1 Samuel 15:1-16:23, John 8:1-20, Psalms 110:1-7, Proverbs 15:8-10
Today is the 14th day of May. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. And here we are, approaching the half way point of another month. And step by step we’ll move through the center of the month and toward the back half. We are getting ourselves into the odyssey that is the life of King Saul and we’ll continue with that journey. 1 Samuel chapter 15 and 16 today. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in 1 Samuel we are working our way through Israel’s first king, Saul, and his life and times. And we came into contact with David today who was anointed to take Saul’s place. So, let’s just look at what we have observed about Saul because there’s much for us to observe about our own lives in the story of King Saul. We remember the story of how he came into contact with Samuel and how he was anointed. And when it came time to anoint him king, how he was hiding in the baggage. And we’ve watched his goings and comings ever since as he begins to take power and people begin to follow him. But even as people are following Saul, Saul does not completely follow God through the Prophet Samuel, which leads to his undoing. And in today’s reading, Saul confesses right out of his mouth what the problem is. He says, I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them. So, here’s the king of Israel anointed by God to lead his people but he fears the people far more than he fears God. So, Saul is this ruddy, handsome man who is taller, according to the Bible, than any other person around, any of his fellow Israelites. He looks the part of the King. His exterior is kingly. But his interior life is full of fear, which is no way to lead anybody. And we’ve already observed enough to know that at every turn where Saul feels insecure because he has to wait or because he thinks people are deserting him or whatever, whatever other fear he has inside of him, he reacts. And his reaction is to appease the people that he thinks are out to desert him or to make himself feel more secure as a leader. So his interior life does not match his exterior appearance. All of the sudden, now we’re speaking close to home. And although we have a ways to go in the life of Saul and we will continue to watch this as it spirals out of control, we have met the next king, David. But it’s gonna be a while, right? Samuel doesn’t just go around the country anointing kings. He has anointed a king and the people have begun to follow him. And he is Saul from the tribe of Benjamin, right? In the city of Gibeah. So, he has now anointed David from the tribe of Judah. But we remember what happened to the tribe of Benjamin, right? So, for Samuel to step up and say, now David from the tribe of Judah is king, that’s gonna cause another civil war. So, this is gonna have to play out. And it will, but as it does, as we watch these stories between Saul and David kind of get intertwined, we’re going to see that each of these men represent two completely different paths. One man, Saul, will demonstrate the fear of man all the way to its conclusion, and this other man, David, will show us what the fear of God looks like. So what is being laid out before us in the Scriptures through these men’s lives are the paths that we’re walking. And we get the benefit of seeing where those roads lead.
Prayer:
So, Father, we invite you into that. There is so much for us to see in Saul. There is so much for us to see in David. So much of a reflection back upon ourselves, so much of ourselves in these people because they’re human people with human hearts as we are. And, so, we invite your Holy Spirit to come. Illuminate these paths. Show us the one that we’re walking on. Show us where this is going. And show us the narrow path that leads to life. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.
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Community Prayer and Praise:
Hi family. This is his Little Sharee in Canada. And Mother’s Day is coming up and I know it’s going to be a challenging day for many of us. And I just wanted to pray for strength and courage and health for all of the moms connected to this community, including new moms, stepmom’s. I think of Melody who called in who is a new stepmom. Everyone who is longing to be a mom, including Hopeful and Racquel in Atlanta. Single moms, newly divorced perhaps with young children or adult children, all of the moms who are estranged from their children. What a heartache. Moms who are struggling with illness, I think of Miguel and praying for a quick recovery for you Miguel’s mom. Mothers who are aging or who are far away from their children. I think of Gloria in New York and I am wondering how your mom is doing Gloria? I’m praying for her and for you. Dr. John in New York called in to let us know that his mom is palliative. I’m praying for her. I’m praying for grieving mothers, those who have lost children. And Monica in Kentucky called in to tell us about Eleanor who has now lost both of her adult children. Praying for her. Praying for those who are grieving for their moms, who have lost their moms, either recently or at any time. I think of burning Bush. I’m praying for you and your family. I am praying for those who are praying for unsaved moms, that they would come to know Jesus. I am praying for Linda in St. John who is looking for her birth mom and everyone in a similar situation. I’m praying for myself and those who are dealing with an empty nest who are missing their children. God bless all of the moms in Jesus name. Amen.
Hello Daily Audio family. This is Teresa from Florida. I know you’ve all been listening to me for months now, without my husband, the affair, and leaving me, and the lies. And I just want you all to know I’m calling in a praise report. My husband has come home to me. He said that he didn’t realize how much you loved me until he was away and that honestly the grass is not greener on the other side. I want to praise the Lord for this. I want to praise God and give Him all the glory. When he left, he walked out on his job. When he got up there he couldn’t find a job. Him and the girl were partying and drinking and it just wasn’t what he thought was going to be. But the Lord sent him back to me. He’s been back two days now. He’s already gotten another job that he loves with better pay. We are getting along better than we have in a long time. He seems like he’s actually happy to be there now. And I just want to thank you guys and ask you to continue to pray for us, pray for his heart, that he will open it up and come to the Lord. Pray for me family, that I can be patient, that I can be a godly wife to him, that I can show God’s love to him and continue to praise him and not just call on him when I need him. Thank you, thank you, family. God love you and I’m praying for you all.
Hey Daily Audio Bible family. This is Harris down in San Antonio. Just a prayer request. I feel, not really lost, I mean, I know where I’m at and I know where Jesus is at and everything, but this weekend, I saw a homeless man picking some trash out of the…picking some food out of the trash. You know, I went back around through the drive through of the restaurant I was at, ordered him a hamburger and fries, and I went back around to give it to them and he was so distraught, very cognizant of what was going on. So, I could tell that he wasn’t on anything, substance wise, abuse or anything like that. And we got to talking and, you know, I was witnessing to him. And I’ve never seen somebody who knew so much about the Bible, new Scripture, new a lot of things, talked about how long he served in the church, and lead people to Jesus to only have him turn 180° the other direction to talking so bad about the Lord and how, just how, you now, without having to play the whole conversation, I was just at a loss. And as I continued to try to witness to him in talking through it, the madder and madder and madder he got. And so, I felt like when I left, I, you know, prayed and left it in God’s hands to continue to have the Spirit work on this gentleman. And it just got me to thinking, one, to ask for prayer for this guy. I didn’t catch his name. I just know he is a homeless man here in the San Antonio area, but how many more homeless, and the impact…
Yes. This is David in South Carolina. I called in last Friday for Terry the truck driver and I think I made a comment then that he reminded me a lot of my son. And it’s been an interesting week since that phone call. In my own strength, I’ve been trying to help, in quotations, my son. And it’s become clear to me that I’m getting in the way more than helping. So, it’s kind of…I’m calling in response to two people that called in this morning, Blessed in Me, from, I think he said Memphis, called in and said…talked about God’s sovereignty. He talked about how sometimes we want to do God’s work and pull the strings. And that’s me. That’s what I’ve been trying to do the last week. And somebody told me yesterday, I was talking to the pastor at the church I go to and he told me basically the same thing. So, I got a feeling…and my brother told me the same thing about three or four days ago. So, I think that’s called a clue. So, I guess my point is this, I am letting go of this as far as my son goes. God is sovereign. He’s either it or He’s not. Nothing I do is going to help that situation. So, Blessed in…Blessed Like Me, I was the guy you were calling for today. Just know that. And then Karen in St. Louis, she was talking about what Bob said from Michigan about kill and fill. I heard that too and I just didn’t get it. But I’m going to start working on that, that killing the self and just let God, just let Him do it. And, so, for what it’s worth, you guys have been amazing this last week for me and my family. And Terry, I just want you to know, I’m still praying for you buddy. Like I told you, I’m going to treat you like my adopted son. So, call back in and let us know how you’re doing every once in a while. And again, I just want to say thank you because this is really a wonderful ministry. And…
Hey DABbers. This is dependent on you. I’ve called several times praying for and asking for prayer for my marriage and I’m calling again tonight cause I’m struggling and asking for more prayer for my marriage. Please, I have been fighting for over a year for my marriage when my husband went through, went through with a divorce three months ago. But I know the Lord has placed on my heart to continue to fight for my marriage and for all marriages. And, so, I’m asking for your prayer support, prayer for the restoration of my marriage, prayer that the Lord continue to pursue my husband and go after him and bring him back to the Lord because when he left me he also left the church. And now…and all of our church friends. And he lives a very worldly life and surrounds himself with very worldly minded people. So, I just ask prayer that he just return to the Lord, that the Lord, he just feel the conviction from the Lord on the way he’s living and in regards to this divorce and the Lord provide me strength and continue to fight for this marriage, to continue to fight for my husband because not only do I love my husband but I also stand for the very institution of marriage the way God designed it. I meant my vows and I want my marriage restoration to be a testimony of the Lords hand and give other people hope. So, I just ask you to come alongside me and please pray for my family, pray for my marriage, pray for God to restore it and strength for me. And thank you so much. I don’t know what I would do without all of you.