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Speaker 1: So David and Abisheye came to the people by night,

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Speaker 1: and behold Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his

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

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Speaker 1: and the people lay round about him first Samuel twenty

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Speaker 1: six seven. Lord, As the new day dawns and I

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Speaker 1: meditate on today's reading, I will stay mindful of the

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Speaker 1: fact that not all opportunities are God opportunities. When a

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Speaker 1: chance arises to exact revenge or get ahead, give me

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Speaker 1: the restraint and wisdom of David to withhold from moving

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Speaker 1: forward with my plans. Instead, strengthen my heart and remind me,

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Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, that when God desires to open my door

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Speaker 1: to success, nothing and no one can stop me. I

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Speaker 1: will not give in to paranoia and fear, because it

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

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

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

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Speaker 1: that are unequally yoked with mine newness and transformation will

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

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Speaker 1: to fulfill Your purpose for my life. Then I will

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

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

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Speaker 1: 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 David on

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Speaker 1: the Run. In our last story, we learned about Samuel's

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Speaker 1: death and David's marriage to Abigail. David's community of outcasts

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Speaker 1: and vagabonds continued to grow and thrive under his leadership.

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Speaker 1: Now we learn of Saul's troubled mind, resurfacing the jealousy

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Speaker 1: that once gripped his heart and actions, begins to creep

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Speaker 1: back into his interactions with David, so David is forced

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Speaker 1: into hiding once again. What follows is a story of

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Speaker 1: David's victory over temptation to sin and David's failure over

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Speaker 1: loyalty to Israel, as inspired by the Book of First Samuel.

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Speaker 1: This is Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year podcast. In yesterday's episode, we heard how

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Speaker 1: God sent Abigail to intercept David, who had planned to

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Speaker 1: kill her husband Nabal for this man's disrespect and disregard

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Speaker 1: for the will of God. God was protecting David from

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Speaker 1: spilling blood in a moment of rage, and David, because

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Speaker 1: he was a man after God's own heart, was sensitive

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Speaker 1: to the leading of the Lord, choosing to spare Nabal's life. Abigail,

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Speaker 1: now a widow, was comforted by David and the two

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Speaker 1: were married, and this was the union that God blessed. Today,

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Speaker 1: we'll find David on the run once again. Though Saul

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Speaker 1: had temporarily relented from pursuing David, he is back at

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Speaker 1: it with jealousy and rage once again. Our reading today

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Speaker 1: will show us two sides of a very human David,

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Speaker 1: one who resist temptation and trust God's timing, and another

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Speaker 1: who gives in to doubts and ventures into dangerous territory.

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Speaker 1: So let's listen to God's word today. Hatred is a poison. Saul,

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Speaker 1: who had a moment of vulnerability and forgiveness towards David,

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Speaker 1: was once again falling victim to Hatred's grip on his heart.

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Speaker 1: Saul's repentance towards David was deep, raw and emotional. However,

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Speaker 1: it did not last long. Saul once again mustered three

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Speaker 1: thousand men to march against David. They camped outside the

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Speaker 1: wilderness where David and his men were. In the morning,

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Speaker 1: they planned to rise up and ambush David. Saul was

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Speaker 1: in his tent, eagerly awaiting the chance to put an

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Speaker 1: end to David forever. As the night grew later, Saul

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Speaker 1: and the rest of his soldiers fell asleep. Shadows could

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Speaker 1: be seen gliding across the tent walls near Saul's tent.

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Speaker 1: Light footsteps could be heard entering his tent. There, with

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Speaker 1: his face hidden by the darkness, stood David. He and

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Speaker 1: his men watched Saul's sleep. The tip of David's spear

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Speaker 1: was pressed into the ground beside Saul's temple. God has

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Speaker 1: given you your enemy, abash I, whispered to David. David

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Speaker 1: hovered silently over Saul. Saul had gone back on his word.

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Speaker 1: He had repented with tears and embraced him as a

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Speaker 1: son who would hold the murder of Saul against him.

