You're joining us
in a part of a series
00:00:15.94\00:00:19.18
that we've been going through,
one of my favorite subjects,
00:00:19.21\00:00:22.25
which is dealing
with the life of David
00:00:22.28\00:00:24.55
or talking about
the Shepherd King.
00:00:24.59\00:00:26.99
And today's presentation,
we're gonna be dealing
00:00:27.02\00:00:29.66
with the subject of
From Carmel to Ziklag.
00:00:29.69\00:00:35.46
In our last
story, we saw that David
00:00:35.50\00:00:37.33
had a very
interesting experience
00:00:37.37\00:00:39.13
where he appealed
to a local rancher
00:00:39.17\00:00:43.81
they had been protecting
if they can make a donation
00:00:43.84\00:00:46.47
to help a little bit
00:00:46.51\00:00:47.84
with the cost
of feeding an army,
00:00:47.88\00:00:52.38
and he basically reproved them.
00:00:52.41\00:00:54.72
David was on his way to
exact vengeance on Nabal,
00:00:54.75\00:00:58.75
and Abigail
interceded, she appealed,
00:00:58.79\00:01:03.86
brought a gift
and basically averted
00:01:03.89\00:01:07.76
what could have
been a terrible disaster.
00:01:07.83\00:01:10.67
And then at the of the story,
David very amazed at Abigail
00:01:10.70\00:01:15.94
and the kind of woman she was,
00:01:15.97\00:01:17.01
he learns that Nabal
has a stroke and he dies,
00:01:17.04\00:01:20.14
he proposes to Abigail
and she becomes his wife.
00:01:20.18\00:01:24.05
So now in the time between
when David marries Abigail
00:01:24.08\00:01:27.92
and this all happens,
there is one more episode
00:01:27.95\00:01:31.75
where David is
surrounded by Saul.
00:01:31.79\00:01:35.06
David sneaks into
Saul's camp at the night.
00:01:35.09\00:01:38.19
Abishai says, "Strike him
to the ground with the spear."
00:01:38.23\00:01:40.83
David says, "No he
is the Lord's anointed.
00:01:40.86\00:01:42.30
Forgive him."
00:01:42.33\00:01:43.63
And again David confronts
Saul and says, "See here,
00:01:43.67\00:01:47.24
I'm not trying to
kill you, I had a chance,
00:01:47.27\00:01:48.70
here's you spear,
here's your water jug."
00:01:48.74\00:01:51.34
And Saul says, "Oh, I'm
sorry, it was just an accident.
00:01:51.37\00:01:55.74
You're gonna prevail, David."
00:01:55.78\00:01:58.01
And then at the
end of that David says,
00:01:58.05\00:01:59.55
"You know, how many
times has Saul acted like
00:01:59.58\00:02:03.32
he was gonna change his
mind but he can't help himself."
00:02:03.35\00:02:05.79
He tries to pin him
against the wall with a spear
00:02:05.82\00:02:08.36
and then he tells Jonathan,
00:02:08.39\00:02:09.59
"I was just
kidding, I really like him."
00:02:09.62\00:02:11.93
And then tries to
pin him against the wall
00:02:11.96\00:02:13.56
again with his spear,
00:02:13.60\00:02:15.06
and then he sends
soldiers after him
00:02:15.10\00:02:16.56
and David finds him in
the cave, cuts off his robe.
00:02:16.60\00:02:20.24
Saul says, "Make
a covenant with me,
00:02:20.27\00:02:21.37
you're gonna be
king. I'm sorry."
00:02:21.40\00:02:23.44
Then again he
goes into the camp,
00:02:23.47\00:02:24.81
he does it again.
00:02:24.84\00:02:26.07
Saul can't help
himself. He is demon possessed.
00:02:26.11\00:02:29.41
He just is so
controlled by vengeance,
00:02:29.44\00:02:31.75
and so that brings
us to our next section.
00:02:31.78\00:02:34.88
Turn with me to 1 Samuel 27:1,
00:02:34.92\00:02:38.32
"Now I will perish
someday by the hand of Saul.
00:02:38.35\00:02:41.86
There is nothing better for
me than that I should escape
00:02:41.89\00:02:45.76
to the land of the Philistines.
00:02:45.79\00:02:48.50
And Saul will despair
of seeking me any more
00:02:48.53\00:02:51.07
in any part of Israel
00:02:51.10\00:02:52.63
so I will escape
out of his hand."
00:02:52.67\00:02:55.47
Now this is a
low point for David.
00:02:55.50\00:02:58.54
This is David who
had escaped so many times
00:02:58.57\00:03:02.38
because God had promised,
"You're going to be king
00:03:02.41\00:03:05.05
and I want you to fight
against the Philistines.
00:03:05.08\00:03:08.62
I want you to set Israel free.
00:03:08.65\00:03:10.49
I want you to expand
the territory of Israel."
00:03:10.52\00:03:14.32
And David has lost faith.
00:03:14.36\00:03:16.42
It's not a great
verse, but, you know,
00:03:16.46\00:03:19.86
it's there to remind us
that that happens to us.
00:03:19.89\00:03:22.26
Just before that
statement that David makes,
00:03:22.30\00:03:25.73
"I'm gonna just go to
the land of the Philistines."
00:03:25.77\00:03:28.64
Listen to what David
writes in Psalms 121.
00:03:28.67\00:03:32.67
"I lift up my eyes to the hills
00:03:32.71\00:03:34.31
from whence comes my help?
00:03:34.34\00:03:36.08
My help comes from the Lord
00:03:36.11\00:03:37.45
who made the
heaven and the earth.
00:03:37.48\00:03:39.05
He will not allow
your foot to be moved.
00:03:39.08\00:03:41.55
He who does not slumber,
he shall neither slumber
00:03:41.58\00:03:46.72
nor sleep who keeps Israel.
00:03:46.76\00:03:48.39
The Lord is your keeper,
00:03:48.42\00:03:49.66
the Lord is your
shade at your right hand.
00:03:49.69\00:03:51.96
The sun will not strike you
by day nor the moon by night.
00:03:51.99\00:03:54.96
The Lord shall
preserve you from all evil.
00:03:55.00\00:03:57.70
He will preserve your soul.
00:03:57.73\00:03:59.53
The Lord shall
preserve your going in
00:03:59.57\00:04:01.50
and your coming out
from this time forth,
00:04:01.54\00:04:03.74
even for evermore."
00:04:03.77\00:04:05.51
Well, that's great.
00:04:05.54\00:04:07.24
He should have read that Psalm.
00:04:07.28\00:04:10.35
God will keep you.
God will preserve you.
00:04:10.38\00:04:11.91
God will not forsake you.
00:04:11.95\00:04:14.62
Now the reason I think
00:04:14.65\00:04:16.08
this is important
for us to consider
00:04:16.12\00:04:17.45
because you have
all sung songs before
00:04:17.49\00:04:20.46
that have
wonderful statements of faith
00:04:20.49\00:04:22.52
but you don't live them out.
00:04:22.56\00:04:24.46
I have to.
00:04:24.49\00:04:26.93
But since I'm looking at
you, I'm gonna talk about you.
00:04:26.96\00:04:31.83
You know, what
I'm talking about?
00:04:31.87\00:04:33.10
We read these statements,
we say these prayers,
00:04:33.13\00:04:35.00
we talk about the victories
00:04:35.04\00:04:36.64
and things that
God has done for us,
00:04:36.67\00:04:37.91
and you know what,
00:04:37.94\00:04:38.97
and listening to the
devil for five minutes,
00:04:39.01\00:04:41.11
you can forget a
lifetime of God delivering you.
00:04:41.14\00:04:45.28
Just look at the
children of Israel.
00:04:45.31\00:04:47.65
When they're in Egypt,
God miraculously feeds them
00:04:47.68\00:04:50.35
with bread from
heaven, He delivers them
00:04:50.39\00:04:52.35
from the
Amalekites that attacked them.
00:04:52.39\00:04:54.32
He gives them
water out of a rock.
00:04:54.36\00:04:56.56
He sends plague after
plague on their enemy.
00:04:56.59\00:04:59.09
He parts the sea for them,
pillar of fire to keep them
00:04:59.13\00:05:02.80
from being in the dark.
00:05:02.83\00:05:03.83
He does all of this,
and after doing all of this,
00:05:03.87\00:05:06.60
you know what they say?
00:05:06.63\00:05:08.27
First time something
gets rough they said,
00:05:08.30\00:05:10.61
"Oh, the Lord
brought us out here
00:05:10.64\00:05:12.27
so we could
perish in the wilderness.
00:05:12.31\00:05:14.41
Let's just go back to Egypt.
00:05:14.44\00:05:17.78
We'll go back to our
enemies, the land of the enemy."
00:05:17.81\00:05:21.58
You know, I sort of
probably misnamed this message.
00:05:21.62\00:05:24.09
I should have called
it the land of the enemy
00:05:24.12\00:05:26.52
because the
whole thing takes place
00:05:26.55\00:05:30.36
in the land of the enemy.
00:05:30.39\00:05:32.89
Sometimes God's
people try to serve the Lord
00:05:32.93\00:05:35.83
in the land of the enemy.
00:05:35.86\00:05:38.20
And so you know what David does,
00:05:38.23\00:05:39.47
I'm gonna go
back to 1 Samuel 27,
00:05:39.50\00:05:42.37
"David arose and he
went over with 600 men
00:05:42.40\00:05:45.07
who were with him to Achish,
00:05:45.11\00:05:47.01
the son of Maoch,
the king of Gath."
00:05:47.04\00:05:49.58
Now have you heard
the word Gath before?
00:05:49.61\00:05:52.58
This is the second
time David goes to Gath.
00:05:52.61\00:05:54.52
Remember, Goliath was of what?
00:05:54.55\00:05:57.05
Gath.
00:05:57.09\00:05:58.15
David is gone to the hometown
00:05:58.19\00:06:01.12
of his chief
adversary that he's killed.
00:06:01.16\00:06:04.59
He did this once before.
00:06:04.63\00:06:05.69
But when he went
before, he ran there by himself,
00:06:05.73\00:06:08.50
and even Achish
said, "What is this?
00:06:08.53\00:06:10.47
Is this David that
they say, you know,
00:06:10.50\00:06:12.33
Saul has killed his thousands,
but David his ten thousands,
00:06:12.37\00:06:15.27
that would be ten
thousand Philistines,
00:06:15.30\00:06:17.71
and he's here?"
00:06:17.74\00:06:19.07
And that's when David
pretended he was crazy,
00:06:19.11\00:06:20.91
that's back in Achish.
00:06:20.94\00:06:22.11
Now he is back in Achish again.
00:06:22.14\00:06:23.75
Achish now
welcomes him because David,
00:06:23.78\00:06:26.01
he realized David
kind of fooled him before,
00:06:26.05\00:06:27.85
David's been
running around the hills
00:06:27.88\00:06:29.22
with a small army.
00:06:29.25\00:06:31.75
And David, they've
learned that Saul keeps
00:06:31.79\00:06:34.29
trying to kill David,
00:06:34.32\00:06:35.39
there's a civil
war in the country,
00:06:35.42\00:06:36.56
and you know
that old expression,
00:06:36.59\00:06:38.49
"My enemy's enemy is my friend."
00:06:38.53\00:06:41.86
And since Achish
was enemies with Saul
00:06:41.90\00:06:45.03
and Saul was enemies
with David, David said,
00:06:45.07\00:06:47.64
"Well, if I'm not gonna
be able to live in Israel
00:06:47.67\00:06:50.11
where Saul is, he
won't give up hunting me.
00:06:50.14\00:06:53.21
I'll just go
stay where Achish is."
00:06:53.24\00:06:56.31
And Achish says, "Aha!
00:06:56.34\00:06:58.41
I have just
strengthened my army by 600 men,
00:06:58.45\00:07:02.48
not only 600 men,
00:07:02.52\00:07:04.35
the chief crack
forces of Israel."
00:07:04.39\00:07:08.02
You know, different armies
have got their Green Berets
00:07:08.06\00:07:11.06
or their Navy SEALs
or their Army Rangers.
00:07:11.09\00:07:14.56
David was the
elite force of Israel.
00:07:14.56\00:07:18.27
At one time, he was
Saul's armor-bearer,
00:07:18.30\00:07:21.50
then became a captain,
00:07:21.54\00:07:22.74
and every time David never
lost a battle you read about it,
00:07:22.77\00:07:25.71
and now that
elite force of David
00:07:25.74\00:07:29.48
has just come to Achish.
00:07:29.51\00:07:31.58
And he's going, "All right!"
00:07:31.61\00:07:33.92
It flatters him and
they bring their families,
00:07:33.95\00:07:37.09
"They are now
going to be on my side.
00:07:37.12\00:07:39.75
I bet we can overcome
Israel at this point."
