Tag Archives: Discouraged

Elijah on Mt Horeb

126 – Elijah on Mount Horeb

1 Kings 19:1-21

Ahab told Jezebel what Elijah had done on Mount Carmel. He told her how all the prophets of Baal had been killed. Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah. She said, “I am going to kill you! Mark my word. You’ll be dead before tomorrow night.”

This struck fear in the heart of Elijah. He ran away to save his life. He left Israel and went to the southern part of Judah. He left his servant there and went on into the wilderness. He walked for another day and finally stopped and sat under a juniper tree. 

He cried, “What have I done! I’m no better than my fathers. Lord, take my life” Then he lay down and fell asleep.

After he’d slept a while, an angel touched him. “Get up and eat.” Elijah woke up and saw a jug of water and some bread baking over hot coals. He ate the bread and drank the water and fell back to sleep. 

Later, the angel of the Lord woke him again and said, “Get up and eat. You have a long trip ahead of you.” 

Elijah woke up and once again found bread and water. So he got up, ate the bread and drank water. He then walked 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mountain of God, also called Mt. Sinai. Once there, he entered a cave and spent the night.

In the morning the Lord said to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”

He said, “Lord, I’ve worked for you with all my heart. But Israel has forgotten their agreement with you. They’ve torn down your altars. They killed your prophets. I’m the last one, and they’re trying to kill me.”

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain.” Suddenly, a powerful wind hit the mountains and shattered rocks. But the Lord wasn’t in the wind.

Then there was an earthquake. But the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake. 

After that, there was a blast of fire. But the Lord wasn’t in the fire. 

Then Elijah heard a soft whisper. He wrapped his mantle around his face and went out of the cave and stood at the entrance.The voice said to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”

“Lord, I’ve worked for you with all my heart. But Israel has forgotten their agreement with you. They’ve torn down your altars, and killed your prophets. I’m the last one, and they’re trying to kill me.”

The Lord said, “Oh Elijah, go back home. I have 7,000 men in Israel who haven’t bowed to Baal.” He then gave the prophet detailed instructions of what he was to do, which included anointing Elisha to replace him and selecting a new king for Israel.

Elijah went back to Israel where he found Elisha plowing a field. The prophet walked up to him and threw his mantle over him and walked on. Elisha left the oxen and ran to catch up with the prophet. He said, “Please, let me say good-bye to my father and mother. Then I’ll follow you.”

Elijah turned and said, “You may go back, but don’t forget the calling that is now yours.”

With that, Elisha took the wooden yoke and plow and built a fire. He killed the oxen and made a meal for his family. When they were done eating, he left them and followed Elijah.

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Absalom’s Defeat

109 – Absalom’s Defeat

II Samuel 17:24 – 19:8

The Lord caused Absalom to ignore Ahithophel’s advice, even though it was better. So Absalom said, “We’ll follow the advice of Hushai.”

When Ahithophel heard this, he knew that David would win the war. So he went to his hometown, set his affairs in order, and hung himself.

Because of Hushai’s advice, David was prepared for war by the time Absalom had gathered a large army and chased after him. People of that area had given him supplies and Joab had organized the army. 

David laid out a plan of action to fight the army of Absalom. He said to his men, “I’ll lead you into battle.”

They said, “No! Stay in the city. If one of us dies, no one will care. Half of us could die, and no one would even notice. But you’re worth 10,000 soldiers. Stay in the city.”

So the king stood beside the gate while his troops marched out. He said to Joab, loud enough so everyone could hear, “For my sake, be merciful with my son, Absalom.” 

David’s army marched into battle and defeated the army of Israel. It turned into a slaughter, with over 20,000 men dead.

Absalom was riding away from the battle on a mule. Suddenly his hair got caught in the branches of a large tree. It pulled him off the mule, and he was left hanging in midair. Some of David’s men saw him hanging there, and went and told Joab.

He said, “What? You saw him hanging there, and you didn’t kill him? I would’ve paid you ten pieces of silver if you had killed him!”

They said, “We wouldn’t kill the king’s son even if you gave us 1,000 pieces of silver. We heard what he said. He wants us to spare his son. If we had killed him, the king would find out about it … and you’d let us take the blame.”

Joab said, “I’m wasting my time talking to you!” He took three spears and went to where Absalom was hanging. He and several of his guards surrounded Absalom and killed him. 

Joab then blew the ram’s horn, and his troops stopped chasing the army of Israel. Absalom was taken down from the tree and thrown into a large pit. With that, all the men of Israel went home.

A young man said to Joab, “I’ll run and tell the king how the Lord has given him victory.”