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Speaker 1: The citizens of Israel would welcome him, the soldiers would

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Speaker 1: follow him, His wife would still love him. There would

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Speaker 1: be seemingly nothing to lose and everything to gain from

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Speaker 1: killing Saul. David stood there, shaking with his spear beside

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Speaker 1: Saul's head. No, David whispered, he is Gods to strike,

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Speaker 1: not mine. I should not lay a hand on God's

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Speaker 1: anointed Sir. David put his spear in the jug of

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Speaker 1: water beside Saul's bed, and David and his men left

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Speaker 1: without waking anybody in camp. David sat far off at

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Speaker 1: the top of the hill, overlooking Saul's camp. The sun

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Speaker 1: began to rise and paint the camp a bright orange.

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Speaker 1: David watched as the men arose from their tents and

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Speaker 1: began to prepare for battle. Abner, Saul's general, began to

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Speaker 1: walk among his men. David stood and took a deep breath.

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Speaker 1: He cupped his hands around as mouth and shouted down

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Speaker 1: to Abner, saying, Abner. Abner raised his head to see

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Speaker 1: David standing on the hill above them. All the men

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Speaker 1: stood at attention and watched David as he shouted. Are

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Speaker 1: you truly a worthy man? Abner? You could not even

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Speaker 1: watch over your king one night. Look at the spear

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Speaker 1: beside his bed. I could have killed him last night.

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Speaker 1: You are not fit to protect the king. Saul woke

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Speaker 1: up to the sound of David's voice shouting from the hilltops.

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Speaker 1: He emerged from his tent and looked up. Saul squinted

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Speaker 1: to get a good look at David's, shouting, is that you,

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Speaker 1: my son, David? David smiled, Yes, it is, my lord,

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Speaker 1: King David shouted, Why do you pursue me still? What

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Speaker 1: have I done to you? If it is God who

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Speaker 1: has called you to kill me, then strike me down now.

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Speaker 1: But if it is your own voice, or the voice

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Speaker 1: of other men calling for you to kill me, then

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Speaker 1: cast them away. You hunt a single flee like one

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Speaker 1: hun's game in the wilderness. David's words bellowed for all

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Speaker 1: the men to hear. Saul, and the most sincere voice

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Speaker 1: he could muster shouted back at David's saying, you are blessed,

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Speaker 1: my son. You will surely do many things and succeed.

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Speaker 1: So Saul departed from his place and did not pursue

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Speaker 1: David further. David, still wary of Saul, left back to

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Speaker 1: his men and the wilderness. David did not trust the

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Speaker 1: words of Saul, and paranoia began to grip his heart

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Speaker 1: as well. David gathered his men together to find another

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Speaker 1: place to rest. David knew that Saul would not pursue

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Speaker 1: David if he left to the land of the Philistines.

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Speaker 1: So David and his six hundred men gathered their things

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Speaker 1: and settled in Gath with King Akish. David hid among enemies,

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Speaker 1: a foolish choice disguised as wisdom. David found favor with

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Speaker 1: Akish and the two of them became friends. Akish gifted

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Speaker 1: David's some land and zich leg, and there he and

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Speaker 1: his men dwelled for a year. In four months, David

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Speaker 1: and his band of soldiers integrated well with the Philistine people.

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Speaker 1: Together they made raids on the Gizzites and the Amalekites.

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Speaker 1: David became renown among the Philistines. However, David would only

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Speaker 1: raid against Israel's enemies. When Akish would ask who David raided,

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Speaker 1: he would always answer Judah a Negib to fool Akish

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Speaker 1: into thinking they no longer had ties to Israel. Therefore,

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Speaker 1: Akish trusted David and believed him to be a true

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Speaker 1: Philistine at heart. Today's story begins with Saul once again

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Speaker 1: pursuing David. His attitude to treat David like a son

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Speaker 1: has now been forgotten, and he goes back to his

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Speaker 1: old ways, probably because he really never changed or repented

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Speaker 1: at all. When Saul repented or said he repented. He

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Speaker 1: offered a tearful confession and to David, but he really

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Speaker 1: truly did not turn back to God. So whatever chain

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Speaker 1: seemed to happen was only temporary. And here we find

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Speaker 1: Saul listening to his own fears and paranoia and to

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Speaker 1: those around him, rather than listening to God and obeying God.

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Speaker 1: So Saul gathers three thousand men to go into the

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Speaker 1: desert to find David. But as night fell and Saul

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Speaker 1: and his camp lay fast asleep, David went into the

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Speaker 1: camp and approached a vulnerable king. He was right there

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Speaker 1: to be dealt with, and David's nephew Abashai, was convinced

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Speaker 1: that this was a clear sign that God had given

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Speaker 1: Saul over to David. It was now time, he said

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Speaker 1: to kill him, and in this threat once and for all.