00:07:39.79\00:07:42.99
Achish receives him.
00:07:43.02\00:07:44.53
And so for a few
days, David and his 600 men
00:07:44.56\00:07:46.86
and all their families,
they're down there with Achish,
00:07:46.90\00:07:50.87
but, you know,
David noticed something...
00:07:50.90\00:07:52.23
You read a little
later in the Bible,
00:07:52.27\00:07:53.87
you find out
Goliath had a family.
00:07:53.90\00:07:58.31
David is walking around
Gath with Goliath's sword,
00:07:58.34\00:08:01.78
painful reminder
that David had beheaded
00:08:01.81\00:08:06.18
the champion of the town.
00:08:06.21\00:08:09.22
You read later in the Bible,
00:08:09.25\00:08:10.29
you find that
Goliath has a brother
00:08:10.32\00:08:12.19
and he's got maybe
two brothers and two sons,
00:08:12.22\00:08:14.89
Hebrew is not clear,
00:08:14.92\00:08:15.99
but he had some
relatives that were big.
00:08:16.02\00:08:17.53
There's another guy in Gath
who was a brother of Goliath,
00:08:17.56\00:08:21.33
he's got 24 fingers
and toes, 6 on each hand.
00:08:21.36\00:08:26.87
And, you know, that
is, I've seen that myself.
00:08:28.54\00:08:31.64
It's not that uncommon
00:08:31.67\00:08:34.31
especially if
there's any incest.
00:08:34.34\00:08:36.88
How many of you seen a
cat with like seven toes?
00:08:36.91\00:08:39.78
And usually comes
from inbreeding with cats.
00:08:39.81\00:08:42.48
And the theory is
that the people in Gath saw
00:08:42.52\00:08:45.55
how big Goliath was that
they were trying to inbreed
00:08:45.59\00:08:47.82
the family a little bit
to get an army of Goliaths.
00:08:47.86\00:08:50.69
One of them came
out with 24 toes.
00:08:50.73\00:08:53.83
He later was killed by
David's brother Shimea.
00:08:53.86\00:08:56.30
But they were alive
at this point in Gath.
00:08:56.33\00:08:58.23
So you've got Goliath's
relatives walking around town,
00:08:58.27\00:09:01.84
and they're looking at
Goliath, and King Achish says,
00:09:01.87\00:09:03.94
"You know, I'm so glad
you've come to join me."
00:09:03.97\00:09:06.07
Finally David says
to the king, verse 5,
00:09:06.11\00:09:11.35
"If it pleases you,
maybe you could give me
00:09:11.38\00:09:13.78
another place to
stay in your territory.
00:09:13.82\00:09:16.62
It's not fair that
I should be staying
00:09:16.65\00:09:19.49
in one of the royal
cities with the King.
00:09:19.52\00:09:22.46
I'm not worthy."
00:09:22.49\00:09:24.06
But really David realize
00:09:24.09\00:09:25.16
that was causing a
little bit of anguish
00:09:25.19\00:09:27.86
and the other thing
was they worship Dagon.
00:09:27.86\00:09:31.47
They worship other gods in Gath.
00:09:31.50\00:09:34.04
And David wanted
to be in a position
00:09:34.07\00:09:37.57
where he was a little
further out of the capital
00:09:37.61\00:09:40.68
where he could worship Jehovah
00:09:40.71\00:09:42.64
because it was
gonna be a conflict.
00:09:42.68\00:09:44.08
Now the Philistines
had five major cities,
00:09:44.11\00:09:48.62
they had Ashdod,
Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Gath.
00:09:48.65\00:09:52.49
The Philistines
did not have one king.
00:09:52.52\00:09:55.52
They were divided up
in a little more kind of
00:09:55.56\00:09:57.36
Greco-Roman style
where they had five kings
00:09:57.39\00:10:00.13
and they were
representative kings,
00:10:00.16\00:10:02.03
and these were the
five principal cities.
00:10:02.06\00:10:04.13
There is the kind of Ashdod,
00:10:04.17\00:10:05.20
Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Gath.
00:10:05.23\00:10:08.04
And so Gath was a
little further south of Judea,
00:10:08.07\00:10:13.81
it was closer to
the border of Judea
00:10:13.84\00:10:16.34
and the land of the Amalekites
00:10:16.38\00:10:17.98
and the Arabs and
the desert regions.
00:10:18.01\00:10:21.18
So Achish says,
"I'll tell you what,
00:10:21.22\00:10:24.39
I'll give you Ziklag,
and you can stay in Ziklag."
00:10:24.42\00:10:28.39
Now Ziklag means winding.
00:10:28.42\00:10:31.79
And while David is
living in the land of the enemy,
00:10:31.83\00:10:34.86
he is on a winding road.
00:10:34.93\00:10:37.63
And Ziklag was a fortress city
00:10:37.67\00:10:39.73
down on the borders of
the Philistine territory
00:10:39.77\00:10:42.97
bordering Judea and bordering,
00:10:43.00\00:10:45.31
well, the country of the Arabs
really that lived down there.
00:10:45.34\00:10:50.55
Therefore from
that time to this time,
00:10:50.58\00:10:52.15
it says Ziklag has
belonged to the kings of Judah.
00:10:52.18\00:10:54.85
Now the time that
David dwelt in the country
00:10:54.88\00:10:57.02
of the Philistines was
one year and four months.
00:10:57.05\00:11:01.22
And he acted
like he was friends,
00:11:01.26\00:11:03.16
but you know
what's really going on.
00:11:03.19\00:11:05.53
It's says,
"David and his men..."
00:11:05.56\00:11:09.40
I'm in verse 8,
"David and his men
00:11:09.43\00:11:10.83
raided the
Geshurites, and the Girzites,
00:11:10.87\00:11:14.54
and the
Amalekites for those nations
00:11:14.57\00:11:16.81
where the inhabitants
of the nations from old
00:11:16.84\00:11:19.21
as you go to Mount Shur,
00:11:19.24\00:11:21.01
even as far as
the land of Egypt."
00:11:21.04\00:11:23.88
So David, he's
got to feed an army
00:11:23.91\00:11:27.05
and what he does
is they pretty much
00:11:27.08\00:11:30.95
have filled up
the city of Ziklag,
00:11:30.99\00:11:33.09
he and his
soldiers, they go on raids.
00:11:33.12\00:11:34.82
It's very common.
00:11:34.86\00:11:35.92
You remember
the story of Naaman,
00:11:35.96\00:11:37.49
that's how Naaman
00:11:37.53\00:11:38.76
and his family
got the little girl.
00:11:38.79\00:11:40.06
They went on a raid in the
northern country of Israel.
00:11:40.10\00:11:42.83
They would kill,
they'd seize the livestock,
00:11:42.86\00:11:45.57
they'd kill anyone who resisted,
00:11:45.60\00:11:46.74
they'd take away the
women and children as slaves,
00:11:46.77\00:11:48.74
and they were always
raiding each other's borders.
00:11:48.77\00:11:51.81
You remember
the story of Elisha,
00:11:51.84\00:11:53.94
when they're burying Elisha,
it's an interesting story.
00:11:53.98\00:11:57.95
They're going out
to conduct the funeral
00:11:57.98\00:11:59.35
and they haven't quite lowered
the body down in the grave yet,
00:11:59.38\00:12:02.28
all of a sudden
they see Moabite raiders
00:12:02.32\00:12:03.89
are coming into the country.
00:12:03.92\00:12:05.02
And they said, "What do we
do? We got to bury this man."
00:12:05.05\00:12:07.76
It wasn't Elisha
there, that burying man.
00:12:07.79\00:12:10.73
And they saw
Elisha's grave was there
00:12:10.76\00:12:12.29
and so they opened up
the lid off Elisha's grave,
00:12:12.33\00:12:14.60
they tossed him in,
and he came back to life
00:12:14.63\00:12:18.00
when he touched
the bones of Elisha.
00:12:18.03\00:12:19.37
You remember that story?
But the Raiders were coming.
00:12:19.40\00:12:21.67
They are always
raiding each other's borders.
00:12:21.70\00:12:23.64
If you lived in Israel
back in one of those days,
00:12:23.67\00:12:25.64
you did not want
to live on the edge.
00:12:25.67\00:12:28.14
It wasn't safe on the edge.
00:12:28.18\00:12:29.64
You wanted to be
right in the middle.
00:12:29.68\00:12:31.88
So David went out raiding
because he had to feed his army
00:12:31.91\00:12:35.22
and he's raiding
the enemies that Joshua
00:12:35.25\00:12:38.22
and the children of
Israel had not subdued
00:12:38.25\00:12:40.36
when they were supposed
00:12:40.39\00:12:41.42
to when they came into the land.
00:12:41.46\00:12:42.66
Remember, King Saul was told,
"Go wipe out the Amalekites."
00:12:42.69\00:12:45.66
But he didn't completely do it.
00:12:45.69\00:12:47.36
So David says,
"Well, I'll do it."
00:12:47.40\00:12:49.33
So he attacks the
Amalekites and the Geshurites
00:12:49.36\00:12:51.37
and these other countries
that had been enemies of Israel
00:12:51.40\00:12:54.17
and they were
allies of the Philistines.
00:12:54.20\00:12:56.27
But when he does this, he
then brings gifts to Achish.
00:12:56.30\00:12:59.44
He says, "Here's
some livestock and..."
00:12:59.47\00:13:01.68
But he doesn't bring any people
because he's telling Achish,
00:13:01.71\00:13:05.11
he'd say to him,
00:13:05.15\00:13:06.45
"Where do you go raiding today?"
00:13:06.48\00:13:08.15
He said, "Oh, I
was raiding Judah,
00:13:08.18\00:13:09.88
I was raiding the
Jews, the Israelites.
00:13:09.92\00:13:12.05
I went to Judah and
against the southern area
00:13:12.09\00:13:13.62
to the Jerahmeelites
00:13:13.66\00:13:14.76
and against the
southern area in the Kenites."
00:13:14.79\00:13:16.99
They were related to
Israel, some of you remember
00:13:17.03\00:13:19.36
a girl named Jael
who killed Sisera,
00:13:19.39\00:13:22.30
she was a Kenite,
00:13:22.33\00:13:23.53
they lived down in that country.
00:13:23.57\00:13:25.77
And David would save
neither man nor woman alive.
00:13:25.80\00:13:28.64
Now this is tough to
believe, but David and his men
00:13:28.67\00:13:31.37
they wouldn't
leave any witnesses.
00:13:31.41\00:13:34.38
But they were
attacking the ancient enemies
00:13:34.41\00:13:36.54
that God had told
Israel to wipe out.
00:13:36.58\00:13:39.25
But he's being very duplicitous.
00:13:39.28\00:13:41.32
He said, "Oh, yeah,
Lord, I'm serving you
00:13:41.35\00:13:43.05
in the land of the enemy
and I'm lying the whole time.
00:13:43.08\00:13:45.65
I'm pretending that
I'm friends with the enemy
00:13:45.69\00:13:47.86
while I'm serving you."
00:13:47.89\00:13:51.93
He was being a secret Israelite.
00:13:51.96\00:13:55.73
Have we got some
secret Christians out there?
00:13:55.76\00:13:58.50
Any the secret
Christians out there?
00:13:58.53\00:14:00.20
You come to church, you
know you're a Christian,
00:14:00.24\00:14:02.00
you wanna fight for the Lord,
00:14:02.04\00:14:03.51
but no one else out there knows.
00:14:03.54\00:14:06.61
You're living in
the land of the enemy,
00:14:06.64\00:14:08.64
but in your heart,
you're a secret Christian.
00:14:08.68\00:14:11.55
Someone once said
that there's no such thing
00:14:11.58\00:14:13.52
as a secret Christian
00:14:13.55\00:14:14.62
because either your Christianity
00:14:14.65\00:14:15.98
will destroy the
secret or your secrecy
00:14:16.02\00:14:18.69
will destroy your Christianity.
00:14:18.72\00:14:20.76
But if you try to live a
Christian life in the land
00:14:20.79\00:14:22.99
of the enemy for very long,
something's gonna compromise.
00:14:23.02\00:14:27.00
And David had
to lie all the time
00:14:27.03\00:14:29.43
and he'd bring
some of the spoils,
00:14:29.46\00:14:31.20
he'd take from
these other towns,
00:14:31.23\00:14:32.30
he'd keep most
of it for his army,
00:14:32.33\00:14:33.87
he'd bring some
as gifts to Achish,
00:14:33.90\00:14:35.50
kind of a tax, and he'd
say, "Wow, boy, you're being
00:14:35.54\00:14:39.04
pretty brutal
fighting your own people.
00:14:39.07\00:14:40.51
You don't even
leave any survivors
00:14:40.54\00:14:42.64
because often you
take survivors as slaves."
00:14:42.68\00:14:45.91
But he said, "Not
keeping anyone alive."
00:14:45.95\00:14:49.55
Well, he was attacking
the Philistines' friends.
00:14:49.58\00:14:54.06
And so this goes on
for a year and four months
00:14:54.09\00:14:56.36
and nobody catches on.
00:14:56.39\00:15:00.53
And he'd save
neither man nor woman alive.
00:15:00.56\00:15:02.80
So Achish believed David saying,
00:15:02.83\00:15:04.90
"He's made the people of
Israel utterly arbor him,
00:15:04.93\00:15:08.07
therefore he'll be
my servant forever."
00:15:08.10\00:15:10.71
Now something I
think is interesting
00:15:10.74\00:15:12.31
that when David
makes up his mind
00:15:12.34\00:15:14.24
that he's gonna stay in
the land of the Philistines.
00:15:14.28\00:15:19.51
You know, so many
other times David...
00:15:19.55\00:15:21.48
He's got a priest with him,
and he would say to Abiathar,
00:15:21.52\00:15:26.69
"Bring me the ephod.
00:15:26.72\00:15:28.66
Let's inquire of the Lord."
00:15:28.69\00:15:31.03
But David never inquires of
the Lord about going to stay
00:15:31.06\00:15:33.40
in the land of the
Philistines, something else
00:15:33.43\00:15:35.60
as well as the
scholars can tell,
00:15:35.63\00:15:37.33
David never writes a
song while he's down there.
00:15:37.37\00:15:41.74
He's sort of
living in no man's land
00:15:41.77\00:15:44.31
in the
experience, he's wandering.
00:15:44.34\00:15:46.84
He kind of made the mistake
00:15:46.88\00:15:48.24
that the Israelites made saying,
00:15:48.28\00:15:51.05
"I wanna go back to Egypt."
00:15:51.08\00:15:54.52
So it happens during this time
00:15:54.55\00:15:56.48
that he's living
down there in Ziklag.
00:15:56.52\00:16:00.06
"That the Philistines
gathered their armies together
00:16:00.09\00:16:02.29
for war to
fight against Israel."
00:16:02.32\00:16:03.99
Now why do you think
they'd choose to do that?
00:16:04.03\00:16:07.40
Because the strongest
fighting force in Israel
00:16:07.40\00:16:09.56
is now on their side.
00:16:09.60\00:16:11.70
They believe the
battle is gonna turn.
00:16:11.73\00:16:13.77
Saul has spent so much
time and money chasing around
00:16:13.80\00:16:17.64
his own country,
fighting his own people,
00:16:17.67\00:16:19.87
he killed his priests,
he's fighting after David,
00:16:19.91\00:16:23.31
they had become
weakened during this time
00:16:23.35\00:16:25.55
when they should have
been building up the army,
00:16:25.58\00:16:27.98
they had been distracted.
00:16:28.02\00:16:30.02
And the Philistines realized
that they are now vulnerable
00:16:30.05\00:16:33.66
and so they amass probably
in the spring of the year
00:16:33.69\00:16:37.09
for a great apocalyptic war.
00:16:37.13\00:16:40.16
It's not a skirmish.
00:16:40.20\00:16:41.86
This is an all-out,
all-hands-on-deck war
00:16:41.90\00:16:44.80
where they're calling
all of the armies of Israel.
00:16:44.83\00:16:47.10
Sometimes they
went out to battle,
00:16:47.14\00:16:48.64
you read Saul took 3,000 men,
but this is not that battle,
00:16:48.67\00:16:52.51
this is where
every man is called.
00:16:52.54\00:16:55.08
And the Philistines get
all the five kings together,
00:16:55.11\00:16:58.48
and all of them get all
of their armies together,
00:16:58.51\00:17:00.75
and they are doing a
full out war with Israel.
00:17:00.78\00:17:05.45
And it says here
that they gathered for war
00:17:05.49\00:17:07.79
on Chapter 28 of 1 Samuel.
00:17:07.82\00:17:10.16
And Achish the king
of Gath says to David,
00:17:10.19\00:17:12.76
"You surely know that you
can go out with me to battle,
00:17:12.79\00:17:15.70
you and your men, you're
gonna join us, aren't you?
00:17:15.73\00:17:18.00
And David said,
"What am I gonna do?
00:17:18.03\00:17:20.07
How am I going to
fight against my own people?
00:17:20.10\00:17:21.47
God said I'm supposed to
be the king of these people.
00:17:21.50\00:17:23.00
I'm supposed to kill
them? I can't do that."
00:17:23.04\00:17:25.97
But here he's
been lying to Achish,
00:17:26.01\00:17:27.94
"So what do you say?"
00:17:27.98\00:17:28.98
And so he kind of gives
a veiled answer, he says,
00:17:29.01\00:17:30.75
"You know what
your servant can do."
00:17:30.78\00:17:32.81
What does that mean?
00:17:32.85\00:17:35.12
And Achish said,
"And then I'll make you
00:17:35.15\00:17:37.39
one of my chief
guardians forever.
00:17:37.42\00:17:39.65
You'll be my number two man."
00:17:39.69\00:17:41.79
How sad.
00:17:41.82\00:17:43.46
David who is
supposed to be the king,
00:17:43.49\00:17:45.96
he is now standing
shoulder to shoulder
00:17:45.99\00:17:48.46
with the Philistines
that worship fish gods.
00:17:48.50\00:17:54.54
That really was that.
00:17:54.57\00:17:55.67
You know, this kind of
hurt him for years after that,
00:17:55.70\00:17:58.57
that the people
always knew, "You comprised.
00:17:58.61\00:18:02.98
God had delivered
you so many times before
00:18:03.01\00:18:05.41
and you forgot about all
those times God protected
00:18:05.45\00:18:07.98
and delivered you
and you lost faith that
00:18:08.02\00:18:11.15
He would keep delivering
you, and you compromised,
00:18:11.19\00:18:14.39
right before you
were anointed king,
00:18:14.42\00:18:17.53
with the enemy.
00:18:17.56\00:18:19.09
And you made
friends with the enemy,
00:18:19.13\00:18:21.00
Gath of all things,
the king of Goliath."
00:18:21.03\00:18:27.00
And so, you know, he said,
"Yeah, sure whatever you say,
00:18:27.04\00:18:29.40
your Majesty."
00:18:29.44\00:18:31.91
Now it goes on
to say in verse 3,
00:18:31.94\00:18:34.98
Samuel had died,
00:18:35.01\00:18:36.08
it mentions that
also in chapter 25,
00:18:36.11\00:18:37.95
but it reminds us what
we're about to get into.
00:18:37.98\00:18:41.52
"Samuel had died
00:18:41.55\00:18:42.58
and all Israel
had lamented for him
00:18:42.62\00:18:45.49
and buried him in
Ramah, in his own city.
00:18:45.52\00:18:48.62
And Samuel had put the mediums
and spiritists out of the land.
00:18:48.66\00:18:53.60
And the
Philistines gathered together
00:18:53.63\00:18:54.93
and they came in
and camped at Shunem.
00:18:54.96\00:18:57.47
So Saul gathered
all of Israel together
00:18:57.50\00:18:59.87
and they encamped in Gilboa."
00:18:59.90\00:19:02.40
You all
remember where Shunem is,
00:19:02.44\00:19:03.64
that's where the Prophet
Elisha used to stay with that
00:19:03.67\00:19:06.21
great woman of
Shunem and her family."
00:19:06.24\00:19:10.35
And when Saul saw the
army of the Philistines,
00:19:10.38\00:19:13.25
he was afraid,
00:19:13.28\00:19:15.02
and his heart trembled greatly."
00:19:15.05\00:19:16.69
And this is a man who had
once been anointed by God,
00:19:16.72\00:19:19.22
filled with the Spirit of
God, had the courage of God,
00:19:19.25\00:19:22.52
it didn't matter how
many soldiers there were,
00:19:22.56\00:19:24.89
but he's now
separated himself from God,
00:19:24.93\00:19:27.66
he's grieved
away the Holy Spirit.
00:19:27.73\00:19:30.10
And Saul inquired of the Lord
00:19:30.13\00:19:33.20
and the Lord did not answer him.
00:19:33.23\00:19:34.37
Well, he had
killed all the priests,
00:19:34.40\00:19:36.37
how do you
inquire of the Lord then?
00:19:36.40\00:19:38.61
"Neither by Urim
or by the prophets."
00:19:38.64\00:19:42.78
You know, this is
when you get to the place
00:19:42.81\00:19:44.08
where you don't hear the
voice of the Lord anymore,
00:19:44.11\00:19:46.78
you wondered what the
unpardonable sin is like?
00:19:46.82\00:19:48.68
That doesn't mean...
00:19:48.72\00:19:50.29
Sometimes we all
go through spells
00:19:50.32\00:19:51.95
or it seems like God is quiet.
00:19:51.99\00:19:54.22
That doesn't mean
you've grieved away
00:19:54.26\00:19:55.26
the Holy Spirit,
don't misunderstand.
00:19:55.29\00:19:57.66
But he received no answer
00:19:57.69\00:20:01.93
because he had
refused to listen,
00:20:01.96\00:20:03.37
and now he's in a crisis.
00:20:03.40\00:20:05.80
And finally, in
desperation to show,
00:20:05.83\00:20:07.57
this was a time of testing
and Saul failed the last test.
00:20:07.60\00:20:12.94
"Then Saul said to his servants,
00:20:12.97\00:20:14.34
'Find me a woman who is a medium
00:20:14.38\00:20:16.95
that I might go to
her and inquire of her.'"
00:20:16.98\00:20:19.45
Now he specified a woman
00:20:19.48\00:20:20.95
because they had
male mediums too,
00:20:20.98\00:20:22.48
he knew there
was one in the area.
00:20:22.52\00:20:26.45
And the servants send to
him, "In fact, there is a woman
00:20:26.49\00:20:28.82
who is a medium an Endor."
00:20:28.86\00:20:31.09
Now what is God's Word say
about inquiring of mediums?
00:20:31.13\00:20:35.53
It tells us, "Don't do it."
00:20:38.93\00:20:41.34
"You shall not
permit a sorceress to live,"
00:20:41.37\00:20:44.54
is that clear?
00:20:44.57\00:20:46.74
Leviticus 20:6,
00:20:46.78\00:20:48.94
"And the person
who turns to mediums
00:20:48.98\00:20:50.91
and familiar spirits to
prostitute himself with them,
00:20:50.95\00:20:54.32
I will set My face
against that person
00:20:54.35\00:20:56.28
and cut him off
from his people."
00:20:56.32\00:20:59.35
See what the prognosis is
00:20:59.39\00:21:01.62
when we start
getting into spiritualism.
00:21:01.66\00:21:03.79
1 Chronicles 10:13,
why was Saul judged?
00:21:03.83\00:21:08.13
"So Saul died for
his unfaithfulness
00:21:08.16\00:21:10.80
which he had
committed against the Lord
00:21:10.83\00:21:12.67
because he did not
keep the Word of the Lord
00:21:12.70\00:21:14.67
and also because he consulted
a medium for guidance."
00:21:14.70\00:21:18.81
Does God want us
going to the spiritualists
00:21:18.84\00:21:21.21
of the world to find out
what we're supposed to do?
00:21:21.24\00:21:25.98
"So they find this
woman and some of the servants
00:21:26.01\00:21:31.15
of Saul disguise themselves
00:21:31.19\00:21:32.75
and Saul disguises
himself as king, they go in.
00:21:32.79\00:21:36.12
And the woman said,
'What can I do for you?'
00:21:36.16\00:21:38.43
And they said, 'Look,
00:21:38.46\00:21:39.46
we want you to call
up Samuel the prophet.'
00:21:39.49\00:21:43.67
She says, 'Oh, testing me.
00:21:43.70\00:21:44.83
Saul cut off all the
spiritualists of the land.'
00:21:44.87\00:21:46.60
They said, 'You don't
have anything to worry about.'
00:21:46.63\00:21:49.27
And then finally she
realizes this is Saul.
00:21:49.30\00:21:53.24
'Why didn't you just
say to me you are Saul'?
00:21:53.27\00:21:55.68
King said, 'Don't be afraid.
00:21:55.71\00:21:57.81
Call up this prophet,
bring up Samuel for me.'
00:21:57.85\00:22:02.58
He said, 'I need
to know what to do.'"
00:22:02.62\00:22:04.92
And so this apparition appears,
00:22:04.95\00:22:06.45
she goes
through her incantations
00:22:06.49\00:22:08.12
and she throws a
little gun powder
00:22:08.16\00:22:09.72
on the fire or something
00:22:09.76\00:22:10.86
and, you know, they dance around
00:22:10.89\00:22:12.99
and they've got
the vapor and smoke
00:22:13.03\00:22:14.40
and they make
the woo noises and...
00:22:14.46\00:22:17.37
And when I was a
kid, our family was...
00:22:17.40\00:22:20.70
We were into spiritualism
and we had Ouija boards,
00:22:20.74\00:22:24.21
and my mom
wrote astrology songs,
00:22:24.24\00:22:27.24
and it is so much garbage.
00:22:27.28\00:22:30.31
But, you know,
there is real dark power
00:22:30.35\00:22:32.31
involved in all of that.
00:22:32.35\00:22:33.65
And, you know, when you
try and talk to the dead,
00:22:33.68\00:22:38.32
you're really
speaking to devils.
00:22:38.35\00:22:40.29
One of the last great deceptions
00:22:40.32\00:22:41.66
that's gonna come on the world,
00:22:41.69\00:22:42.92
it says that, "Three
unclean spirits like frogs,"
00:22:42.96\00:22:45.46
Revelation 16, "come out
of the mouth of the beast,
00:22:45.49\00:22:48.20
the dragon, and
the false prophet
00:22:48.23\00:22:49.63
and they go forth to the kings
of the earth to device them."
00:22:49.66\00:22:53.27
And I think there
is gonna be devils
00:22:53.30\00:22:55.67
that will impersonate
the dead that are gonna start
00:22:55.70\00:22:57.94
manipulating
leaders of the world
00:22:57.97\00:22:59.64
who have gotten
involved in spiritualism
00:22:59.67\00:23:01.24
in the last days
00:23:01.28\00:23:02.38
because they don't
know the dead are dead,
00:23:02.41\00:23:04.18
and this is exactly
what happened to King Saul
00:23:04.21\00:23:06.28
is gonna happen to
people in the last days.
00:23:06.31\00:23:08.52
This happens before
great judgment on God's people,
00:23:08.55\00:23:11.19
it's gonna
happen in the end also.
00:23:11.22\00:23:14.26
So this devil that is
coming pretending to be Saul,
00:23:14.29\00:23:19.16
and some say, "No,
it really was Samuel."
00:23:19.19\00:23:21.36
No, it's not Samuel.
00:23:21.40\00:23:23.40
Does a witch have the power
to resurrect a prophet of God?
00:23:23.43\00:23:27.80
And also the
message that is given
00:23:27.84\00:23:29.24
is a totally hopeless message.
00:23:29.27\00:23:33.54
And it says,
"You're gonna die tomorrow
00:23:33.58\00:23:36.51
and your sons are gonna die."
00:23:36.54\00:23:39.01
And finally,
when Saul hears this,
00:23:39.05\00:23:41.18
he just falls
flat out on the ground,
00:23:41.22\00:23:43.05
he is so overcome with fear,
00:23:43.08\00:23:44.39
he hadn't eaten
anything that day.
00:23:44.42\00:23:46.19
Verse 20, "And Saul fell
full length on the ground
00:23:46.22\00:23:50.09
and was dreadfully afraid
because of the words of Samuel.
00:23:50.13\00:23:54.03
And there was no
more strength in him.
00:23:54.10\00:23:55.63
He had eaten nothing
all that day and all night.
00:23:55.66\00:23:58.47
And the woman came to Saul,
00:23:58.50\00:24:00.30
and saw he was
severely troubled,
00:24:00.34\00:24:02.80
and she said, 'I
listen your voice,
00:24:02.84\00:24:04.07
I put my life in my hands,
and I did a seance for you,'"
00:24:04.11\00:24:08.31
is what it amounts to,
00:24:08.34\00:24:10.85
and now you
have to listen to me.
00:24:10.88\00:24:12.75
Let me feed you something.'"
00:24:12.78\00:24:14.68
So she goes and
kills a fatted calf,
00:24:14.72\00:24:17.32
very different
from the fatted calf
00:24:17.35\00:24:18.82
that Abraham kills for the Lord.
00:24:18.85\00:24:21.42
They must have been
fast back in those days.
00:24:21.46\00:24:25.59
Prodigal son comes home,
they have a feast right away,
00:24:25.63\00:24:27.76
kill the fatted
calf, I mean they knew
00:24:27.76\00:24:29.56
how to clean a calf and cook
it and make bread in no time.
00:24:29.60\00:24:34.00
It always amazes me.
00:24:34.04\00:24:36.20
Now she does this
because Saul is there,
00:24:36.24\00:24:37.54
and he got his
entourage, he's got his guards
00:24:37.57\00:24:39.47
and his servants, she's
not only got to feed him,
00:24:39.51\00:24:41.18
she's got to feed all of them.
00:24:41.21\00:24:44.31
But how sad, where is David?
00:24:44.35\00:24:46.88
He should have
been ready to walk in
00:24:46.92\00:24:49.95
and fight in that
battle and win victorious.
00:24:49.98\00:24:52.39
And maybe Saul would have died
00:24:52.42\00:24:53.56
and David would
have been proclaimed king
00:24:53.59\00:24:55.06
but at least
fighting on the right side.
00:24:55.09\00:24:56.76
David is in the
land of the enemy.
00:24:56.79\00:24:58.19
Because David's in
the land of the enemy,
00:24:58.23\00:25:00.26
now Saul is in
the land of the enemy,
00:25:00.30\00:25:01.86
and he's talking to witch.
00:25:01.90\00:25:05.73
It's not a very bright
chapter, you know, when you read
00:25:05.77\00:25:08.24
the last few
chapters here in 1 Samuel.
00:25:08.27\00:25:12.04
God's leaders are
hanging out with the enemy.
00:25:12.07\00:25:16.85
And so finally, she feeds Saul
and he and his servants leave.
00:25:16.88\00:25:21.82
And go to chapter 29,
00:25:21.85\00:25:24.72
"Then the
Philistines gather together
00:25:24.75\00:25:26.45
and all their armies at Aphek,
and the Israelites encamped
00:25:26.49\00:25:30.29
by a fountain
which is in Jezreel."
00:25:30.33\00:25:31.93
By the way there's a valley
00:25:31.96\00:25:34.00
there by Jezreel called Megiddo.
00:25:34.03\00:25:37.03
And so when you're
reading the Bible about
00:25:37.07\00:25:38.40
the battle of Armageddon,
there are many great battles
00:25:38.43\00:25:42.97
that took place in
the valley of Jezreel,
00:25:43.00\00:25:44.84
which is Megiddo, same area.
00:25:44.87\00:25:48.41
The battle of
Gideon was in Megiddo
00:25:48.44\00:25:52.15
in the valley of Jezreel.
00:25:52.18\00:25:53.62
The valley in
the days of Deborah
00:25:53.65\00:25:57.12
was here in the
valley of Megiddo,
00:25:57.15\00:26:00.06
means hill of Megiddo,
00:26:00.09\00:26:01.26
it's above the
valley of Jezreel.
00:26:01.29\00:26:03.22
This is another pivotal
battle that takes place there.
00:26:03.26\00:26:07.46
"And the lords
of the Philistines
00:26:07.50\00:26:08.80
passed in review by hundreds."
00:26:08.83\00:26:10.10
They get all
their armies together,
00:26:10.13\00:26:11.40
and here we are for Ashkelon,
here we are from Ekron,
00:26:11.43\00:26:13.60
here we are from Gath.
00:26:13.64\00:26:14.94
And they all big parade
and they're all with their pomp
00:26:14.97\00:26:17.44
and their ceremony
00:26:17.47\00:26:18.57
and then trailing
the troops of Gath,
00:26:18.61\00:26:21.88
the others kings
of the Philistines see
00:26:21.91\00:26:24.95
600 or 700 Hebrews
and they go, "What?
00:26:24.98\00:26:29.95
We're getting ready
to go fight the Hebrews,
00:26:29.98\00:26:31.15
what are they doing here?"
00:26:31.19\00:26:33.12
Can you understand, the
army has actually grown.
00:26:33.15\00:26:36.12
Something I left
out I need to tell you,
00:26:36.16\00:26:37.66
why David is at Ziklag,
00:26:37.69\00:26:38.96
listen to what you
read in 1 Chronicles 12.
00:26:38.99\00:26:41.43
Soldiers begin to come to David.
00:26:41.46\00:26:44.30
They see that
Saul has lost courage,
00:26:44.33\00:26:46.00
they see that is he's raving.
00:26:46.03\00:26:48.54
I mean, before when
he had his episodes,
00:26:48.57\00:26:49.87
David would play the harp,
but the musician's gone now.
00:26:49.90\00:26:53.27
And so they're losing
confidence in their king.
00:26:53.31\00:26:59.38
Your read in 1 Chronicles 12:1,
00:26:59.41\00:27:02.25
"Now these were the men
00:27:02.28\00:27:03.45
who came to David at Ziklag
while he was still a fugitive
00:27:03.49\00:27:06.76
from Saul the son of Kish.
00:27:06.79\00:27:09.19
And they were
among the mighty men,
00:27:09.22\00:27:10.56
the helpers in the
war, armed with bows,
00:27:10.59\00:27:13.06
using both the right hand
00:27:13.09\00:27:14.56
and the left hand
in hurling stones."
00:27:14.60\00:27:16.77
That's good, man,
I can't throw a rock
00:27:16.80\00:27:19.13
with my left hand.
00:27:19.17\00:27:21.20
"They were of Benjamin."
00:27:21.24\00:27:22.27
It says they could roll
stones at a hair's breadth
00:27:22.30\00:27:25.87
and not miss.
00:27:25.91\00:27:27.31
And they could
fire arrows with a bow.
00:27:27.34\00:27:29.08
They were talented,
and they were of Benjamin,
00:27:29.11\00:27:32.55
Saul's brother.
00:27:32.58\00:27:33.55
And so now they're not
just coming from Judah,
00:27:33.58\00:27:35.45
the people of Benjamin,
00:27:35.48\00:27:37.02
his own family are losing faith.
00:27:37.05\00:27:39.09
Reading 1 Chronicles
same chapter go to verse 20.
00:27:39.12\00:27:42.32
1 Chronicles 12:20,
"When he went to Ziklag,
00:27:42.36\00:27:45.53
those of Manasseh
who defected to him
00:27:45.56\00:27:48.03
were Adnah, and Jozabad,
and Jediael, and Michael,
00:27:48.06\00:27:51.03
and other Jozabad,
and Elihu, and Zillethai,
00:27:51.07\00:27:53.97
captains of thousands
who were from Manasseh.
00:27:54.00\00:27:57.57
And they helped David
against the bands of raiders
00:27:57.61\00:28:00.24
for they were all
mighty men of valor
00:28:00.28\00:28:02.04
and they were
captains in the army.
00:28:02.08\00:28:03.61
For at that time they
came to David day by day
00:28:03.65\00:28:07.08
to help him until his army
00:28:07.12\00:28:09.65
was a great army
like the Army of God."
00:28:09.68\00:28:12.49
So before he
finally goes to Ziklag
00:28:12.52\00:28:14.32
or from Ziklag to go
to the battle in Jezreel,
00:28:14.36\00:28:17.06
it's not just 600
men, his army is swelling
00:28:17.09\00:28:20.56
because they're
all coming to him
00:28:20.60\00:28:21.60
because he's got
his own kingdom now,
00:28:21.63\00:28:23.77
his little fortress,
his own city of Ziklag.
00:28:23.80\00:28:26.80
And so all of
sudden the Philistines,
00:28:26.84\00:28:29.80
they see the parade,
00:28:29.84\00:28:32.64
all these soldiers are in review
00:28:32.67\00:28:34.01
before they go into battle
00:28:34.04\00:28:35.04
and all of a sudden
there is a whole contingent
00:28:35.08\00:28:37.31
of hundreds
maybe over a thousand
00:28:37.35\00:28:39.58
and now of soldiers
come with David leading them,
00:28:39.61\00:28:43.35
and they look at Achish
and they go, "What's with this?
00:28:43.39\00:28:47.26
What are all these
Hebrews doing here?"
00:28:47.29\00:28:49.99
And now David of all things,
David, talk about being low,
00:28:50.03\00:28:54.36
he even gets
rejected by the Philistines.
00:28:54.36\00:28:58.83
"But the princes
of the Philistines..."
00:28:58.87\00:29:00.30
I'm at 1 Samuel 29:4.
00:29:00.34\00:29:02.54
"The princes of the
Philistines were angry with him.
00:29:02.57\00:29:05.61
So the princes of the
Philistines said to him,
00:29:05.64\00:29:07.84
'Make this fellow return
that he goes back to the place
00:29:07.88\00:29:10.55
where you have
appointed for him.'"
00:29:10.58\00:29:12.25
They basically said to
Achish, "Are you crazy?
00:29:12.28\00:29:14.55
We're going into
battle, what better way for him
00:29:14.58\00:29:17.29
to make peace with Saul
00:29:17.32\00:29:18.79
then in the middle of
battle to turn on us?'"
