Day 119: David's Wisdom

 Today's readings: 1 Samuel 29-31 and Psalm 18.

I. 1 Samuel 29 recounts how David and his men marched with the Philistine army, but although Achish trusts him, the other Philistine leaders do not. So he is sent away and returns to Ziklag, while the Philistines continue on to Jezreel to do battle with Saul and the Israelite army. I'd say this is a good thing because David was spared fighting against his own kinsmen.

In the next chapter, David returns to Ziklag, and he and his men discover that it had been sacked and burned down by the Amalekites, who also carried away all the women, children, and possessions. David's wives were among those taken. They are grief-stricken, with the men grumbling about stoning David. David, though, turns to the Lord and is strengthened, telling him to pursue the Amalekites. They all set off in pursuit, finding an abandoned Egyptian servant along the way, who leads them to the Amalekite camp. David attacks and defeats the Amalekites, rescuing all of the hostages and retaking all the stolen possessions. They even increased their gain by spoils from the Amalekites, sharing some of this with the 200 men who had stayed behind at Ziklag. 

1 Samuel 31 finishes out the book by recounting the defeat of Saul's army at the hands of the Philistines. In the battle, Saul's sons, including Jonathan, were all killed, while Saul himself had been badly wounded and committed suicide to avoid torture and humiliation. The Philistines cut off the head of Saul's body, stripped off his armor, and made a spectacle of the body in their capital city to shame the Israelites and glorify their pagan gods. The men of Jabesh-Gilead heard about what had happened, and secretly recovered the bodies of Saul and his sons, burning them and giving the remains burial.

Saul was a tragic figure, one whose own actions led him down to such an ignominious end. What was even more tragic, sad even, was the death of his son Jonathan. He seemed to be a good man and obviously cared for David, yet he too was struck down. After reading this, I feel like I should pray for God's mercy on their souls.

II. Psalm 18 is, as the Ignatius Bible notes (verse numbers removed):

A victory hymn. It extols the Lord as the Savior of his servants, particularly David, whom the Lord rescued from many dangers. God also gave David victory in war and made him a ruler over nations bordering Israel. In all of this, God's covenant of kingship with David was confirmed. Psalm 18 is nearly identical to 2 Sam 22:1-51. (p. 843)

That's all for today!