Joab said, “No, I’ll send someone else.” So he then sent another runner.

The young man begged Joab to let him run as well. Finally, he was given permission to go.  The young man ran, but he was faster than the other runner and got to the king first.

David was sitting just inside the gate, waiting for news of the battle. A watchman on the wall called down and told him a runner was coming.

As the young man got close, the watchman called down to David that another runner was coming. The young man bowed before the king and said, “The battle went well. You’ve won! The Lord has given you victory.”

David said, “What about Absalom? Is he alive?”

“I don’t know. I heard a lot of noise, but I didn’t know what that was about.”

“Stand over there and wait.”

The second runner came up and said, “I have good news. God has given you victory today.”

David said, “What about Absalom? Is he alive?”

The runner said, “May all of your enemies end up like him.”

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Pillar of Absalom in Kidron Valley (supposed burial place), from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com
Pillar of Absalom and Tomb of Zechariah in Kidron Valley, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com
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David Made King

99 – David Made King

2 Samuel 3:1 – 5:4 I Chronicles 11:1-3

The kingdom of Ish-bosheth continued to grow weaker. Still, Abner’s influence grew stronger. One day the king said to him, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”

Abner got angry and said, “How dare you! My loyalty to your father is the only thing that has kept me from handing you over to David. Now you’re accusing me of sinning with this woman. That’s it! I’m going to establish David as king over all of Israel.” Ish-bosheth was speechless.

Abner sent a message to David. “I’m ready to give you the kingdom of Israel. Let’s work out the agreements.” 

David said, “One thing has to happen first before I’ll work out any agreement with you. If you come, you must bring my wife Michal, Saul’s daughter. Don’t come without her.”

Guards went and got Michal, and took her away from her new husband. As they walked down the road, the husband followed behind them, crying as he walked. Finally, Abner turned and yelled, “Go home!” So the man turned and went home.

Abner got the elders of Israel to agree that David was king of Israel. He then went and told David. Together they had a banquet to celebrate the news.

Abner then said, “I’ll go and make the final arrangements for your coronation. Then you’ll be king over the whole nation.” So David sent him away in peace.

Joab had been away while all of this was happening. He returned just after Abner had left. He went to David and said, “Why did you let Abner escape? Don’t you realize that all of this is just a trick to entrap you?”

Then, without the king knowing it, Joab sent a message to Abner. “Please, come back to Hebron.” When Abner got back, Joab asked him to step aside so they could have a private conversation. Once they did, Joab stabbed Abner in the stomach. He fell to the ground and died.

David was devastated when he heard about what had happened. He put a curse on Joab and his descendants. The king knew that Joab had killed Abner to avenge his brother’s death. Still, he made him and his men rip their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn Abner. 

David then walked behind the funeral procession, and cried openly at the gravesite. He wouldn’t eat anything for the rest of the day. He said to his soldiers, “A great leader of Israel has died today.”

All of Israel took note of what David did, and they were convinced that he had nothing to do with Abner’s death.

Two men went into the house of Ish-bosheth and killed him while he was in bed taking an afternoon nap. They cut off his head and took it to King David saying, “Your enemy is dead.”

David said, “When I was in Ziklag, a man came and told me he was merciful to King Saul by killing him before the Philistines could torture him. He thought he was bringing me good news, but I had him put to death. Now you come and tell me you killed the king of Israel while he was sleeping in his bed.” David had both men killed. He then had their hands and feet cut off and their bodies were hung near the pool of Hebron.

All the tribes of Israel met in Hebron and made David their king. He was 37 years old.

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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

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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Three Arrows

90 – Three Arrows

1 Samuel 20:1-42

David said, “Jonathan, why is your father trying to kill me? What have I done?”

He said, “The king doesn’t want to kill you. I would know about it if he did. He doesn’t hide anything from me.”

David said, “As sure as there is a God, and as sure as you’re alive, your father wants to kill me. He doesn’t tell you because he knows we’re best friends.”

Jonathan said, “What do you want me to do? Name it and I’ll do it.”

David said, “Tomorrow, I’m scheduled to go to a three-day banquet with the king. If he notices that I’m not there, tell him you gave me permission to go to Bethlehem for an annual sacrifice. Tell him it was important that I be there because it involves my entire clan.  

“If your father accepts that answer, then we’ll know all is well and he doesn’t hate me. But if he gets angry, then it will be clear to both of us that he wants to kill me.

“Jonathan, if you find out that he has good reason to hate me, then come … and kill me yourself.”

