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Speaker 1: Let us pray. So David and ABESHI came to the

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Speaker 1: people by night, and behold Saul lay sleeping within the trench,

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Speaker 1: and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster.

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Speaker 1: But Abner and the people lay round about him first

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Speaker 1: Samuel twenty six seven. Lord, As the new day dawns

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Speaker 1: and I meditate on to day's reading, I will stay

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Speaker 1: mindful of the fact that not all opportunities are God opportunities.

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Speaker 1: When a chance arises to exact revenge or get ahead,

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Speaker 1: give me the restraint and wisdom of David to withhold

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Speaker 1: from moving forward with my plans. Instead, strengthen my heart

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Speaker 1: and remind me, Holy Spirit, that when God desires to

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Speaker 1: open my door to success, nothing and no one can

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Speaker 1: stop me. I will not give in to paranoia and fear,

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Speaker 1: because it is no longer a driving force in my life.

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Speaker 1: I will not partner with others who don't believe in

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Speaker 1: the mission I'm called to accomplish. I declare that any

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Speaker 1: relationships that are unequally yoked with my newness and transformation

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Speaker 1: will be removed from my life. I am on a

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Speaker 1: mission to fulfill your purpose for my life. Then I

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Speaker 1: will not let poor decisions masked in wisdom derail me

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Speaker 1: from my glorious future. I declare that I am no

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Speaker 1: longer on the run. I'm on the rise in Jesus name. Amen.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with us today. Continue your time

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Speaker 1: with God by listening to today's Bible story, brought to

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Speaker 1: you by Bible in a Year dot com.

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Speaker 2: David on the Run. In our last story, we learned

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Speaker 2: about Samuel's death and David's marriage to Abigail. David's community

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Speaker 2: of outcasts and vagabonds continued to grow and thrive under

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Speaker 2: his leadership. Now we learn of Saul's troubled mind, resurfacing

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Speaker 2: the jealousy that once gripped his heart and actions begins

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Speaker 2: to creep back into his interactions with David, so David

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Speaker 2: is forced into hiding once again. What follows is a

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Speaker 2: story of David's victory over temptation to sin and David's

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Speaker 2: failure over loyalty to Israel, as inspired by the Book

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Speaker 2: of First Samuel.

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Speaker 3: This is Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible

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Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. In yesterday's episode, we heard how

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Speaker 3: God sent Abigail to intercept David, who had planned to

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Speaker 3: kill her husband. Nabel for this man's disrespect and disregard

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Speaker 3: for the will of God. God was detecting David from

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Speaker 3: spilling blood in a moment of rage, and David, because

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Speaker 3: he was a man after God's own heart, was sensitive

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Speaker 3: to the leading of the Lord, choosing to spare Nabal's life.

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Speaker 3: Abigail now widow, was comforted by David and the two

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Speaker 3: were married, and this was the union that God blessed. Today,

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Speaker 3: we'll find David on the run once again. Though Saul

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Speaker 3: had temporarily relented from pursuing David, he is back at

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Speaker 3: it with jealousy and rage once again. Our reading today

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Speaker 3: will show us two SIGs of a very human David,

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Speaker 3: one who resists temptation and trusts God's timing, and another

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Speaker 3: who gives in to doubts and ventures into dangerous territory.

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Speaker 3: So let's listen to God's word today.

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Speaker 2: Hatred is a poison. Saul, who had a moment of

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Speaker 2: vulnerability and forgiveness towards David, was once again falling victim

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Speaker 2: to Hatred's grip on his heart. Repentance towards David was deep,

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Speaker 2: raw and emotional. However, it did not last long. Saul

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Speaker 2: once again mustered three thousand men to march against David.

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Speaker 2: They camped outside the wilderness where David and his men were.

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Speaker 2: In the morning, they planned to rise up and ambush David.

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Speaker 2: Saul was in his tent, eagerly awaiting the chance to

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Speaker 2: put an end to David forever. As the night grew later,

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Speaker 2: Saul and the rest of his soldiers fell asleep. Shadows

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Speaker 2: could be seen gliding across the tent walls near Saul's tent.

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Speaker 2: Light footsteps could be heard entering his tent. There, with

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Speaker 2: his face hidden by the darkness, stood David. He and

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Speaker 2: his men watched Saul's sleep. The tip of David's spear

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Speaker 2: was pressed into the ground beside Saul's temple. God has

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Speaker 2: given you your enemy, Nabishai, whispered to David. David hovered

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Speaker 2: silently over Saul. Saul had gone back on his word.

