 3. How Saul saved the eyes of the men of J. Beshe. 12. Saul was now the king of all the twelve tribes of Israel, but he did not at once in his manner of life set up the state of a king. He lived at home and worked in the fields on his father's farm, just as he had always done. One day, while Saul was plowing in the field with a yoke of oxen, a man came running with sad news. He said that the Ammonites, a fierce people, living near the desert on the east, beyond the Jordan, had come up against J. Beshe in Gilead, led by their king Nahash. The people in that city were too few to fight the Ammonites, and they said, We will submit to your rule, if you will promise to spare our lives. And Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, said to the people of J. Beshe, You shall live, but within seven days I will come with my soldiers, and I will put out the right eye of every man in your city. When a city was taken by its enemies in those times, such cruel deeds were common. Often, all the people in it, young and old, were slain without mercy. The men of J. Beshe sent a messenger to go to Saul, as swiftly as possible, and to tell them of the terrible fate that was hanging over them. When Saul heard of it, the spirit of a king rose within him. He killed the oxen that he was driving, cut them into twelve pieces, and sent swift messengers through all the land, to say to every fighting man in the twelve tribes, whoever will not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. And the Lord gave to all the people the spirit of obedience to their king. At once a great army gathered at a place called Beshek, and he sent word to J. Beshe, saying, To moral, by the time the sun is hot, you will be set free from all fear of the Ammonites. Saul and his men marched swiftly over the mountains of Benjamin, and down into the Jordan Valley. They walked across the river, where it was shallow, and climbed the mountains of Gilead. Where they fell furiously upon the Ammonites early in the morning, killed many of them, and scattered the rest, so that not even two of their men could be found together. We read in the last story that when Saul was made king, some men were not pleased, and were unwilling to submit to him. Now that a great victory had been won under Saul as leader, the people said with one voice, Where are those men who would not honor our king? Bring them out, and let them be put to death. But King Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day, for to-day the Lord has set his people free from their enemies. Samuel was with Saul, and he said, Let us go to Gilgal, where Joshua encamped long ago when our fathers crossed the Jordan, and there let us set up the kingdom again. They came to Gilgal, and offered sacrifices to the Lord, and worshiped. There Samuel gave up to the new king the rule over the land, and spoke words of farewell. He said to the people, I have done as you asked me, and have given you a king. Your king stands before you now. I am old and gray-headed, and I have lived before you from my youth up to this day. Here I am, now, in the presence of the Lord, and of his anointed king. Is there any man whom I have wronged? Have I taken any man's ox or ass? Have I taken a present from any man to make me favour him as judge? If I have robbed any man, let him speak, and I will pay him all that I have taken. And all the people said to Samuel, You have ruled justly, and have wronged no man, and have robbed no man. And Samuel said, The Lord is witness, and his anointed the king is witness, that I have taken nothing from any man. And all the people said, He is witness. Then Samuel called to their minds all that God had done for his people since he had led them out of Egypt, how he had saved them from their enemies, and had given them judges. And he said, Now the Lord has set a king over you. If you will fear the Lord, and will serve him, then it shall be well with you. But if you disobey the Lord, then God will punish you as he punished your fathers. Then Samuel called upon God, and God sent thunder and rain on that day, showing his power. The people were filled with fear, and they cried to Samuel, Pray to the Lord for us, for we have done wrong in asking for a king. Yes, said Samuel, you have done wrong, but if you from this time do right, and seek the Lord, God will not forsake you. He will forgive you and bless you. I will always pray for you, and will teach you the right way. But if you do evil, God will destroy you and your king. So fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart. After this Samuel went again to his own house at Ramah, and saw ruled the people from Gilead, the home of his family. End of Story 1 Chapter 14 Verse 46 The people had hoped that when they should have a king to lead them in war, they might break the power of the Philistines, who were still rulers over a large part of the land. But after Saul had been king two years, the Philistines seemed to be stronger than ever. They held many walled towns on the hills, and from these their warriors went out robbing the villages and taking away the crops from the farmers, so that the men of Israel were kept very poor and in great fear. The Philistines would not allow the Israelites to do any work in iron in order to keep them from making swords and spears for themselves. When a man wished to have his iron plowshare sharpened, or to have a new one made, he must go to the Philistines for the work. So when Saul gathered an army, scarcely any of the men could find swords or spears, and Saul and his son Jonathan were the only ones who wore suits of armor to protect them from the darts of the enemy. Saul gathered together a little army, of which a part was with him at McMash, and another part with his son Jonathan at Gibeah, five miles to the south. Jonathan, who was a very brave young man, led his band against the Philistines at Gibeah, half way between Gibeah and McMash, and took that place from them. The news of this fight went through the land, and the Philistines came up the mountains with a great army, having chariots and horsemen. Saul blew a trumpet and called the Israelites to the old camp at Gilgal, down in the valley of the Jordan, and many came, but they came trembling with fear of the Philistines. Samuel had told him not to march from Gilgal until he should come to offer a sacrifice and to call upon God. But Samuel delayed coming, and Saul grew impatient, for he saw his men scattering. At last Saul could wait no longer. He offered a sacrifice himself, though he was no priest. But while the offering was still burning on the altar, Samuel came. He said to Saul, What is this that you have done? And Saul answered, I saw that my men were scattering, and I feared that the enemy might come down upon me, so I offered the sacrifice myself, since you were not here. You have done wrong, said Samuel. You have not kept God's commands. If you had obeyed and trusted the Lord, he would have kept you in safety. But now God will find some other man who will do his will, a man after his own heart, and God in his own time take the kingdom from you and give it to him. And Samuel left camp and went away, leaving Saul. Saul led his men, only six hundred, up the mountains to Geva, the place which Jonathan had taken. Across the valley near McMash was the host of the Philistines in plain sight. One morning Jonathan and the young man who waited on him went down the hill toward the camp of the Philistines. This servant of Jonathan was called his armor-bearer, because he carried Jonathan's shield and sword and spear. To have them ready, we needed. Jonathan could see the Philistines just across the valley. He said, If the Philistines say to us, Come over, we will go and fight them, even though we too are alone, for we will take it as a sign that God will help us. The Philistines saw the two Israelites standing on a rock across the valley, and they called to them, Come over here, and we will show you something. Then Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, Come on, for the Lord. The Lord has given them into our hand. Then they crossed the valley and came suddenly up to the Philistines, and struck them down right and left, without giving them a moment. Some fell down, but others ran away. And soon, as their fellow soldiers saw them running, they too became frightened, and everybody began to run to and fro. Some fought the men who were running away, and before many minutes the Israelites on the hill across the valley could see the Philistines fighting and killing each other, the men running in every direction, and their army melting away. Then Saul and his men came across the valley