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.