to the dead.”

That night Saul put on a disguise, took two servants, and went to the woman’s house. He said to her, “I want you to bring up a spirit for me.”

She said, “Are you setting a trap for me? You know King Saul will kill anyone who does that.”

He said, “Listen to me carefully. As sure as God lives, you’ll not suffer for doing this.”

She said, “Who do you want me to bring up from the dead?”

“Bring back Samuel. I want to talk to him.”

Suddenly the woman saw Samuel. She screamed and then she turned and yelled at the king. “You tricked me! You’re King Saul!”

He said, “Don’t worry about that. Now tell me, what do you see?”

“I see a spirit coming up from the ground.”

“What does he look like?”

“It’s an old man wearing a robe.”

Saul knew it was Samuel so he fell down with his face to the ground. The prophet said, “Why are you disturbing me? What do you want?”

“Oh, I’m in trouble and I don’t know what to do. God won’t talk to me, and the Philistines have invaded the land with a massive army. So I called on you. Please tell me what to do.”

Samuel said, “The Lord is now your enemy, so why do you think I’d help you? I’ve already told you what he was going to do. Well, he’s finally doing it. He’s ripping the kingship out of your hands and giving it to your neighbor David. You didn’t obey God. You refused to do what he told you to do. Therefore, tomorrow you and your sons will join me. Israel will be handed over to the Philistines.”

Saul was terrified when he heard this and stayed on the ground. He was weak because he hadn’t eaten anything for over a day. The woman said, “I’ll make some food. You need to regain your strength before you leave.”

At first the king refused, but his servants agreed with the woman. Finally, he got up and sat on the bed while she prepared the meal. She killed a fatted calf, cooked it, and baked some bread. Saul and his servants ate the meal, and then left into the night.

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Hill of Moreh (Site of Endor) from Jezreel, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com
Aerial view from northwest of Hill of Moreh and Nain (site of Endor), from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

Staying by the Stuff

95 – Staying by the Stuff

1 Samuel 29:1 – 30:31

As the Philistines started making plans to invade Israel, their king said to David, “You’ll march with me. I want you and your men to be my personal bodyguards.”

David said, “Good, now you’ll be able to see what my men and I can do.”

All the military units went to a place where they could present themselves in review as they prepared for war. The Philistine commanders were shocked when they saw David and his men. They said to the king, “You can’t bring those Hebrews to fight with us!”

He said, “David defected from Israel, and has been faithful to me ever since. I have no reason to doubt his loyalty.”

The commanders got mad. “Send him away! He’s the one they sing about. ‘Saul has killed his thousands; David his tens of thousands.’ He might suddenly turn on us in the middle of a battle. That would be a good way for him to regain Saul’s favor.”

The king went to David. “You’re an honorable man, and I personally want you by my side in battle. But the commanders don’t trust you. Therefore I have to send you back to Ziklag.”

David said, “What have I done to deserve this? I’ve been faithful to you from the first day I came here.”

The king said, “I know you have, but my hands are tied. You must leave in the morning.” 

So David and his men left. When they got back to Ziklag, they found that foreign raiders had come and burnt down the town. They hadn’t killed anyone, but simply took all the people with them. This included all the wives, sons, and daughters of David and his men.

The men cried until they could cry no more. Some of the men wanted to stone David, but God stood by him. He prayed to the Lord, “Should I chase after these raiders? Will I catch them?

The Lord said, “Go after them. You’ll catch them and get everything back that was taken from you.”

So David took his 600 men and went after the invaders. At one point, they stopped because 200 of his men were too exhausted to go farther. So the 400 left their supplies with the 200 and continued on.

They came upon a slave who had belonged to the raiders, but had been left behind because he had gotten sick. He hadn’t eaten anything for three days. David’s men gave him food and water and helped revive him. 

David said, “Will you lead us to the raiders?”

He said, “I’ll lead you to them if you swear you won’t kill me, and you won’t give me back to them.” David agreed.

The slave led David’s men directly to the raiders. They were celebrating how much plunder they had gotten from the Philistines and the Israelites. Without warning, David’s men attacked and quickly killed most of them. Only a few got away. David’s men got everything back they had lost, plus all the plunder the raiders had taken from other cities.