and joined in the fight, and other Israelites who were in the camp of the Philistines, and under their control rose against them, and the tribes near at hand came forth and pursued them as they fled. So on that day a great victory was won over the Philistines. But a great mistake was made by King Saul on the day of the victory. He feared that his men would turn aside from following the Philistines to seize the spoil in their camp. And when the battle began, King Saul said, Let the curse of God light on any man who takes food until the evening. Whoever takes any food before the sun goes down shall die, so that there may be no delay in destroying our enemies. So on that day no man ate any food until it was evening, and they were faint and feeble from hunger. They were so worn out that they could not chase the Philistines further, and many of the Philistines escaped. That afternoon, as they were driving the Philistines through a forest, they found honey on the trees. But no man tasted it, because of Saul's oath before the Lord, that whoever took a mouthful of food should be put to death. But Jonathan had not heard of his father's command. He took some honey, and was made stronger by it. They said to Jonathan, Your father commanded all the people not to take any food until the sun goes down, saying, May the curse of God come upon anyone who eats anything until the evening. When Jonathan heard of his father's word, he said, My father has given us all great trouble, for if the men could have taken some food they would have been stronger to fight and to kill their enemies. On that night Saul found that Jonathan had broken his command, though he knew it not at the time. He said, I have taken an oath before the Lord, and now, Jonathan, you must die, though you are my own son. But the people would not allow Jonathan to be put to death, even to keep Saul's oath. They said, Shall Jonathan die after he has done such a great deed, and won the victory, and saved the people? Not a hair of his head shall fall, for he has done God's work this day. And they rescued Jonathan from the hand of the king, and set him free. A great victory had been won, but Saul had already shown that he was not fit to rule, because he was too hasty in his acts and his words, and because he was not careful to obey God's command. The Philistines after this battle stayed for a time in their own land beside the great sea, and did not trouble the Israelites upon the mountains. End of Story 2 Story 3 of Herbert's story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Ezwa. Herbert's story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Herbert. Part 3. Saul's great sin and his great loss. 1 Samuel, Chapter 15, Verses 1-35 After the great victory over the Philistines, Saul led his men against the enemies of Israel on every side of the land. He drove back the Moabites to their country east of the Dead Sea, and the Ammonites to the desert regions across the Jordan. He fought the Idomites on the south and the Kings of Zoba in the far north. For a time, the land of Israel was free from its oppressors. On the south of the land, in the desert where the Israelites had journeyed for forty years, were living the wild and wandering Amalekites, a people who had sought to harm the Israelites soon after they came out of Egypt, and had killed many of their people when they were helpless on their journey. For this, God had said that Israel should have war against the Amalekites until they were destroyed. The time had now come for God's word against the Amalekites to be fulfilled, and Samuel said to Saul, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, go down and make war against the Amalekites and destroy them utterly. Then Saul called out the men of horror in all the tribes, and they marched southward into the desert where many years before their fathers had lived for forty years. Their soul made war on the Amalekites and took their city and destroyed it. But he did not do what God had commanded him. He brought Agag, the King of the Amalekites, and many of his people as prisoners, and a great train of their sheep and oxen intending to keep them. Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, it would have been better never to have chosen Saul as King, for he does not obey my commands. All that night Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the next day he went to meet Saul. When Saul saw him, he said, May the blessing of the Lord be upon you. I have done what the Lord commanded me to do. Then said Samuel, If you have obeyed God's command and destroyed all the Amalekites and all that they possessed, what is the meaning of this bleeding of the sheep and the bellowing of the oxen which I hear? They have bought them from the Amalekites, answered Saul, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to offer in sacrifice to the Lord your God, all the rest we have utterly destroyed. This he said to excuse his wrongdoing and to put the blame for his disobedience to God's command on the people. Then Samuel said, I will tell you what God said to me last night. When you were humble in your own sight, God chose you to be king over Israel. He sent you on a long journey to the southward into the desert and said to you, Go and utterly destroy the Amalekites and leave nothing of them. Why did you not obey God's word, but it sees their oxen and sheep and save many of their people alive, disobeying God's voice? And Saul said, I have done as God commanded and have destroyed the Amalekites, but the people took some things that should have been destroyed to offer in sacrifice to the Lord. And Samuel said, Is the Lord as well pleased with offerings as he is with obeying his word? To obey is better than sacrifice and to listen to God's word is more precious than to place offerings on his altar. To disobey God's word is as evil as to worship idols. You have refused to obey the voice of the Lord and the Lord will take away your kingdom from you. Saul saw now how great was the harm that he had done and he said, I have sinned in not obeying God's word, but I was afraid of the people and yielded to them. Now forgive my sin, come with me and I will worship the Lord. No, said Samuel, I will not go with you, for God will refuse you as king. As Samuel turned away, Saul took hold of his garment and it tore in his hand. And Samuel said, Even so has God torn the kingdom away from you and he will give it to a man that is better than you are. And God is not like a man to say one thing and do another. What God has said shall surely come to pass. Saul begged Samuel so hard not to leave him, but to give him honor in presence of the people that Samuel went with Saul and Saul worshipped the Lord with Samuel. After this Samuel went to his house at Ramah and he never again met Saul as long as he lived, but he mourned and wept for Saul because he had disobeyed the Lord and the Lord had rejected him as king. World of Story 3, Recorded in January 2008. When Samuel told Saul that the Lord would take away the kingdom from him, he did not mean that Saul should lose the kingdom at once. He was no longer God's king, and as soon as the right man in God's sight should be found and should be trained for his duty as king, then God would take away Saul's power and would give it to the man whom God had chosen, but it was many years before all this came to pass. Samuel, who had helped in choosing Saul as king, still loved him and he felt very sorry to find Saul disobeying God's commands. He wept much and mourned for Saul, but the Lord said to Samuel, Do not weep and mourn any longer over Saul, for I have refused him as king. Fill the horn with oil and go to Bethlehem in Judah. There find a man named Jesse, for I have chosen a king among his sons. But Samuel knew that Saul would be very angry if he should learn that Samuel had named any other man as king in his place. He said to the Lord, How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me. Then the Lord said to Samuel, Take a young cow with you and tell the people that you have come to make an offering to the Lord, and call Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. I will tell you what to do, and you shall anoint the one whom I named to you. Samuel went over the mountains southward from Ramah to Bethlehem, about ten miles, leading a cow. The rulers of the town were alarmed at his coming, for they feared that he had come to judge the people for some evil doing. But Samuel said, I have come in peace to make an offering and to hold a feast to the Lord. Make yourselves ready, and come to the sacrifice. And he invited Jesse and his sons to the service. When they had made themselves ready, they came before Samuel. He looked at the sons of Jesse very closely. The oldest was named Eliab, and he was so tall and noble-looking that Samuel thought, Surely this young man must be the one whom God has chosen. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look on his face, nor on the height of his body, for I have not chosen him. Man judges by the outward looks, but God looks at the heart. Then Jesse's second son, named Shama, passed by, and the Lord said, I have not chosen this one. Seven young men came, and Samuel said, One of these is the man whom God has chosen. Are these all of your children? There is one more, said Jesse, the youngest of all. He is a boy in the field caring for the sheep. And Samuel said, Send for him, for we will not sit down until he comes. So after a time the youngest son was brought in. His name was David, a word that means darling, and he was a beautiful boy, perhaps fifteen years old, with fresh cheeks and bright eyes. As soon as the young David came, the Lord said to Samuel, Arise, anoint him, for this is the one whom I have chosen. Then Samuel poured oil on David's head, in the presence of all his brothers. But no one knew at that time the anointing to mean that David was to be the king. Perhaps they thought that David was chosen to be a prophet like Samuel. On that time the spirit of the Lord came upon David, and he began to show signs of coming greatness. He went back to his sheep on the hillsides around Bethlehem, but God was with him. David grew up strong and brave, not afraid of the wild beast which prowled around and tried to carry away his sheep. More than once he fought with lions and bears, and killed them when they seized the lambs of his flock. And David alone, all day, practiced throwing stones in a sling, until he could strike exactly the place for which he aimed. When he swung his sling, he knew that the stone would go to the very spot at which he was throwing it. And young as he was, David thought of God and prayed to God, and God talked with David and showed to David his will. And David was more than a shepherd and a fighter of wild beast. He played upon the harp, and made music, and sang songs about the goodness of God to his people. One of these songs of David we have all heard, and perhaps know so well that we can repeat it. It is called the Shepherd's Psalm, and begins with the words, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord, for ever. Some think that David made this psalm while he was himself a shepherd, tending his flock. But it seems rather like the thoughts of a man than of a boy, and it is more likely that long after those days, when David was a king, and remembered his youth and his flock in the fields, that he saw how God had led him, just as he had led his sheep, and then he wrote this psalm. But while the spirit of God came to David among his sheep, that spirit left King Saul, because he no longer obeyed God's words. Then Saul became very unhappy and gloomy in his feelings. There were times when he seemed to lose his mind, and a madness would come upon him. And at almost all time Saul was sad and full of trouble, because he was no more at peace with God. The servants around Saul noticed that when someone played on the harp and sang, Saul's gloom and trouble passed away, and he became cheerful. At one time Saul said, Find someone who can play well, and bring him to me. Let me listen to music, for it drives away my sadness. One of the young men said, I have seen a young man, a son of Jesse in Bethlehem, who can play well. He is handsome in his looks and agreeable in talking. Then I have heard that he is a brave young man, who can fight as well as he can play, and the Lord is with him. Then Saul sent a message to Jesse, David's father. He said, Send me your son David, who is with the sheep. Let him come and play before me. Then David came to Saul, bringing with him a present for the King from Jesse. When Saul saw him, he loved him, as did everybody who saw the young David. And David played on the harp and sang before Saul, and David's music cheered Saul's heart and drove away his sad feelings. Saul liked David so well that he made him his armor-bearer, and David carried the shield and spear and sword for Saul when the King was before his army. But Saul did not know that David had been anointed by Samuel. If he had known it, he would have been very jealous of David. After a time Saul seemed well, and David left him to be a shepherd once more at Bethlehem. End of Story 4 Story number 5 of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut Part 3 The Shepherd Boys Fight with the Giant First Samuel 7.1-54 All through the reign of Saul there was constant war with the Philistines who lived upon the lowlands west of Israel. At one time when David was still with his sheep, a few years after he had been anointed by Samuel, the camp of the Philistines and the Israelites were set against each other on opposite sides of the valley of Elah ready to fight each other. In the army of Israel were the three oldest brothers of David, who were soldiers under King Saul. Every day a giant came out of the camp of the Philistines and dared someone to come from the Israelites camp and fight with him. The giant's name was Goliath. He was nine feet high, and he wore armor from head to foot and carried a spear twice as long and as heavy as any other man could hold, and his shield-bearer walked before him. He came every day and called out across the little valley. I am a Philistine and you are servants of Saul. Now choose one of your men and let him come out and fight with me. If I kill him, then you shall submit to us, and if he kills me, then we will give up to you. Come now, send out your man! But no man in the army, not even King Saul, dared go out and fight with the giant. The Israelites were mostly farmers and shepherds and were not fond of war, as were the Philistines. Then too very few of the Israelites had swords and spears, except such rude weapons as they could make out of their farming tools. Forty days the camp stood against each other, and the Philistine giant continued his call. One day old Jesse, the father of David, sent David from Bethlehem to visit his three brothers in the army. David came, spoke to his brothers, and gave them a present from his father. While he was talking with them, Goliath the giant came out as before in front of the camp, calling for someone to fight with him. The Israelites said to one another, If any man will go out and kill this Philistine, the king will give him a great reward and a high rank, and the king's daughter shall be his wife. And David said, Who is this man that speaks in this proud manner against the armies of the living God? Why does not someone go out and kill him? His brother Eliab said to him, What are you doing here leaving your sheep in the field? I know that you have come down just to see the battle. But David did not care for his brother's angry words. He was thinking out some way to kill this boasting giant. While all the men were in terror, this boy thought of a plan. He believed that he knew how to bring down the big warrior with all his armor. Finally David said, If no one else will go, I will go out and fight with this enemy of the Lord's people. They brought David before King Saul. Some years had passed since Saul had met David, and he had grown from a boy to a man, so that Saul did not know him as the shepherd who had played on the heart before him in other days. Saul said to David, You cannot fight with this giant, you are very young, and he is a man of war, trained from his youth. And David answered King Saul, I am only a shepherd, but I have fought with lions and bears when they have tried to steal my sheep, and I am not afraid to fight with this Philistine. The Lord saved me from the lion's jaw and the bear's paw, and he will save me from this enemy, for I shall fight for the Lord and his people. Then Saul put his own armor on David, a helmet on his head and a coat of mail on his body, and a sword at his waist. But Saul was almost the giant, and his armor was far too large for David. David said, I am not used to fighting with such weapons as these, let me fight in my own way. So David took off Saul's armor, for David's plan to fight the giant did not need an armor, but did need a quick eye, a clear head, a sure aim, and a bold heart, and all these David had, for God had given them to him. David's plan was very wise. It was to make Goliath think that his enemy was too weak for him to be on his guard against him, and while so far away that the giant could not reach him with sword or spear to strike him down with a weapon which the giant would not expect and would not be prepared for. David took his shepherd's staff in his hand as though that were to be his weapon. But out of sight in a bag under his mantle he had five smooth stones carefully chosen and a sling. The weapon he knew how to use, then he came out to meet the Philistine. The giant looked down on the use and despised him and laughed at him. Am I a dog, he said, that this boy comes to me with a staff? I will give his body to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. And the Philistine cursed David by the gods of his people. And David answered him, You come against me with a sword and a spear and a dart, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. This day will the Lord give you into my hand. I will strike you down and take off your head, and the host of the Philistines shall be dead bodies to be eaten by the birds and the beasts, so that all may know that there is a God in Israel, and that he can save in other ways besides with sword and spear. And David ran toward the Philistine as if to fight him with his shepherd's staff. But when he was just near enough for a good aim he took out his sling and hurled a stone aimed at the giant's forehead. David's aim was good. The stone struck the Philistine in his forehead. It stunned him and he fell to the ground. While the two armies stood wondering and scarcely knowing what had caused the giant to fall so suddenly, David ran forward, drew out the giant's own sword and cut off his head. Then the Philistines knew that their great warrior in whom they trusted was dead. They turned to fly back to their own land and the Israelites followed after them and killed them by the hundred and thousand even to the gates of their own city of Gath. So in that day David won a great victory and stood before all the land as the one who had saved his people from their enemies. End of Story 5 Recording by Sean McGahey, ducktapeguy.net Story number 6 of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, part 3. The little boy looking for the arrows. Post Samuel 1755 to 2042 After David had slain the giant he was brought before King Saul, still holding the giant's head. Saul did not remember in this bold fighting man the boy who a few years before had played in his presence. He took him into his own house and made him an officer among his soldiers. David was as wise and as brave in the army as he had been when facing the giant and very soon he was in command of a thousand men. All the men loved him, both in Saul's court and in his camp. For David had the spirit that drew all hearts toward him. When David was returning from his battle with the Philistines, the women of Israel came to meet him out of the cities with instruments of music, singing and dancing, and they sang, Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands. This made Saul very angry for he was jealous and suspicious in his spirit. He thought constantly of Samuel's words that God would take the kingdom from him and would give it to one who was more worthy of it. He began to think that perhaps this young man who had come in a single day to greatness before the people might try to make himself king. His former feeling of unhappiness again came over Saul. He raved in his house talking as a man talks who is crazed. By this time they all knew that David was a musician and they called him again to play on his harp and to sing before the troubled king. But now in his madness Saul would not listen to David's voice. Thus he threw his spear at him but each time David leapt aside and the spear went into the wall of the house. Saul was afraid of David for he saw that the Lord was with David as the Lord was no longer with himself. He would have killed David but did not dare to kill him because everybody loved David. Saul said to himself, though I cannot kill him myself I will have him killed by the Philistines and he sent David out on dangerous errands of war but David came home in safety all the greater and the more beloved after each victory. Saul said I will give you my daughter Marab for your wife if you will fight the Philistines for me. David fought the Philistines but when he came home from the war he found that Marab who had been promised to him had been given as wife to another man. Saul had another daughter named Michelle. She loved David and showed her love for him. Then Saul sent word to David saying you shall have Michelle my daughter for your wife when you have killed a hundred Philistines. Then David went out and fought the Philistines and killed two hundred of them and they brought the word to Saul. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michelle as his wife. But he was all the more afraid of David as he saw him growing in power and drawing nearer to the throne of the kingdom. But if Saul hated David Saul's son Jonathan loved David with all his heart. This was the brave young warrior of whom we read in Story 55 who with his armor bearer went out alone to fight the Philistine army. Jonathan saw David's courage and nobility of soul and loved him with all his heart. He took off his own royal robe and his sword and his bow and gave them all to David. It grieved Jonathan greatly that his father Saul was so jealous of David. He spoke to his father and said, Let not the king do harm to David, for David has been faithful to the king and he has done great things for the kingdom. He took his life in his hand and killed the Philistine and won a great victory for the Lord and for the people. Why should you seek to kill an innocent man? For the time Saul listened to Jonathan and said, As the Lord lives, David shall not be put to death. And again David sat at the king's table among the princes and when Saul was troubled again David played on his harp and sang before him. But once more Saul's jealous anger arose and he threw his spear at David. David was watchful and quick. He leapt aside and, as before, the spear fastened into the wall. Saul sent men to David's house to seize him, but Michelle, Saul's daughter who was David's wife, let David down out of the window so that he escaped. She placed an image on David's bed and covered it with the bed clothes. When the men came she said, David is ill in the bed and cannot go. They brought the word to Saul and he said, Bring him to me in the bed just as he is. When the image was found in David's bed, David was in a safe place far away. David went to Samuel at Rama and stayed with him among the men who were prophets worshiping God and singing and speaking God's word. Saul heard that David was there and sent men to take him. But when these men came and saw Samuel and the prophets praising God and praying, the same spirit came on them and they began to praise and to pray. Saul sent other men, but these also, when they came among the prophets, felt the same power and joined in the worship. Finally Saul said, If no other men will bring David to me, I will go myself and take him. And Saul went to Rama. But when he came near to the company of the worshippers praising God and praying and preaching, the same spirit came on Saul. He too began to join in the songs and the prayers and stayed there all that day and that night worshiping God very earnestly. When the next day he went again to his home in Gibi, his feeling was changed for the time and he was again friendly to David. But David knew that Saul was at heart his bitter enemy and would kill him if he could as soon as his madness came upon him. He met Jonathan out in the field away from the place. Jonathan said to David, Stay away from the king's table for a few days and I will find out how he feels toward you and will tell you, perhaps even now my father may become your friend, but if he is to be your enemy, I know that the Lord is with you and that Saul will not succeed against you. Promise me that as long as you live you will be kind to me and not only to me while I live, but to my children after me. Jonathan believed, as many others believed, that David would yet become the king of Israel and he was willing to give up to David his right to be king. Such was his great love for him. That day a promise was made between Jonathan and David that they and their children and those who should come after them should be friends forever. Jonathan said to David, I will find how my father feels toward you and will bring you word. After three days I will be here with my bow and arrows and I will send a little boy out near your place of hiding and I will shoot three arrows. If I say to the boy, Run, find the arrows, they are on this side of you. Then you can come safely for the king will not harm you. But if I call out to the boy, the arrows are way beyond you. That will mean that there is danger and you must hide from the king. So David stayed away from Saul's table for two days. At first Saul said nothing of his absence but at last he said, Why has not the son of Jesse come to meals yesterday and today? And Jonathan said, David asked leave of me to go to his home at Bethlehem and visit his oldest brother. Then Saul was very angry. He cried out, You are a disobedient son. Why have you chosen this enemy of mine as your best friend? Do you not know that as long as he is alive you can never be king? Send after him and let him be brought to me, for he shall surely die. Saul was so fierce in his anger that he threw his spear at his own son Jonathan. Jonathan rose up from the table, so anxious for his friend David that he could eat nothing. The next day at the hour agreed upon, Jonathan went out into the field with a little boy. He said to the boy, Run out yonder and be ready to find the arrows that I shoot. And as the boy was running, Jonathan shot arrows beyond him and he called out, The arrows are way beyond you. Run quickly and find them. The boy ran and found the arrows and brought them to Jonathan. He gave the bow and arrows to the boy saying to him, Take them back to the city. I will stay here a while. And as soon as the boy was out of sight, David came from his hiding place and ran to Jonathan. They fell into each other's arms and kissed each other again and again and wept together. For David knew now that he must no longer hope to be safe in Saul's hands. He must leave home and wife and friends and his father's house and hide wherever he could from the hate of King Saul. Jonathan said to him, Go him peace for we have sworn together saying, The Lord shall be between you and me and between your children and my children forever. And Jonathan went again to his father's palace and David went out to find a hiding place. End of section 6. Recording by Sean McGahey, DucktapeGuy.net. Story number 7 of Hurlboot's Story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlboot's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlboot Part 3 where David found the Giants' sword. First Samuel 21.1 to 22.23. From his meeting with Jonathan, David went forth to be a wanderer, having no home as long as Saul lived. He went away so suddenly that he was without either bread to eat or a sword for defense. On his way he called out a little city called Knob where the Tabernacle was then standing, although the Holy Ark was still in another place by itself. Sea Story 51. The chief priest, Ahimelech, was surprised to see David coming alone. David said to him, The king has sent me upon an errand of which no one is to be told and my men are to meet me in a secret place. Can you give me a few loaves of bread? There is no bread here, said the priest, except the holy bread from the table in the holy house. The priests have just taken it away to put new bread in its place. For an account of the table and the bread, Sea Story 27. Let me have that bread, said David, for we are the lords and are holy. So the priest gave David the holy bread which was to be eaten by the priests alone. David said also, Have you a spear or a sword which I can take with me? The king's errand was so sudden that I had no time to bring my weapons. There is no sword here, said the priest, except the sword of Goliath of Gath whom you slew in the valley of Elah. It is wrapped in a cloth in the closet with the priest's robe. If you wish that sword you can have it. Sea Story 58. There is no sword like that, said David, give it to me. So David took the giant's sword and five loaves of bread and went away. But where should he go? Nowhere in Saul's kingdom would be safe, and he went down to live among his old enemies the Philistines on the plain. But the Philistines had not forgotten David who had slain their great Goliath and beaten them in many battles. They would have seized him and killed him but David acted as though he was crazy. Then the king of the Philistines said, Let this poor crazy man go, we do not want him here. And David escaped from among them and went to live in the wilderness of Judah. He found a great cave called the Cave of Adulam and hid in it. Many people heard where he was and from all parts of the land, especially from his own tribe of Judah, men who were not satisfied with the rule of King Saul gathered around David. Soon he had a little army of 400 men who followed David as their captain. All these men with David were good fighters and some of them were very brave in battle. Three of these men at one time wrought a great deed for David. While David was in the great cave with his men, the Philistines were holding the town of Bethlehem, which had been David's home. David said one day, How I wish that I could have a drink of the water from the well that is beside the gate of Bethlehem. This was the well from which he had drawn water and drank when a boy, and it seemed to him that there was no water so good to his taste. Those three brave men went out together, walked to Bethlehem, fought their way through the Philistines who were on guard, drew a vessel of water from the well, and then fought their way back through the enemies. But when they brought the water to David, he would not drink it. He said, This water was bought by the blood of three brave men. I will not drink it, but I will pour it out as an offering to the Lord, for it is sacred. So David poured out the water as a most precious gift to the Lord. Saul soon heard that David, with a band of men, was hiding among the mountains of Judah. One day, while Saul was sitting in Gibe, out of doors under a tree, with his nobles around him, he said, You are men of my own tribe of Benjamin, yet none of you will help me to find this son of Jesse, who has made an agreement with my own son against me, and who has gathered an army, and is waiting to rise against me. Is no one of you with me, and against my enemy? One man, whose name was Dogh, Anita might said, I was at the city of the priests some time ago, and saw the son of Jesse come to the chief priest Ahimelech, and the priest gave him loaves of bread and a sword, sent for Ahimelech and all the priests, commanded King Saul, and they took all the priests as prisoners, eighty-five men in all, and brought them before King Saul. And Saul said to them, Why have you priests joined with David, the son of Jesse, to rebel against me the king? You have given him bread and a sword, and have shown yourselves his friends. Then Ahimelech, the priest, answered the king. There is no one among all the king's servants as faithful as David, and he is the king's son-in-law, living in the palace, and sitting in the king's council. What wrong have I done in giving him bread? I knew nothing of any evil that he had wrought against the king. Then the king was very angry. He said, You shall die Ahimelech and all your father's family, because you have helped this man my enemy. You knew that he was hiding from me, and did not tell me of him. And the king ordered his guards to kill all the priests. But they would not obey him, for they felt that it was a dreadful deed to lay hands upon the priests of the Lord. This made Saul all the more furious, and he turned to Doag the Edomite, the man who had told of David's visit to the priest, and Saul said to Doag, You are the only one among my servants who is true to me. Do you kill these priests who have been unfaithful to their king? And Doag the Edomite obeyed the king and killed eighty-five men who wore the priestly garments. He went to the city of the priests, and killed all their wives and children, and burned the city. One priest alone escaped. A young man named Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech. He came to David with the terrible news that Saul had slain all the priests, and he brought the high priest's breastplate and his robes. David said to him, I saw this man, Doag the Edomite, there on that day, and I knew that he would tell Saul. Without intending to do harm I have caused the death of all your father's house. Stay with me, and fear not, I will care for your life with my own. Abiathar was now the high priest, and he was with David and not with Saul. All through the land went the news of Saul's dreadful deed, and everywhere the people began to turn from Saul and look toward David as the only hope of the nation. End of Section 7, Recording by Sean McGahee, DuctateGuy.net Story number 8 of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible, by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, Part 3. Now David spared Saul's