The Festival of Purim (Esther 8-10)

  So Haman was hanged that day. The Jews didn't have to worry about his evil schemes any more, but even though Haman was gone, his law was still in effect. The king gave all of Haman's property to queen Esther, and she in turn put her cousin Mordecai the Jew in charge of it. Then Esther brought Mordecai to the palace and introduced him as her cousin, and she once again addressed the king. "If my lord is pleased with me, please reverse the decree that Haman instated, that all Jews would be killed on March 7th."

"I wish I could my dear Esther," the king responded. "But you see, I gave Haman my signet ring and he stamped the decree with it. No one.... not even I can reverse the law." He looked at queen Esther and Mordecai for a while, then he said. "Haman is dead because he wanted to annihilate the Jews. Now go ahead and send a message to the Jews in the king's name, telling them whatever you want, and seal it with the king's ring.  Remember, whatever is written in the king's name and sealed with this signet ring, cannot be revoked."

  On June 25th, Mordecai summoned the king's secretaries and had them write down the new decree that was to be instated. He had the decree translated into the language of the different territories. He then sealed the decree with the king's signet ring and sent if off swiftly on horseback tall all 127 provinces of the kingdom.
  Mordecai was smart. He wasn't able to stop Haman's law into going into affect. But he was able to instate an new law that said.... On March 7th of next year, all Jews can band together and fight or kill in order to protect their families. Mordecai knew that a lot of people in the kingdom would not risk their lives against a group of Jews.And he was right. On March 7th of the next year, the Jews banded together in large numbers to protect themselves and their families. Well not very people dared to attack the Jews. Even the governors, princes and royal officials sided with the Jews, because they all feared how powerful Mordecai the Jew had become.
  There were a few violent outbreaks for the next two day.s The Jews ended up killing a couple hundred people, including Haman's sons. Finally when the decree time had passed, the Jews rested and celebrated., with a festival and gift giving.

  Mordecai knew that this was an important 2 day event for the Jews. He sent out a decree that these two days should be celebrated every year with large festival and gift giving to each other and to the poor. This would commemorate a time in Jewish history when they gained relief from their enemies, when their sorrow was turned to gladness and their mourning into joy.
  They needed a name for this new holiday. Mordecai thought for a while, then he remembered how Haman had decided on which day to have the Jews killed. Haman cast lots. The lots were called purim. (It was sort of like rolling the dice in biblical times) So, in agreement with Queen Esther, the two day feast was called the Festival of Purim (named after the lots).

 The Jews agreed to celebrate the Festival of Purim every year. They would tell their children to continue the festival, and to tell their children to continue and so on. And now, the Festival of Purim is still celebrated till this day.
  King Xerxes promoted Mordecai to prime minister. He was second in authority to only the king himself. Mordecai was revered throughout the kingdom as a man who not only looked out for his people, the Jews, but also as a friend to all the people in the kingdom.

  The book of Ester is an amazing true story. Even though God was never mentioned in the entire story, He was at work all along. Sometimes we feel like God is not present.... but He definitely is. He has a plan and sometimes things get worse before they get better. But even when it is worse, He is right beside you.

Next time we will begin the fascinating Book of Job.

The Book of Esther (1-2) Vashti Banished

  Wasn't Nehemiah a great story? And it is all true....it really happened all those years ago. Now we are going to go back in time a little bit to  about 40 years before Nehemiah rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem. The Bible is not in chronological order. Which means it isn't in order of how things happened. The book of Ester is set in Persia after Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon were overthrown by the Persian Empire. The story of Esther is set about 30 years after the temple in Jerusalem was built and Ezra was the prophet of the time. At this time most of the Jews are still scattered throughout Persia.

   Now there was a king of Persia named Xerxes. Here ruled over all 127 provinces, from India down to Ethiopia. He had been king for 3 years when he decided to throw a huge party for all the princes and military officials. The party lasted 6 months! Then just when you think the party was over, the king throws a 7 day party for his palace servants and immediate officials. In the meantime, Queen Vashti was throwing her own party for the women of the kingdom.
  On the seventh day of the party, after the king had a little too much to drink, he started bragging about what a beautiful wife he had. Then he sent some of his servants to go bring the queen to him so he could show off her beauty in front of all the other men. When the message was conveyed to Queen Vashti that the king wanted her to parade around in front of a bunch of men who had been drinking for seven days, she refused. Disobeying the king was unheard of at the time. A queen would never refuse the request of the king!
  As soon as King Xerxes heard about Queen Vashti's response, he became infuriated and called his consultants together and asked their advice, because they were experts in Persian laws and customs.
 "What must be done with Queen Vashti?" The king asked. "What does the law say about a penalty for a queen who disobeys her king?"

  One of the king's consultants whose name was Memucan answered. "Queen Vashti has not only wronged the king, but she has also wronged all the princes and the male subjects in the kingdom." He continued. "The queen's behavior will become known to all the women in the kingdom, and before you know it, they will begin disrespecting their husbands which will lead to disorder and chaos in your kingdom."
  One of the other consultants spoke up. "If it please the king, let Queen Vashti be banished from the kingdom and never come before the king again! ... And let her position be given to another who is more worthy! Also send out a decree that all wives must honor their husbands because he is the master of the household."
  King Xerxes agreed and the queen was banished from the kingdom, never to be heard from again. Soon the king began to regret what he had done. If he had not acted so prideful, he would have not requested that the queen come before him and all the men then she would not have had to refuse. He was sad because he missed her.

 The Bible says that pride leads to destruction. (Prov 16:18) and patience is better than pride. (Eccles 7:8) God does not like pride. Pride hurts us and God doesn't want that. If we humble ourselves, God will lift us up. (James 4:10) The next time you feel like showing off or bragging about yourself... remember that it may make you feel like a big shot at the time, but eventually regret will set in, just like it did for King Xerxes.


  Some of his advisors saw that the king was down in the dumps over the whole situation and one spoke up. "May your servants travel to each of the 127 provinces of Persia and bring back to most beautiful virgins. We will hold a Miss Persia contest and whom ever you choose, will be the next queen of Persia!" The king liked the idea and the servants were dispatched to find the most beautiful virgins in all the land.

  Next time we will get an inside look at the Miss Persia contest.

Against All Opposition, The Wall Is Completed (Nehemiah 4-13)

As soon as I, Nehemiah, had assigned each person or family a section of the wall, they immediately began construction.  And as soon as Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem saw that the people were beginning to build, they became furious. "We have already tried to discourage them." Geshem said.
"Yes, Nehemiah prayed and talked to the people and they were not discouraged." Tobiah added.
"We need to get others on our side." Sanballat said as he pounded his fist on the table.
  So the three men went to a section of the wall that we were building. I could see they were up to no good as they stood among a crowd of onlookers and began to make fun of us, hoping the others would join them. Tobiah pointed and shouted, "That wall is so weak that if a fox tried to walk along the top of it, the wall would crumble to the ground!" I prayed that my people would ignore the comments and that the crowd would not go along with Tobiah. And so we continued to build the wall.
 After a few weeks, the wall was about half complete. Saballat, Tobiah and Geshem were fuming! They sent messengers to the wall and handed me a letter. Here is what it said. "We have the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites on our side. If you do not cease in your attempt to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, we will attack." I prayed to the God of heaven that the threats were only just threats and that God would give me wisdom. So I stationed half the men as guards with shields and swords along the wall and armed the men that were working  on the wall with swords as well.

