David and his men return to Ziklag. Amalek have attacked. The town has been burnt and the women and children taken captive.

David goes on the chase.

In this chapter we can understand more deeply what is problematic about Amalek, and we learn some important war ethics.

The Philistines are mobilizing to fight Israel. And David and his men are mobilizing with them!

Will David fight his own people? But if he doesn't fight, how will he retain his loyalty to Achish? Or will something else save David from this predicament?

War has broken out. The Philistines are attacking. Saul is terrified. He needs reassurance. God won't answer him!

He resorts to a necromancer, a woman who raises spirits from the grave. And Saul chooses to raise Samuel from the dead. What will Samuel say to him? The most simple truth, but the most devastating news that Saul could ever hear.

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Music. "Ghost Town" The Specials

Recorded February 2, 2023

David leaves the land of Israel and the jurisdiction of King Saul.

Now he is safe. But he still needs to play a double game - fighting the enemies of Israel on the one hand, and presenting himself as loyal to Achish, the Philistine king, on the other.

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Originally recorded January 31, 2023

Once again, David has a chance to assassinate Shaul, but he refrains from taking the king's life.

But Chapter 26 seems almost a repeat of Chapter 24! What is the need to relate both of these stories?

While an outlaw, David and his men have been patrolling the Southern Border and ensuring the safety of local farms and polulations.

When one of the local farmers - a rich sheep farmer called Naval - insults David and his men, refusing to share the bounty of the farm at the sheep-shearing, David decides to attack. It is the quick action of Naval's wife, Avigail, that saves David from performing a massacre. But this story reminds us of the violence that David can wield, and of the restraint that he has employed towards Shaul. 

First recorded: January 29, 2023

In this chapter, David gets close enough to Saul that he can cut off the corner of his coat.

Why doesn't David murder Saul?

What moral principles guide David?

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Originally recorded January 28, 2023

From Ke'ila to the wilderness of Zif, David pursues the Philistines ; Saul Pursues David. David defends the country even while on the run; Saul is consumed by his fear and loathing of David. 

David has an Efod. He consults with God; another contrast to Saul.

After the massacre at Nov, Ke'ila and Zif are afraid for their fate, and inform against David.

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Originally uploaded January 25, 2023

A paranoid Shaul accuses his servants of conspiring against him. Doeg the Edomite informs Saul that the High Priest had given David food, a weapon, and even consulted God on his behalf.

Though the priests profess their innocence, Saul has the entire priestly town massacred, "men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep, by the sword."  

David is on the run. He turns to the High Priest and has to lie in order to obtain some food supplies and a weapon. 

He tries to defect to the Phillistines, but soon realizes that he won't be safe there either.

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Recorded January 23, 2023