life. First Samuel 23.1 to 27.12. After this David and his men hid in many places in the mountains of Judah, often hunted by Saul, but always escaping from him. At one time Jonathan, Saul's son, came to meet David in a forest and said to him, Fear not, for the Lord is with you, and Saul my father shall not take you prisoner. You will yet be the king of Israel, and I shall stand next to you, and my father knows this. And Jonathan and David made again the promise to be true to each other, and to each other's children always. Then they parted, and David never again saw his dear friend Jonathan. At one time David was hiding with a few men in a great cave near the Dead Sea, at a place called En Gedi. They were far back in the darkness of the cave, when they saw Saul come into the cave alone and lie down to sleep. David's men whispered to him, Now is the time of which the Lord said, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you may do to him whatever you please. Then David went toward Saul very quietly, with his sword in his hand. His men looked to see him kill Saul, but instead he only cut off a part of Saul's long robe. His men were not pleased at this, but David said to them, May the Lord forbid that I should do harm to the man whom the Lord has anointed as king. And David would not allow his men to harm Saul. After a time Saul rose up from his sleep and went out of the cave. David followed him at a distance, and called out to him, My Lord, the king. Saul looked around, and there stood David, bowing to him and holding up the piece of his royal robe. David said to Saul, My Lord, O king, why do you listen to the words of men who tell you that David is trying to do you harm? This very day the Lord gave you into my hand in the cave, and some told me to kill you. But I said, I will not do harm to my Lord, for he is the Lord's anointed king. See my father, see the skirt of your robe, I cut it off to show you that I would do you no harm, though you are hunting after me to kill me. May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord do justice for me upon you, but my hand shall not touch you. When Saul heard these words, his old love for David came back to him, and he cried out, Is that your voice, my son David? And Saul wept and said, You are a better man than I am, for you have done good to me while I have been doing harm to you. May the Lord reward you for your kindness to me this day. I know that it is God's will, that you shall be king, and you will rule over this people. Now give to me your word in the name of the Lord, that you will not destroy my family, but that you will spare their lives. And David gave his promise to Saul in the name of the Lord, and Saul led his men away from hunting David to his palace at Gibeah, but David kept still in his hiding-place, for he could not trust Saul's promise to spare his life. And it was not long before Saul was again seeking for David in the wilderness of Judah, with Abner, Saul's uncle, the commander of his army, and under him three thousand men. From his hiding-place in the mountains David looked down on the plain, and saw Saul's camp almost at his feet. That night David, an Abishai, one of David's men, came down quietly and walked into the middle of Saul's camp, while all his guards were asleep. Saul himself was sleeping, with his spear standing in the ground at his head, and a bottle of water tied to it. Abishai, David's follower, knew that David would not kill Saul, and he said to David, God has given your enemy into your hand again, let me strike him through to the ground at one stroke, only once, I will not need to strike twice. But David said, you shall not destroy him, who can strike the anointed of the Lord without being guilty of a crime. Let the Lord strike him, or let him die when God wills it, or let him fall in battle, but he shall not die by my hand. Let us take his spear and his water-bottle, and let us go. So David took Saul's spear and his bottle of water, and then David and Abishai walked out of the camp without awakening any one. In the morning David called out to Saul's men and to Abner, the chief of Saul's army. Abner, where are you? Why do you not answer, Abner? And Abner answered, who are you calling to the camp? Then David said, are you not a great man, Abner, who is like you in all Israel? Why have you not kept your watch over the king? You deserve to be put to death for your neglect. See, here is the king's spear and his bottle of water. Saul knew David's voice, and he said, is that your voice, my son David? And David answered, it is my voice, my lord, oh king, why do you pursue me? What evil have I done? May God deal with the men who have stirred you up against me. I am not worth all the trouble you are taking to hunt for me. The king of Israel is seeking for one who is as small as a flea, or a little bird in the mountains. Then Saul said, I have done wrong, come back, my son David, and I will no longer try to do harm to you, for you have spared my life to-day. And David said, let one of the young men come and take the king's spear. As I have spared your life to-day, may the Lord spare mine. So David went his way, for he would not trust himself in Saul's hands, and Saul led his men back to his home at Gibeah. David now was leading quite an army and was a powerful ruler. He made an agreement with the king of the Philistines, who lived at Gath. King Ackish and went down to the plain by the great sea, to live among the Philistines, and Ackish gave him a city called Ziklag, on the south of the tribe land of Judah. To this place David took his followers, and there he lived during the last year of Saul's reign. End of Story 8 Story 9 of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, Part 3 The Last Days of King Saul 1 Samuel Chapter 18, Verse 1 to Chapter 31, Verse 13 Once more the Philistines gathered together to make war on King Saul and the land of Israel. The king of the Philistines, Ackish, sent for David, and said to him, You and your men shall go with me in the army, and fight against the men of Israel. For David was now living in the Philistine country and under their rule. So David came from Ziklag, with all his six hundred men, and they stood among the armies of the Philistines. But when the lords of the Philistines saw David and his men, they said, Why are the Israelites here? Is not this the man of whom they sang, Saul slew his thousands, but David his ten thousands? Will not this man turn from us in the battle, and make his peace with his king by fighting against us? This man shall not go with us to war. Then Ackish, the king of the Philistines, sent away David and his men, so that David was not compelled to fight against his own people. But when he came to his own city, Ziklag, he found it had been burned and destroyed, and all the people in it. The wives and the children of David's men, and David's own wives also, had been carried away by the Amalekites into the desert on the south. The lords spoke to David through the high priest, Abiathar, saying, Pursue these men, and you will overtake them, and take back all that they have carried away. So David followed the Amalekites into the wilderness. His march was so swift that a part of his men could not endure it, but stopped to rest at the brook of Bezor. While four hundred men went on with David, he found the Amalekites in their camp, without guards, feasting upon the spoil that they had taken, and David and his men fell upon them suddenly, and killed all of them, except four hundred men who escaped on camels far into the desert, where David could not follow them. And David took from these robbers all the women and children they had carried away from Ziklag, and among them David's own two wives. Also he took a great amount of treasure and of spoil, not only all that these men had found in Ziklag, but what they had taken in many other places. David divided all these things between himself and his men, giving as much to those who had stayed at the brook Bezor as to those who had fought with the Amalekites. This treasure taken from the Amalekites made David very rich, and from it he sent presents to many of his friends in the tribe of Judah. While David was pursuing his enemies in the south, the Philistines were gathering a great host in the middle of the land, on the plain of Esdralon, at the foot of Mount Gilboa. Saul and his men were on the side of Mount Gilboa, near the same spring where Gideon's men drank, as we read in Story 45. But there was no one like Gideon now to lead the men of Israel, for King Saul was old and weakened by disease and trouble. Samuel had died many years before. David was no longer by