 The three evil men saw that we were not deterred. Progress on the wall continued and the they devised another plan. Again they sent messengers and handed me a letter. Here is what that letter said. "It has come to our attention that you are building the wall in order to rebel against your king in Persia and then name yourself as king over Jerusalem. If you do not stop construction of the wall immediately, we will inform the king of Persia of your plan and he will have you arrested and the people charged with treason." I sent a message back saying it was all lies and then I prayed for strength. Then we continued to build.
 We finally had the wall up, but still had not put up the gates and doors, which were important to secure the city. Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem knew they had one last chance. They managed to bribe a man I knew named Shemaiah to try to trick me into meeting him inside the temple. I prayed, and God revealed to me that Shemaiah was working for Tobiah and Sanballat in order to discredit me. We continued to work on the wall. We hung the gates and doors. The wall was complete. And in only 52 days! The neighboring countries became fearful because they knew it was impossible to complete a project that would normally take a few years in only 52 days, and that God must be on our side. They were right!

  I called the prophet Ezra to read the law of God in front of the wall. Then the Levites reminded the people about how God was with us. Not only in the building of the wall, but throughout our history. From Abraham to Moses to the promised land until now, God has been with us the whole way. The people began to weep and confessed their sins. Then they made a vow to love God with their whole body, soul strength and mind, and to obey Him. Then we dedicated the wall to the God of heaven and rejoiced with songs, music, dancing, praying, worshiping and praising our God.
  I became governor of Jerusalem for 12 years the finally returned to king Antaxerxes. He was very happy to see me. I shared stories with him about how God has inspired, protected and been with us. I don't know if he realized that I would be gone for 12 years when I first left, but he received me back with open arms and he let me return to Jerusalem for a visit whenever I wanted. On one return visit, I found out that Eliashib the priest had emptied out one of the temple rooms and rented it to Tobiah for some of his personal belongings. As soon as I found out. I threw all of Tobiah's things out of the temple and replaced Eliashib with a Levite, a scribe and a priest, I knew all three men and trusted them. I also found out that some of the people and merchants were not honoring the Sabbath day. Before I returned to Persia, I prayed and then implemented some new rules.
  During the building of the wall, something that God inspired Nehemiah to do, there was so much opposition. There was an attempt to discourage the workers and they were made fun of, threatened, lied to and tricked. Notice what Nehemiah did each time. He prayed, then he planned and then he pushed forward. We should remember these three Ps when we are doing things for God and opposition arises (and it will). Pray, Plan, Push forward. God is on our side when we are called according to His purpose. He will guide you, protect you and give you wisdom.

Nehemiah Goes Back to Rebuild the Wall (Nehemiah 2-3)

  Last time Nehemiah was before the king of Persia, asking for permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall around the city. It was a request that could have landed him in the dungeon or put to death. Let's return to the story and let Nehemiah continue to tell you in his own words.

  As I stood nervously before Antaxerxes, the king of Persia, he turned to his wife the queen, then back to me and said, "Yes, Nehemiah, you can go back to the land where your ancestors are buried and rebuild the wall."
  I had found favor in the eyes of God, and thus in the king's eyes as well. So I continued my request. "If it pleases the king, I will be traveling through many territories on my way to Jerusalem, can you write letters to the governors of those territories giving me safe travel through their lands? And also can I have permission to bring along the lumber I will need from the royal forest?" The king granted me these things, for God had touched his heart. The king also sent along some of his army and horsemen to protect me along the way! Isn't that just like God to urge the king to give me far more than I had asked or even hoped for? (Ephesians 3:20)
  So I set out on the 800 mile journey from Persia to Jerusalem. No one knew my purpose, for I had not mentioned it to anyone except the king. However, three men, Sanballat from Horon, Tobiah from Ammon, and Geshem the Arab heard that I was on my way to help the Jews with something and they were not very happy.
 Three days after arriving in Jerusalem, (I still had not mentioned to anyone, not even the city council why I was there) I  took a couple men with me and slipped out one night after dark to survey the area around the city where the wall once stood.  The rubble was so treacherous in some places that even the donkey that I was riding was unable to navigate it and I had to go around those areas.
  As I lay in bed that night, praying for wisdom (James 1:5) and contemplating the task before me, I worked out a wall reconstruction plan in my head. So by the time morning had arrived, I called all the city councilmen to a meeting. I told them about how God had put it in my heart to build the wall, how God had touched the heart of the king, and the plan God had given me to build the wall.

  When God has something for you to do, He won't leave you hanging. He will be with you every step of the way. Continue to pray, ask for guidance and wisdom. God promises to  be your guiding light (Psalm 119:105) and to give you the wisdom to carry out His will.

  The councilmen replied all at once. "Good! Let's rebuild this wall!"  They were excited to begin and so was I, so we started to rebuild immediately. It wasn't long before Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem heard what we were doing. The scoffed and hurled insults and tried to discourage us, but I told them that God was with us and the wall would be rebuilt. Of course they didn't like my response, but it was the truth.
  Being in charge of the rebuild, I designated the men to work on different sections of the wall, and I had each family rebuild the part of the wall that was behind their own home. I knew this would save time and the men would make sure that the wall was built well near their homes. Everyone pitched in to help. Even the priest help build a part of the wall. The work was running smoothly.... but then...

Nehemiah (1and2) Nehemiah Decides to Rebuild the Wall

  It had been 100 years since God touched the hearts of the Persian kings and allowed the Jewish exiles to return to Judah/Jerusalem and 40 years since God's temple had been rebuilt. The book of Nehemiah is unique. It was written by Nehemiah in the first person style. Which means he wrote of everything that happened to him and around him from his vantage point. So we are going to let Nehemiah tell the story in his own words. So whenever you read the words Me or myself or I, it is Nehemiah talking about himself.
  Hi, my name, as you already know is Nehemiah. For the past one hundred years, my countrymen, the Jews, have been making the 800 mile trek from Persian back to Jerusalem. Many of my friends and family have made the journey. But I have remained here in Persian. Mostly because I have a comfortable life here. I work for the king and live in his palace. I am the king's cup bearer, which means I taste the king's drink and food to make sure no one is trying to poison him. Yes, it is a dangerous job, but it is also a respected job because the king trusts me. Sometimes he even asks for my advice on some issues that arise in his kingdom. But I do miss my friends and family.
  So you can imagine my excitement when I heard that my brother and some of his friends were returning to Persia for a visit. When I heard that my brother was inside the kingdom walls, I ran out to meet him and his friends. My heart was beating as I asked how he and all the returning exiles were doing back in Jerusalem. But my heart sank when my brother answered, "Not good."
  "Why? what is going on?." I asked.
  "Without a wall around the city, the people are afraid to leave their homes, especially the women and children." My brother answered and then continued."The men are fearful that some neighboring countries will send troops through the city and snatch up all the women and children and the temple has yet to be decorated with the ornate silver and gold pieces that originally graced the walls and sanctuary."

  The walls had been torn down and burned by the Babylonians more than a hundred years ago. I knew it was not good for the people to live in fear. How can people live a God honoring life if they are afraid to come out of their own homes? I became very sad for the people there. I even began to cry. For many days after I hears the news, I fasted and prayed to the God of Heaven. I confessed my sin and the sin of all my people. I reminded God of His promise to restore His people and His city if we returned to Him through repentance, worship and obedience. I prayed for about four months that God would do something to help the people. Then something changed. I felt God telling me that I was the one that He was calling to go and help the people and rebuild the wall around Jerusalem.

  God is amazing that way. Prayer is not only asking God, but listening to Him. As we present our requests to Him, He slowly changes our hearts and guides us into His will. As you continue to pray for someone or some situation, listen. God may changing your heart and prompting you to be His tool for His purpose in that very situation!

  Ok, so I heard the clear voice of God. I was supposed to go back to Jerusalem, get the people together, and lead the reconstruction of the wall around Jerusalem. But there was one problem. Approaching the king with this idea was causing me much angst. The king did not even like if anyone was sad around him, let alone make such a life changing request. He could have me thrown in a dungeon, or even worse, put to death! I prayed that God would calm my soul and put just the right words in my mouth.
  I remember it was a beautiful spring morning. I had never appeared sad before the king before, but this particular morning I was feeling so much compassion for my fellow countrymen back in Jerusalem, that my face reflected my sadness. The king noticed and asked me what was wrong. I was
badly frightened, but replied. "Long live the king! I am sad because the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins. The wall has been torn down and the gates burned."
  Then the king asked, "What can I do for you?"
  "Ok.... this was my chance..... don't blow it." I thought to myself so under my breath I said a very quick prayer to the God of Heaven, and answered. "If it please the king and you are pleased with me as your servant, I humbly request that you let me go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall around the city."

 Next time we will see if the king throws Nehemiah in the dungeon for asking such a thing, or if he grants his request. One thing we found out about Nehemiah so far.... he is definitely a man of prayer.

The Fall of Judah (2Kings 24 &25) and Ezra

 After Josiah, The next 4 kings were bad. (They didn't do right in the eyes of the Lord)  The kings led the people of Judah away from the Lord. They broke the covenant that God had made with them, which meant that their land would become desolate and the people would be scattered, just as it had happened to Israel 136 years earlier when they were taken over by the Assyrians. The four "bad" kings were Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. During the third king's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, surrounded Jerusalem. He went into the temple and carried out most of the gold and silver that was in there. He also took many of the officials and the king as captives. The people of Judah had one last chance to turn back to God, but the next king, Zedekiah, continued to turn his back on God. 

 God is the God of 2nd 3rd 4th and so on chances. Don't ever feel like you've crossed the line of forgiveness and that you can't come back to God. Just confess it to God (which means that you agree with Him that is was wrong) and repent. (Which means turning away from the wrong doing and turning back to God)

King Nebuchadnezzar and his troops continued to surround Jerusalem for the next eleven years. The food ran out and all the people fled. As they were fleeing, King Zedekiah was captured. Then Some of the Babylonians went into Jerusalem and destroyed walls of the city and burnt the temple of God to the ground. They took what few Jews that remained back to Babylon and made them servants and slaves. With all the people gone, the wall torn down and the temple destroyed, the message that the Lord had given through the prophet Jeremiah came to pass. 'The land laid desolate for 70 years.' During the seventy years, the Babylonian empire was taken over by Persia.  .... That concludes the book of 2Kings.
 The next two books of the Bible are 1Chronicles and 2 Chronicles. These two books are recounts of the two Kings books. They begin with the first King of Israel, King Saul, then David's life is recalled with a few more details and finally King Solomon.  After King Solomon died,  2Chronicles  tells of how Israel split into the north kingdom, (Israel) and the south kingdom, (Judah). Finally the fall of Israel and the fall of Judah were covered. So we will pick up our story seventy years after the fall of Judah in the book of Ezra.

 The book of Ezra picks up where 2 Kings left off. Babylon had fallen to the Persians and in the first year of Persian King Cyrus' rule, God touched his heart. The king made a proclamation that all the Jews that were in the land could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. The king also personally brought out valuable items that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple. Then he ordered that every single item that was taken from the temple be given to the Jews so that they could return them once the temple was rebuilt. Ezra chapter 2 covers a list of all the Jewish exiles that were returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Chapter 3 describes the first phase of the rebuilding, which was the altar, and then the beginning of the temple rebuild. In Chapter 4, the Jews face opposition when a new king is in charge. The Jews had to put the rebuilding of the temple on hold until the next king, Darius, became ruler of the Persian empire. He reviewed the decree of King Cyrus, and allowed the Jews to resume the rebuilding of the temple. With all the opposition to the rebuilding, it took over 40 years to complete, then Ezra the prophet returned to Jerusalem with many of the Jewish exiles. Chapter 8 of the book of Ezra gives family names of the returning exiles. Ezra made sacrifices in the temple and the people confessed their sins.


Sometimes God touches peoples hearts to fulfill His purposes. Sometimes He touches our hearts too. When God puts something on your heart it is called a burden. He wants you to act. But He won't force you to do anything. If we follow Jesus, we will have burdens placed on our hearts. God may want to bless someone through your actions. And guess what? Then we get blessed too! 

The Four Lepers and The Enemy Camp (2 Kings 6- 7)