00:29:18.82\00:29:21.36
Because that had
actually happened
00:29:21.39\00:29:22.56
if you read your Bible
in the Battle of Michmash.
00:29:22.59\00:29:26.03
It tells us that the Hebrews
00:29:26.06\00:29:27.66
that were slaves
to the Philistines
00:29:27.73\00:29:29.46
that went into
battle against Israel,
00:29:29.50\00:29:30.83
they turned on the
Philistines in that battle.
00:29:30.87\00:29:33.87
And they said, "This
is gonna happen again,
00:29:33.90\00:29:35.34
they're gonna turn on us."
00:29:35.37\00:29:37.67
And so Achish goes, he says,
00:29:37.71\00:29:38.84
"Look, David, I'm
sorry, I trust you."
00:29:38.87\00:29:41.41
Mater of fact, 1 Samuel 29:6,
"Achish calls David and says,
00:29:41.44\00:29:46.85
'Surely, as the Lord
lives, you've been upright
00:29:46.88\00:29:48.78
in you're going out
and your coming in.'"
00:29:48.82\00:29:51.19
David must have hung
his head down, "Oh, yeah."
00:29:51.22\00:29:53.39
He had been out, you
know, lying every day.
00:29:53.42\00:29:57.09
"You've been
upright in your going out
00:29:57.13\00:29:58.33
and your coming in,
and everything you've done
00:29:58.36\00:30:00.50
has been good in my sight.
00:30:00.53\00:30:01.46
For this day, I have
not found any evil in you
00:30:01.50\00:30:03.73
from the day you came to me.
00:30:03.77\00:30:05.20
Nevertheless the
lords of the Philistines,
00:30:05.23\00:30:08.37
they don't favor you, so
you better go back home."
00:30:08.40\00:30:12.97
It's really hard
to fight the enemy
00:30:13.01\00:30:16.28
when you're with the enemy.
00:30:16.31\00:30:19.18
And some of us have wondered.
00:30:19.21\00:30:22.12
You know, I think you
need to make your colors clear
00:30:22.15\00:30:25.39
if you're a Christian,
saves you lots of trouble.
00:30:25.42\00:30:28.52
You noticed that when
Jesus was being crucified,
00:30:28.56\00:30:31.26
but when He was being tried,
00:30:31.29\00:30:33.19
Peter followed
Jesus from a distance.
00:30:33.23\00:30:36.06
John went into the
judgment hall with Jesus.
00:30:36.10\00:30:39.50
Peter trying to look
like he wasn't too closely
00:30:39.53\00:30:43.64
connected with Jesus,
00:30:43.67\00:30:44.71
he hung out with
the enemies of Jesus,
00:30:44.74\00:30:46.51
Peter ends up denying Jesus.
00:30:46.54\00:30:48.68
John walked right
on and stood by Jesus,
00:30:48.71\00:30:50.78
he did not deny Him.
00:30:50.81\00:30:52.61
If we follow Jesus
from a distance like that
00:30:52.65\00:30:54.68
and we hang out in
the land of the enemy,
00:30:54.72\00:30:56.48
we're gonna end
up denying Christ.
00:30:56.52\00:30:58.52
I let people know right upfront,
00:30:58.55\00:30:59.72
"I'm a Christian."
00:30:59.75\00:31:01.32
I mean, it just
makes all the boundaries
00:31:01.36\00:31:02.86
really clear, saves
all kinds of problems.
00:31:02.89\00:31:07.50
So now David and his
soldiers, they're rejected,
00:31:07.50\00:31:09.86
they're also really worried
what's gonna happen to Israel,
00:31:09.90\00:31:11.80
but they're sent on their way.
00:31:11.83\00:31:13.37
And my guess is
that the Philistines,
00:31:13.40\00:31:16.30
they send a little
contingent of scouts,
00:31:16.34\00:31:18.71
they said, "Follow
them, make sure they go back,
00:31:18.74\00:31:22.48
that they don't turn around."
00:31:22.51\00:31:24.58
And so they're
sent on their way,
00:31:24.61\00:31:26.25
they've got to
head back now 90 miles
00:31:26.28\00:31:28.75
they've marched from
Ziklag up to Jezreel.
00:31:28.78\00:31:31.75
That's a long ride.
00:31:31.79\00:31:33.96
They've only been
there a day or two
00:31:33.99\00:31:35.39
and now they've
got to turn around,
00:31:35.42\00:31:36.62
they got to come
all the way back again.
00:31:36.66\00:31:38.29
I want you to know that
because they're really tired
00:31:38.33\00:31:40.16
and they have to go
into another battle.
00:31:40.20\00:31:43.16
"When David and his
men came back to Ziklag,
00:31:43.20\00:31:45.17
on the third day."
00:31:45.20\00:31:46.27
Took them three
days to get back.
00:31:46.30\00:31:47.94
You know, many times
things happen on the third day.
00:31:47.97\00:31:51.81
"That the Amalekites had
invaded the South and Ziklag
00:31:51.84\00:31:55.14
and attacked Ziklag
and burned it with fire."
00:31:55.18\00:31:59.08
They had attacked the
southern extremities of Judah
00:31:59.11\00:32:01.55
and the border of Philistines.
00:32:01.58\00:32:03.79
Now why would they do
such a terrible thing?
00:32:03.82\00:32:05.62
Well, David had
been attacking them.
00:32:05.65\00:32:07.19
Did you just read that?
00:32:07.22\00:32:09.46
You know something about
the history of the Amalekites
00:32:09.49\00:32:12.79
and the Israelites,
it's important to understand
00:32:12.83\00:32:15.76
it is one of the
longest standing feuds
00:32:15.80\00:32:18.60
and they had the
most brutal command.
00:32:18.63\00:32:22.84
The Amalekites were an
age old enemy of Israel.
00:32:22.87\00:32:29.78
Exodus 17:14, "The
Lord said to Moses,
00:32:29.81\00:32:33.58
'Write this for a
memorial in the book
00:32:33.62\00:32:36.38
and recount it in
the hearing of Joshua
00:32:36.42\00:32:38.99
that I will utterly blot out
00:32:39.02\00:32:40.56
the remembrance of
Amalek from under heaven.'"
00:32:40.59\00:32:44.39
Why?
00:32:44.43\00:32:45.59
The first person who
attacked Israel as a nation,
00:32:45.63\00:32:48.10
when they became a
nation they came out of Egypt,
00:32:48.13\00:32:50.37
the Amalekites attacked them,
00:32:50.40\00:32:51.50
but they didn't
just attack them.
00:32:51.53\00:32:53.00
It was totally unprovoked
00:32:53.03\00:32:54.67
they hadn't
done anything to them
00:32:54.70\00:32:56.30
and they attacked
the sick and the weak
00:32:56.34\00:32:58.01
that were
straggling in the back.
00:32:58.04\00:33:00.14
Look in Deuteronomy
25:17, "Remember what Amalek
00:33:00.18\00:33:04.38
did to you on the way as
you were coming out of Egypt,
00:33:04.41\00:33:07.25
how he met you on the way
and attacked your rear ranks,
00:33:07.28\00:33:10.39
all the stragglers at your rear,
00:33:10.42\00:33:12.62
when you were tired and weary,
00:33:12.65\00:33:14.69
and they did not fear God."
00:33:14.72\00:33:15.99
It was a despicable thing.
00:33:16.02\00:33:18.83
You remember the
story where Moses stands
00:33:18.86\00:33:20.36
on the mountain, he
stretches out his arms,
00:33:20.40\00:33:22.03
and he intercedes?
00:33:22.06\00:33:23.13
This is that battle with Amalek.
00:33:23.16\00:33:24.73
Moses is told to declare
that you will never forget
00:33:24.77\00:33:28.37
what the nation of Amalek did.
00:33:28.40\00:33:30.31
The battle
between Israel and Amalek
00:33:30.34\00:33:33.38
goes all the way
through until you get to Haman,
00:33:33.41\00:33:38.05
who is a descendant of Amalek
00:33:38.08\00:33:39.81
and Mordecai in
the Book of Esther.
00:33:39.85\00:33:42.55
So it is a
longstanding underline feud
00:33:42.58\00:33:46.15
between these two.
00:33:46.19\00:33:47.26
So now the Amalekites
attacked David and Ziklag
00:33:47.29\00:33:50.33
while he's gone,
and they carried them
00:33:50.36\00:33:52.19
all away captive.
00:33:52.23\00:33:54.30
And they took captive the women
and those who were with them,
00:33:54.30\00:33:56.77
from small to great.
00:33:56.80\00:33:57.87
They did not kill anyone
00:33:57.90\00:33:59.83
but they carried
them away undoubtedly,
00:33:59.87\00:34:01.97
to sell them to the
Egyptians or something.
00:34:02.00\00:34:04.41
"So David and his
men came to the city,
00:34:04.44\00:34:06.24
and it was burned with fire.
00:34:06.27\00:34:07.61
And their wives, and their sons,
00:34:07.64\00:34:08.91
and their daughters
had been taken captive.
00:34:08.94\00:34:11.01
And David and the
people who were with him
00:34:11.05\00:34:12.48
they lifted up
their voices and they wept
00:34:12.51\00:34:15.18
until they had no
more power to weep.
00:34:15.22\00:34:17.79
And David's two wives,
Ahinoam the Jezreelitess,
00:34:17.82\00:34:20.19
and Abigail the wife
of Nabal the Carmelite,
00:34:20.22\00:34:22.62
had been taken captive.
00:34:22.66\00:34:24.26
David was greatly distressed
00:34:24.29\00:34:26.90
for the people
spoke of stoning him."
00:34:26.93\00:34:29.90
This one of the times, you know,
00:34:29.93\00:34:31.43
some of God's leaders
that are types of Christ,
00:34:31.47\00:34:33.80
they talked about stoning Moses
and talked about stoning Elijah
00:34:33.84\00:34:38.34
and they wanted to stone David.
00:34:38.37\00:34:41.58
They talk to stoning him.
00:34:41.61\00:34:42.71
And you can kind of understand.
00:34:42.74\00:34:44.38
"So David here's
your bright idea,
00:34:44.41\00:34:45.91
we were much safer
living in the caves of En Gedi,
00:34:45.95\00:34:48.52
and here you've got us now
living with the Philistines
00:34:48.55\00:34:50.45
and look we marched
off under this pretense
00:34:50.49\00:34:53.52
of fighting with the Philistines
00:34:53.56\00:34:54.69
and while we were
gone, we've lost everything."
00:34:54.72\00:34:58.86
As you can see,
you lose your family,
00:34:58.89\00:35:01.03
you start getting mad,
00:35:01.06\00:35:02.13
and they're ready to
kill David who they had loved,
00:35:02.16\00:35:04.03
they were ready to
die for him before.
00:35:04.07\00:35:06.87
And so suddenly it's almost like
00:35:06.90\00:35:11.01
a light clicks
on in David's mind.
00:35:11.04\00:35:12.81
He had been trying to do
things in his own strength.
00:35:12.84\00:35:15.21
I'm gonna have to
go to the Philistines
00:35:15.24\00:35:18.15
because that's
how I'll save myself,
00:35:18.18\00:35:19.71
Saul will stop, he
never inquires of the Lord,
00:35:19.75\00:35:22.78
he's trying,
and here I'll attack
00:35:22.82\00:35:25.12
these regions and
I'll raid these countries
00:35:25.15\00:35:27.16
and I'll give a
little bit to Gath,
00:35:27.19\00:35:28.96
and I'll lie to
them, and I'll say..."
00:35:28.99\00:35:30.53
He's trying to save himself.
00:35:30.56\00:35:33.70
All of a sudden
the light comes on.
00:35:33.73\00:35:35.80
At the end of verse 6, it says,
00:35:35.83\00:35:37.57
"David strengthened
himself in the Lord his God."
00:35:37.60\00:35:42.24
You know, we all need
friends that can strengthen us.
00:35:42.27\00:35:44.71
But sometimes when your
friends are ready to stone you,
00:35:44.74\00:35:47.88
all you can do is
strengthen yourself.
00:35:47.91\00:35:50.51
And David realized
how did we get here
00:35:50.55\00:35:52.08
and he thought, you
know, "God, you're the only one
00:35:52.11\00:35:54.75
I've got left to turn to.
00:35:54.78\00:35:55.82
Now even my soldiers
are ready to kill me."
00:35:55.85\00:35:58.12
And suddenly David
says, "That's right,
00:35:58.15\00:36:00.49
don't we have a
priest here among us?"
00:36:00.52\00:36:02.06
And he calls for Abiathar.
00:36:02.09\00:36:05.83
"The priest,
Ahimelech's son, he says,
00:36:05.86\00:36:08.80
"Please bring
the ephod on to me."
