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Take a breath, find your place, and read deeply. Discover the joy of reading God’s word with the Immerse New Living Translation (NLT) Bible.
This daily Bible podcast will take you through the Bible in a year following the Immerse Bible Reading Experience. So grab your family and small group and go through the Bible in a year together with Immerse. Each of the 6 volumes is available online or at your favorite Christian bookstore.
Ethan: Welcome to Immerse: the
daily bible reading experience.
Day 100 and 89
saul was 30 years old when he became
king, and he reigned for 42 years.
Saul selected 3000 special troops
from the army of Israel and
sent the rest of the men home.
He took 2000 of the chosen men with him to
Mik Mash and the Hill Country of Bethel.
The other 1, 000 went with
Saul's son Jonathan to Gibeah
in the land of Benjamin.
Soon after this, Jonathan
attacked and defeated the
garrison of Philistines at Geba.
The news spread quickly
among the Philistines.
So Saul blew the ram's horn
throughout the land, saying, Hebrews,
hear this, rise up in revolt.
All Israel heard the news that Saul
had destroyed the Philistine garrison
at Geba, and that the Philistines now
hated the Israelites more than ever.
So the entire Israelite army was
summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.
The Philistines mustered a
mighty army of 3, 000 chariots.
6, 000 charioteers, and as many warriors
as the grains of sand on the seashore.
They camped at Michmash,
east of Beth Avon.
The men of Israel saw what a tight
spot they were in, and because
they were hard pressed by the
enemy, they tried to hide in caves.
rocks, holes, and cisterns.
Some of them crossed the Jordan river and
escaped into the land of Gad and Gilead.
Meanwhile, Saul stayed at Gilgal and
his men were trembling with fear.
Saul waited there seven days for
Samuel as Samuel had instructed him
earlier, but Samuel still didn't come.
Saul realized that his troops
were rapidly slipping away.
So he demanded, bring me the burnt
offering and the peace offerings.
And Saul sacrificed the
burnt offering himself.
Just as Saul was finishing with
the burnt offering, Samuel arrived.
Saul went out to meet and welcome him, but
Samuel said, What is this you have done?
Saul replied, I saw my
men scattering from me.
And you didn't arrive when you
said you would, and the Philistines
are at Mikmash ready for battle.
So I said, the Philistines are ready
to march against us at Gilgal, and I
haven't even asked for the Lord's help.
So I felt compelled to offer the
burnt offering myself before you came.
How foolish!
Samuel exclaimed.
You have not kept the command
the Lord your God gave you.
Had you kept it, the Lord
would have established your
kingdom over Israel forever.
But now your kingdom must end,
for the Lord has sought out
a man after his own heart.
The Lord has already appointed him to
be the leader of his people, because
you have not kept the Lord's command.
Samuel then left Gilgal and went on
his way, but the rest of the troops
went with Saul to meet the army.
They went up from Gilgal to
Gibeah in the land of Benjamin.
When Saul counted the men who
were still with him, he found
only six hundred were left.
Saul and Jonathan and the
troops with them were staying
at Geba in the land of Benjamin.
The Philistines set up
their camp at Michmash.
Three raiding parties soon left
the camp of the Philistines.
One went north towards
Aphra in the land of Shul.
Another went west to Beth Horon.
And the third moved toward
the border above the valley
of Zeboim near the wilderness.
There were no blacksmiths in the
land of Israel in those days.
The Philistines wouldn't allow
them for fear they would make
swords and spears for the Hebrews.
So whenever the Israelites needed
to sharpen their plowshares, picks,
axes, or sickles, they had to take
them to a Philistine blacksmith.
The charges were as follows, a quarter
of an ounce of silver for sharpening
a plowshare or a pick, and an eighth
of an ounce for sharpening an axe
or making the point of an ox goad.
So on the day of the battle, none of
the people of Israel had a sword or
spear, except for Saul and Jonathan.
The pass at Michmash had
meanwhile been secured by a
contingent of the Philistine army.
One day Jonathan said to his armor
bearer, Come on, let's go over to where
the Philistines have their outpost.
But Jonathan did not tell
his father what he was doing.
Meanwhile, Saul and his 600 men were
camped on the outskirts of Gibeah,
around the pomegranate tree at Migron.
Among Saul's men was Ahijah,
the priest, who was wearing
the ephod, the priestly vest.
Ahijah was the son of Ichabod's
brother Ahitub, son of Phinehas,
son of Eli, the priest of the
Lord who had served at Shiloh.
No one realized that Jonathan
had left the Israelite camp.
To reach the Philistine outpost,
Jonathan had to go down between two rocky
cliffs that were called Bozes and Sina.
The cliff on the north was in
front of Michmash, and the one on
the south was in front of Geba.
Let's go across to the
outpost of those pagans.
Jonathan said to his armor bearer,
Perhaps the Lord will help us,
for nothing can hinder the Lord.
He can win a battle whether he
has many warriors or only a few.
Do what you think is best,
the armor bearer replied.
I'm with you completely,
whatever you decide.
All right then, Jonathan told him.
We will cross over and let them see us.
If they say to us, stay where you
are or we'll kill you, then we
will stop and not go up to them.
But if they say, come on up
and fight, then we will go up.
That will be the Lord's sign
that He will help us defeat them.
When the Philistines saw them coming,
they shouted, Look, the Hebrews
are crawling out of their holes.
Then the men from the outpost
shouted to Jonathan, Come on up
here, and we'll teach you a lesson.
Come on, climb right behind me,
Jonathan said to his armor bearer,
for the Lord will help us defeat them.
So they climbed up using both hands
and feet, and the Philistines fell
before Jonathan, and his armor bearer
killed those who came behind them.
They killed some twenty men
in all, and their bodies were
scattered over about half an acre.
Suddenly, panic broke out
in the Philistine army.
Both in the camp and in the
field, including even the
outposts and raiding parties.
And just then an earthquake
struck, and everyone was terrified.
Saul's lookouts in Gibeah of
Benjamin saw a strange sight.
The vast army of Philistines began
to melt away in every direction.
Call the roll and find out who's missing.
Saul ordered.
And when they checked, they found that
Jonathan and his armor bearer were gone.
Then Saul shouted to Ahijah,
Bring the ephod here!
For at that time Ahijah was wearing
the ephod in front of the Israelites.
But while Saul was talking to
the priest, the confusion in the
Philistine camp grew louder and louder.
So Saul said to the priest,
Never mind, let's get going.
Then Saul and all his men rushed
out to the battle and found the
Philistines killing each other.
There was terrible confusion everywhere.
Even the Hebrews who had previously
gone over to the Philistine army
revolted and joined in with Saul.
Jonathan and the rest of the Israelites.
Likewise, the men of Israel who
were hiding in the hill country of
Ephraim, joined the chase when they
saw the Philistines running away.
So the Lord saved Israel that
day, and the battle continued
to rage even beyond Beth Aven.
Now, the men of Israel were
pressed to exhaustion that day.
Because Saul had placed them under
an oath, saying, Let a curse fall on
anyone who eats before evening, before
I have full revenge on my enemies.
So no one ate anything all day,
even though they had all found
honeycomb on the ground in the forest.
They didn't dare touch the honey because
they all feared the oath they had taken.
But Jonathan had not heard his
father's command, and he dipped
the end of his stick into a piece
of honeycomb and ate the honey.
After he had eaten it, he felt refreshed.
But one of the men saw him and
said, Your father made the army
take a strict oath that anyone who
eats food today will be cursed.
That is why everyone is weary and faint.
My father has made trouble for
us all, Jonathan exclaimed.
A command like that only hurts us.
See how refreshed I am now that I
have eaten this little bit of honey?
If the men had been allowed to eat
freely from the food they found among
our enemies, think how many more
Philistines we could have killed.
They chased and killed the Philistines
all day from Michmash to Ajalon,
growing more and more faint.
That evening they rushed for the
battle plunder and butchered the sheep,
goats, cattle, and calves, but they
ate them without draining the blood.
Someone reported to Saul, Look, the
men are sitting against the Lord by
eating meat that still has blood in it.
That is very wrong, Saul said.
Find a large stone and roll it over here.
Then go out among the troops
and tell them, Bring the cattle,
sheep, and goats here to me.
Kill them here and drain the
blood before you eat them.
Do not sin against the Lord by eating
meat with the blood still in it.
So that night, all the troops brought
their animals and slaughtered them there.
Then Saul built an altar to the Lord.
It was the first of the
altars he built to the Lord.
Then Saul said, Let's chase
the Philistines all night and
plunder them until sunrise.
Let's destroy every last one of them.
His men replied, We'll do
whatever you think is best.
But the priest said, Let's ask God first.
So Saul asked God, Should
we go after the Philistines?
Will you help us defeat them?
But God made no reply that day.
Then Saul said to the
leaders, Something's wrong.
I want all my army
commanders to come here.
We must find out what
sin was committed today.
I vow by the name of the Lord who rescued
Israel that the sinner will surely die,
even if it is my own son, Jonathan.
But no one would tell
him what the trouble was.
Then Saul said, Jonathan and
I will stand over here, and
all of you stand over there.
And the people responded to
Saul, Whatever you think is best.
Then Saul prayed, O Lord, God
of Israel, please show us who
is guilty and who is innocent.
Then they cast sacred lots, and Jonathan
and Saul were chosen as the guilty ones.
And the people were declared innocent.
Then Saul said, Now cast lots again
and choose between me and Jonathan.
And Jonathan was shown
to be the guilty one.
Tell me what you've done,
Saul demanded of Jonathan.
I tasted a little honey,
Jonathan admitted.
It was only a little bit
on the end of my stick.
Does that deserve death?
Yes, Jonathan, Saul said.
You must die.
May God strike me and even kill
me if you do not die for this.
But the people broke in and
said to Saul, Jonathan has won
this great victory for Israel.
Should he die?
Far from it.
As surely as the Lord lives, not one
hair on his head will be touched, for
God helped him do a great deed today.
So the people rescued Jonathan,
and he was not put to death.
Then Saul called back the army
from chasing the Philistines, and
the Philistines returned home.
Now when Saul had secured his grasp
on Israel's throne, he fought against
his enemies in every direction.
Against Moab, Ammon.
Edom, the kings of Zobah,
and the Philistines.
And wherever he turned, he was victorious.
He performed great deeds and conquered
the Amalekites, saving Israel from
all those who had plundered them.
Saul's sons included Jonathan,
Ish bosheth, and Malkishua.
He also had two daughters, Merab,
who was older, and Michael.
Saul's wife was Ahinoam,
the daughter of Ahimeaz.
The commander of Saul's army was Adner.
The son of Saul's uncle, Ner, Saul's
father, Kish, and Abner's father,
Ner, were both sons of Abiel.
The Israelites fought constantly with the
Philistines throughout Saul's lifetime.
So whenever Saul observed a young
man who was brave and strong,
he drafted him into his army.