  Last time we saw that the Aramean army was led into Syria by Elisha after God had confused them. The king of Israel wanted to destroy them, But Elisha told him to feed them and send them back home.
  Well some time later, the king of Aram decided to surround Syria in an attempt to take it over. As a result, there was a terrible famine in the land. The king of Syria walked down the streets, becoming more and more distraught seeing the suffering of the hungry people. As he continued to witness the effects of the famine, the king became more and more angry at Elisha.... and God. "I should have destroyed the Aramean army when I had the chance!" He said. "I want Elisha arrested and put to death this very day!"
  Elisha was at  his home with some of leaders of Israel. God revealed the king's plan to Elisha and he told the men, "One of the king's men is on his way to arrest me, but don't open the door. I want the king to show up here personally so I can speak to him."
  Sure enough, a short time later, the king showed up at Elisha's house and angrily shouted, "It is the Lord who has brought this terrible situation on our land and people! Why should we wait on Him any longer? The people are without hope and starving!"
  Elisha calmly said. "The Lord has said that by this time tomorrow, the people will have more than enough food. They will have horses and livestock, and plenty of silver and gold!" One of the kings men replied. "Even God himself could not make that happen, even if He opened the floodgates of heaven." Elisha looked at him and said. "You will not be able to share in any of it."
  That evening, four men with leprosy were outside the city gates talking among themselves. Lepers were not allowed to live inside the city because of their contagious condition. "Why should we sit here waiting to die? We will starve if we stay here, and will starve if we go into the city." One of them continued. "We may as well surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway."
  Little did they know, but God had caused the whole Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses, so that it sounded like a huge army was approaching! The Army fled for their lives, leaving behind everything, including their gold, silver, horses and livestock. So when the four lepers entered the Aramean camp that evening, no one was there! They entered one tent after another, eating, drinking  and carrying out all the silver and gold. Then one of the lepers said. "Wait a minute.....this is not right. This is good news! We should go back and tell all the people about this. We should not keep this to ourselves when there are people on the other side of that wall who are starving to death."
  So they went back and told the gatekeeper the good news. He relayed the message to the king who thought it may be a trap. He sent a couple men to check it out. When they returned, they informed the king that it was true. Then all the people made a mad dash to the Aramean camp and ate and drank till they were satisfied. They carried out all the silver and gold. They also took the horses and all the livestock. So it was just as Elisha the prophet had foretold. The Syrian economy was booming and the people were overjoyed. But remember the guy that said that this was impossible, even if God opened the gates of heaven, and Elisha told him that he would not eat any of it?...... well he was trampled to death as he stood near the city gate!
  The four lepers had good news. They knew it was not right to not tell anyone about it. Did you know that the word "Gospel" means good news? The four Gospels are the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. So the story of Jesus is good news! If we know the good news of Jesus, it is not right for us to keep it to ourselves. Just as there were people starving in Syria because they didn't know the good news of the food that was just outside the walls of the city, there are people all around us "starving to death" and without hope because they don't know The Bread of Life, Jesus. The life-giving promise of Jesus is a free gift for all who believe and take the step of trusting Him. Jesus wants us to tell the whole world about Him. (The good news)  Matthew 28:16-20

(2 Kings 1 and 2) Chariot of Fire

Well we just finished another book of the Bible. So now 2 Kings begins with the the death of King Ahaziah who succeeded king Ahab.. Then the next chapter continues with the two prophets Elijah and Elisha walking and talking on the road from Gilgal.

"The Lord has told me to go to Bethel. It's a long and arduous Journey. So if you don't want to come, you can stay here."  Elisha knew that the Lord was going to take Elijah home to heaven any day, and he didn't want to miss learning something or witnessing great things that he had heard that Elijah had been doing or he didn't want to miss an opportunity to be a part of something amazing that God was doing through Elijah. So he answered, "No, Wherever you go, I will go."
 After a while in Bethel, Elijah said. "The Lord has told me to go to Jericho. You should stay here while I go ahead." Elisha again replied. "No, wherever you go, I will go." So they went on to Jericho.    One more time Elijah speaks up."Now the Lord has directed me to the Jordan River. Elisha quickly responded. "I am sticking with you no matter what, Elijah." When they came to the Jordan River, Elijah rolled up his cloak and struck the water. The river divided and the two men walked across on dry ground! When they got to the other side Elijah asked. " What can I do for you before the Lord takes me away?"

 "I not only want to be your successor, but I want God to do twice as many things through me!"
 "You have asked a very difficult thing Elisha," Elijah answered."But if you are with me when the Lord  takes me home, then you shall have what you asked for."

 They began walking again and suddenly a chariot of fire swooped down. It was being drawn by two horses of fire. It passed between Elijah and Elisha and Elijah was carried away and taken to heaven, Elisha was awestruck at such a sight! He stood there for a bit, then he noticed Elijah's cloak lying on the ground. He picked it up and headed back toward the Jordan River. When he reached the Jordan, he rolled up the cloak, cried out to God and struck the water. The river divided just as it had done for Elijah. It was Elisha's first miracle. It wouldn't be long before he performed his second. Fifty prophets of the Lord saw Elisha crossing between the parted waters and exclaimed. "Surely Elisha is Elijah's successor!"
 When Elisha got to Jericho, the leaders of the town approached him with a serious problem. "Our water supply is tainted!" They told him. "people are getting sick and we don't know what to do because the spring that feeds our water supply is contaminated!"

 Elisha said. "Bring me some salt in a new bowl" So they brought it to him. Elisha took the salt and went to the contaminated spring and threw the salt into it."This is what the Lord says." Elisha shouted so all could hear. "I have made this water clean again. So there won't be anymore sickness, disease or death." And sure enough, the spring was pure.  This was his second miracle. Then Elisha left Jericho.

Did you notice how close Elisha followed Elijah? He wanted to be a witness to God's work, He wanted to learn about God's work and he wanted to be a part of God's work. We should follow Jesus that close! God has an amazing plan. What a blessing to be a part of it! And to be a witness to it! Following Jesus can be hard sometimes, but it is always exciting. How do we follow Him? By reading His word. (The Bible says that Jesus IS THE WORD) The better we know the word, the better we know Him and what He wants from us. Read your Bible, pray and hang out with others who do the same.

Jezebel and King Ahab.... Their Final Chapters (1 Kings:21 and 22)

  For the next three years their were several wars between Aram and Israel. King Ahab and the Israelite army were victorious, however The Armameans continued to occupy some of the Israelite territory. Meanwhile, King Ahab took notice of a vineyard that was right next to his palace. The king thought how nice it would be to turn in into a vegetable garden. The king approached Naboth, the owner of the vineyard, one day and asked him if he could buy the vineyard. Naboth replied, "The Lord forbid that I should ever sell this property to anyone. My ancestors have passed it down
thorough generations." So Ahab left in a huff. He was angry and sullen. When He got home, he didn't eat dinner and laid on his bed with face to the wall. Jezebel asked Ahab why he was acting like a spoiled kid. "I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard next door, and he refused." Ahab pouted.
 "Aren't you the king?" asked Jezebel. "Get up and eat! Don't worry about a thing. I will get that vineyard for you!"

 So Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to all the big shots in the city. In the letters, she commanded them to call all the people together to honor Naboth. Give Naboth a special seat up front, then hire some sleazy characters to tell a bunch of lies about him. She knew that the people would be so upset, that they would take him out of town and stone him to death....... and that is just what happened. Then the big shots sent a message to Jezabel telling her that Naboth was dead.
 When Jezabel heard the news, she said to Ahab. "You know that vineyard that you were whining about? You can go take it now. Naboth is dead!"

 God told the prophet Elijah what Ahab and Jezebel had been up to, and by the time Ahab went out to the vineyard to take possession of it, Elijah was already there with a message for Ahab from God. "Isn't killing Naboth bad enough? Must you rob him too?" Elijah continued. "The Lord says this is the last straw! Now your entire family will be destroyed."

 No one sold himself so completely to evil in the Lord's sight as Ahab, for his wife, Jezebel, influenced him. Ahab was guilty of evil even though his wife was behind all the wickedness. God wants to be the influencer in our lives. If we let others lead us astray.... that is on us. We are guilty. Don't point fingers at anyone else. We are responsible for our own actions.

 For three years there was peace in Israel. Ahab was still looking over his shoulder wondering if God was going to destroy him. But none the less, he approached king Jehosaphat of Judah and pitched him the idea of attacking Aram. "Sure my brother!" Jehosaphat replied, "But let us ask the Lord first."