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Speaker 2: He had repented with tears and embraced him as a

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Speaker 2: son who would hold the murder of Saul against him.

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Speaker 2: The citizens of Israel would welcome him, the soldiers would

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Speaker 2: follow him, His wife would still love him. There would

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Speaker 2: be seemingly nothing to lose and everything to gain from

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Speaker 2: killing Saul. David stood there, shaking with his spear beside

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Speaker 2: Saul's head. No, David whispered, he is gods to strike,

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Speaker 2: not mine. I should not lay a hand on God's anointed.

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Speaker 2: So David put his spear in the jug of water

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Speaker 2: beside Saul's bed, and David and his men left without

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Speaker 2: waking anybody in camp. David sat far off at the

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Speaker 2: top of the hill, overlooking Saul's camp. The sun began

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Speaker 2: to rise and paint the camp a bright orange. David

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Speaker 2: watched as the men arose from their tents and began

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Speaker 2: to prepare for battle. Abner, Saul's general, began to walk

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Speaker 2: among his men. David stood and took a deep breath.

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Speaker 2: He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted down

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Speaker 2: to Abner, saying, Abner. Abner raised his head to see

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Speaker 2: David standing on the hill above them. All the men

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Speaker 2: stood at attention and watched David as he shouted. Are

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Speaker 2: you truly a worthy man?

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Speaker 1: Abner?

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Speaker 2: You could not even watch over your king one night.

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Speaker 2: Look at the spear beside his bed. I could have

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Speaker 2: killed him last night. You are not fit to protect

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Speaker 2: the king. Saul woke up to the sound of David's

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Speaker 2: voice shouting from the hilltops. He emerged from his tent

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Speaker 2: and looked up. Saul squinted to get a good look

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Speaker 2: at David's shouting, is that you, my son, David? David smiled, Yes,

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Speaker 2: it is my lord, King David shouted, Why do you

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Speaker 2: pursue me? Still? What have I done to you? If

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Speaker 2: it is God who has called you to kill me,

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Speaker 2: then strike me down now. But if it is your

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Speaker 2: own voice, or the voice of other men calling for

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Speaker 2: you to kill me, then cast them away. You hunt

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Speaker 2: a single flea like one hunts game in the wilderness.

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Speaker 2: David's words bellowed for all the men to hear. Saul,

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Speaker 2: and the most sincere voice he could muster shouted back

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Speaker 2: at David, saying, you are blessed, my son. You will

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Speaker 2: surely do many things and succeed. So Saul departed from

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Speaker 2: his place and did not pursue David further. David, still

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Speaker 2: wary of Saul, left back to his men and the wilderness.

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Speaker 2: David did not trust the words of Saul, and paranoia

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Speaker 2: began to grip his heart as well. David gathered his

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Speaker 2: men together to find another place to rest. David knew

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Speaker 2: that Saul would not pursue David if he left to

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Speaker 2: the land of the Philistines. So David and his six

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Speaker 2: hundred men gathered their things and settled in Gath with

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Speaker 2: King Akish. David hid among enemies, a foolish choice disguised

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Speaker 2: as wisdom. David found favor with Akish, and the two

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Speaker 2: of them became friends. Aikish gifted David some land and

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Speaker 2: zick leg and there he and his men dwelled for

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Speaker 2: a year and four months. David and his band of

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Speaker 2: soldiers integrated well with the Philistine people. Together they made

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Speaker 2: raids on the Ghizites and the Amalekites. David became renowned

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Speaker 2: among the Philistines. However, David would only raid against Israel's enemies.

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Speaker 2: When Aikish would ask who David raided, he would always

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Speaker 2: answer Judah or Negib to fool Akish into thinking they

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Speaker 2: no longer had ties to Israel. Therefore, Aikish trusted David

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Speaker 2: and believed him to be a true Philistine at heart.

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Speaker 3: Today's story begins with Saul once again pursuing David. His

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Speaker 3: attitude to treat David like a son has now been forgotten,

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Speaker 3: and he goes back to his old ways, probably because

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Speaker 3: he really never changed or repented at all. When Saul

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Speaker 3: repented or said he repented, he offered a tearful confession

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Speaker 3: to David, but he really truly did not turn back

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Speaker 3: to God. So whatever change seemed to happen was only temporary.