00:36:08.83\00:36:10.93
And Abiathar brought the ephod.
00:36:10.97\00:36:12.93
And now David is
inquiring of the Lord again."
00:36:12.97\00:36:15.47
Praise the Lord.
00:36:15.50\00:36:16.50
He's turning back to God.
00:36:16.54\00:36:18.07
He says, "Shall I
pursue this troop,
00:36:18.11\00:36:19.87
this army of raiders,"
00:36:19.91\00:36:21.51
it's bigger than just a
group of raiders you'll see.
00:36:21.54\00:36:24.31
"That attacked
Ziklag. Will I overtake them?"
00:36:24.35\00:36:28.05
And he says, "Pursue,
00:36:28.08\00:36:30.32
you will surely overtake them
and without fail recover all."
00:36:30.35\00:36:35.46
That's quite a promise.
00:36:35.49\00:36:36.49
"So David, he goes and
600 men who were with him,
00:36:36.52\00:36:41.60
and he comes to
the Brook Besor,"
00:36:41.63\00:36:43.06
If you look at your
map, you'll find that
00:36:43.10\00:36:44.30
he's gone way down
south towards Egypt,
00:36:44.33\00:36:45.90
there's a creek that actually
has water most of the year,
00:36:45.93\00:36:49.44
"Where they stayed,
where some were left behind.
00:36:49.47\00:36:52.54
But David, he
and 400 men pursued
00:36:52.57\00:36:55.21
and 200 stayed behind."
00:36:55.24\00:36:56.75
Now can you
understand why they're tired?
00:36:56.78\00:36:58.78
They marched 90 miles
north with the Philistines
00:36:58.81\00:37:02.52
ostensibly to fight
against Israel with them,
00:37:02.55\00:37:05.69
then they're rejected,
they marched 90 miles back.
00:37:05.72\00:37:10.66
And now they found
out that their families
00:37:10.69\00:37:13.03
had been attacked,
now they've got to go
00:37:13.06\00:37:14.30
march on another battle.
00:37:14.30\00:37:16.93
You ever did the math on that?
00:37:16.97\00:37:18.83
That's a lot of...
00:37:18.87\00:37:19.90
You know, they're marching,
you know, like 200 miles
00:37:19.93\00:37:23.00
in just a few
days, and they are...
00:37:23.04\00:37:25.27
I mean, even
though they're trying
00:37:25.31\00:37:26.41
to save their families,
they physically cannot go on.
00:37:26.44\00:37:29.04
Some of you remember the story
00:37:29.08\00:37:30.11
when Gideon and his 300 soldiers
00:37:30.15\00:37:31.81
were attacking this
vast army of a million,
00:37:31.85\00:37:34.52
it says, they were
pursuing exhausted.
00:37:34.55\00:37:38.15
They were
exhausted but still pursuing.
00:37:38.19\00:37:42.12
And what gives you
the strength to go on
00:37:42.16\00:37:45.03
when you're exhausted?
00:37:45.06\00:37:46.53
How could David...
00:37:46.56\00:37:47.96
Some of the men stay
behind, but David and his men,
00:37:47.96\00:37:49.56
they want on.
00:37:49.60\00:37:50.63
How could you keep going on
00:37:50.67\00:37:51.70
when you're
physically at the end like that?
00:37:51.73\00:37:53.17
And then once you
get caught up with them,
00:37:53.20\00:37:55.30
what have you got to do?
00:37:55.34\00:37:56.37
You've got to fight.
00:37:56.40\00:37:59.34
I mean, he's just
getting there, "I can rest."
00:37:59.37\00:38:01.51
No, now you've
got to fight a war.
00:38:01.54\00:38:04.61
Their love for the
lost family mobilizes them.
00:38:04.65\00:38:12.29
You know, when you love somebody
00:38:12.32\00:38:14.02
and you know you got to go
the second mile to get them,
00:38:14.06\00:38:16.73
it's no problem.
00:38:16.76\00:38:18.79
And so David's thinking
about his wives and his...
00:38:18.83\00:38:21.06
He has children
actually at this point
00:38:21.10\00:38:23.73
though they were very young.
00:38:23.77\00:38:25.57
And all of his men,
they've got wives and children,
00:38:25.60\00:38:28.87
and they're gonna go until
they drop to try to save them.
00:38:28.90\00:38:32.01
But God gave him a promise,
He said, "You'll recover all."
00:38:32.04\00:38:34.98
So while they're
pursuing, they find out there
00:38:35.01\00:38:37.98
among all the footprints
00:38:38.01\00:38:39.05
from Amalekites
camels in the dust,
00:38:39.08\00:38:41.82
there's a slave that is
laying on the ground half dead.
00:38:41.85\00:38:45.45
"They found an
Egyptian in the field,
00:38:45.49\00:38:48.52
and they brought him to David,"
they had to carry him to David,
00:38:48.56\00:38:51.19
"And they gave
him bread and he ate,
00:38:51.23\00:38:53.03
and they gave him water."
00:38:53.06\00:38:54.20
I'd have the water first.
00:38:54.23\00:38:56.30
"And they gave him a
piece of a cake of figs
00:38:56.33\00:38:58.03
and two clusters of raisins."
00:38:58.07\00:38:59.23
He was hungry.
00:38:59.27\00:39:01.04
"So when he had eaten,
his strength came back to him
00:39:01.07\00:39:03.37
for he had not
eaten bread or drunk water
00:39:03.41\00:39:05.34
for three days
and three nights."
00:39:05.37\00:39:08.08
Now you've got it again,
three days and three nights,
00:39:08.11\00:39:09.98
that sound familiar?
00:39:10.01\00:39:12.35
And he revived.
00:39:12.38\00:39:14.45
You have another
story in the Bible
00:39:14.48\00:39:15.55
of someone reviving after
three days and three nights?
00:39:15.58\00:39:19.85
"And David said to
him, 'To whom do you belong?
00:39:19.89\00:39:22.26
And where you from?'
00:39:22.29\00:39:23.59
He said, 'I'm a
young man from Egypt,
00:39:23.63\00:39:25.49
a servant of an Amalekite,
my master let me go.'"
00:39:25.53\00:39:28.60
The Amalekites weren't
very good to their slaves.
00:39:28.63\00:39:30.37
He just dumped him.
00:39:30.40\00:39:32.30
"He left me behind
because I was sick.
00:39:32.33\00:39:35.00
We made an invasion
in the southern area
00:39:35.04\00:39:37.07
of the
Cherethites, in the territory
00:39:37.11\00:39:38.67
that belongs to Judah,
the southern area of Caleb,
00:39:38.71\00:39:41.38
and we burned Ziklag with fire.
00:39:41.41\00:39:44.21
And David said, 'Can you
take me down to this troop?
00:39:44.25\00:39:46.65
Do you know where they went?'
00:39:46.68\00:39:48.48
He said, 'Swear to me by God
that you will neither kill me
00:39:48.52\00:39:51.12
nor deliver me back to
the hands of my master,
00:39:51.15\00:39:53.12
and I will take
you down to this troop,
00:39:53.15\00:39:54.62
after all they dumped me.'"
00:39:54.66\00:39:57.63
And he brought him
down, there they were,
00:39:57.66\00:39:59.56
spread out over all the
land, eating, and drinking,
00:39:59.59\00:40:03.16
and dancing
because of the great spoil
00:40:03.20\00:40:05.70
that they had
taken from the land
00:40:05.73\00:40:07.14
of the
Philistines and from Judah.
00:40:07.17\00:40:10.64
And David sees
them," they probably watched
00:40:10.67\00:40:12.07
on the Hill and
rested little bit,
00:40:12.11\00:40:13.51
they let them
get good and drunk,
00:40:13.54\00:40:16.71
and he knew his
family was down there,
00:40:16.75\00:40:19.35
"But they stood up
there," and it says,
00:40:19.38\00:40:21.02
"And David
attacked them from twilight
00:40:21.05\00:40:23.99
until the
evening of the next day."
00:40:24.02\00:40:26.72
For a whole day that
must have been a big army
00:40:26.76\00:40:29.42
because it said, "Not
a man of them escaped,
00:40:29.46\00:40:31.29
except 400."
00:40:31.33\00:40:32.39
When you say not a man only 400,
00:40:32.43\00:40:35.43
whatever you say
only 400 escaped,
00:40:35.46\00:40:37.33
well, how many were there?
00:40:37.37\00:40:38.70
It must been thousands.
00:40:38.73\00:40:40.67
But David and his
400 exhausted men,
00:40:40.70\00:40:43.64
they came on them,
they were all drunk
00:40:43.67\00:40:45.91
and hung over, and
they had a food coma,
00:40:45.94\00:40:50.35
they had eaten so
much, they had been feasting.
00:40:50.38\00:40:53.01
And, you know, when the judgment
00:40:53.05\00:40:54.05
came on the Amalekites
was at the end of a party.
00:40:54.08\00:40:57.45
You know, that often
happens in the Bible.
00:40:57.49\00:41:00.42
It's, you know,
when the party is over,
00:41:00.46\00:41:04.66
then judgment comes.
00:41:04.69\00:41:07.60
And they attacked them,
00:41:07.66\00:41:08.70
400 young men escaped on camels.
00:41:08.73\00:41:11.93
And David just as the prophet
had said, the priest said,
00:41:11.97\00:41:15.14
"He recovered all the Amalekites
00:41:15.17\00:41:17.47
had carried away,
00:41:17.51\00:41:18.71
and David rescued his two wives.
00:41:18.74\00:41:20.64
And nothing of
theirs was lacking,
00:41:20.68\00:41:22.31
either small or
great, sons or daughters,
00:41:22.34\00:41:24.51
spoil or anything
which they had taken,"
00:41:24.55\00:41:26.51
except now they've got even more
00:41:26.55\00:41:29.02
because they not only got
what they took from Ziklag,
00:41:29.05\00:41:31.19
they got what they
took from everywhere else
00:41:31.22\00:41:32.55
plus what they had.
00:41:32.59\00:41:34.79
And David just keeps
growing and spurts, you notice?
00:41:34.82\00:41:39.33
He blessed him with Nabal stuff
00:41:39.36\00:41:44.13
and now he's been blessed again,
00:41:44.17\00:41:46.27
and you'll find
that he ends up paying
00:41:46.30\00:41:47.50
a tithe of everything he gets
here to the elders of Israel.
00:41:47.54\00:41:53.01
So he recovers everything.
00:41:53.04\00:41:55.81
Now who does David represent
in our study we've been doing?
00:41:55.84\00:42:00.85
Jesus is called
the Son of David.
00:42:00.88\00:42:03.92
Is Jesus gonna come, will
there be a great judgment?
00:42:03.95\00:42:06.82
He will come at hour
00:42:06.86\00:42:07.99
when the world least expects it.
00:42:08.02\00:42:10.73
Is he gonna recover
all that trust in him?
00:42:10.76\00:42:14.83
Even though we've been
taken captive by the enemy,
00:42:14.86\00:42:19.17
if we're His children,
He is coming to rescue us.
00:42:19.20\00:42:21.87
Jesus is pictured in Revelation
coming on a horse with a sword,
00:42:21.90\00:42:25.44
isn't He?
00:42:25.47\00:42:26.64
David comes down when
the enemy took his family,
00:42:26.68\00:42:28.88
he comes down with
a sword on a horse.
00:42:28.91\00:42:30.68
You know, there's
another story in the Bible,
00:42:30.71\00:42:32.05
how many of you remember
when word comes to Abraham
00:42:32.08\00:42:35.92
that Sodom has been
captured and Gomorrah
00:42:35.95\00:42:39.12
and the other
cities, but that meant
00:42:39.15\00:42:42.06
a lot in his
family were all captured?
00:42:42.09\00:42:45.19
Abraham and some
friends armed themselves
00:42:45.23\00:42:47.76
and they go attack
five kings up in the north,
00:42:47.83\00:42:51.37
his name was Chedorlaomer.
00:42:51.40\00:42:52.80
Took me years to learn
how to say Chedorlaomer.
00:42:52.83\00:42:55.80
They went to attack them
and Abraham recovers all,
00:42:55.84\00:42:59.91
doesn't he?
00:42:59.94\00:43:01.74
And when you're
fighting for the Lord,
00:43:01.78\00:43:04.08
for the salvation of others,
00:43:04.11\00:43:05.18
and not only does
Abraham recover all,
00:43:05.21\00:43:07.85
he ends up with a great
bounty and he pays tithes on it.
00:43:07.88\00:43:11.25
This is exactly what David does.
00:43:11.29\00:43:12.69
He gets all of this
title and he sends it on,
00:43:12.72\00:43:14.59
as you'll see in
the next chapter,
00:43:14.62\00:43:16.66
to the elders of Israel.