Jonathan said, “I’ll go and find out exactly what my father thinks about you. If you’re right and he wants to kill you, I’ll send you away in peace. But remember, we made a vow to each other before the Lord. If I die and God blesses you, take care of my family. Love my household as if they’re your own.

“Here’s my plan. Hide next to the big rock in the field. I’ll find out what my father thinks about you. Then I’ll come here and shoot three arrows toward the rock. I’ll send my servant to get them. As he goes, I’ll yell something to him. If I say, ‘They are on this side of the rock.’ That’s your sign that all is well and you can come back.

“But if I yell, ‘They’re on the other side of the rock,’ That’s your sign that you need to run for your life because my father is trying to kill you.”

During the first day of the banquet, Saul noticed that David was not in his place, but he didn’t say anything. On the second day, Saul said to Jonathan, “Where is that son of Jesse? He’s missed both days so far.”

“Oh, I gave him permission to go to Bethlehem. His family is having a big annual sacrifice, and his brothers insisted that he be there.”

Saul yelled at his son. “You son of a prostitute! I know what you’re doing. You’re taking his side. Don’t you realize he’s going to take away your kingdom? You’re a shame to our family. Now go get him and bring him here so I can kill him.”

Jonathan yelled back. “What has he done? Why do you want to kill him?”

Saul grabbed a spear and threw it at his son. Jonathan got up from the table and left. He didn’t eat for a whole day because he was ashamed of his father.

In the morning, he went to the field with his servant. He shot three arrows out beyond the rock. As the servant ran out to get them, Jonathan yelled, “They are on the other side of that rock. You need to hurry. Go as fast as you can.”

The servant found the arrows and brought them back. Jonathan then told him to take the equipment and go back to the city. 

After he left, David came out of hiding. The two men hugged and cried. Jonathan said, “You’re right. My father is determined to kill you. Go. But remember our pledge to one another, and between your children and my children.” With that, David left, and Jonathan went back to the city.

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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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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, 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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Saul’s Disobedience

85 – Saul’s Disobedience

1 Samuel 14:47 – 15:35

One day Samuel went to Saul with instructions from God. “The Amalekites attacked my people when I brought them out of Egypt. Therefore, go to battle with them and destroy everything. Kill all the people and all of their livestock. Don’t leave anything alive.”

So Saul took his army and attacked the Amalekites. He defeated them, but didn’t kill everything. Saul’s men kept the best of the livestock for themselves. They also captured king Agag and didn’t kill him. 

The Lord said to Samuel, “I regret that I made Saul king over Israel. He doesn’t follow me and he doesn’t do as I say.”

Samuel grieved in his spirit, and prayed all night. The next morning, he went and found Saul. As the prophet walked up, the king said, “The Lord bless you. I’ve done what God asked me to do.”

Samuel looked at him. “Then why do I hear the sounds of sheep and cattle?”

“Oh, the men saved the best livestock so we could sacrifice them to the Lord. But we destroyed the rest.”

Samuel said, “Stop talking! I’ll tell you what God thinks of what you’ve done. When you were humble, God made you the leader over his people. He then gave you a job to do. He said, ‘Go kill this extremely sinful people. Don’t let any person or animal live.’ Why did you make him angry by not doing what he said?”

Saul said, “I did obey him. I killed everyone except Agag, their king. And then I killed all the animals except these few. We kept the best for a sacrifice.”

Samuel said, “Do you think the Lord wants sacrifice more than obedience? No! To obey is better than a sacrifice. Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft. Stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. You rejected God’s command. Therefore, he’s rejected you as king over Israel.”

Saul said, “I’ve sinned! I can now see clearly that I ignored the Lord’s command and didn’t listen to you. I was afraid of the people, and obeyed them rather than God. Please forgive my sin. Come. Let’s worship the Lord together.”

Samuel turned away, “No, I won’t go with you. You rejected the Lord. Now he’s rejecting you as king.”

Saul grabbed Samuel’s robe and it tore as he turned away. Samuel stopped and looked at the rip. He said, “The Lord has ripped the kingdom of Israel away from you today. He’s given it to your neighbor, who’s better than you. God isn’t like men. He won’t change his mind.”

Saul yelled, “I’ve sinned! All I ask is that you honor me in front of the people. Come, worship with me.” 

So Samuel went with him and allowed him to bow down before the Lord. The prophet then said, “Bring me Agag, king of the Amalekites.”

Agag came before Samuel, not knowing what to expect. Samuel took a sword and said, “You’ve made many women childless. Now your mother will be childless.” The prophet then killed Agag and cut him into pieces.

Then Samuel returned to his home. He never again visited Saul as long as he lived. Still, he grieved over him constantly.

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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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