271 Then David said to himself , "Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul . There is nothing better for me than to escape into the land of the Philistines . Saul then will despair of searching for me anymore in all the territory of Israel , and I will escape from his hand ." 2 So David arose and crossed over , he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch , king of Gath . 3 And David lived with Achish at Gath , he and his men , each with his household , even David with his two wives , Ahinoam the Jezreelitess , and Abigail the Carmelitess , Nabal's widow . 4 Now it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath , so he no longer e searched for him. 5 Then David said to Achish , "If now I have found favor in your sight , let them give me a place in one of the cities in the country , that I may live there ; for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?" 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag that day ; therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day . 7 The number of days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year and four months .
8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites and the Girzites and the Amalekites ; for they were the inhabitants of the land from ancient times , as you come to Shur even as far as the land of Egypt . 9 David attacked the land and did not leave a man or a woman alive , and he took away the sheep , the cattle , the donkeys , the camels , and the clothing . Then he returned and came to Achish . 10 Now Achish said , "Where have you made a raid today ?" And David said , "Against the Negev of Judah and against the Negev of the Jerahmeelites and against the Negev of the Kenites ." 11 David did not leave a man or a woman alive to bring to Gath , saying , "Otherwise they will tell about us, saying , 'So has David done and so has been his practice all the time he has lived in the country of the Philistines .' " 12 So Achish believed David , saying , "He has surely made himself odious among his people Israel ; therefore he will become my servant forever ."
281 Now it came about in those days that the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war , to fight against Israel . And Achish said to David , "Know assuredly that you will go out with me in the camp , you and your men ." 2 David said to Achish , "Very well , you shall know what your servant can do ." So Achish said to David , "Very well , I will make you my bodyguard e for life e ."
3 Now Samuel was dead , and all Israel had lamented him and buried him in Ramah , his own city . And Saul had removed from the land those who were mediums and spiritists . 4 So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped in Shunem ; and Saul gathered all Israel together and they camped in Gilboa . 5 When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines , he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly . 6 When Saul inquired of the Lord , the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets .
7 Then Saul said to his servants , "Seek for me a woman who is a medium e , that I may go to her and inquire of her." And his servants said to him, "Behold , there is a woman who is a medium e at En-dor ." 8 Then Saul disguised himself by putting on other clothes , and went , he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night ; and he said , " Conjure up for me, please , and bring up for me whom I shall name to you." 9 But the woman said to him, "Behold , you know what Saul has done , how he has cut off those who are mediums and spiritists from the land . Why are you then laying a snare for my life to bring about my death ?" 10 Saul vowed to her by the Lord , saying , "As the Lord lives , no punishment shall come upon you for this thing ." 11 Then the woman said , "Whom shall I bring up for you?" And he said , "Bring up Samuel for me." 12 When the woman saw Samuel , she cried out with a loud voice ; and the woman spoke to Saul , saying , "Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul ." 13 The king said to her, "Do not be afraid ; but what do you see ?" And the woman said to Saul , "I see a divine being coming up out of the earth ." 14 He said to her, "What is his form ?" And she said , "An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped with a robe ." And Saul knew that it was Samuel , and he bowed with his face to the ground and did homage .
15 Then Samuel said to Saul , "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" And Saul answered , "I am greatly distressed ; for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has departed from me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams ; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do ." 16 Samuel said , "Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your adversary ? 17 "The Lord has done accordingly as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor , to David . 18 "As you did not obey e the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek , so e the Lord has done this thing to you this day . 19 "Moreover the Lord will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines , therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines !"
20 Then Saul immediately fell full length upon the ground and was very afraid because of the words of Samuel ; also there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day and all night . 21 The woman came to Saul and saw that he was terrified , and said to him, "Behold , your maidservant has obeyed e you, and I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. 22 "So now also , please listen to the voice of your maidservant , and let me set a piece of bread before you that you may eat and have strength when you go on your way ." 23 But he refused and said , " I will not eat ." However, his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to them. So he arose from the ground and sat on the bed . 24 The woman had a fattened calf in the house , and she quickly slaughtered it; and she took flour , kneaded it and baked unleavened bread from it. 25 She brought it before Saul and his servants , and they ate . Then they arose and went away that night .
291 Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek , while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in Jezreel . 2 And the lords of the Philistines were proceeding on by hundreds and by thousands , and David and his men were proceeding on in the rear with Achish . 3 Then the commanders of the Philistines said , "What are these Hebrews doing here?" And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines , "Is this not David , the servant of Saul the king of Israel , who has been with me these days , or rather these years , and I have found no fault in him from the day he deserted to me to this day ?" 4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, "Make the man go back , that he may return to his place where e you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For with what could this man make himself acceptable to his lord ? Would it not be with the heads of these men ? 5 "Is this not David , of whom they sing in the dances , saying , 'Saul has slain his thousands , And David his ten thousands '?"