00:43:16.69\00:43:19.26
Now David comes
back and he meets up
00:43:19.29\00:43:21.16
with the other soldiers,
00:43:21.20\00:43:22.60
and they go
through a little argument,
00:43:22.63\00:43:23.63
they decide to
share all the spoil
00:43:23.67\00:43:25.47
because they've got even
more now than they had before.
00:43:25.50\00:43:28.90
And you get to chapter
31, last chapter in 1 Samuel.
00:43:28.94\00:43:34.48
Now we're gonna flash forward
to the battle in the north,
00:43:34.51\00:43:37.25
what's happening
up north where David
00:43:37.28\00:43:38.81
and his men had
been just rejected.
00:43:38.85\00:43:41.25
"Now the Philistines
fought against Israel,
00:43:41.28\00:43:44.25
and the men of Israel fled
from before the Philistines,
00:43:44.29\00:43:46.59
and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
00:43:46.62\00:43:49.99
And the
Philistines followed hard
00:43:50.03\00:43:51.76
after Saul and his sons.
00:43:51.79\00:43:54.30
And the Philistines killed..."
00:43:54.30\00:43:56.16
Always makes me
sad to even read it.
00:43:56.20\00:43:58.17
"The Philistines
killed Jonathan, Abinadab,
00:43:58.20\00:44:01.57
and Malchishua, Saul's sons."
00:44:01.60\00:44:04.47
And the boys were doing
the best to save their father,
00:44:04.51\00:44:09.71
and so they were slain first.
00:44:09.74\00:44:12.08
"And the battle
became fierce against Saul
00:44:12.11\00:44:14.78
and the archers hit him,
and he was severely wounded
00:44:14.82\00:44:18.12
more than one
arrow by the archers."
00:44:18.15\00:44:21.66
And he's
surrounded by his crack troops
00:44:21.69\00:44:23.79
and they're trying to fight
back the Philistines as well.
00:44:23.83\00:44:25.96
Saul knows he's
mortally wounded,
00:44:25.99\00:44:27.76
he's bleeding profusely.
00:44:27.83\00:44:31.40
And what he's afraid
of is that the Philistines
00:44:31.43\00:44:33.03
are gonna break through
and they're gonna to get him,
00:44:33.07\00:44:35.20
and they're gonna just
torture him and taunt him.
00:44:35.24\00:44:39.07
And he says to his
armorbearer, "Draw your sword
00:44:39.11\00:44:41.91
and thrust me through with it,
00:44:41.94\00:44:43.31
lest these
uncircumcised men come
00:44:43.35\00:44:45.01
and thrust me
through and abuse me."
00:44:45.05\00:44:47.95
He said, "Don't let
them have the credit.
00:44:47.98\00:44:49.32
I fought them all my life.
I don't want them to kill me."
00:44:49.35\00:44:52.92
"But his armorbearer would
not for he was greatly afraid."
00:44:52.95\00:44:55.29
You know, what the principal
job of the armorbearer is,
00:44:55.32\00:44:57.86
at all costs save the life
of the king not kill the king.
00:44:57.89\00:45:02.86
He said, "I can't do that."
00:45:02.90\00:45:05.63
And he would not.
00:45:05.67\00:45:06.77
"Therefore Saul took a
sword, and it was sharp,
00:45:06.80\00:45:11.47
and he fell on it."
00:45:11.51\00:45:13.04
You've heard that expression
probably used a hundred times.
00:45:13.07\00:45:15.74
Don't fall on your own sword.
00:45:15.78\00:45:17.81
It's all drawn from
this story in the Bible.
00:45:17.85\00:45:19.78
Saul, he didn't have
anyone else to do it,
00:45:19.81\00:45:22.82
so he put the
sword on the ground
00:45:22.85\00:45:24.45
and he fell right into it
and mortally wounded himself.
00:45:24.49\00:45:29.52
"And his armorbearer
when he saw what happened,
00:45:29.56\00:45:31.43
and he saw that
they were surrounded,
00:45:31.46\00:45:33.06
he fell on his
sword, and he died with him.
00:45:33.09\00:45:36.20
So Saul and his three
sons and his armorbearer..."
00:45:36.23\00:45:39.63
It's interesting, it
mentions not just his sons,
00:45:39.67\00:45:42.17
but it mentions
twice the armorbearer,
00:45:42.20\00:45:44.24
you know, I
think it's interesting
00:45:44.27\00:45:45.41
because David was
once his armorbearer.
00:45:45.44\00:45:51.28
And I have a
feeling, if David was there,
00:45:51.31\00:45:52.71
that wouldn't happen.
00:45:52.75\00:45:55.15
"And all his men died
together that same day."
00:45:55.18\00:45:57.59
That doesn't mean
the whole army died
00:45:57.62\00:45:58.89
because Abner
and others survived
00:45:58.92\00:46:00.79
but a lot of
soldiers fell on the field.
00:46:00.82\00:46:03.43
"And when the men of Israel
00:46:03.46\00:46:04.66
who were on the
other side of the valley
00:46:04.69\00:46:06.03
and those who were on
the other side of the Jordan
00:46:06.06\00:46:07.60
saw that the men
of Israel had fled
00:46:07.66\00:46:09.86
and that Saul and
his sons were dead,
00:46:09.90\00:46:11.60
they forsook the
cities and fled."
00:46:11.63\00:46:13.47
They had to flee,
they lost a great territory
00:46:13.50\00:46:16.57
to the Philistines.
00:46:16.60\00:46:18.31
"And the Philistines
came and dwelt in them."
00:46:18.34\00:46:20.61
It's interesting,
David has now annexed
00:46:20.64\00:46:23.35
a city of the
Philistines and the Philistines
00:46:23.38\00:46:25.85
are annexing the
cities of Israel.
00:46:25.88\00:46:28.78
"So it happened the next
day, when the Philistines
00:46:28.82\00:46:30.52
came to strip the
slain, that they found Saul
00:46:30.55\00:46:33.52
and his three sons
fallen on Mount Gilboa.
00:46:33.56\00:46:36.69
And they cut off his head,"
00:46:36.73\00:46:37.83
what David had done to Goliath,"
00:46:37.86\00:46:39.96
and stripped off his armor,"
00:46:40.00\00:46:41.10
what David had done to Goliath,"
00:46:41.13\00:46:43.06
and sent word throughout
the land of the Philistines
00:46:43.10\00:46:45.43
to proclaim it in the
temple of their idols."
00:46:45.47\00:46:48.04
They are
rejoicing, they are glorifying
00:46:48.07\00:46:49.90
these pagan gods
among the people.
00:46:49.94\00:46:53.34
"And they put his
armor in the temple
00:46:53.38\00:46:54.84
of the Ashtoreth's
and they fastened his body
00:46:54.88\00:46:58.05
to the walls of Beth Shan.
00:46:58.08\00:47:00.68
It's interesting
that the Beth Shan means
00:47:00.72\00:47:04.22
a place of
peace, a house of peace.
00:47:04.25\00:47:07.52
Now Beth Shan is in
the territory of Israel.
00:47:07.56\00:47:10.63
They took this city right
on the crossroads Beth Shan,
00:47:10.66\00:47:13.29
you can see a
picture of it today,
00:47:13.33\00:47:15.10
I think I even
have a picture of it,
00:47:15.13\00:47:16.16
you can put up on the screen.
00:47:16.20\00:47:18.33
Yeah, there it is.
00:47:18.37\00:47:19.50
Up on top of that
hill was this city,
00:47:19.53\00:47:21.24
it's on the crossroads
in the middle of Israel
00:47:21.27\00:47:23.00
not far from Jezreel,
they have big wall there,
00:47:23.04\00:47:25.37
it was a great
billboard to advertise.
00:47:25.41\00:47:27.98
And there they
pinned the bodies,
00:47:28.01\00:47:29.51
the headless body of Saul
00:47:29.54\00:47:31.81
and the bodies
of his three sons.
00:47:31.85\00:47:33.28
Now one of those
sons, what was his name?
00:47:33.31\00:47:36.08
Jonathan.
00:47:36.12\00:47:37.52
You know, this is the
Jonathan who was to be prince,
00:47:37.55\00:47:41.39
who told David,
00:47:41.42\00:47:42.86
"Here is my
robe, here is my belt,
00:47:42.89\00:47:45.43
here's my
sword, here is my bow,"
00:47:45.46\00:47:48.46
and he made a
covenant with David,
00:47:48.50\00:47:50.07
and he loved David, and he said,
00:47:50.10\00:47:52.13
"You will reign in my place."
00:47:52.17\00:47:54.97
And, you know, I can't
help but miss the analogy here
00:47:55.00\00:47:59.11
that here you've got
that son Jonathan means
00:47:59.14\00:48:02.58
"Yehonatan" gift of Jehovah.
00:48:02.61\00:48:06.35
God so loved the world
He gave His Son as a gift
00:48:06.38\00:48:10.22
that he has pinned up the wall
00:48:10.25\00:48:11.92
suspended
between heaven and earth.
00:48:11.95\00:48:14.79
And the men of Jabesh-Gilead
when they saw that,
00:48:14.82\00:48:17.83
they were loyal, they
came risking their lives,
00:48:17.86\00:48:20.93
they took the bodies
of Saul and his sons down,
00:48:20.96\00:48:24.37
and they
basically had a cremation
00:48:24.40\00:48:26.84
and a burial for them.
00:48:26.87\00:48:28.64
Jesus had friends that
came and rescued His body.
00:48:28.67\00:48:32.64
And so just,
we're at the very end,
00:48:32.67\00:48:34.24
you even see, at
the end of this book,
00:48:34.28\00:48:36.68
you can see another
picture of the cross Jonathan
00:48:36.71\00:48:38.61
who I think is a type
of Christ who loved David,
00:48:38.65\00:48:42.35
who traded places with David,
00:48:42.38\00:48:44.05
who gave him a
sword, a belt, a shield.
00:48:44.09\00:48:46.86
Makes us think
of Jesus, who said,
00:48:46.89\00:48:48.56
"Look, I will
die suspended between
00:48:48.59\00:48:49.89
heaven and earth for you.
00:48:49.92\00:48:50.99
I am the Son of the King,
00:48:51.03\00:48:52.93
but I will let
you have My throne,
00:48:52.96\00:48:55.13
and I'll give you
My sword, His word,
00:48:55.16\00:48:57.07
and I'll give you My bow,
00:48:57.10\00:48:58.67
His strength, I'll give you
My robe, His righteousness."
00:48:58.70\00:49:01.80
This is what Jesus did for us.
00:49:01.84\00:49:04.04
And this is how 1 Samuel ends.
00:49:04.07\00:49:06.88
And an interesting
transition happens now
00:49:06.91\00:49:11.38
when we get into the
second book of Samuel
00:49:11.41\00:49:14.08
and the story of David,
00:49:14.12\00:49:15.45
but I thought it
was a good place for us
00:49:15.48\00:49:16.89
to think about the life of Jesus
00:49:16.92\00:49:19.82
and all of
these stories are here
00:49:19.85\00:49:21.36
to talk to us about Christ.
00:49:21.39\00:49:23.49
Amen.
00:49:23.53\00:49:25.03
Let's face it.
00:49:25.06\00:49:26.13
It's not always
easy to understand
00:49:26.16\00:49:27.93
everything you
read in the Bible.
00:49:27.96\00:49:29.70
With over 700,000
words contained in 66 books,
00:49:29.73\00:49:33.54
the Bible can
generate a lot of questions.
00:49:33.57\00:49:36.24
To get Biblical
straightforward answers,
00:49:36.27\00:49:38.61
call in to Bible Answers Live,
00:49:38.64\00:49:40.28
a live nationwide
calling radio program
00:49:40.31\00:49:43.08
where you can talk
to Pastor Doug Batchelor
00:49:43.11\00:49:45.31
and ask him your most
difficult Bible questions.
00:49:45.35\00:49:47.85
For times and
stations in your area
00:49:47.88\00:49:50.19
or to listen to answers online,
visit BAL.AmazingFacts.org.
00:49:50.22\00:49:56.02
Friends, have you ever
heard of the bowhead whale?
00:50:10.54\00:50:12.97
This enormous leviathan
00:50:13.01\00:50:14.91
is the second largest
creature in the world.
00:50:14.94\00:50:17.68
Dark and stocky,
00:50:17.71\00:50:18.95
it roams the fertile
Arctic Northern Waters.
00:50:18.98\00:50:22.42
These massive creatures
can be more than 65 feet long
00:50:22.45\00:50:26.02
and weigh more than 75 tons,
00:50:26.05\00:50:28.29
that's heavier
than the space shuttle.
00:50:28.32\00:50:31.09
Yet in spite of
their titanic size,
00:50:31.13\00:50:33.46
they're able to leap
entirely out of the water.
00:50:33.50\00:50:36.60
Can you say belly-flop?
