Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Alan J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
SPEAKER 02 :
Today we are in 1 Samuel chapter 22. Let’s listen in to all 23 verses of 1 Samuel 22. 1 Samuel 22
SPEAKER 08 :
David departed from there, and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became captain over them. And there were with him about four hundred men. And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab,
SPEAKER 05 :
Please let my father and mother stay with you till I know what God will do for me.
SPEAKER 08 :
And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. Then the prophet Gad said to David, Do not remain in the stronghold.
SPEAKER 04 :
Depart and go into the land of Judah.
SPEAKER 08 :
So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth. Now Saul heard that David was discovered and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree on the height, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him.
SPEAKER 07 :
And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, Here now, people of Benjamin, will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards? Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? That all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me to lie in wait as at this day.
SPEAKER 06 :
Then answered Doeg, the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, I saw the son of Jesse come into Nob to Ahimelech, the son of Ahitab, and he inquired of the Lord for him, and gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.
SPEAKER 08 :
Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitab, and all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob. And all of them came to the king. And Saul said, Here now, son of Ahitab.
SPEAKER 07 :
And he answered, Here I am, my lord. And Saul said to him, why have you conspired against me you and the son of jesse in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of god for him so that he is risen against me to lie in wait as at this day then ahimelech answered the king
SPEAKER 03 :
And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house? Is to-day the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No. Let not the king impute anything to his servant, or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little.
SPEAKER 07 :
And the king said, You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house. And the king said to the guard who stood about him, Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.
SPEAKER 08 :
But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord. Then the king said to Doeg, You, turn and strike the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword. Both man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword. But one of the sons of Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David. And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord.
SPEAKER 05 :
And David said to Abiathar, I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house. Stay with me. Do not be afraid. For he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.
SPEAKER 02 :
I bet you can’t wait for one of those one-liners again from 1983. Well, I have one for you. David continues to flee from Saul. Ha ha ha. In 2002, I wrote a little bit more. I wrote about leadership. Many gathered around David to help him. Leadership draws people. Saul, on the other hand, gives a direct order to his people to kill the priests of the Lord and none obey him. Saul was no leader. And in 2007, I wrote Saul in Fear. He thinks David is waiting in ambush. David was on the run, but Saul had lost his faith, so he lived in fear. Everybody is out to get me. David, my own son, the priest, God. What a sad way to live. But many do, in fear, looking over their shoulder, running, hiding, wandering. Are you looking over your shoulder? Are you running? Are you hiding? Do you live in fear? Do you think everybody’s out to get you? Or do you think even someone is out to get you? I certainly hope that’s not the case in your life. But if it is, it’s no way to live, is it? To live in fear? Even the New Testament tells us God did not give us a spirit of fear. So if you’re living under a spirit of fear, it’s not from the Lord. May I ask you to stop, to stop running, to stop hiding, to stop looking over your shoulder and really think about the circumstances that are going on around you. Are they imagined or are they real? Either way, take it to the Lord, pray, and ask God to get you out from under those circumstances or out from under the looking over your shoulder or running or hiding from your past. Before we leave this chapter, I found something pretty interesting that you might have thought about as you were listening. David is on the run. King Saul can’t find him. Yet his brothers and all his father’s house found him. And he also was found by 400 men. So he’s got 400 men hanging out with him. It’s pretty hard to hide when you’ve got 400 people hanging out with you, isn’t it? Let’s see what’s going to happen in the next chapter. I sure hope you’re enjoying AdBible and our walk through 1 Samuel. If so, I’d ask you to visit the Ezra Project website and maybe join Club 365. Club 365 is a way to financially support AdBible so others can benefit as well. When you join Club 365, you are providing the financial resources necessary to continue recording, editing, and publishing AdBible. Also, may I ask you to spread the word about AdBible to your family, your friends, your church, everyone that struggles to find time to read the Bible. Tell them about AdBible. Let’s close in prayer. Father, I thank you for providing the resources for AddBible. I pray, Lord, through listeners that you will continue to provide the necessary means to support this project so many more can be blessed by spending time in your word each and every day. We give you thanks in Jesus’ name. Amen. According to a recent Barna research study entitled Bible Reading, A New Year’s Resolution, most Americans are not satisfied with their current level of Scripture reading. A majority express a desire to read the Bible more than they currently do. Born-again and practicing Christians are the most likely to desire more Bible reading in their day-to-day lives. It should not come as a surprise that the majority of Americans wish they read Scripture more than they do, says Roxanne Stone, editor-in-chief of Barna Group. After all, two-thirds of Americans agree that the Bible contains everything you need to know to live a meaningful life. Why wouldn’t you want to read such a book more often? The study continues. However, like other New Year’s resolutions, such as exercising more and eating healthier, Scripture reading is often an aspirational goal. It’s the goal that for most people probably doesn’t feel necessary to survive and so can easily get swamped by the day-to-day demands of a busy life. Scripture reading takes time and focus, two things that feel like scarcities in today’s fast-paced and on-demand culture. Like exercise, like dieting, regular Bible reading does not offer instant payoff. It’s a discipline whose rewards are reaped over the long haul. And the study continues, when people go from feeling they should read the Bible more to needing to read the Bible more, they find the time. Access to the Bible is not the issue in the USA, is it? We all have Bibles. According to another study done a few years ago, 88% of Americans own a Bible. We have 3.5 Bibles in our homes. And this is amazing. 59% of people who have no faith or are atheists even own a Bible, probably just in case. So if you have a smartphone, you have access to the Word of God. My Gideon Bible app has over 2,100 languages. Access to the Bible is not the issue. The issue is changing our beliefs about the Bible to behavior with the Bible. So where are Christians with the Bible today? Christians are well-intentioned when it comes to the Bible. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God. We believe, we just don’t behave. Our belief in the Bible and our behavior with the Bible are inconsistent. The middle ground related to the Bible seems to be disappearing. The decrease of Bible-neutral and Bible-friendly people and the increase of Bible antagonists suggests that more people are picking a side. Which side are you on? Are you a Bible antagonist questioning the Bible? Are you Bible-neutral? I just don’t know. Or are you Bible-friendly? I love the Bible. Wherever you are, pick a side. Because of our neglect of God’s Word, we are becoming biblically illiterate. For example, in a private religious elementary school, kids were asked about the Old and New Testaments. Here are some funny things that they had to say. The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat that apple. Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day but a ball of fire by night. What kind of man was Boaz before he married? Ruthless. The epistles were the wives of the apostles. Christians have only one spouse. That’s called monotony. So, if we think about Bible literacy or illiteracy, we think about it this way. If God decided to come down from his throne in heaven, become an author here on earth, you’d think his book would be on the bestseller list. And the fact is, the Bible is the number one bestselling book of all time. 2.5 to 5 billion, according to research. It’s also the most read book of all time. Praise the Lord, that alone might be evidence that the Bible, not any other so-called writing, is God’s Word. According to a weekly World News report, here are a few other Bible facts. About 50 Bibles are sold every minute. The Bible is the world’s best-selling book. It’s also the world’s most shoplifted book. That’s interesting. And that doesn’t even count all the Gideon Bibles stolen out of those hotels. So I encourage you to enjoy a portion of God’s Word every day. Make it a daily spiritual habit. And so until next time, I’m Alan J. Huth, and this program is sponsored by The Ezra Project, with support from listeners like you. Visit EzraProject.net to keep AdBible, connecting God’s people to God’s Word, on the air. I know you’re going to enjoy it, and want to share it with others.