When they got back to the 200 men, some of the 400 said, “They didn’t go with us into battle. So they only get their wives and children back. They don’t get any of the extra plunder we took.”

David said, “No! That’s wrong. God gave us a great victory today. We’ll share equally with those who stayed back with our supplies.” So that became the law of Israel from that day on.

David and his men went back to Ziklag. He then sent some of the plunder back to various cities in Israel.

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Abigail

93 – Abigail

1 Samuel 25:1-44

David and his men lived in the same area as a rich herdsman named Nabal, a descendant of Caleb. He was known to be mean and harsh, but he had a beautiful wife who was much more practical in how she dealt with others. Her name was Abigail.

Having David’s army in the area was a great advantage to Nabal because foreign raiders didn’t come and steal from his herds. Still, Nabal didn’t invite David and his men to his annual sheep-shearing feast. So David sent 10 young men with a message. “Peace to you and yours. I respect you as my own father. Your shepherds will tell you that we have protected your flocks over the entire time we have lived in this area. Instead of us coming to your feast, please send some food and provisions with these young men.” 

Nabal said, “I don’t know David. I’m definitely not his father. Slaves are always running away from their masters. Tell him to go back to where he came from. I’m not going to take food away from my servants and give it to strangers.”

The young men went back and told David everything that was said. David said to his men, “Put on your swords. I protected this man’s goods, and he repays me with insults. Not one man in his camp will be alive in the morning.”

Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s servants went and told Abigail what was said and done. He said, “David’s men were ‘a wall’ to us while we were out in the fields. They protected us night and day. We didn’t lose one animal during this time. Yet, your husband insulted them and refused to help them. You must think of something because your husband has offended an army that can kill all of us.”

Without telling her husband, Abigail gathered provisions for David’s men. She got 200 loaves of bread, 2 wine skins, 5 butchered sheep, a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 cakes of pressed figs. She put all of these things on some donkeys and headed down the road.

As she rounded a corner, she saw David’s men coming toward her. She got off the donkey and ran to him. She knelt down with her face to the ground and said, “It’s my fault your men were mistreated. I would have treated them well if I had known they were coming. Forgive my husband. His name means ‘fool,’ and that’s how he acts. Please accept these gifts of food.

“It’s the Lord who’s kept you from getting revenge today. He has always fought your battles for you, and he always will. When he makes you king, you’ll want a clear conscience about this day.”

David said, “It was God who sent you here today. Your wisdom has kept me from shedding blood and taking revenge on a man who offended me. If you hadn’t come, every male in your camp would have died.” He then accepted Abigail’s gifts.

She went back home to find Nabal feasting like a king. She didn’t tell him what happened. He got drunk and fell asleep. 

In the morning, she waited until he was sober, and then told him what she did the day before. He immediately had a heart attack and lay in a coma for 10 days. Then the Lord killed him.

David heard about his death and said, “Praise the Lord! God kept me from doing evil, and he punished Nabal for the evil that he did.”

David then sent a message to Abigail asking if she would become his wife. She agreed and went to him.

Meanwhile, Saul gave his daughter Michal to become the wife of another.

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Running from Saul

91 – Running from Saul

1 Samuel 21:1-22:23

David escaped from Saul with only a few men to help him. They went to Ahimelech, the priest who was in charge of the Ark of God. The priest said, “Why are you here?”

“The king sent me on a special mission. He told me not to tell anyone about where I’m going. I left so fast that we don’t have anything to eat. Please give us some bread.”

Ahimelech said, “The only bread we have is the old showbread taken from the holy place. Only priests are allowed to eat it.”

This was old bread they took from the altar when they put new bread there. The priest said, “I suppose you can have the old bread, but only if your men have kept themselves clean before the Lord.”

David said, “We’re all on a mission for the king, so of course we’ve all kept ourselves holy before the Lord.”

So Ahimelech gave them the old bread. David noticed that Doeg, the Edomite, saw this whole thing. He was the chief shepherd for Saul.

David said to Ahimelech, “I left so fast that I forgot to bring my weapons. Do you have a spear or sword that I could use?”

“The only sword I have is the one you took from Goliath. You can have that one back. It’s all I have.”

David took the sword and continued his escape from Saul. He went to Gath, a city of the Philistines. There, he would be out of Saul’s reach. But people told the king of the Philistines, “This is David, the one they sing about: ‘Saul has killed his thousands, but David has killed his tens of thousands.’ ”

When David heard this, he immediately pretended like he was insane. People of that day didn’t hurt those who were insane because they were afraid there might be an evil spirit in them. David fell down and started clawing on the doorpost. He let drool flow into his beard. When the king saw this, he said, “This man is crazy. Get him out of here!”

David left Gath and hid in a cave. His brothers brought him all their relatives so they’d be safe from Saul. David took his parents to Moab and left them in the protection of the king there.

Soon men started arriving to join David. These were men who were in some kind of trouble or overwhelmed with debt. Finally there were 400 men who rallied around David, and he became their leader.

Meanwhile, Doeg, the Edomite, went to Saul and said, “I saw Ahimelech give David food and the sword of Goliath.”

Saul sent for Ahimelech and all 85 priests that were with him. “Why did you help this son of Jesse? You know he wants to kill me.”

Ahimelech said, “I thought he was your faithful servant. After all, he’s your son-in-law. I didn’t know there was trouble between you.”

Saul turned to his guards. “Kill these men, all of them. They’re on David’s side.”

The guards were shocked. They didn’t move because they weren’t about to kill the priest of the Lord.

Saul then turned to Doeg, the Edomite. “Kill all of these men and everything they own.” So, Doeg killed all of the priests, their wives, their children, and even their livestock. Only one son of Ahimelech was able to escape. He ran and told David all that happened.

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Givat Shapira, possible Nob, Iron Age fortress, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com
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Protecting David

89 – Protecting David

1 Samuel 19:1-24

Saul wanted David dead. So he told his servants and Jonathan to find him and kill him. Jonathan rushed and told David, “Go and hide. I’ll talk to my father and see if I can reason with him. I’ll let you know if I’m successful.”

Jonathan talked to his father and told him that David was a loyal servant and would do nothing to harm the king. Saul listened to his son and promised to let David live. So David went back into the king’s courts and served him. War once again broke out with the Philistines and David led the army to victory against them.

Once again the Lord allowed an evil spirit to enter the king. As David played the harp, Saul grabbed a spear and threw it at him. He jumped out of the way and ran from the room.

Saul called his guards and told them to go to David’s house in the morning and kill him. Michal heard about this and warned her husband. “You must leave tonight. They’ll be here in the morning to kill you.”

He went out the window and she helped lower him down to the ground. She placed an image in his bed and put goat hair on top of it. She then covered it with a blanket. In the morning, she told the guards, “He’s sick in bed.”

They went and told the king. He said, “Go! Bring me the bed with David in it, and I’ll kill him myself.”

When they went to the bed, they found the image with the goat hair. Saul yelled at Michal. “How could you lie to me and let my enemy get away?”

She said, “He forced me to do it. He said he would kill me if I didn’t.”

David went to Samuel and told him everything that had happened. Saul found out that David was with Samuel, so he sent guards to go get him. When they got there, they saw Samuel sitting with some prophets. Suddenly the guards sat down and started prophesying.

Saul heard about this, so he sent more guards. The same thing happened to them. They sat down and started prophesying. So Saul sent a third set of guards, and again they sat down and started prophesying.

Finally Saul went himself. When he got close to where they were, the Spirit of God came on him and he started prophesying as he walked along. When he entered the house, the king took off his clothes as he was prophesying. He then collapsed and lay naked the rest of that day, and all night.

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David Earns a Wife

88 – David Earns a Wife

1 Samuel 18:1-30

After the death of Goliath, Saul’s son, Jonathan, became a close friend to David. The love between these two men was great. Jonathan gave David everything he needed to fight on the battlefield, and also what he needed for working in the king’s court.

David was successful as a commander in the army. All the people admired him, and his men became loyal to him. One day when Saul and his army came in from battle, the women from the various cities greeted them with dancing and singing. Their song was, “Saul has killed thousands. David has killed tens of thousands.” 

This made Saul furious! He said, “Listen to them. They give him more credit than me. What will they do next? Give him the kingdom?” From that day on, Saul became more and more jealous of David.

The next day, God allowed an evil spirit to take control of Saul. He started to act crazy. It was still David’s job to go play his harp when the king was in one of these moods. As David played, Saul said to himself, “I’ll end this right now. I’ll pin him to the wall.” When the time was just right, he grabbed a spear and threw it at David. David dodged it just in time, and kept playing the harp. Saul waited, and once again when the time was just right, he grabbed another spear and threw it at David. Again David dodged it just in time.

With that, Saul realized that the Spirit of the Lord had left him and was now with David. The king’s anger turned to fear.

He put David in charge of 1,000 soldiers and sent him out to battle. David was successful in every campaign he led. This increased the love that the people had for him, but it made Saul even more afraid of him.

One of the king’s daughters, named Michal, loved David. When Saul found out about this, he got an idea. He thought of a plan where the Philistines would kill David. The king had his servants go to David and say, “The king likes you so much that he’s willing for you to become his son-in-law.”

When David heard this, he said, “I am not a rich man. I can’t offer the king anything for his daughter.”

“Oh, the king doesn’t want you to pay him money. All he wants is for you to get revenge on his enemies. He wants you to kill 100 Philistines, and bring back proof that they’re dead.”

David was pleased by these terms. So he and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines and took Saul proof that they were dead. Saul had no choice but to give his daughter Michal to David.

Even more now, Saul considered David to be his enemy. Still, the Lord gave David victory every time he went out to battle. He was more successful than all of the other military officers and his name became more and more famous.

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Goliath

87 – Goliath

1 Samuel 17:1-58

The Philistines once again invaded Israel. Both armies faced one another across a ravine. Suddenly a large Philistine stepped forward. His name was Goliath, and he was 9 feet, 9 inches tall.

He yelled, “Why are you preparing for battle? Let two of us settle this. Send someone out and we’ll fight. If your man kills me, we’ll be your slaves. But if I kill your man, you’ll be our slaves. Come on, send someone out and let’s fight.”

No one accepted his challenge, so he came out and yelled at Israel every morning and evening. This went on for forty days. Saul offered a reward to anyone who could defeat this giant. He said, “I’ll make him wealthy and he can marry my daughter.”

While this was happening, Jesse said to David, “Go visit your brothers and take them some food. Bring back word of how the battle is going.”

So David got up early and went to the battle site. He saw the men lined up in battle formations. He gave the food to the quartermaster and ran to see what was going on.

Suddenly, Goliath started shouting his challenge. “Come on. Send someone out here and let’s fight—man to man. Winner takes all.” Everyone backed away.

David was shocked. He said, “Who does this ungodly Philistine think he is? He’s defying the armies of the living God.” 

David’s oldest brother got angry. “Why are you here? Go back to your sheep. War is for men.”

David answered him. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I just asked a question.” He turned and asked the question again. “Who does this ungodly Philistine think he is?”

Saul heard about David’s question and sent for him. David said, “Don’t worry about this Philistine. I’ll fight him.”

The king said, “He’s a warrior—a seasoned fighter. You’re young, with no experience.”

David said, “I watch my father’s sheep. Every time a bear or a lion has come and tried to take a lamb, I grabbed the beast and killed it. The Lord was always with me and gave me victory. This ungodly Philistine is just another lion or bear. The Lord will give him to me.”

Saul said, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” 

He then gave David his suit of armor, but he couldn’t walk because it was too heavy. He said, “I can’t wear these. They’ll hold me back.”

David got his shepherd’s staff and a sling. He went down to the brook and selected five smooth rocks and put them in his shepherd’s bag. Then he started walking toward the giant.

Goliath saw David coming. He yelled, “Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks? Come, and I will give your flesh to the birds.”

David yelled back, “You come to me with a sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord. You’ve insulted him. Therefore I’m going to cut off your head and give your body to the birds. This battle is the Lord’s, and he has given you to me.”