 Well Ahab, instead of inquiring of the Lord, summoned 400 of his prophets and asked them if attacking Aram was a good idea. "Go right ahead! You will celebrate a glorious victory!" they said. But Jehosaphat wanted a prophet of the Lord to chime in, so he brought Micaiah into the conversation.  The prophet Micaiah told the two kings that the 400 prophets were just telling the kings what they wanted to hear, and that they were completely wrong about a glorious victory. Ahab was so mad. He told the guards, "Lock this man up until I return from battle in victory."

 Ahab thought he could outsmart God. He knew that the Arameans only wanted to kill him (the king of Israel) so he told Jehosaphat to wear his royal robe into battle. Ahab thought that the Arameans would kill Jehosaphat, thinking that they had killed him. When the battle began, the Arameans spotted the king wearing the royal robe and moved in on him to get a clear shot. But the closer they got, the clearer it became that it was not Ahab.... so the captain prevented his men from shooting arrows at Jehosaphat. But one soldier shot an arrow randomly into the air. It carried into the center of a group of Israelite soldiers, found a gap in Ahab's armor and killed him. God sees all, knows all and is control of all things. We can't run from Him. We can't hide from Him. And we can't fool Him.

Elijah and the Contest on Mount Carmel (1Kings 18)

  The drought in Israel was in it's third year. People were starving and dying of thirst. God told Elijah, "The time for the drought is nearing it's end. Go and present yourself to King Ahab." God was the one who told Elijah to go into hiding, now He was telling him to stand before the king. God's timing is always perfect. There are times that He wants us to be silent and other times that He wants us to speak up. Pray and listen for God's leading.

  Meanwhile, in the midst of the drought, King Ahab was more concerned about his horses and donkeys than he was about the starving people in his kingdom. He called Obadiah, his right hand man, to help him scour the countryside to find food for his horses and mules. Remember Obadiah from last time? He is a loyal follower of the true God of Israel placed in King Ahab's service. Obadiah hid 100 prophets in caves when the queen, Jezebel, was trying to have them all killed. Sometimes God places us in ungodly places so that we can be a light in the darkness.

  So, as Obadiah was out looking for horse food, Elijah was headed to the palace. They ran into each other along the way. Obadiah was shocked to see Elijah because King Ahab had been searching for him since the drought began. "Is, is that really you Elijah?" Obadiah asked.
  "Yes, it is." Elijah answered. "Now go tell your master that I am here."
 Obadiah was a little afraid to relay the message to King Ahab, for fear that the Holy Spirit would move Elijah into hiding again. But with some reassurance from Elijah, Obadiah went and told the king that Elijah had come and King Ahab went out to meet him. "
  So Israel's great troublemaker has returned I see!" Ahab snarled. The king was referring to the drought. Ahab either couldn't see or didn't want to see that his worship of false idols is what brought on the drought.
 As believers in Jesus, sometimes we bear the brunt of accusations. We get blamed for things that are clearly beyond our control. How do we respond? Don't argue or fight. Go to God and point others to Him.

 Elijah replied to the king. "I have made no trouble for Israel. God is responding with His mighty power to you, and your family because you have chosen to worship Baal instead of Him. Now go and bring the 450 prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel, and you may as well bring the other 400 prophets of Asherah as well. Then summon all the people of Israel. It is time for a contest of the gods!" Elijah didn't come up with this contest on his own. We see later in verse 36 when Elijah says that he has done this at God's command.

 So Ahab gathered all the people of Israel. He brought the 850 prophets to Mount Carmel. Then Elijah began to speak to the people of Israel. "How long will you waver between two gods. You cannot be loyal to both! (Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 6:24) Today is the day that you will choose one or the other. If Baal is god.... choose him, but if the one true God of Israel is God.... then worship only Him!"
 Then, at God's command. Elijah began to direct the set-up for the contest. "Bring me two bulls and some wood. The prophets of Baal get first choice. Let them choose a bull, prepare it and lay it on the wood on their altar." Elijah continued. "I will prepare the other bull on the other altar. Then call on the name of your god. I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the one true God." And all the people agreed.

 So the prophets of Baal prepared the bull and began to call on the name of Baal all morning, shouting, "Oh Baal answer us!" But there was no answer. They began to dance wildly and chant around the altar they had made..... but still not a hint of a reply.
   By afternoon Elijah started to have fun with the situation and began to taunt the prophets. "Maybe your god is away on a business trip, or perhaps he is sleeping. Maybe he is in the bathroom or deep in thought. I think you have to call a little louder!" So they shouted louder and even began to cut themselves, thinking that would get Baal's attention.... but still nothing.

  Sometimes we think that things of this world will satisfy our hearts. We try harder and harder to get them, and sometimes when we do get them, they don't satisfy. Giving all our attention and efforts to something and putting God second is a modern idol. It could be money, popularity, power, attention or material things. They eventually leave us feeling empty. But there is a desire in our hearts that can only be filled by a relationship with the one true God.

Next time we will see if Baal ever answers and the extravagant measures Elijah takes on the other altar.

Solomon Takes a Wrong Turn (1Kings 10-16)

 King Solomon became well known for his wisdom and his wealth. Kings and queens from all over would come to see these things for themselves. Once the Queen of Sheba came for a visit. "I heard all these stories about your wealth and wisdom." She exclaimed. "But you are even wiser and wealthier than I ever imagined."

 King Solomon was so rich, that even his drinking cups were made of gold! He also built up a huge force of Chariots and horses. Solomon had 1,400 chariots and over over 12,000 horses!

 The problem with having all this stuff, is that we tend to lose focus on what is important (namely God, others and eternity), and Solomon fell into the same trap. Not only did he amass large quantities of everything, he also began marrying many women. Most of them were from other countries and worshipped other Gods. God's clear instruction was not to marry foreign women because the women would lead their husbands to worship their gods. But Solomon had lost his focus. God became very angry with Solomon for his heart had turned away from Him. God appeared to Solomon twice to warn him about not obeying His commands, and now Solomon was doing exactly what God had told him not to do.

 Being away from God left a big empty space in Solomon's heart. He tried to fill it with possessions, women, parties, reading and many other worldly things... but he discovered that nothing can fill the place in our hearts that is meant for only God to fill. Solomon even wrote a book about all he had done in his life looking for fulfillment. It is found in the Bible. It is called the book of Ecclesiastes.
He finishes up the book of Ecclesiastes with this conclusion: "Obey God, for this is the duty of every person. God will judge all we do, even in secret, whether good or bad." Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

 Solomon died when he was sixty years old. His son Rehoboam became king. But because of Solomon's disobedience, the peace that Israel enjoyed for forty years was about to come to an end. Rehoboam got rid of his father's counselors and surrounded himself with advisers that were not very smart. They told him to be the strictest and toughest king that Israel had so far. So when the Israelites approached Rehoboam and asked him to lighten their harsh labor demand and reduce their heavy tax burden, he told them that the taxes would be even higher, and the labor more harsh!

 One of Solomon's labor leaders was named Jeroboam. He had been replaced by the new king with a man named Adoniram. But the people stood with Jeroboam and rebelled against the new king. The people made Jeroboam their new king. This split Israel. Now they had two kings. Rehoboam ruled over the southern kingdom which consisted the tribe, Judah. Jeroboam ruled over all the rest of the tribes in the north.

 Remember that God promised David that he would always have a descendant on the throne. Well He kept His promise. David's grandson Rehoboam ruled in Judah 18 years. During his reign, Judah drifted farther from God. Jeroboam was even worse! He made golden calves for the people to worship! Doesn't that sound familiar? Moses' brother, Aaron did the same thing when the Israelites got impatient waiting for Moses to come back down the mountain in Exodus 32.
 The next several chapters list the kings of the northern kingdom and the kings of the southern kingdom. Most of the kings didn't do what was right in God's eyes and there was a constant civil war between the two kingdoms. However, a king named Asa, a descendant of David, did what was right in God's eyes and Judah began to return to the one true God during his and his son Jehosaphat's rule.

 Solomon's sin had repercussions on all of Israel. Do we consider how our sin will affect others? We cannot foresee what the consequences will be, but we can know that the promises of God are true. Obedience to God's rules is not meant to rob us of our fun. It is meant to protect us and to fulfill our exciting purpose which God has prepared for us long before we were even born. If we fill our hearts with the things of God and not with things of this world, our lives will be amazing and exciting!

Consequences of the Census (2 Samuel 24)

  So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel because they had rebelled against His decision.... again. God used David's sin to enact punishment against the entire nation of Israel. When we left last time, the prophet Gad had relayed God's message to David. David had a choice to make about the punishment that would be executed against the nation of Israel. Here were the three choices. Either three years of famine, three months of fleeing from their enemies or 3 days of a deadly plague.

  If you had a tough decision like this, what would you choose? I know what I would NOT choose. Since I would be the king, I wouldn't have to worry about a famine, because the king had plenty of food stored up. Or I wouldn't have to worry about fighting off the enemy, because as king, I would be protected at all cost. I wouldn't pick the plague, because death could strike anyone at any time. As king, I would be as vulnerable as anyone else in the kingdom. So that would definitely NOT be one of my choices..... but that is exactly what David chose. He knew that he had sinned. (he takes full blame at the end of the chapter) and he says in verse 13., "Let me fall into the merciful hands of our Lord. If he sees fit to inflict me, then so be it."

  So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel and it last three days. Seventy thousand people died throughout the nation. But as the death angel was in Jerusalem, he stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah. (A threshing floor was a hard floor where a wheat farmer would crush his crop to remove the grain from it's husk by having oxen drag a large heavy board over it) When David saw the angel of the Lord. He prayed that the plague would end and that if anyone else should die, it would be David himself. Just then Gad the prophet came to David and said, "Build an altar to God on this very site. So David went to Araunah, the man who owned the site where the altar was to be built. Araunah was a little nervous because the king wanted to talk to him. "Why have you come my lord?" he asked.
  David replied. "I have come to buy your threshing floor so that I could build and altar to the Lord there, so that He will stop the plague."
 "Please take it my lord. And here are some oxen for the offering and wood to make the fire. I will give it all to you, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice." Araunah answered.
   David insisted. "No. I must pay you for the place, the oxen and the wood. For what kind of sacrifice would it be if it cost me nothing?"

  The word sacrifice itself means to give up something. If David took the threshing floor, the oxen and the wood and offered it up to God, it would have been Araunah's sacrifice. We must remember that when we live our lives for Jesus, we are giving up our own desires and plans and replacing them with God's. But the amazing thing is that God loves us so much! His desires and plans for us are for our own good. He wants the best for us! The Bible says that the more we give up for Him, the more we have! That is called a paradox, and the Bible is full of them. (The last shall be first..... the humble will be exalted... to name a couple of examples.)

 So David bought the threshing floor, the oxen and the wood. Then he built and altar and sacrificed to the Lord. The plague stopped right there at the threshing room floor!

  The amazing thing about where that threshing room floor was located was that it was on Mount Moriah. The same place where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac to God a thousand years earlier. And it is also the same place where Jesus sacrificed his life for us on the cross a thousand years later! God is so amazing!
 Well that finishes the books of First and Second Samuel. Next time we will be starting First Kings.

David's own son rebels against him (2 Samuel 13-17)

 Two years later, David's two sons, Amnon and Absalom, got in a terrible fight. Finally Absalom ended up killing Amnon. When David found out about it, he was heartbroken. Absalom left Israel
and went to stay with his grandfather Talmai, in the territory of Geshur. He stayed there for three years. Finally David stopped mourning for his son Amnon and longed to be reunited with Absalom.
David called in his right hand man, Joab, and asked him to go to Geshur to bring back Absalom. But David was still unsure about seeing Absalom. So even though Absalom was staying at a house in Jerusalem for two years, David never sent for him. Absalom was getting tired of waiting and he confronted Joab. "Why did the king summon me to Jerusalem if he never intended to even see me? I was better off staying in Gershun!"
 "I will tell the king how upset you are." Joab replied. "Perhaps he will finally request your presence."
Then at last David summoned his estranged son and Absalom bowed down before the king and David kissed him. But Absalom held contempt in his heart for his father.

After that, Absalom began hanging out at the city gate and greeting the people. Many of them were on the way to see the king with their problems. Absalom intercepted them. "Too bad the king is so busy and won't be able to hear your concerns, however, I as his son, would be glad to act as an advisor in any situation you have."
 The people were very grateful and started to bow down before him, but Absalom stopped them and instead, he gave them a big hug. So in this way, Absalom began to steal the hearts of the people in David's kingdom. He did this for four years until he felt like he had the loyalty of enough people to take over Israel!

 One day Absalom came before the king and asked for permission to go back to Geshur to make a sacrifice there. David granted the request and while Absalom was there, he sent word to all of Israel that he was starting a rebellion against the king.  The rebellion soon gained momentum and Absalom had many, many people on his side.
  Of course the news about the rebellion reached David quickly, but it was too late. Absalom was being crowned king of Hebron and he was getting ready to take over Jerusalem. David urged his men, "Hurry! If we leave the city quickly, Jerusalem will be spared a horrible disaster."
There was great sadness as David and his men crossed the city and headed toward the Valley of Kidron and then into the wilderness.

Imagine how David must have felt. He forgave his son for the horrible thing that he did, and now his son has betrayed him! Have you ever forgiven someone only to have them hurt you again? Let's see how David handles the situation and how it all turns out. Don't forget, after David's terrible sin, God told him that his family would suffer many things.... even death. I'm sure David was hurt, but maybe not surprised.