6 Then Achish called David and said to him, "As the Lord lives , you have been upright , and your going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight ; for I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day . Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords . 7 "Now therefore return and go in peace , that you may not displease e the lords of the Philistines ." 8 David said to Achish , " But what have I done ? And what have you found in your servant from the day when I came before you to this day , that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king ?" 9 But Achish replied to David , "I know that you are pleasing in my sight , like an angel of God ; nevertheless the commanders of the Philistines have said , 'He must not go up with us to the battle .' 10 "Now then arise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have arisen early in the morning and have light , depart ." 11 So David arose early , he and his men , to depart in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines . And the Philistines went up to Jezreel .
131 Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices . 2 And Jesus said to them, " Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? 3 "I tell you, no , but unless e you repent , you will all likewise perish . 4 "Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem ? 5 "I tell you, no , but unless e you repent , you will all likewise perish ."
6 And He began telling this parable : "A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard ; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. 7 "And he said to the vineyard-keeper , 'Behold , for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without e finding any. Cut it down ! Why does it even use up the ground ?' 8 "And he answered and said to him, 'Let it alone , sir , for this year too , until I dig around it and put in fertilizer ; 9 and if it bears fruit next e year, fine; but if not, cut it down .' "
10 And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath . 11 And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit ; and she was bent double , and could not straighten up at all . 12 When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman , you are freed from your sickness ." 13 And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God . 14 But the synagogue official , indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath , began saying to the crowd in response , " There are six days in which work should be done ; so come during them and get healed , and not on the Sabbath day ." 15 But the Lord answered him and said , "You hypocrites , does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? 16 "And this woman , a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen e long years , should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day ?" 17 As He said this , all His opponents were being humiliated ; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.
18 So He was saying , " What is the kingdom of God like , and to what shall I compare it? 19 "It is like a mustard seed , which a man took and threw into his own garden ; and it grew and became a tree , and THE BIRDS OF THE AIR NESTED IN ITS BRANCHES ."
20 And again He said , " To what shall I compare the kingdom of God ? 21 " It is like leaven , which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened ."
22 And He was passing through from one city and village to another , teaching , and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem .
(Read Luke 13:1-5)
Mention was made to Christ of the death of some Galileans. This tragical story is briefly related here, and is not met with in any historians. In Christ's reply he spoke of another event, which, like it, gave an instance of people taken away by sudden death. Towers, that are built for safety, often prove to be men's destruction. He cautioned his hearers not to blame great sufferers, as if they were therefore to be accounted great sinners. As no place or employment can secure from the stroke of death, we should consider the sudden removals of others as warnings to ourselves. On these accounts Christ founded a call to repentance. The same Jesus that bids us repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, bids us repent, for otherwise we shall perish.
(Read Luke 13:6-9)
This parable of the barren fig-tree is intended to enforce the warning given just before: the barren tree, except it brings forth fruit, will be cut down. This parable in the first place refers to the nation and people of the Jews. Yet it is, without doubt, for awakening all that enjoy the means of grace, and the privileges of the visible church. When God has borne long, we may hope that he will bear with us yet a little longer, but we cannot expect that he will bear always.
(Read Luke 13:10-17)
Our Lord Jesus attended upon public worship on the sabbaths. Even bodily infirmities, unless very grievous, should not keep us from public worship on sabbath days. This woman came to Christ to be taught, and to get good to her soul, and then he relieved her bodily infirmity. This cure represents the work of Christ's grace upon the soul. And when crooked souls are made straight, they will show it by glorifying God. Christ knew that this ruler had a real enmity to him and to his gospel, and that he did but cloak it with a pretended zeal for the sabbath day; he really would not have them be healed any day; but if Jesus speaks the word, and puts forth his healing power, sinners are set free. This deliverance is often wrought on the Lord's day; and whatever labour tends to put men in the way of receiving the blessing, agrees with the design of that day.
(Read Luke 13:18-22)
Here is the progress of the gospel foretold in two parables, as in Matthew 13. The kingdom of the Messiah is the kingdom of God. May grace grow in our hearts; may our faith and love grow exceedingly, so as to give undoubted evidence of their reality. May the example of God's saints be blessed to those among whom they live; and may his grace flow from heart to heart, until the little one becomes a thousand.
