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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 gript 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, Nabysha, I whispered to David. David

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Speaker 2: hovered 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? Abner? You could not even

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Speaker 2: watch over your king one night. Look at the spear

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Speaker 2: beside his bed. I could have killed him last night.

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Speaker 2: You are not fit to protect the king. Saul woke

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Speaker 2: up to the sound of David's voice, shouting from the hilltops.

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Speaker 2: He emerged from his tent and looked up. Saul squinted

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Speaker 2: to get a good look at David's shouting, is that you,

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Speaker 2: my son, David? David smiled, Yes, it is, my lord, King,

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Speaker 2: David shouted, Why do you pursue me still? What have

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Speaker 2: I done to you? If it is God who has

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Speaker 2: called you to kill me, then strike me down now.

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Speaker 2: But if it is your own voice, or the voice

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Speaker 2: of other men calling for you to kill me, then

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Speaker 2: cast them away. You hunt a single flea like one

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Speaker 2: hunts game in the wilderness. David's words bellowed for all

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Speaker 2: the men to hear. Saul, and the most sincere voice

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Speaker 2: he could muster shouted back at David, saying, you are blessed,

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Speaker 2: my son. You will surely do many things and succeed.

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Speaker 2: So Saul departed from his place and did not pursue

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Speaker 2: David further. David, still wary of Saul, left back to

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Speaker 2: his men and the wilderness. David did not trust the

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Speaker 2: words of Saul, and paranoia began to grip his heart

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Speaker 2: as well. David gathered his men together to find another

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Speaker 2: place to rest. David knew that Saul would not pursue

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Speaker 2: David if he left to the land of the Philistines.

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Speaker 2: So David and his six hundred men gathered their things

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Speaker 2: and settled in Gath with King Akish. David hid among enemies,

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Speaker 2: a foolish choice disguised as wisdom. David found favor with

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Speaker 2: Akish and the two of them became friends. Aikish gifted

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Speaker 2: David some land and zick leg and there he and

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Speaker 2: his men dwelled for a year and four months. David

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Speaker 2: and his band of soldiers integrated well with the Philistine people.

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Speaker 2: Together they made raids on the Ghizites and the Amalekites.

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Speaker 2: David became renowned among the Philistines. However, David would only

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Speaker 2: raid against Israel's enemies. When Akish would ask who David raided,

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Speaker 2: he would always answer Judah or Negeb to fool Akish

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Speaker 2: into thinking they no longer had ties to Israel. Therefore,

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Speaker 2: Aikish trusted David and believed him to be a true

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Speaker 2: 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 Abshi, 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 from a human perspective. He had determined in his

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Speaker 3: own heart that he would not kill Saul, so When

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Speaker 3: Abishi asked David to allow him to strike Saul with

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

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Speaker 3: In First Samuel twenty six, verse nine, we read his response,

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Speaker 3: but David said to Abishai, do not destroy him, For

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Speaker 3: who can put out his hand against the Lord's anointed

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Speaker 3: and be guiltless? David had strong convictions about this. He

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Speaker 3: would trust God to deal with Saul in his own time.

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Speaker 3: Incredible faith, is it it? He could have taken the

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Speaker 3: easy way out. He could have taken Saul's life. He

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Speaker 3: could have done what he wanted to do, but rather

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Speaker 3: he depended upon God to rescue him rather than take

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Speaker 3: personal revenge. David took Saul's jar of water and his

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

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Speaker 3: known to Abner, the man who should have been protecting

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Speaker 3: the king. He calls him out for failing to protect

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Speaker 3: Israel's king and shows that the spear and water are missing,

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Speaker 3: proving that he had been that close to Saul and

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Speaker 3: could have taken him out. Saw heard David and recognized

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Speaker 3: his voice. He called out to him, treating him as

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Speaker 3: a son. Clearly a strange choice for a man who

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Speaker 3: wanted to shed David's blood, and yet David maintains his

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Speaker 3: calm and composure and asks why Saul is still out

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Speaker 3: to kill him. Saul seems convicted again. He admits his

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Speaker 3: sin and tells David he'll not seek to kill him anymore.

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Speaker 3: David tells Saul that his decision to spare his life

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Speaker 3: was based on how much he valued Saul's life and

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

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Speaker 3: sends him on his way, but the incident shook David,

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Speaker 3: and then we see his faith begin to waver. David

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Speaker 3: goes again into Philistine territory, where he's sure Saul won't go.

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Speaker 3: David creates an alliance with the King of Gath and

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Speaker 3: is given some land to settle, But David engages in deception,

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Speaker 3: attacking enemy camps and leaving no survivors, but always telling

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Speaker 3: the King of Death that he is killing Israelites, his

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Speaker 3: own people. David should have trusted God, but he chose

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Speaker 3: his own way, and it's a reminder that even those

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Speaker 3: who are closest to God chosen by him and are

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Speaker 3: not immune to fear, failure, and faithlessness. Rather than criticize David.

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Speaker 3: For this, we must remember that we too so often

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Speaker 3: fall short. We have doubts and act alone without the

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Speaker 3: presence of God, and it reminds us that we need

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Speaker 3: always to trust God's will in every circumstance of our

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Speaker 3: lives and allow faith to drive out fear. The next time,

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Speaker 3: we'll discover that there is a price to pay for

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Speaker 3: David's deception and that lies always catch up to us. Lord,

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Speaker 3: Today we pray that we will trust in You and

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Speaker 3: overcome our doubts and our fears by faith. Help us

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Speaker 3: never to get ahead of you or to disobey you,

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

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Speaker 3: us to trust You and your perfect timing for every

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Speaker 3: day in Jesus' name. Amen, thank you for listening to

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Speaker 3: today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.

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Speaker 3: Download Theprey dot com app and make prayer and Bible

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Speaker 3: study a priority in your life. If you enjoy this podcast,

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Speaker 3: sharing this podcast, we can get the word of God.

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Speaker 1: 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,