Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 29:1-11.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
1 Samuel 29:1-11 (NIV)
1  The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel.
2  As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish.
3  The commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.”

On verses 1-11:  The Philistines and the Israelites are preparing to go to war against one another.  David is still hiding among the Philistines and pretending that he is on the Philistines’ side.   But now he is in the incredibly difficult position of having to actually fight his own people Israel.  While King Achish of the Philistines is happy to have David fighting for them, the Philistine commanders urge Achish to prohibit David from fighting for the Philistines because they do not trust David.  So David and his men are saved from having to fight their own people.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 28:3-25.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
1 Samuel 28:3-5 (NIV)
3  Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.
4  The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all the Israelites and set up camp at Gilboa.
5  When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart.

On verses 3-5:  Saul had been so preoccupied fighting a member of his own household (David) that when his real enemy, the Philistines, showed up, he was completely caught off guard, afraid and ill prepared to fight. 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 27:1-28:2.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
1 Samuel 27:1-12 (NIV)
1  But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
2  So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maoch king of Gath.

On 27:1 to 28:2:  In this passage we see David giving into his fear.  Verse 1 says, “David thought to himself, ‘One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul.'” (v1) Notice those first few words:  “David thought to himself.”  The King James translation puts it this way: “David said in his heart”.  Whenever you read the Old Testament and it says a person “said in his heart”, it often means that the person has allowed a lie or a fear to poison their thinking.  That’s what happened with David.  David gave into his fear and lived as if his biggest worry was certain to come true.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 26:1-12.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

1 Samuel 26:1-2 (NIV) 
1 The Ziphites went to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which faces Jeshimon?” 
2 So Saul went down to the Desert of Ziph, with his three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search there for David. 

On verses 1-2:   Previously in chapter 24 Saul had an emotional encounter with David and with God where his sinfulness was exposed and Saul seemed to be repentant.  Yet here in chapter 26 we find Saul returning to his old ways, hunting David down again.  How did Saul’s bad habit restart?  Verses 1-2 give us a clue: The Ziphites, who had previously committed to helping Saul hunt down David (1 Samuel 23:19), were still acting as informants to Saul, telling Saul where David was hiding.