May 24th

and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from saving myself by my own hand.

Nevertheless, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one male.”

So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, “Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to your voice and granted your request.”

Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she did not tell him anything small or great until the morning light.

But in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became as a stone.

Now it happened that about ten days later, Yahweh smote Nabal, and he died.

Then David heard that Nabal was dead, so he said, “Blessed be Yahweh, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal and has kept back His servant from evil. Yahweh has also returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife.

Then the servants of David came to Abigail at Carmel and spoke to her, saying, “David has sent us to you to take you as his wife.”

And she arose and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your maidservant is a servant-woman to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”

Then Abigail hurried and arose, and she rode on a donkey, with her five young women who went about with her; and she went after the messengers of David and became his wife.

David had also taken Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both became his wives.

Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon?”

So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having with him three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph.

And Saul camped in the hill of Hachilah, which is before Jeshimon, beside the road. Now David was staying in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness.

So David sent out spies and knew that Saul was certainly coming.

David then arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, as well as Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him.

Then David answered and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, saying, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.”

So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people were lying around him.

Then Abishai said to David, “Today God has surrendered your enemy into your hand; so now, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.”

But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can send forth his hand against the anointed of Yahweh and be without guilt?”

David also said, “As Yahweh lives, surely Yahweh will smite him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down into battle and be swept away.

Yahweh forbid that I should send forth my hand against the anointed of Yahweh; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go.”

So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul’s head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a sound sleep from Yahweh had fallen on them.

Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the mountain at a distance with a large area between them.

And David called to the people and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered and said, “Who are you who calls to the king?”

So David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroy the king your lord.

This thing that you have done is not good. As Yahweh lives, all of you must surely die because you did not keep watch over your lord, the anointed of Yahweh. So now, see where the king’s spear is and the jug of water that was at his head.”

Then Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord the king.”

He also said, “Why then is my lord pursuing his servant? For what have I done? Or what evil is in my hand?

So now, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant. If Yahweh has incited you up against me, let Him accept an offering; but if it is men, cursed are they before Yahweh, for they have driven me out today so that I would have no attachment with the inheritance of Yahweh, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’

So now, do not let my blood fall to the ground away from the presence of Yahweh; for the king of Israel has come out to search for a single flea, just as one pursues a partridge in the mountains.”

Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again because my life was precious in your sight this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have committed a serious error.”

And David replied, “Behold the spear of the king! Now let one of the young men come over and take it.

Now Yahweh will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for Yahweh gave you into my hand today, but I was not willing to send forth my hand against the anointed of Yahweh.

Now behold, as your life was highly valued in my sight this day, so may my life be highly valued in the sight of Yahweh, and may He deliver me from all distress.”

Then Saul said to David, “Blessed are you, my son David; you will both accomplish much and surely prevail.” So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

Then David said in his heart, “Now I will be swept away one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should utterly escape into the land of the Philistines. Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel, and I will escape from his hand.”

So David arose and crossed over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

And David lived with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife.

And it was told to Saul that David had fled to Gath, so he no longer searched for him.

Then David said to Achish, “If now I have found favor in your sight, let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country, that I may live there; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”

So Achish gave him Ziklag that day; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.

And the number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months.

Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times, as you come to Shur even as far as the land of Egypt.

And David struck the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive, and he took away the sheep, the cattle, the donkeys, the camels, and the clothing. Then he returned and came to Achish.

And Achish said, “Where have you made a raid today?” And David said, “Against the Negev of Judah and against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites and against the Negev of the Kenites.”

And David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring to Gath, saying, “Lest they tell about us, saying, ‘So has David done and so has been his custom all the time he has lived in the country of the Philistines.’ ”

So Achish believed David, saying, “He has surely made himself odious among his people Israel; therefore he will become my servant forever.”

And after these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.

Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near.

Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing.

For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself publicly to the world.”

For not even His brothers were believing in Him.

So Jesus *said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always here.

The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I bear witness about it, that its deeds are evil.

Go up to the feast yourselves; I am not yet going up to this feast because My time has not yet been fulfilled.”

Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.

But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as in secret.

So the Jews were seeking Him at the feast and saying, “Where is He?”

And there was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the crowd astray.”

Yet no one was speaking openly about Him for fear of the Jews.

But when it was now the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.

The Jews then were marveling, saying, “How has this man become learned, not having been educated?”

So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but from Him who sent Me.

If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is of God or I speak from Myself.

“Did not Moses give you the Law? And yet none of you does the Law. Why do you seek to kill Me?”

The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?”

Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel.

For this reason Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man.

If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath?