The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday May 22, 2018 (NIV)

David Learns of Saul’s Death

1 After the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag. ² On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s army camp. He had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head to show that he was in mourning. He fell to the ground before David in deep respect.

³ “Where have you come from?” David asked.

“I escaped from the Israelite camp,” the man replied.

⁴ “What happened?” David demanded. “Tell me how the battle went.”

The man replied, “Our entire army fled from the battle. Many of the men are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”

⁵ “How do you know Saul and Jonathan are dead?” David demanded of the young man.

⁶ The man answered, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear with the enemy chariots and charioteers closing in on him. ⁷ When he turned and saw me, he cried out for me to come to him. ‘How can I help?’ I asked him.

⁸ “He responded, ‘Who are you?’

“‘I am an Amalekite,’ I told him.

⁹ “Then he begged me, ‘Come over here and put me out of my misery, for I am in terrible pain and want to die.’

¹⁰ “So I killed him,” the Amalekite told David, “for I knew he couldn’t live. Then I took his crown and his armband, and I have brought them here to you, my lord.”

¹¹ David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news. ¹² They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s army and the nation of Israel, because they had died by the sword that day.

¹³ Then David said to the young man who had brought the news, “Where are you from?”

And he replied, “I am a foreigner, an Amalekite, who lives in your land.”

¹⁴ “Why were you not afraid to kill the Lord’s anointed one?” David asked.

¹⁵ Then David said to one of his men, “Kill him!” So the man thrust his sword into the Amalekite and killed him. ¹⁶ “You have condemned yourself,” David said, “for you yourself confessed that you killed the Lord’s anointed one.”

David’s Song for Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷ Then David composed a funeral song for Saul and Jonathan, ¹⁸ and he commanded that it be taught to the people of Judah. It is known as the Song of the Bow, and it is recorded in The Book of Jashar.^[a]

David Anointed King of Judah

2 After this, David asked the Lord, “Should I move back to one of the towns of Judah?”

“Yes,” the Lord replied.

Then David asked, “Which town should I go to?”

“To Hebron,” the Lord answered.

² David’s two wives were Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel. So David and his wives ³ and his men and their families all moved to Judah, and they settled in the villages near Hebron. ⁴ Then the men of Judah came to David and anointed him king over the people of Judah.

When David heard that the men of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul, ⁵ he sent them this message: “May the Lord bless you for being so loyal to your master Saul and giving him a decent burial. ⁶ May the Lord be loyal to you in return and reward you with his unfailing love! And I, too, will reward you for what you have done. ⁷ Now that Saul is dead, I ask you to be my strong and loyal subjects like the people of Judah, who have anointed me as their new king.”

Ishbosheth Proclaimed King of Israel

⁸ But Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had already gone to Mahanaim with Saul’s son Ishbosheth.^{[c] 9} There he proclaimed Ishbosheth king over Gilead, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, the land of the Ashurites, and all the rest of Israel.

¹⁰ Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king, and he ruled from Mahanaim for two years. Meanwhile, the people of Judah remained loyal to David. ¹¹ David made Hebron his capital, and he ruled as king of Judah for seven and a half years.

Jesus Predicts His Death

²⁰ Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration ²¹ paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, “Sir, we want to meet Jesus.” ²² Philip told Andrew about it, and they went together to ask Jesus.

²³ Jesus replied, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man^[a] to enter into his glory. ²⁴ I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. ²⁵ Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. ²⁶ Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

²⁷ “Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! ²⁸ Father, bring glory to your name.”

Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.” ²⁹ When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.

³⁰ Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not mine. ³¹ The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. ³² And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” ³³ He said this to indicate how he was going to die.

³⁴ The crowd responded, “We understood from Scripture^[b] that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?”

³⁵ Jesus replied, “My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. ³⁶ Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.”

After saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them.

The Unbelief of the People

³⁷ But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him. ³⁸ This is exactly what Isaiah the prophet had predicted:

³⁹ But the people couldn’t believe, for as Isaiah also said,

⁴¹ Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he said this, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory. ⁴² Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. ⁴³ For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

⁴⁴ Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. ⁴⁵ For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. ⁴⁶ I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. ⁴⁷ I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. ⁴⁸ But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. ⁴⁹ I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. ⁵⁰ And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”