With Dr. Matthew Halsted After the Amalekites attacked Ziklag and took captive David's wives and other people, David and his men pursued and defeated the Amalekites, recovering all of the captives and goods. Meanwhile, Saul and his men were defeated and killed by the Philistines. David buried Saul and his sons with honor. Listen to find out how the gospel of Jesus can be found in these later chapters.

With Dr. Matthew Halsted 1 Samuel 29 tells the story of David's rejection by the Philistines. David had been living in exile with the Philistines after being anointed king of Israel by the prophet Samuel. The Philistines were preparing for battle against Israel, and David had been invited to join them in the fight. However, some of the Philistine leaders were suspicious of David and feared that he might betray them. They convinced Achish, the king of Gath, to send David and his men back home.

With Dr. Ronn Johnson Saul is afraid of the Philistines and seeks guidance from God, but God does not answer him. Saul then disguises himself and goes to a medium in Endor to ask her to bring up the spirit of Samuel. The medium is able to summon Samuel, who tells Saul that God has rejected him as king and that he and his sons will die in battle the next day. Saul is greatly troubled by this news and returns to his camp.

With Dr. Denise Flanders David flees to the land of the Philistines in fear of Saul. He lies to the Philistine king, Achish, and tells him that he is no longer a loyal Israelite. Achish believes David and gives him a place to live in Ziklag. David and his men live in Ziklag for a year and four months, during which time they raid the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. Achish is pleased with David's service and believes that he can trust him. However, David is only pretending to...

With Dr. Ronn Johnson David spares Saul's life twice, showing his mercy and compassion. Saul is starting to realize that David is a threat to his throne, and he is afraid that David will eventually kill him and take over as king. The prophet Samuel anoints David as king, even though Saul is still the reigning king. This further angers Saul and makes him even more determined to kill David.

With Dr. Matthew Halsted David and his men are in the wilderness of Maon when they hear that Nabal, a wealthy landowner, is shearing his sheep. David sends his men to ask Nabal for food and drink, as is customary when a guest visits. Nabal is a proud and arrogant man, and he refuses to give David anything. He insults David and his men, calling them "worthless rabble." Abigail, Nabal's wise and resourceful wife, learns of her husband's behavior and takes matters into her own hands. She...

With Dr. Tim Mackie Saul was hunting David in the wilderness of Engedi when he and his men went into a cave to relieve themselves. David and his men were hiding in the back of the cave, and David's men urged him to kill Saul while he had the chance. But David refused, saying that he would not harm the Lord's anointed. Instead, he cut off a corner of Saul's robe and followed him out of the cave. When Saul saw that David had been there, he was ashamed and said that David was more righteous...

With Dr. Ronn Johnson David was informed that the Philistines were attacking the city of Keilah. He asked God if he should go to Keilah and help the people, and God told him to go. David's men were afraid to go to Keilah, but David assured them that God would be with them. David and his men went to Keilah and defeated the Philistines. Saul heard that David was in Keilah, and he set out to capture him. David learned that Saul was coming, and he and his men fled Keilah. David and his men hid...

With Dr. Justin Bass David flees from Saul to the cave of Adullam, where he is joined by his brothers and other relatives. He also gathers a group of men who are discontented with Saul's rule. Saul learns of David's whereabouts and orders the death of Ahimelech the priest and all the other priests at Nob. David then goes to Mizpah in Moab and asks the king to allow his parents to stay with him. Saul continues to pursue David, but David is able to escape and elude capture. Saul's paranoia...

With Dr. Ronn Johnson David fled from Saul, who was seeking to kill him. He went to the city of Nob, where he lied to the priest Ahimelech, saying that he was on a mission from Saul. Ahimelech gave David food and the sword of Goliath. David then went to Gath, where he pretended to be insane in order to avoid being recognized by King Achish. David's deception of Ahimelech was a sin, but his feigned insanity saved his life.