00:50:36.63\00:50:39.27
The bowhead whale gets its
name from its bow shaped skull,
00:50:39.30\00:50:43.14
and they've got
one ginormous noggin.
00:50:43.17\00:50:45.61
Matter of fact,
their heads are about
00:50:45.64\00:50:46.88
40% of their body
size, which comes in handy
00:50:46.91\00:50:50.21
when you find out
how they use their heads.
00:50:50.25\00:50:52.55
They've got very thick skulls,
sometimes they get trapped
00:50:52.58\00:50:55.55
under the surface,
and they use their heads
00:50:55.58\00:50:57.82
to ram the ice
00:50:57.85\00:50:59.32
they can break a
breathing hole in the ice
00:50:59.35\00:51:01.66
that is a foot and a half thick.
00:51:01.69\00:51:04.53
Friends, you
have to just imagine
00:51:04.56\00:51:05.86
what it would be like to be
00:51:05.89\00:51:07.13
walking around on the Arctic ice
00:51:07.13\00:51:08.93
and all of a sudden
have the ground beneath you
00:51:08.96\00:51:11.23
cracked and split and rise
00:51:11.27\00:51:13.84
as one of the sea
monsters pushes its head up
00:51:13.87\00:51:16.50
to breathe for the
first time in 90 minutes.
00:51:16.54\00:51:20.14
Because bowheads make their home
00:51:20.18\00:51:21.38
in the coldest
part of our world,
00:51:21.41\00:51:23.21
they have the
thickest blubber of any whale,
00:51:23.24\00:51:25.51
but this plus their friendly
00:51:25.55\00:51:27.35
and curious nature
made them prime targets
00:51:27.38\00:51:30.19
when the European
whalers discovered the bowheads,
00:51:30.22\00:51:33.09
they hunted them
nearly to extinction.
00:51:33.12\00:51:37.09
Fortunately, because
of conservation efforts,
00:51:37.13\00:51:39.83
we've slowly seen their
numbers begin to increase
00:51:39.86\00:51:41.90
since the '60s.
00:51:41.93\00:51:43.77
One of the most
amazing facts about the bowhead
00:51:43.80\00:51:46.63
whale is its longevity.
00:51:46.67\00:51:48.34
Scientists have discovered
by evaluating harpoon tips
00:51:48.37\00:51:51.24
found in their skull, and
examining their eye tissue,
00:51:51.27\00:51:54.51
there are
bowhead whales out there
00:51:54.54\00:51:56.41
that are probably
over 200 years old.
00:51:56.44\00:51:59.85
You realize that means
there are bowhead whale
00:51:59.88\00:52:02.55
swimming the oceans
right now that were alive
00:52:02.58\00:52:05.69
before Abraham
Lincoln was elected president.
00:52:05.72\00:52:08.72
Can you imagine that?
00:52:08.76\00:52:10.86
Among the other
amazing mega facts
00:52:10.89\00:52:12.89
about the bowhead
whale is its mega mouth.
00:52:12.93\00:52:16.03
They have the largest mouth
of any in the animal kingdom.
00:52:16.06\00:52:19.43
And when they open
their pile full extended,
00:52:19.47\00:52:22.00
it's large enough to
park a medium-size SUV inside.
00:52:22.04\00:52:26.14
Yet in spite of the fact
they've got such big mouths,
00:52:26.17\00:52:28.68
they survive by eating
the very smallest creatures
00:52:28.71\00:52:31.35
in the ocean, plankton, krill,
and other microscopic animals.
00:52:31.38\00:52:37.05
Friends, I'm always amazed
by the creatures God has made.
00:52:37.09\00:52:39.65
This bowhead whale is able
to dive to the deepest oceans,
00:52:39.69\00:52:43.16
they can break through
the ice and move mountains
00:52:43.19\00:52:44.99
with their head and
completely leave the water
00:52:45.03\00:52:47.30
and fly through the
air, and yet they do all that
00:52:47.36\00:52:50.10
by gaining strength from
almost microscopic organisms.
00:52:50.13\00:52:54.50
Helps us
remember that we survive
00:52:54.54\00:52:56.67
through the little
promises in God's Word.
00:52:56.71\00:52:59.24
Jesus, when
tempted by the devil,
00:52:59.27\00:53:01.08
He quoted just a
few little verses
00:53:01.11\00:53:03.04
and He sent the enemy running.
00:53:03.08\00:53:05.05
You can also have
that same durability
00:53:05.08\00:53:07.15
and long life as
the bowhead whale
00:53:07.18\00:53:09.12
by trusting in God's
Word and His promises.
00:53:09.15\00:53:12.05
You can do nothing without God.
00:53:31.87\00:53:34.01
And sometimes, He
lets you get to that place
00:53:34.04\00:53:36.18
where you realize,
there's nothing left,
00:53:36.21\00:53:38.61
and you're just wondering
if you even want to live
00:53:38.65\00:53:41.48
because it hurts
and life is dark.
00:53:41.52\00:53:44.12
When He lets you
get to that place,
00:53:44.15\00:53:45.65
then that's when He
can break through to you
00:53:45.69\00:53:47.52
and lets you know He's there.
00:53:47.56\00:53:49.06
And then He can work with you
00:53:49.09\00:53:51.03
to bring beauty out of the ashes
00:53:51.06\00:53:53.26
and hope out of darkness.
00:53:53.29\00:53:55.20
My mom when she
was pregnant with me
00:53:55.23\00:53:58.67
was diagnosed with
bipolar, and there were times
00:53:58.70\00:54:02.04
when my mom would be struggling,
00:54:02.07\00:54:04.37
they might be trying
her on different medications
00:54:04.41\00:54:07.64
to help her
with the mood swings.
00:54:07.68\00:54:10.08
I have kind of
had a Savior complex
00:54:10.11\00:54:11.95
and had like a
guilt complex that somehow
00:54:11.98\00:54:14.48
that my family's
problems were my own fault
00:54:14.52\00:54:16.99
or I'm one that was supposed
to try to help or fix it
00:54:17.02\00:54:20.02
which is impossible
for any human to do,
00:54:20.06\00:54:22.26
only Jesus can do that.
00:54:22.29\00:54:23.86
But I believe
stuffing all of those emotions
00:54:23.89\00:54:26.19
in for so long,
00:54:26.23\00:54:27.73
my world just
started to crumble around me.
00:54:27.76\00:54:28.96
I started to have
nervous breakdown.
00:54:29.00\00:54:30.30
I could not stuff any longer
00:54:30.33\00:54:31.73
everything that I
had grown up with.
00:54:31.77\00:54:33.10
I just slowly but surely
00:54:33.13\00:54:34.57
just started to
withdraw completely,
00:54:34.60\00:54:37.01
and it got to the extent
where I was like a prisoner
00:54:37.04\00:54:40.48
of my own house of my own fears,
00:54:40.51\00:54:42.08
and it wasn't
for my mom making me
00:54:42.11\00:54:43.45
come out of the
basement, and sometimes,
00:54:43.48\00:54:45.85
you know, making me eat,
00:54:45.88\00:54:47.48
I would just stay down
in my room in the basement,
00:54:47.52\00:54:49.15
and I remember how
awful the darkness was
00:54:49.18\00:54:53.89
and how terrible it
is to live without hope.
00:54:53.92\00:54:57.83
I can still feel
that in my throat,
00:54:57.86\00:55:00.70
in my heart, I
remember what that feels like.
00:55:00.73\00:55:05.40
I had been still
contemplating suicide on and off
00:55:05.43\00:55:08.34
for several months,
00:55:08.37\00:55:09.40
and I knew that
it was getting worse
00:55:09.44\00:55:11.24
and that I was
going to be successful
00:55:11.27\00:55:13.31
unless something happened,
00:55:13.34\00:55:15.18
and, you know,
00:55:15.21\00:55:16.21
just trying to talk
yourself out of it every day,
00:55:16.24\00:55:18.08
but still it just always
being there, haunting me.
00:55:18.11\00:55:21.58
And I just went to bed
feeling really, really sick
00:55:21.62\00:55:25.52
and just told myself, in
counseling they'll tell you,
00:55:25.55\00:55:28.09
you know, don't do it,
make any impulsive decisions,
00:55:28.12\00:55:31.89
it will always be
brighter in the morning.
00:55:31.93\00:55:33.76
You know, just see
it through the night,
00:55:33.80\00:55:35.53
sometimes the night are
the longest darkest hours,
00:55:35.56\00:55:38.03
and I just went to
sleep telling myself that."
00:55:38.07\00:55:41.24
And when I woke
up in the morning,
00:55:41.27\00:55:42.70
there was no relief, it
was worse than it was...
00:55:42.74\00:55:45.21
It was just like I
knew it was waiting for me
00:55:45.24\00:55:47.38
when I woke up in the morning.
00:55:47.41\00:55:48.74
And so then I went to class,
00:55:48.78\00:55:50.41
and as soon as
the classes going on,
00:55:50.45\00:55:54.48
I asked the
teacher if I could go get
00:55:54.52\00:55:55.78
a drink of water, and
I went into the kitchen.
00:55:55.82\00:55:57.55
And I started drinking
some of the different cleaners.
00:55:57.59\00:56:01.46
And as I was there
drinking the cleaners,
00:56:01.49\00:56:03.66
choking on the cleaners,
00:56:03.69\00:56:05.39
just such an
awful place to be in,
00:56:05.43\00:56:11.37
the chaplain, a
very kind chaplain,
00:56:11.40\00:56:13.27
he flipped on the kitchen lights
00:56:13.30\00:56:14.57
and he comes in
with his bright smile,
00:56:14.60\00:56:16.74
and he's like, "Heather?"
00:56:16.77\00:56:17.84
He is like, "How
are you doing today?"
00:56:17.87\00:56:19.67
And I'm like, you
know, "I'm killing myself."
00:56:19.71\00:56:24.45
And I look at his face
and I could not lie to him.
00:56:24.48\00:56:26.98
He's such a kind man,
00:56:27.02\00:56:28.05
I just had to get
it out of my head,
00:56:28.08\00:56:29.15
I just started sobbing,
00:56:29.18\00:56:30.69
and he just
doesn't make a big deal,
00:56:30.72\00:56:34.02
he just kindly and sweetly
helps pick me up off the floor,
00:56:34.06\00:56:37.56
then walks me to his office,
and so he just talked to me.
00:56:37.59\00:56:41.50
I told him what I drank,
and he called the ambulance.
00:56:41.53\00:56:44.47
After that hospital staying,
everybody was so scared for me
00:56:44.50\00:56:46.47
because that was
not expected at all.
00:56:46.50\00:56:48.77
But after that
somehow I knew that
00:56:48.80\00:56:51.74
suicide was not an
option, I closed that door
00:56:51.77\00:56:54.08
even though I still
had that same pain and fear
00:56:54.11\00:56:56.51
and I had no idea how God
was gonna pick up the pieces,
00:56:56.54\00:56:59.01
and I still had to
be honest with God.
00:56:59.05\00:57:00.28
I was like, "Okay,
God, obviously you care,
00:57:00.32\00:57:02.52
obviously I know
that you spared my life,
00:57:02.55\00:57:05.42
and I don't have any idea
00:57:05.45\00:57:06.62
how you're gonna help me
fix this mess of my life."
00:57:06.65\00:57:09.09
But it was the beginning
of me trusting Him again
00:57:09.12\00:57:12.49
and just shutting
that door to suicide
00:57:12.53\00:57:15.20
as not ever
being an option again.
00:57:15.23\00:57:17.83
God used Amazing
Facts and Pastor Doug
00:57:17.87\00:57:21.67
in a powerful way to
make His love for me,
00:57:21.70\00:57:25.71
He's soon coming for me,
and that He was calling me
00:57:25.74\00:57:28.81
to share that with others, real,
00:57:28.84\00:57:30.95
and it was making it
personal, God's love for me,
00:57:30.98\00:57:34.25
and that was really,
00:57:34.28\00:57:35.95
that's a seed that
I will never forget.
00:57:35.98\00:57:37.85
And I'm so grateful
that my family didn't have
00:57:37.89\00:57:40.36
to go through the
pain and the tragedy
00:57:40.39\00:57:42.16
of me taking my life
00:57:42.19\00:57:44.03
and that I have the joy
of being able to encourage
00:57:44.06\00:57:46.36
other people that
there's always hope.
00:57:46.39\00:57:49.63
Amazing Facts
just changed my life.
00:57:49.66\00:57:52.40
I'm so grateful
for their ministry.
00:57:52.43\00:57:55.84
It's a precious blessing.
00:57:55.87\00:57:57.24
For life-changing
Christian resources,
00:58:11.25\00:58:13.62
visit AFBOOKSTORE.com.
00:58:13.66\00:58:16.22