As they reached their destination in the wilderness David turned to his advisor, Hushai. I want you to go back to Jerusalem. Tell Absalom that you will be his advisor. If he asks about your loyalty to me. Tell him that you are not loyal to a person, but to whomever is king. Then when he asks for your expertise, give him faulty advise. In time, his kingship will falter and the people will see that he is not king material.
 So Hushai arrived in Jerusalem just as Absalom was arriving. He offered his services to Absalom and told him what David had suggested. Absalom already had an advisor. His name was Ahithophel. But he agreed to keep two advisors and choose which ever advice he deemed best.
 After Absalom had settled into the throne. He called in his two advisors. Of course they each had different advice. God put it into Absalom's heart to choose Hushai's advice because it would bring disaster upon him.
 Hushai sent word to David about Absalom's plan. He advised David and his men to pull up camp, cross the Jordan river and head into the wilderness. So David and his men took Hushai's advice. Absalom and his men showed up at the Jordan river shortly afterward. But David and his men were not there.
 Next time we will see what God has in store for Absalom and David.

The Road to David becoming the King of Israel (2 Samuel 1-4)

  While David and his men were saving their women and children from the Amalekites, Saul and Jonathan were in a fierce battle with the Philistines. Saul and Jonathan, David's best friend, both lost their lives in the battle. David didn't hear about it till two days later. He wept and mourned for his friend, Jonathan, and for Saul. Even though Saul had spent the last few years trying to kill David, he knew that God had anointed Saul as king. David also knew that he himself was anointed as the next king, but he was willing to wait on God's timing.

Ishbosheth becomes king of Israel

 Waiting is so hard to do, Isn't it? We do not like to wait. Have your mom or dad ever told, "OK, in 5 minutes." Then that 5 minutes feels like 2 hours! Imagine David waiting over 10 years after God told him that he would be king.... and he was still waiting!

 Well the wait was over..... sort of. God told David to settle in Hebron, a city in Judah. While he was there, the citizens of Judah crowned David king.... but at the same time, Abner, one of the commanders of King Saul's army, was crowning Ishbosheth, another one of Saul's sons, king of Israel. Israel was divided into 12 tribes (12 sections). David was king over Judah and Ishbosheth was king over the other eleven tribes.
 Abner was leading Israel's troops through the land and Joab, one of David's men was leading his troops as well. They met in Gibeon. Abner stepped forward and said, "There is no need for a lot of bloodshed here. Why don't we each pick 12 warriors and have them battle it out in hand-to-hand combat. Whoever wins this exhibition will win the entire kingdom for their side." Joab and his men agreed. When the exhibition was over..... all 24 men were dead. So Abner took his men back to Israel and Joab took his men back to Judah. But one of Joab's brothers, Asahel, was angry about the outcome and wanted to kill Abner. Asahel began to chase Abner through the wilderness. Abner warned Asahel to turn back, but he would not relent. "Tun back!" Abner shouted. " I will never be able to face your brother Joab if I have to kill you." Just then Asahel caught up with Abner and Abner killed Asahel. This began a long war between those who had been loyal to Saul and those who were loyal to David.

David becomes king of all of Israel

 As the war dragged on, David became stronger and Ishbosheth's kingdom became weaker.  King Ishbosheth and Commander Abner began to fight among themselves. Abner was brought before the king and accused of dishonorable behavior. "After all I've done for you and your father!" Abner spouted. "Remember, it was me that helped you become king! Well guess what? I am going to David and help him become king over all of Israel. After all, everyone knows that God anointed him long ago while your father was still king" Then Abner left and King Ishbosheth began to worry about what Abner might do.
    Abner travelled throughout Israel and took a poll to see how the people would react if David became their king.  The people relished the idea of David as their king. So Abner went to see David.
David threw a huge feast in honor of Abner and he agreed to a covenant between the people of Israel and Judah. "You will finally be king over all of Israel!" Abner declared. Then David sent him safely on his way. But as he was leaving, Joab saw Abner there and became enraged. He asked David how he could even think of making a covenant with the man who killed his brother. Then he caught up with Abner and killed him. "That's for killing my brother!" Joab sneered.
 With word of Abner's death, King Ishbosheth became fearful. It seemed that his whole kingdom was turning against him, and sure enough, one night while he was sleeping, two of his commanders came in and killed him. They wanted to show David that they had decided to join his side, but when they came and told David what they had done, he had them executed.

  David was willing to wait on God.(Psalm 27:14)   He did not want to become king because the king was killed in his sleep. But that is how he became king over all of Israel.
  David was 37 years old when he became king. Remember when he was a kid and Samuel anointed him king? David was about 15 years old then. He had to wait 22 years for God's promise. During that time David faced many hardships and sorrows. Are you willing to face difficulties while waiting on God? Waiting doesn't mean just sitting there and waiting. It means doing what God wants while waiting for God to fulfill His purpose in your life.  Waiting makes us stronger.  (Isaiah 40:31)

David returns to Ziklag and Saul dies (1 Samuel 26-31)

 After  David married Abigail, he took Abigail and his men and headed back to their cave. That evening, on the way, they came across a camp. It was king Saul and his men.... and they were hot on David's trail! So either Saul changed his mind, because remember the king promised David that he would not try to kill David anymore, or King Saul lied. Either way he was after David again and David spared the king's life again. This time, while Saul was sleeping, David got close enough to jab a spear into the ground right next to him. Saul said he was sorry again, but David knew that the king wasn't ever going to stop trying to kill him. So David took his wife, his 600 men and their families and settled in a town named Ziklag. It actually belonged to the Philistines, but King Achish knew that Saul hated David and gave  the city to David and his men. When Saul heard that David was settled in Philistine territory, he stopped chasing him.

 David and his army would go out and defeat any army that would endanger their new city. They even went to the king of the Philistines and volunteered to join forces with the Philistine army.  The king said OK, but the soldiers in the Philistine army did not want David with them. They were afraid that he would turn on them in battle, especially if they ended up in a battle against the Israelites.
 So David and all 600 of his men headed back to Ziklag. From a distance, David and his men became concerned. They could see smoke rising on the horizon in the direction of Ziklag! When they arrived, they couldn't believe their eyes. The city was burned to the ground and all their wives and children were missing! While David and all his men were gone, the Amalekites had raided Ziklag, burned it to the ground, taken all their livestock and gold and carried off all the wives and children.
 David's men began to weep till they could not weep any more. David was now in serious trouble because the men were bitter and blamed him. They began to talk of stoning David to death! But David found strength in the Lord. While his men were grumbling, blaming and complaining, David was praying. David asked God what to do. "Should I go and chase the Amalekites?" He asked God.
 David heard from God. He rounded up all his men to go bring back their wives and their belongings. David knew they would be successful because of what God told him.

 When you pray, do you give God a chance to speak by remaining quiet for a period of time, or do you do all the talking? Or are you like David's men.... complain, grumble and blame instead of praying? God wants us to speak to Him, but He also wants to speak to us. Sometimes listening to God is the hardest part. God speaks in many ways like through other Godly people, through His Word, through music and through experiences. If we contemplate God in these things, we can hear what He is saying. A very great way to do this is by using a resource called  " The Spiritual Circle Journal for Kids". Here is a link to their webpage.  http://www.spiritualcirclejournal.com/Kids-Journal.html

 Some of David's troops found an Egyptian man in a field. They gave him some water and food. He hadn't eaten or drank anything for three days. When he was strong enough to talk, he told David that he was a slave of the Amalekites and they left him there to die. "Will you lead us to their camp?" David asked.
"Yes." Replied the man. But please promise me that you will not kill me or give me back to the Amalekites." David agreed.
 So the Egyptian led them to the Amalekite encampment. While the Amalekites were celebrating, David and his army caught them by surprise and defeated the Amalekites. They rescued all the wives and children and they also retrieved all that had been taken from them and more. When they got back to Ziklag, David sent some of the plunder to his friends in Judah, and then they started to rebuild the city.

