David is living amongst his enemies and it’s tough. He’s had to convince them of his rejection of Israel and loyalty to them. But that now puts him in the dilemma of being called to fight against his own. How
Contacting the dead
Due to his sin, Saul is all alone and frightened of his enemies. David will not help him; God will not help him; he’s in a living death. So in desperation Saul does the only thing he can think of
Living with the enemy
To secure peace for himself, his family and his army, David has had to go and live among his enemies, the Philistines. It’s a bold plan which requires David to conduct himself shrewdly. But he pulls it off, managing both
A time of transition
Saul sees that David has spared his life again, admits his sin and calls David home. But times have changed and David can no longer be with Saul. He’ll only go home when it’s time for him to take the
Homeless
Fleeing murderous Saul, David struggles to find anywhere safe to go. His first thought is to hide amongst his enemies. But that goes badly wrong and he has to extract himself in an embarrassing way. Next he hides in a
Stick and stones
David goes into his fight with Goliath in a way no-one else expects, with weapons seeming incapable of taking down the heavily protected warrior apart from some incredible luck. But David isn’t relying on luck. He goes trusting his God
Fearless
Israel is limping into battle with fear, plagued by the challenge of her enemies’ huge warrior, Goliath. But the man anointed to be her future king has no such fear. David lets nothing put him off but, rather, speaks up
A monster of a man
Israel and Philistia are at stalemate in their war, with neither side having a clear upper hand. So the Philistines resort to intimidation to get inside their enemies’ heads. To do this their warrior giant, Goliath, invites solo combat. Now,
A positive list
The picture of Saul has been quite negative in 1 Samuel. But that’s by no means the whole story of his reign and here the writer pauses to tell us more positive things about him. Saul fought hard for his
Whatever seems best
Saul’s foolish, proud leadership has left his army famished with the result they devour captured animals like a pack of wild dogs. Rather than admitting his mistake, however, Saul tries to put things right his way. This goes badly wrong