1 Samuel 18:5-19:24 ~ John 8:31-59 ~ Psalm 112:1-10 ~ Proverbs 15:12-14
Today is May 16th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today. It’s GREAT to be here with you today. It’s good to be here with you every day as we take these steps, these steps that lead us forward through the whole Bible in a year as a community. There are days that that is still a marvel to me, that it can even happen. Even though we’ve been at this 12 years every day, it’s amazing that it can happen. So I’m excited to take the next step forward into the life of David and continuing in the life of King Saul as we’re watching transition happen in the nation of Israel. The chosen people of God who crossed the Jordan River as tribes and took the promised land are becoming more and more like a nation. That introduces new sets of customs and certainly new intrigue and conflict. So we continue that journey. David shows up fully on the radar yesterday when he kills Goliath in the Valley of Elah and we’ll find out what happens next. We’re reading from the Names of God Bible this week, 1 Samuel chapter 18, verse 5 through 19, verse 24 today.
Commentary
Okay, so the conflict between Saul and David is pretty clear now, pretty clear why. David is a young man, a really, really good looking man, a very shrewd man, very smart, kind of has some street skills. He’s been thrust into the limelight. We don’t know exactly what David had hoped or dreamed to ever become, but he wasn’t a firstborn son and he was in a small family and he was a shepherd, so his life was going to kind of unfold for him that way. What had happened to him wasn’t even within reach, so he wasn’t exactly looking for these things but he wasn’t exactly running away from them either. He was just trying to be faithful to the king. I mean, who is not going to do that? You’re a peasant plucked from the middle of nowhere and all of a sudden you’re the armor bearer for the king, so yeah, you’re going to take it seriously. And he does. And he’s loyal and he’s faithful to King Saul.
Saul is just nothing but jealous. Everything that Saul does including making David his son-in-law, bringing him into the family and taking him on as a son is meant to ultimately hatch a plan to destroy David. And we’ve seen this kind of character in Saul. We’ve seen this stuff coming up earlier before he ever met David. So we continue to watch Saul and we begin to see what his insecurities continue to do to him. They continue to undermine him and it has led him to this really profound jealousy, murderous jealousy over David. In today’s reading alone, Saul tried to kill David several times, both in hand-to-hand combat, trying to nail him to the wall with a spear, and then in other ways like sending him out into battle hoping that he’ll die in battle or sending the soldiers to kind of bring him even from his own bed so that he can be killed. All this kind of stuff. So we’re watching Saul come apart. We’re watching him disintegrate because he has this profound character issue. He is so insecure about everything that it is leading him into paranoia and fits of rage, all kinds of things.
We can learn from that and we can also begin to look at the opposing, the opposite path in David at this point in David’s life. David is trying to be true and he’s trying to be smart and he’s trying to be loyal to the king. He’s trying to be loyal to God and he’s trying to be loyal to his people. We can see that only makes it worse for Saul because David is shining. David is living true and Saul is not.
So as we watch this story continue to unfold, we’re watching two different pathways and those are paths, one of which we will walk, and we get to see where both pathways go.
Prayer
Father, thank you for providing us such detail in this particular section of the history of your people. As we get to know Saul and as we get to know David, we also get to know ourselves. So we want to invite your Holy Spirit into that as we continue to move through the story. So we invite your Holy Spirit to just show us the ways in which we behave like Saul and where that comes from and the insecurity and lack of identity that informs that and show us the ways that we’re walking a little more true, a little more like David and show us, God, how to be true and how to live right and righteous before you, loyal and faithful to you. We ask in Jesus’ name, amen.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian. I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports
Hi DAB family. This is Blessed Beyond Measure in New Jersey. Today is Saturday, May 12th. I have read through the Bible a number of times and did not realize where the rift between Saul and his son Jonathan started. Today’s passage from 1 Samuel explains where it began. At the end of today’s Bible reading Brian’s commentary should be life-changing to everyone. He reminded me to live into who God created me to be. God did not create any of us to be insecure. I believe he created us to be humble. Jesus who was all man and all God in humility, with courage was willing to give up his life as a man for all of our sins. So DAB family members, if you know you are saved by God because you have accepted the gift of salvation through Christ’s death on the cross, burial and resurrection, then trust this. You are no longer a slave to sin because you are, by rebirth in Christ, a child of God. Brian and the Hardin family, never give up reading the Word of God to us as your DAB family or anyone God puts in your path. You have chosen to live into who God has created you to be. This is Blessed Beyond Measure in New Jersey.
Hi DAB family. This is Christy from Kentucky. I want to thank each of you who have prayed for my beautiful, beautiful mother. As most of you probably know, she has gone to see Jesus. Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and the only solace I have tonight is that she is finally spending Mother’s Day with her own mom who she lost at a young age and who she loved so very much. The other day I found a card that her mother had sent to her on her birthday and I just realized what a celebration it must be finally seeing her sweet mom and dad, being there with my brother. I tried not to be selfish. I tried to let her go, but it wasn’t easy. I have more questions than I do answers as I watched my mom suffer progressively. One week, maybe 10 days before sitting and having coffee with her at the table talking to her and then every day watching her weaken more and more, being stripped of her health, her dignity, it was horrible and it is something I’ll never forget. I praise God that she came home. I praise God that she went peacefully to be with her Savior, but I still don’t understand the road to suffering. Such an amazing woman who loved so many, who served God faithfully. I’m broken. I love each of you deeply.
Hi, this is Victorious Soldier calling tonight to pray with some of the Dabbers. I want to pray for Argent. I want to pray for Amanda. O my Lord, my sister, I definitely want to pray for you. The enemy is trying to come into your marriage and he’s trying to destroy you, but God is faithful and he is faithful and he is just and he is able to do the impossible. Lord, in the name of Jesus I ask that you touch Amanda. O Lord, you touch her husband, Lord. O Lord, you strengthen that marriage, Lord. O Father, you touch that outside woman, Lord. O God, you deliver her soul, Lord. O Lord, in the name of Jesus, Lord, you teach her the sanctity of marriage, Lord. O Lord, in the name of Jesus, Lord, you bless Amanda. You bless her, Lord, and you strengthen her, Lord. O God, you equip her for the battle, Lord. In the name of Jesus, you bless her with a beautiful Mother’s Day. O Lord, let her look to you knowing that you are able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think according to the power that worketh in her. O Lord, we ask you to touch Brittany with the eye disease, Lord. O Lord, in the name of Jesus, Lord, you have your way. Father, you can do anything but fail. O Lord, we ask that you heal her, Lord. We ask that you heal in the name of Jesus. We ask that you guide and you protect and you keep her in your perfect peace with her mind staid on you. O Lord, in the name of Jesus, Lord, we just thank you, Lord, for Jay in New Jersey and Blind Tony. It is good to hear from you, Blind Tony. And all of the people of God, continue Lord to bless Blind Tony. Continue to open doors for him. Continue to __ his healing, Lord. O Father, give him the desires of his heart and let him keep his trust in you. Touch Brian, Lord, as this is his first Mother’s Day…
Hi, this message is for Brittany in Albuquerque. My name is Rachel and I’m from St. Louis and Brittany, I wanted to call because I completely understand your situation. I’m a 42-year-old mother of two and I also have the Stargardt eye disease. It was such a gift to hear your voice and to know there is someone else out there very similar to me and my situation. I love my husband and he’s awesome and he does so much to support my kids and I, but I also appreciate where you’re coming from with feeling like you wish you could do more to help with the driving and things of that nature. Brittany, if you wanted to connect, you are welcome to email me at JeffandRachelShelton@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.
Hello, my name is Tyler from Los Angeles. I would like to pray for my mother today, Paula, on Mother’s Day. May God be with her and guide her. Thank you, Brian, for reading the Bible every single day and for your insights. The Word of God is what we need for this journey of life. It gives us the wisdom and I pray for all of us, that we can keep letting this light into our lives and be directed by the Word and share this light with everyone that crosses our paths. God be with you, Brian and DAB family. God bless you all.