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Speaker 3: And here we find Saul listening to his own fears

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Speaker 3: and paranoia and to those around him, rather than listening

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Speaker 3: to God and obeying God. So Saul gathers three thousand

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Speaker 3: men to go into the desert to find David. But

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Speaker 3: as night fell and Saul in his camp lay fast asleep,

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Speaker 3: David went into the camp and approached a vulnerable king.

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Speaker 3: He was right there to be dealt with, and David's

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Speaker 3: nephew Abashi, was convinced that this was a clear sign

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Speaker 3: that God had given Saul over to David. It was

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Speaker 3: now time, he said to kill him, and in this

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Speaker 3: threat once and for all. From a human perspective, it

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Speaker 3: seems that David would have been more than justified. Saul

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Speaker 3: had gone back on his word many times, and there

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Speaker 3: was clear intention to harm David. But David wasn't looking

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Speaker 3: at the from a human perspective. He had determined in

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Speaker 3: his own heart that he would not kill Saul. So,

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Speaker 3: when Abishai asked David to allow him to strike Saul

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Speaker 3: with his spear and kill him with a single blow,

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Speaker 3: David refused. In First Samuel twenty six, verse nine, we

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Speaker 3: read his response, but David said to Abishai, do not

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Speaker 3: destroy him, for who can put out his hand against

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Speaker 3: the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? David had strong convictions

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Speaker 3: about this. He would trust God to deal with Saul

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Speaker 3: in his own time. Incredible faith, isn't it. He could

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Speaker 3: have taken the easy way out. He could have taken

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Speaker 3: Saul's life. He could have done what he wanted to do,

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Speaker 3: but rather he depended upon God to rescue him rather

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Speaker 3: than take personal revenge. David took Saul's jar of water

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Speaker 3: and his spear and left. The next morning, he made

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Speaker 3: his presence known to Abner, the man who should have

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Speaker 3: been protecting the king. He calls him out for failing

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Speaker 3: to protect Israel's king and shows that the spear and

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Speaker 3: water are missing, proving that he had been that close

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Speaker 3: to Saul and could have taken him out. Saw heard

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Speaker 3: David and recognized his voice. He called out to him,

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Speaker 3: treating him as a son. Clearly a strange choice for

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Speaker 3: a man who wanted to shed David's blood, and yet

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Speaker 3: David maintains his calm and composure and asks why Saul

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Speaker 3: is still out to kill him. Saul seems convicted again.

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Speaker 3: He admits his sin and tells David he'll not seek

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Speaker 3: to kill him anymore. David tells Saul that his decision

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Speaker 3: to spare his life was based on how much he

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Speaker 3: valued Saul's life and how much he valued God's purposes.

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Speaker 3: Saul blesses David and sends him on his way, but

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Speaker 3: the incident shook David, and then we see his faith

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Speaker 3: begin to waver. David goes again into Philistine territory, where

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Speaker 3: he's sure Saul won't go. David creates an alliance with

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Speaker 3: the King of Gath and is given some land to settle,

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Speaker 3: but David engages in deception, attacking enemy camps and leaving

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Speaker 3: no survivors, but always telling the King of Death that

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Speaker 3: he is killing Israelites, his own people. David should have

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Speaker 3: trusted God, but he chose his own way, and it's

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Speaker 3: a reminder that even those who are closest to God

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Speaker 3: chosen by him and are not immune to fear, failure

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Speaker 3: and faithlessness. Rather than criticize David for this, we must

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Speaker 3: remember that we too so often fall short. We have

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Speaker 3: doubts and act alone without the presence of God, and

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Speaker 3: it reminds us that we need always to trust God's

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Speaker 3: will in every circumstance of our lives and allow faith

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Speaker 3: to drive out fear. The next time, we'll discover that

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Speaker 3: there is a price to pay for David's deception and

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Speaker 3: that lies always catch up to us. Lord, Today we

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Speaker 3: pray that we will trust in You and overcome our

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Speaker 3: doubts and our fears by faith. Help us never to

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Speaker 3: get ahead of you or to disobey you, but to

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Speaker 3: always trust You with our very lives. Help us to

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Speaker 3: trust You and your perfect timing for every day in Jesus' name. Amen,

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Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.

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Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download Theprey dot com

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Speaker 3: app and make prayer and Bible study a priority in

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Speaker 3: your life. If you enjoy this podcast, share it with

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Speaker 3: someone you love or know. And by sharing this podcast,

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Speaker 3: we can get the word of God to the world.

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Speaker 3: And if you want more resources on how to tap

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Speaker 3: into God's power for Christian living, be sure to visit

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Speaker 3: Jack Graham dot org. God bless you,