211 There was a famine during David's reign that lasted for three years, so David asked the Lord about it. And the Lord said, "The famine has come because Saul and his family are guilty of murdering the Gibeonites." 2 So the king summoned the Gibeonites. They were not part of Israel but were all that was left of the nation of the Amorites. The people of Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul, in his zeal for Israel and Judah, had tried to wipe them out. 3 David asked them, "What can I do for you? How can I make amends so that you will bless the Lord 's people again?" 4 "Well, money can't settle this matter between us and the family of Saul," the Gibeonites replied. "Neither can we demand the life of anyone in Israel." "What can I do then?" David asked. "Just tell me and I will do it for you." 5 Then they replied, "It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any place at all in the territory of Israel. 6 So let seven of Saul's sons be handed over to us, and we will execute them before the Lord at Gibeon, on the mountain of the Lord . " "All right," the king said, "I will do it." 7 The king spared Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, who was Saul's grandson, because of the oath David and Jonathan had sworn before the Lord . 8 But he gave them Saul's two sons Armoni and Mephibosheth, whose mother was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. He also gave them the five sons of Saul's daughter Merab, the wife of Adriel son of Barzillai from Meholah. 9 The men of Gibeon executed them on the mountain before the Lord . So all seven of them died together at the beginning of the barley harvest.
10 Then Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the mother of two of the men, spread burlap on a rock and stayed there the entire harvest season. She prevented the scavenger birds from tearing at their bodies during the day and stopped wild animals from eating them at night. 11 When David learned what Rizpah, Saul's concubine, had done, 12 he went to the people of Jabesh-gilead and retrieved the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. (When the Philistines had killed Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa, the people of Jabesh-gilead stole their bodies from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hung them.) 13 So David obtained the bones of Saul and Jonathan, as well as the bones of the men the Gibeonites had executed. 14 Then the king ordered that they bury the bones in the tomb of Kish, Saul's father, at the town of Zela in the land of Benjamin. After that, God ended the famine in the land.
15 Once again the Philistines were at war with Israel. And when David and his men were in the thick of battle, David became weak and exhausted. 16 Ishbi-benob was a descendant of the giants ; his bronze spearhead weighed more than seven pounds, and he was armed with a new sword. He had cornered David and was about to kill him. 17 But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David's rescue and killed the Philistine. Then David's men declared, "You are not going out to battle with us again! Why risk snuffing out the light of Israel?"
18 After this, there was another battle against the Philistines at Gob. As they fought, Sibbecai from Hushah killed Saph, another descendant of the giants. 19 During another battle at Gob, Elhanan son of Jair from Bethlehem killed the brother of Goliath of Gath. The handle of his spear was as thick as a weaver's beam! 20 In another battle with the Philistines at Gath, they encountered a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all, who was also a descendant of the giants. 21 But when he defied and taunted Israel, he was killed by Jonathan, the son of David's brother Shimea. 22 These four Philistines were descendants of the giants of Gath, but David and his warriors killed them.