 In the meantime, the Philistines attacked Israel. Forcing many of the Israelites to flee. Saul, his three sons and his army remained and fought. During the battle all three of Saul's sons were killed, including Jonathan, David's best friend. Saul was also severely wounded and ended up killing himself because he didn't want to be tortured to death by the Philistines.
The words for today are PRAY and LISTEN. God loves you and He wants you to make decisions that will be for your benefit and His glory. He won't steer you wrong. PRAY and LISTEN :)

The Story of Abigail (1Samuel:25)

After David had revealed to king Saul that he had spared his life and the king promised to leave David alone, they went their separate ways. King Saul went back to Israel and David went back into the wilderness with his army of men. David still did not trust the king and thought it best to stay away from him.

 They set up camp near a rich man named Nabal always let his sheep and cattle out to pasture. David and his men would protect the flocks and herds against the Ishmealites who roamed the wilderness stealing and killing.
 David and his men never asked for anything in return. When sheep shearing time came around, Nabal's entire household, including the people who worked for him, would join in a big sheep shearing festival. David sent 10 of his men to Nabal to ask if they could reap some of the benefits from the party.
 Nabal (Whose name means fool) lived up to his name when he answered them. " Who does this David fellow think he is anyway? Go back and tell him NO WAY!"
 David's men returned with the message from Nabal. David was furious! "He wouldn't even have the cattle and the sheep if we didn't help protect them!" David shouted. "Men strap on your swords! We are going to teach that fool a lesson!" David was so mad that he wanted to kill Nabal and all his men.
 Meanwhile one of Nabal's men went to Abigail, Nabal's wife and told her of the situation.  Abigail didn't waste any time. She loaded up several donkeys with Nabal's best goods and headed in David's direction. I'm sure she was afraid, but she had to do something to protect her husband.

 Have you ever found yourself in a sudden fearful situation. The Bible says over and over not to be afraid. Fear only clouds our judgement and sometimes it paralyzes us. The Bible tells us to be courageous. Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of fear. Fear may paralyze, but courage acts.

 Abigail met David about half way. She fell at his feet. "My Lord, please have mercy on my foolish husband! Don't kill him and have that dark spot on your record when you become king." Abigail knew that David had been anointed the next king. Nabal must have forgotten or he didn't care. Abigail continued, "Here is plenty of food for you and your men. Please take this gift in good faith and spare my husbands life. I take full responsibility. May the Lord reward you with a lasting kingdom and victory in all your battles if you forgive me and my husband."
 David looked at Abigail and responded. "Praise the Lord. He has sent you here to keep me from making a terrible mistake. Bless you for having the courage to come out here and meet us." Then David accepted the gifts. "Return home in peace. We will not kill your husband."

 Whew! That was a close one! Nabal had no idea how close he came to ending up dead. Abigail was not only courageous. She was smart and humble. Did you notice that she asked for her forgiveness as well as Nabals, even though she had done nothing wrong. But wait! The story is not over.....

  Abigail returned home after meeting David and his men. Nabal was getting out of hand at his sheep shearing party. He was so drunk that Abigail decided to wait till the next day when he was sober to tell him how close he came to being killed. The next morning, Abigail told Nabal everything. As a result, Nabal had a heart attack. He was in bed for ten days, then he died. When David heard what happened he said. "God has paid back Nabal for us!" Then he went back to Abigail and took her as his wife.

 Romans 12:19 says not to take revenge. Leave it in God's hands. Sometimes He does it right away like in David and Abigail's story. Or sometimes He takes his time. Either way. it is out of our hands and in God's. He is the great just judge. (Isaiah 33:22)

David Spares King Saul's Life (1 Samuel 23 &24)

One day, David got word that the Philistines were attempting to take over the city of Keilah. David prayed and asked God if he should gather his men (which now numbered about 600) and fight the Philistine army and save Keilah. God said "Yes." So David gathered his men and they defeated the Philistine army and saved the city of Keilah. In the meantime, King Saul heard that David was at Keilah. "Now we have David right where we want him! He is in Keilah, a city with a wall all the way around it. Gather the entire Israelite army! We have him trapped!" King Saul shouted.
 So as the king and his men marched toward Keilah to kill David, David prayed to God and asked him if he should stay in Keilah or leave. God told David that the people of Keilah would turn him over to king Saul, and that he should leave the city.

 Wow! David saves the whole city from destruction by the Philistine army, and they are ready to turn on him as soon as they hear that King Saul was on his way!

So David and his men left and headed into the wilderness. Jonathan heard that his father the king was in hot pursuit of David and went to the wilderness to find David and encourage him. "Don't worry." Jonathan told David when he finally reached him. "God has anointed you to be king, so my father can't harm you."

God knows where we are all the time and He led Jonathan to David. David was in need of some encouragement after he found out that the city of Keilah was going to turn against him. God knows where you are right now, physically, mentally and spiritually. And he will equip you with what you need to carry out His purposes.

When King Saul reached Keilah, the people told him which way David went. The king and his army were just on the other side of a large rock that David was hiding behind, when Saul got word that the Philistines were attacking Israel. He gathered his men, left the chase and went back to Israel to fight. Ever since then, that rock has been known as "the Rock of Escape". Then David and his men went deeper into the wilderness and found a cave in which to hide.

 After King Saul chased the Philistine army out of Israel, he took 3000 of his best warriors and continued to chase David. Some men along the way told the king which way David went.  So King Saul headed in that direction. Along the road into the wilderness, the king had to go to the bathroom so he ducked into a cave. Guess what? David and his men were hiding in that very cave! As King Saul was standing with his back to David and his men, some of David's men whispered to David that now was the time to kill Saul and become the king. David knew that this was not God's plan. "Saul is God's appointed leader and it is a serious thing to attack and kill him!" David rebuked his men.
 So David reached out and cut off a piece of Saul's robe. Then he told his men not to harm the king.
 After King Saul left the cave and was on his way, David came out and shouted, "My lord the king!"
Saul turned and saw David holding something. "Why are you trying to kill me?" David continued. "Don't listen to all those men who say that I am trying to kill you! Look what I have in my hand. It is a piece of your robe! I could have killed you back in that cave, but I didn't. I am leaving all the judging to God. He will punish which ever one of us is guilty. Be sure of this my king. I will never purposely harm you."
 Saul called back to David and began to cry. "You are a better man than I David, for you have repaid me good for evil. You have shown me kindness today. I was in a place where you could have easily killed me. But you didn't." Saul continued."I know now that someday you will be king! Please be kind to all the members of my family when you do."
 With that Saul went back home and David went back to the cave where he had set up camp.

God says in the book of Romans that we should "overcome evil with good" and that is just what David did.