Goliath started walking toward David, but David ran toward the giant. He reached into his shepherd’s bag and put a rock into his sling. With deadly accuracy, the rock hit Goliath and sank into his forehead. He fell to the ground face forward. David ran up, pulled out Goliath’s sword, and cut off the giant’s head.

Both armies were shocked when they saw this. The Philistines turned and ran. The Israelites shouted a victory cry and chased after them. Many Philistines died that day.

Saul asked Abner, his general, “Who is that young man?”

“I don’t know.”

Saul sent for David. He came and stood before the king with the giant’s head still in his hands. Saul said, “Who are you? Who is your father?”

David said, “I am the son of Jesse of Bethlehem.”

Saul didn’t let David go back home, but made him a commander in the army. David was successful in everything Saul had him do.

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Elah-brook-with-students-picking-smooth-stones

Elah brook with students picking smooth stones, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

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Elah Valley aerial from the west, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

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Geography-of-Southern-Israel

Jonathan’s Victory

84 – Jonathan’s Victory

1 Samuel 13-14

Continued from the previous story

Jonathan looked at the Philistines’ camp on the other side of the pass. He said to his armor bearer, “Let’s go over there and kill a few Philistines. The Lord just might help us. He’s not limited by how many of us there are.”
 
The man said, “If you go, I’ll go with you.”

Jonathan said, “Here’s my plan. We’ll go across to the rear of the Philistine camp. We’ll let them see us at the bottom of their cliffs. If they tell us to stop, we’ll come back here. But if they tell us to come up, we’ll consider that a sign from God. We’ll know that the Lord will give us victory.”

They decided not to tell the king where they were going. When they got to the cliffs, the Philistines saw them. They said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of their hiding places!” They yelled down to Jonathan. “Come on up, and we’ll teach you a lesson!”

Jonathan laughed, “Follow me. The Lord has given them to us.” The two men climbed up the cliffs and killed twenty Philistines.

News quickly spread through the rest of the Philistine camp. This caused panic. They said, “The Israelites have attacked us from behind.” Suddenly the earth shook, and their panic turned to terror. They ran in every direction.

Men in Saul’s camp saw this and told the king. He looked around. “Call the roll and find out who’s missing.” They found that Jonathan and his armor bearer were gone.

As Saul assembled his troops, the panic in the Philistine camp intensified. When Saul’s army marched into battle, he found that the Philistines were fighting each other. 

The Israelites that had joined the Philistines now rallied around Saul. Those who hid among rocks and caves came out and joined the battle.

 Saul wanted his men to completely focus on winning the battle, so he shouted, “I put a curse on anyone who eats food before we win this victory.” His men obeyed, but soon they became hungry and tired.

Jonathan didn’t know what his father had said. He found some honey in the forest and ate it. Others immediately told him about the king’s order. He said, “The king shouldn’t have said that. Look at me. I ate some honey, now I’m ready to fight again. Our men should eat all of this food that the Philistines have left behind. Then they would fight harder.”

Saul finally realized his army was famished! He had a meal prepared and allowed his men to eat. The king then wanted to go back into battle, but suddenly realized something was wrong. He called everyone together and said, “Something is wrong, and I’m going to find out who’s behind it. Once I know who it is, he’ll be put to death, even if he’s my own son.”

He then drew lots, and it fell on Jonathan. The king asked him, “What did you do?”

“I ate some honey. If I’m to die for that, then I’m ready to die.”

Saul said to his son, “I took an oath, therefore you must die.”

The people shouted, “Jonathan won’t die! God used him to give us victory today. As the Lord God lives, not one hair of his head will fall to the ground.

So the people saved Jonathan’s life. With that, the battle was over and the Philistines returned to their own territory.

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Failing the Test

83 – Failing the Test

1 Samuel 13:1-22

When Saul became king of Israel, the people had to go to the Philistines to buy iron farm tools. When these tools became dull, the people had to go back to the Philistines to have them sharpened since they weren’t allowed to have blacksmiths. But the Philistines wouldn’t sell weapons of war to the people of Israel. The only ones to have modern swords and spears were Saul and his son Jonathan.

As king, Saul organized an army of 3,000 men. He personally oversaw 2,000 of them, and gave 1,000 to his son. Jonathan took his men and attacked a Philistine outpost. Saul knew that this was an act of war, so he quickly tried to build his forces in preparation. 

The Philistines reacted to this attack with force. They marched into Israel with 3,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and a massive number of troops.

The men of Israel were terrified when they saw this huge army come into their land. Most of the men in Saul’s army ran for their lives. They hid wherever they could. They hid in caves, among rocks, and down in wells. Some even left the country. Others actually joined the Philistine army! 

Samuel told the king not to go into battle until they had sacrificed to the Lord. He told Saul to go to a particular place and wait for him. The king went to that place, but Samuel wasn’t there. He waited three day—four days. Still Samuel didn’t come. He waited five day—six days. Samuel didn’t come.

 Saul watched as his men continue to desert the army. Finally, on the seventh day, he felt he couldn’t wait any longer. He got the things needed for the burnt sacrifice, and offered it up.

Just as he finished, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to greet him. The prophet said, “What have you done?”

Saul said, “The Philistines are about to attack, and my army is leaving me. I didn’t know if I would have the Lord’s help. I waited for you, but you didn’t come. I had no other choice, so I decided to act on my own. I offered the burnt offering to the Lord.”

Samuel said, “Oh, you have acted like a fool! Didn’t you realize this was a test? You failed it! If you had trusted God, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. Now your kingdom won’t last long.  The Lord has already found a man after his own heart. He’ll become king and God will establish his kingdom for ever.”

Samuel then turned and left the king. Saul counted his men and found he only had 600 soldiers. The Philistines had camped on the top of a cliff so they could control the important pass that was below. So Saul took his small army and camped on top of the cliffs on the opposite side of the pass.

Continued in the next story

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Ebenezer

80 – Ebenezer

1 Samuel 7:1 – 8:22

The people of Israel slowly turned back to God. This was a process that took twenty years. Finally Samuel said, “If it’s true you want to serve God, get rid of all your idols. Dedicate yourself to the Lord and serve him only. Do this, and he’ll give you victory over the Philistines.”

The people did what Samuel said and got rid of their idols. So he told them to come together for a dedication service. He said, “Come, and I’ll pray for you.” The people came together and dedicated themselves to God. From then on, Samuel was their judge.

The Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered in one place. They thought this was an act of war, so they marched into the land and prepared to attack Israel. The people were afraid when they saw the massive Philistine army.

Samuel said, “Don’t look at your enemy. Instead, focus on God and pray to him. The Lord will save us from the Philistines.” He then presented a sacrifice to God, and asked for help.

The Lord answered Samuel’s prayer. Suddenly loud thunder was heard throughout the Philistine camp. They became confused and started to run. The men of Israel chased after them and killed many of them.

Samuel set up a large stone as a monument of what happened that day. He called it Ebenezer, which means “Rock of Help.” He said, “The Lord has helped us up to this point.”

The Lord fought against the Philistines as long as Samuel lived. Every year the prophet went on a circuit so he could better judge the people. The rest of the time, he judged them from his hometown.

 When he was old, he appointed his sons to become judges. Unfortunately, they didn’t have his integrity.  They accepted bribes and judged accordingly.

The people went to Samuel and said, “Your sons are not just. Therefore, we want to be like all the other nations and have a king. Select one for us before you die.”

Samuel was shocked. He couldn’t understand why they would want such a thing. He prayed to God, but the Lord said, “Don’t be offended. They haven’t rejected you. They’ve rejected me. Do what they say, but first tell them what it will be like to have a king.”

Samuel stood before the people and described in detail how a king would abuse them and take advantage of them. He said, “A king will take your sons away from you and they’ll work for him instead of you. They’ll serve in his military, or work for him personally. He’ll take your daughters and put them to work. He’ll take your best fields, vineyards, and orchards. He’ll tax you so he can live in luxury. You’ll become his servants, and you’ll work to fulfill his every whim. When that happens, you’ll complain to the Lord, but he won’t help you.”

The people refused to take this warning. They insisted, “We still want a king! He’ll judge us and fight our battles for us.”

The Lord said, “Do as they ask. Give them a king.”

So Samuel told them to go home, and he would find them a king.

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