221 David sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul.
2 He sang: "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; 3 my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence. 4 I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies. 5 "The waves of death overwhelmed me; floods of destruction swept over me. 6 The grave wrapped its ropes around me; death laid a trap in my path. 7 But in my distress I cried out to the Lord ; yes, I cried to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry reached his ears. 8 "Then the earth quaked and trembled. The foundations of the heavens shook; they quaked because of his anger. 9 Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him. 10 He opened the heavens and came down; dark storm clouds were beneath his feet. 11 Mounted on a mighty angelic being, he flew, soaring on the wings of the wind. 12 He shrouded himself in darkness, veiling his approach with dense rain clouds. 13 A great brightness shone around him, and burning coals blazed forth. 14 The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. 15 He shot arrows and scattered his enemies; his lightning flashed, and they were confused. 16 Then at the command of the Lord, at the blast of his breath, the bottom of the sea could be seen, and the foundations of the earth were laid bare. 17 "He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. 18 He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. 19 They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me. 20 He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me. 21 The Lord rewarded me for doing right; he restored me because of my innocence. 22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord ; I have not turned from my God to follow evil. 23 I have followed all his regulations; I have never abandoned his decrees. 24 I am blameless before God; I have kept myself from sin. 25 The Lord rewarded me for doing right. He has seen my innocence. 26 "To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity. 27 To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. 28 You rescue the humble, but your eyes watch the proud and humiliate them. 29 O Lord, you are my lamp. The Lord lights up my darkness. 30 In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall. 31 "God's way is perfect. All the Lord 's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. 32 For who is God except the Lord ? Who but our God is a solid rock? 33 God is my strong fortress, and he makes my way perfect. 34 He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights. 35 He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow. 36 You have given me your shield of victory; your help has made me great. 37 You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping. 38 "I chased my enemies and destroyed them; I did not stop until they were conquered. 39 I consumed them; I struck them down so they did not get up; they fell beneath my feet. 40 You have armed me with strength for the battle; you have subdued my enemies under my feet. 41 You placed my foot on their necks. I have destroyed all who hated me. 42 They looked for help, but no one came to their rescue. They even cried to the Lord, but he refused to answer. 43 I ground them as fine as the dust of the earth; I trampled them in the gutter like dirt. 44 "You gave me victory over my accusers. You preserved me as the ruler over nations; people I don't even know now serve me. 45 Foreign nations cringe before me; as soon as they hear of me, they submit. 46 They all lose their courage and come trembling from their strongholds. 47 "The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock! May God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted! 48 He is the God who pays back those who harm me; he brings down the nations under me 49 and delivers me from my enemies. You hold me safe beyond the reach of my enemies; you save me from violent opponents. 50 For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name. 51 You give great victories to your king; you show unfailing love to your anointed, to David and all his descendants forever."
24 When Jesus saw this, he said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!" 26 Those who heard this said, "Then who in the world can be saved?" 27 He replied, "What is impossible for people is possible with God." 28 Peter said, "We've left our homes to follow you." 29 "Yes," Jesus replied, "and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, 30 will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come."
31 Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, "Listen, we're going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true. 32 He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon. 33 They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again." 34 But they didn't understand any of this. The significance of his words was hidden from them, and they failed to grasp what he was talking about.
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. 36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. 38 So he began shouting, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 39 "Be quiet!" the people in front yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 40 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, 41 "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord," he said, "I want to see!" 42 And Jesus said, "All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you." 43 Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.
(Read Luke 18:18-30)
Many have a great deal in them very commendable, yet perish for lack of some one thing; so this ruler could not bear Christ's terms, which would part between him and his estate. Many who are loth to leave Christ, yet do leave him. After a long struggle between their convictions and their corruptions, their corruptions carry the day. They are very sorry that they cannot serve both; but if one must be quitted, it shall be their God, not their wordly gain. Their boasted obedience will be found mere outside show; the love of the world in some form or other lies at the root. Men are apt to speak too much of what they have left and lost, of what they have done and suffered for Christ, as Peter did. But we should rather be ashamed that there has been any regret or difficulty in doing it.
(Read Luke 18:31-34)
The Spirit of Christ, in the Old Testament prophets, testified beforehand his sufferings, and the glory that should follow, 1 Peter 1:11. The disciples' prejudices were so strong, that they would not understand these things literally. They were so intent upon the prophecies which spake of Christ's glory, that they overlooked those which spake of his sufferings. People run into mistakes, because they read their Bibles by halves, and are only for the smooth things. We are as backward to learn the proper lessons from the sufferings, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ, as the disciples were to what he told them as to those events; and for the same reason; self-love, and a desire of worldly objects, close our understandings.
(Read Luke 18:35-43)
This poor blind man sat by the wayside, begging. He was not only blind, but poor, the fitter emblem of the world of mankind which Christ came to heal and save. The prayer of faith, guided by Christ's encouraging promises, and grounded on them, shall not be in vain. The grace of Christ ought to be thankfully acknowledged, to the glory of God. It is for the glory of God if we follow Jesus, as those will do whose eyes are opened. We must praise God for his mercies to others, as well as for mercies to ourselves. Would we rightly understand these things, we must come to Christ, like the blind man, earnestly beseeching him to open our eyes, and to show us clearly the excellence of his precepts, and the value of his salvation.