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Speaker 1: From a human perspective, it seems that David would have

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Speaker 1: been more than justified. Saul had gone back on his

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Speaker 1: word many times, and there was clear intention to harm David.

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Speaker 1: But David wasn't looking at this from a human perspective.

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Speaker 1: He had determined in his own heart that he would

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Speaker 1: not kill Saul. So when Abishai asked David to allow

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Speaker 1: him to strike Saul with his spear and kill him

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Speaker 1: with a single blow. David refused. In First Samuel twenty six,

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Speaker 1: verse nine, we read his response, but David said to Abishai,

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Speaker 1: do not destroy him, for who can put out his

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Speaker 1: hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? David had

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Speaker 1: strong convictions about this. He would trust God to deal

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Speaker 1: with Saul in his own time. Incredible faith, isn't it.

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Speaker 1: He could have taken the easy way out. He could

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Speaker 1: have taken Saul's life. He could have done what he

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Speaker 1: wanted to do, but rather he depended upon God to

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Speaker 1: rescue him rather than take personal revenge. David took Saul's

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Speaker 1: jar of water and his spear and left. The next morning,

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Speaker 1: he made his presence known to Abner, the man who

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Speaker 1: should have been protecting the king. He calls him out

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Speaker 1: for failing to protect Israel's king and shows him that

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Speaker 1: the spear and water are missing, that he had been

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Speaker 1: that close to Saul and could have taken him out.

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Speaker 1: Saul heard David and recognized his voice. He called out

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Speaker 1: to him, treating him as a son. Clearly a strange

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Speaker 1: choice for a man who wanted to shed David's blood,

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Speaker 1: and yet David maintains his calm and composure and ask

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Speaker 1: why Saul is still out to kill him. Saul seems

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Speaker 1: convicted again. He admits his sin and tells David he'll

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Speaker 1: not seek to kill him anymore. David tells Saul that

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Speaker 1: his decision to spare his life was based on how

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Speaker 1: much he valued Saul's life and how much he valued

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Speaker 1: God's purposes. Saul blesses David and sends him on his way,

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Speaker 1: but the incident shook David, and then we see his

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Speaker 1: faith begin to waver. David goes again into Felstine territory,

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Speaker 1: where he's sure Saul won't go. David creates an alliance

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Speaker 1: with the King of Gath and is given some land

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Speaker 1: to settle. But David engages into sept and, attacking enemy

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Speaker 1: camps and leaving no survivors, but always telling the King

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Speaker 1: of Gath and he is killing Israelites, his own people.

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Speaker 1: David should have trusted God, but he chose his own way,

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Speaker 1: and it's a reminder that even those who are closest

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Speaker 1: to God chosen by him and are not immune to fear,

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Speaker 1: failure and faithlessness. Rather than criticize David for this, we

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Speaker 1: must remember that we two so often fall short. We

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Speaker 1: have doubts and act alone without the presence of God,

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Speaker 1: and it reminds us that we need always to trust

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Speaker 1: God's will in every circumstance of our lives and allow

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Speaker 1: faith to drive out fear. The next time, we'll discover

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Speaker 1: that there is a price to pay for David's deception

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Speaker 1: and that lies always catch up to us. Lord, Today

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Speaker 1: we pray that we will trust in You and overcome

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Speaker 1: our doubts and our fears by faith. Lord, help us

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Speaker 1: never to get ahead of you or to disobey you,

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Speaker 1: but to always trust You with our very lives. Help

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Speaker 1: us to trust You and your perfect timing for every

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Speaker 1: day in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for listening to

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Speaker 1: today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.

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Speaker 1: Download the Prey dot com app and make prayer and

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Speaker 1: Bible study a priority in your life. If you enjoyed

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Speaker 1: this podcast, share it with someone you love or know.

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Speaker 1: And by sharing this podcast, we can get the word

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Speaker 1: of God to the world. And if you want more

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Speaker 1: resources on how to tap into God's power for Christian living,

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Speaker 1: be sure to visit Jack Graham dot org. God bless you.

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Speaker 1: This episode is sponsored by Mediciae, an innovative healthcare solution

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Speaker 1: for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality