Elah Reigns in Israel

1 Kings 16:8) In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned two years. 9) But his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. When he was at Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah, 10) Zimri came in and struck him down and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place.

11) When he began to reign, as soon as he had seated himself on his throne, he struck down all the house of Baasha. He did not leave him a single male of his relatives or his friends. 12) Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, 13) for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and which they made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idols. 14) Now the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Zimri Reigns in Israel

1 Kings 16:15) In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned seven days in Tirzah. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, 16) and the troops who were encamped heard it said, "Zimri has conspired, and he has killed the king." Therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp. 17) So Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. 18) And when Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over him with fire and died, 19) because of his sins that he committed, doing evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for his sin which he committed, making Israel to sin. 20) Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the conspiracy that he made, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Omri Reigns in Israel

1 Kings 16:21) Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri. 22) But the people who followed Omri overcame the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died, and Omri became king. 23) In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for twelve years; six years he reigned in Tirzah. 24) He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the city that he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.
25) Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him. 26) For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols. 27) Now the rest of the acts of Omri that he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 28) And Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son reigned in his place.

Ahab Reigns in Israel

1 Kings 16:29) In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30) And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31) And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32) He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33) And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 34) In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

Elijah Predicts a Drought

1 Kings 17:1) Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word." 2) And the word of the Lord came to him: 3) "Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4) You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." 5) So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6) And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7) And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

Saul Tries to Kill David

1 Samuel 19:1) And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. 2) And Jonathan told David, "Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3) And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you." 4) And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, "Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. 5) For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?" 6) And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, "As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death." 7) And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.
8) And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. 9) Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. 10) And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
11) Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, "If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed." 12) So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. 13) Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. 14) And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick." 15) Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him." 16) And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head. 17) Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?" And Michal answered Saul, "He said to me, ‘Let me go. Why should I kill you?’ "
18) Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. 19) And it was told Saul, "Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah." 20) Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. 21) When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 22) Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" And one said, "Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah." 23) And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24) And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

Jonathan Warns David

1 Samuel 20:1) Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, "What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?" 2) And he said to him, "Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so." 3) But David vowed again, saying, "Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death." 4) Then Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you say, I will do for you." 5) David said to Jonathan, "Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. 6) If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’ 7) If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him. 8) Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?" 9) And Jonathan said, "Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?" 10) Then David said to Jonathan, "Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?" 11) And Jonathan said to David, "Come, let us go out into the field." So they both went out into the field.
12) And Jonathan said to David, "The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? 13) But should it please my father to do you harm, the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. 14) If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; 15) and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth." 16) And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the Lord take vengeance on David’s enemies." 17) And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
18) Then Jonathan said to him, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19) On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap. 20) And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21) And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22) But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. 23) And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is between you and me forever."
24) So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. 25) The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty.
26) Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, "Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean." 27) But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, "Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?" 28) Jonathan answered Saul, "David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. 29) He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table."
30) Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, "You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? 31) For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die." 32) Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" 33) But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. 34) And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.
35) In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. 36) And he said to his boy, "Run and find the arrows that I shoot." As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37) And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, "Is not the arrow beyond you?" 38) And Jonathan called after the boy, "Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!" So Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. 39) But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40) And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, "Go and carry them to the city." 41) And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. 42) Then Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’ " And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

David and the Holy Bread

1 Samuel 21:1) Then David came to Nob to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David trembling and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one with you?" 2) And David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. 3) Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here." 4) And the priest answered David, "I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread—if the young men have kept themselves from women." 5) And David answered the priest, "Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?" 6) So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.
7) Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s herdsmen.
8) Then David said to Ahimelech, "Then have you not here a spear or a sword at hand? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste." 9) And the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is none but that here." And David said, "There is none like that; give it to me."

David Flees to Gath

1 Samuel 21:10) And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11) And the servants of Achish said to him, "Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances,
‘Saul has struck down his thousands,
and David his ten thousands’?"

12) And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13) So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. 14) Then Achish said to his servants, "Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? 15) Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?"

David and Jonathan’s Friendship

1 Samuel 18:1) As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2) And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. 3) Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4) And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. 5) And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

Saul’s Jealousy of David

1 Samuel 18:6) As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. 7) And the women sang to one another as they celebrated,
"Saul has struck down his thousands,
and David his ten thousands."
8) And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?" 9) And Saul eyed David from that day on.
10) The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. 11) And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, "I will pin David to the wall." But David evaded him twice.
12) Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. 13) So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. 14) And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him. 15) And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. 16) But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.

David Marries Michal

1 Samuel 18:17) Then Saul said to David, "Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord’s battles." For Saul thought, "Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him." 18) And David said to Saul, "Who am I, and who are my relatives, my father’s clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?" 19) But at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.
20) Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. And they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. 21) Saul thought, "Let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." Therefore Saul said to David a second time, "You shall now be my son-in-law." 22) And Saul commanded his servants, "Speak to David in private and say, ‘Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king’s son-in-law.’ " 23) And Saul’s servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, "Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king’s son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation?" 24) And the servants of Saul told him, "Thus and so did David speak." 25) Then Saul said, "Thus shall you say to David, ‘The king desires no bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king’s enemies.’ " Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. 26) And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king’s son-in-law. Before the time had expired, 27) David arose and went, along with his men, and killed two hundred of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. 28) But when Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, 29) Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually.
30) Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.

David Anointed King

1 Samuel 16:1) The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." 2) And Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3) And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you." 4) Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, "Do you come peaceably?" 5) And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6) When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him." 7) But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 8) Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." 9) Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." 10) And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these." 11) Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here." 12) And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him, for this is he." 13) Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

David in Saul’s Service

1 Samuel 16:14) Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15) And Saul’s servants said to him, "Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16) Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well." 17) So Saul said to his servants, "Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me." 18) One of the young men answered, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him." 19) Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me David your son, who is with the sheep." 20) And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21) And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22) And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight." 23) And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

Jesus the Great High Priest

Hebrews 4:14) Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16) Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 5:1) For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2) He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3) Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 4) And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5) So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

"You are my Son,

today I have begotten you";

6) as he says also in another place,

"You are a priest forever,

after the order of Melchizedek."

7) In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8) Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9) And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10) being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.