With Dr. Michael Brown David, fearing for his life after Saul has tried to kill him twice, goes to Jonathan, Saul's son, to ask for help. Jonathan promises to help David and to warn him if Saul plans to harm him. Jonathan and David make a covenant of friendship and loyalty. David then leaves and goes into hiding. In this episode, Dr. Brown gives us some semitic insights on a hebrew word that could be translated differently and takes on how the cultural wars misinterpret passages like in 1...

We talk to Greg Lyle and Drenna Heiser from Dr. Heiser's non-profit, Miqlat. Greg and Drenna give us updates on future projects of Miqlat and Drenna tells us the story of how brave Mike was when they first met. To support Miqlat please goto Miqlat.org.

With Dr. Justin Bass Saul became increasingly jealous of David and tried to kill him. Jonathan, Saul's son, tried to protect David and warned him of Saul's plans. David fled from Saul and went into hiding. Michal, Saul's daughter, helped David escape by letting him down from a window. Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him and kill him, but Michal tricked the messengers by putting a fake image in David's bed. David escaped and went to Samuel at Ramah.

With Dr. Justin Bass After David defeated Goliath, Saul became jealous of David's popularity and success. Jonathan, Saul's son, became close friends with David. Saul gave his daughter Merab in marriage to David, but then gave her to another man. Michal, Saul's other daughter, fell in love with David and they were married.

With Dr. Justin Bass The Philistines and Israelites were at war. Goliath, a giant Philistine warrior, challenged the Israelites to send a champion to fight him. David, a young shepherd boy, volunteered to fight Goliath. David defeated Goliath with a sling and a stone, and the Israelites were victorious. This passage teaches us that God can use anyone, no matter how young or insignificant they may seem, to accomplish His purposes.

With Dr. Tim Mackie In 1 Samuel 16, the Lord tells Samuel that he has rejected Saul as king of Israel. Samuel is sent to Jesse's home in Bethlehem to anoint a new king. Jesse presents his seven oldest sons to Samuel, but the Lord does not choose any of them. Jesse sends for his youngest son, David, who is tending sheep. The Lord tells Samuel to anoint David as king, and the Spirit of the Lord comes upon David from that day on. This passage teaches us that God does not choose leaders based on...

With Dr. Justin Bass God commands Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites, including all of their livestock. Saul obeys the command to destroy the Amalekites, but he spares the king and the best of the livestock. When Samuel confronts Saul about his disobedience, Saul tries to justify his actions. Samuel rebukes Saul for his disobedience, and declares that God has rejected him as king.

Listeners of The Naked Bible Podcast take time to remember Dr. Michael Heiser. To support the podcast please go to nakedbiblepodcast.com.

Listeners of The Naked Bible Podcast take time to remember Dr. Michael Heiser. To support the podcast please go to nakedbiblepodcast.com.

Listeners of The Naked Bible Podcast take time to remember Dr. Michael Heiser. To support the podcast please go to nakedbiblepodcast.com.

In 1 Samuel 13-14 Saul throws away the Lord’s dynastic blessing by usurping priestly duties (that is, performing an unlawful sacrifice). Saul’s leadership become more erratic as God’s rejection of Saul has begun, this time putting the life of his own son, Jonathan, in jeopardy.

1 Samuel 12 is ostensibly Samuel’s farewell address as he yields power to Saul, Israel’s first king. The content of his address in the chapter is both more subtle and confrontational, though, to have it be a simply farewell. The text makes it clear that God will evaluate the new king (and every king) on the basis of their covenant loyalty, and that will in turn be made clear as to how the king takes heed to Samuel’s advice on being loyal to Yahweh. In the end, the chapter has a sense of...

1 Samuel 11 explores the inauguration of Saul’s reign as king of Israel. In the previous chapter, the prophet Samuel had given Saul several signs that his anointing was genuine and from the Lord. That validation ended with Samuel’s directive that Saul accompany him to Gilgal to renew the covenant. Saul failed to do this. In this chapter of 1 Samuel, we discover what Saul did instead of going to Gilgal. In one respect, the chapter records Saul’s lone real success as king with a victory over...