his side. Saul had slain the priest, through whom in those times God spoke to men. And Saul was utterly alone, and knew not what to do, as he saw the mighty host of the Philistines on the plain, and the Lord had forsaken Saul, and would give him no word in his sore need. Saul heard that there was living at Endor, on the north side of the hill Morah, not far from his camp, a woman who could call up the spirits of the dead. Whether she could really do this, or only pretended to do it, we do not know, for the Bible does not tell. But Saul was so anxious to have some message from the Lord, that at night he sought this woman. He took off his kingly robes, and came dressed as a common man, and said to her, Bring me up from the dead the spirit of a man whom I greatly long to meet. And the woman said, What spirit shall I call up? When Saul answered, Bring me up the spirit of Samuel the prophet. Then the woman called for the spirit of Samuel, and whether spirits had ever arisen from the dead before or not. At that time the Lord allowed the spirit of Samuel to rise up from his place among the dead, to speak to King Saul. When the woman saw Samuel's spirit she was filled with fear. She cried out, and Saul said to her, Do not fear, but tell me whom you see. For Saul himself could not see the spirit whom the woman saw. And she said, I see one like a God rising up. He is an old man covered with a long robe. Then out of the darkness a voice came from the spirit whom Saul's eyes could not see. Why have you troubled me and called me out of my rest? And Saul answered Samuel, I am in great distress, for the Philistines make war upon me, and God has forsaken me. He will not speak to me either by a prophet or a priest or in a dream, and I have called upon you that you may tell me what to do. And the spirit of Samuel said to Saul, If the Lord has forsaken you and has become your enemy, why do you call upon me to help you? The Lord has dealt with you as I warned you that he would do, because you would not obey the Lord. He has taken the kingdom away from you and your house, and has given it to David. And the Lord will give Israel into the hands of the Philistines, and to-morrow you and your three sons shall be as I am, among the dead. And in the spirit of Samuel the prophet passed from sight. When Saul heard these words he fell down as one dead, for he was very weak as he had taken no food all that day. The woman and Saul's servants who were with him raised him up and gave him food, and tried to speak to him words of cheer. Then Saul and his men went over the mountain to their camp. On the next day a great battle was fought on the side of Mount Gilboa. The Philistines did not wait for Saul's warriors to attack them. They climbed up the mountain and fell upon the Israelites in their camp. Many of the men of Israel were slain in the fight, and many more fled away. Saul's three sons were killed. One of them, the brave and noble Jonathan. When Saul saw that the battle had gone against him, that his three sons were slain, and that the enemies were pressing closely upon him, he called to his armor-bearer and said, Draw your sword and kill me. It would be better for me to die by your hand than for the Philistines to come upon me and slaughter me. But the armor-bearer would not draw his sword upon his king, the Lord's anointed. King Saul took his own sword and fell upon it, and killed himself among the bodies of his own men. On the next day the Philistines came to strip off the armor and carry away the weapons of those who had been slain. The crown of King Saul and the bracelet on his arm had been already carried away. But the Philistines took off his armor and sent it to the temple of their idol, Dagen. And the body of Saul and those of his three sons, they fastened to the wall of Bethshan, a Canaanite city in the valley of the Jordan. You remember how Saul, in the beginning of his reign, had rescued the city of Jabish Gilead from the Ammonites. See Story 54. The men of Jabish had not forgotten Saul's brave deed. When they heard what had been done with the body of Saul, they rose up in the night and went down the mountains and walked across the Jordan, and came to Bethshan. They took down from the wall the bodies of Saul and his sons and carried them to Jabish. And that they might not be taken away again, they burned them and buried their ashes under a tree. And they mourned for Saul seven days. Thus came to an end the reign of Saul, which began well, but ended in failure and in ruin, because Saul forsook the Lord God of Israel. Saul had reigned forty years. By the beginning of his reign the Israelites were almost free from the Philistines, and for a time Saul seemed to have success in driving the Philistines out of the land. But after Saul forsook the Lord, and would no longer listen to Samuel, God's prophet, he became gloomy and full of fear and lost his courage, so that the land fell again under the power of its enemies. David could have helped him, but he had driven David away, and there was no strong man to stand by Saul, and win victories for him. So at the end, when Saul fell in battle, the yoke of the Philistines was on Israel heavier than at any time before. End of Story 9. Story number 10 of Hurlbeth's story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbeth's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbeth Part 3 The Shepherd Boy Becomes a King 2 Samuel 1.1-4.12 On the third day after the battle on Mount Joboa, David was at his home in Zikleg, on the south of Judah, when a young man came into the town, running, with garments torn and earth on his head, as was the manner of those in deep grief. He hastened to David and fell down before him, and David said to him, From what place have you come? And the young man said, Out of the camp of Israel I have escaped. And David said to him, What has taken place? Tell me quickly. Then the man answered, The men of Israel have been beaten in the battle. Very many of them are slain, and the rest have fled away. King Saul is dead, and so is Jonathan, his son. How do you know that Saul and Jonathan are dead? asked David. And the young man said, I happen to be on Mount Joboa in the battle, and I saw Saul leaning upon his spear wounded and near death with his enemies close upon him. And he said to me, Come to me and kill me, for I am suffering great pain. So I stood beside him and killed him, for I saw that he could not live. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet on his arm, and I have brought them to you, my Lord David. Then David and all the men that were with him tore their clothes and mourned and wept, and took no food on that day, on account of Saul and of Jonathan, and for the people of Israel who had fallen by the sword. And David said to the young man who had brought him the news, Who are you? To what people do you belong? And he said, I am no Israelite, I am an Amelokite. How was it, said David to him, that you were not afraid to slay the king of Israel, the anointed of the Lord. Then shall die for this deed. And David commanded one of his men to kill him, because he had said that he had slain the king. He may have told the truth, but it is more likely that he was not in the battle, and that after the fighting he came upon the field to rob the dead bodies, and that he brought a false story of having slain Saul, hoping to have a reward. But as David would not slay the anointed king, even though he were his enemy, he would not reward but would rather punish the stranger who claimed to have slain him. And David wrote a song over the death of Saul and Jonathan. He taught it to the people of Judah, and called it the song of the bow. Thy glory, O Israel, is slain upon the high places. How are the mighty fallen? Tell it not in Gath. Publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the heathen triumph. Ye mountains of Joboa, let there be no dew nor rain upon you, neither fields of offerings. For there the shield of the mighty was cast away as a vile thing. The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil, from the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan, not turned back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. The daughters of Israel weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet delicately, who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel. On Jonathan slain upon high places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant thou has been to me. Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished? After this, at the command of the Lord, David and his men went up from Zygleag to Hebron in the middle of the tribe land of Judah, and the men of Judah met together at Hebron, and they made David king over their tribe, and David reigned in Hebron over the tribe of Judah for seven years. But Saul's uncle, Abner, who had been the chief over his house and over his army, was not willing to have the kingdom go out of the family of Saul. He made a son of Saul king over all the tribes in the north of the land. His king was called Ishboshesh, a name which means a worthless man. He was weak and helpless except for the strong will and power of Abner who had made him king. For six years seemingly under Ishbosheth, but really under Abner, the form of a kingdom was kept up, while Ishbosheth was living at Mahenem on the east of Jordan. Thus for a time there were two kingdoms in Israel, that of the north under Ishbosheth and that of the south under David. But all the time David's kingdom was growing stronger and Ishbosheth's kingdom was growing weaker. After a time Abner was slain by one of David's men, and at once Ishbosheth's power dropped away. Then two men of his army killed him and cut off his head and brought it to David. They looked for a reward since Ishbosheth had been king against David, but David said, As the Lord lives, who has brought me out of trouble I will give no reward to wicked men who have slain a good man in his own house and upon his own head. Take these two murderers away and kill them. So the two slayers of the weak king Ishbosheth were punished with death, and the head of the slain man was buried with honor. David had not forgotten his promise to Saul to deal kindly with his children. End of Story Number 10 Story Number 11 of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible By Jesse Lyman Hurlbut Part 3 The Sound in the Tree-Tops 2 Samuel 5 verse 1 to 7 verse 29 After David had reigned as king over the tribe of Judah for seven years, and when Saul's son Ishbosheth was dead, all the men in Israel saw that David was the one man who was fit to be king over the land. So the rulers and elders of all the twelve tribes came to David in Hebron and said to him, We are all your brothers, and in time past, when Saul was king, it was you who led the people. And the Lord said, David shall be the shepherd of my people, and shall be prince over Israel. Now we are ready to make you king over all the land. Then David and the elders of Israel made an agreement together before the Lord in Hebron, and they anointed David as king over all the twelve tribes of Israel, from Dan in the far north to Bersheba in the south. David was now thirty-seven years old, and he reigned over all Israel thirty-three years. He found the land in a helpless state, everywhere under the power of the Philistines, and with many of its cities still held by the Canaanite people. The city of Jerusalem, on Mount Zion, had been kept as a stronghold by a Canaanite tribe, called the Jebusites, ever since the days of Joshua. David led his men of war against it, but the Jebusites, from their high walls and steep rocks, laughed at him. To mock King David they placed on the top of the wall the blind and lame people, and they called aloud to David, even blind men and lame men can keep you out of our city. This made David very angry, and he said to his men, whoever first climbs up the wall and strikes down the blind and lame upon it, he shall be the chief captain in general of the whole army. Then all the soldiers of David rushed against the wall, each striving to be first. The man who was able first to reach the enemies and strike them down was Joab, the son of David's sister, Zeruya, and he became the commander of David's army, a place which he held as long as David lived. After the fortress on Mount Zion was taken from the Jebusites, David made it larger and stronger, and chose it for his royal house, and around it the city of Jerusalem grew up as the chief city in David's kingdom. The Philistines soon found that there was a new king in Israel, and a ruler very different from King Saul. They gathered their army and came against David. He met them in the valley of Refrim, a little to the south of Jerusalem, and won a great victory over them, and carried away from the field the images of their gods, but that the Israelites might not be led to worship them, David burned them all with fire. A second time the Philistines came up and encamped in the valley of Refrim, and when David asked of the Lord what he should do, the Lord said to him, do not go against them openly, turn to one side and be ready to come against them from under the mulberry trees, and wait there until you hear a sound overhead in the tops of the trees. When you hear that sound it will be a sign that the Lord goes before you. Then march forth and fight the Philistines. And David did as the Lord commanded him, and again a great victory was won over the Philistines. But David did not rest when he had driven the Philistines back to their own land. He marched with his men into the Philistines' country, and took their chief city, Gath, which was called the Mother City of the Philistines. He conquered all their land, and ended the war of a hundred years by making all the Philistine plains subject to Israel. Now that the land was free, David thought that the time had come to bring the Holy Ark of the Lord out from its hiding-place, where it had remained all through the rule of Samuel and the reign of Saul. This was in Kirjath-Jerim, also called Baal, a town on the northern border of Judah. David prepared for the ark a new tabernacle on Mount Zion, and with the chosen men of all the tribes he went to bring up the ark to Mount Zion. They did not have the ark carried by priests, as it had been taken from place to place in the earlier days, but they stood it on a wagon to be drawn by oxen, driven by the sons of the man in whose house the ark had been standing, though these men were not priests. And before the ark walked David and the men of Israel, making music upon all kinds of musical instruments. At one place the road was rough, and the oxen stumbled, and the ark almost fell from the wagon. Uzzah, one of the men driving the oxen, took hold of the ark to study it. God's law forbade anyone except a priest from touching the ark, and God was displeased with Uzzah for his carelessness, and Uzzah fell dead by the ark of the Lord. This death alarmed David and all the people. David was afraid to have the ark of God come into his city. He stopped the procession and placed the ark in the house nearby of a man named Obed Edom. There it stayed three months. They were afraid that it might bring harm to Obed Edom and his family, but instead it brought a blessing upon them all. When David heard of the blessings that had come to Obed Edom with the ark, he resolved to bring it to his own city on Mount Zion. This time the priests carried it as the law commanded, and sacrifices were offered upon the altar. They brought up the ark into its new home on Mount Zion, where a tabernacle was standing ready to receive it. Then as of old the priests began to offer the daily sacrifices, and the services of worship were held after having been neglected through so many years. David was now living in his palace on Mount Zion, and he thought of building a temple to take the place of the tabernacle, for the ark and its services. He said to Nathan, who was a prophet, through whom the Lord spoke to the people, See, now I live in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stands within the curtains of a tent. Go, do all that is in your heart, answered Nathan the prophet, for the Lord is with you. And that night the voice of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, thus sayeth the Lord. Since the time when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, my ark has been in a tent, and I have never said to the people, build me a house of cedar. Say to my servant David, I took you from the sheep pasture where you were following the sheep, and I have made you a prince over my people Israel, and I have given you a great name and great power. And now, because you have done my will, I will give you a house. Your son shall sit on the throne after you, and he shall build me a house and a temple. And I will give you and your children and your descendants those who shall come from you, a throne and a kingdom that shall last forever. This promise of God, that under David's line should rise a kingdom to last always, was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who came long afterward from the family of David, and who reigns as king in heaven and in earth. End of story number 11. Story 12 of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, Part 3. The Cripple at the King's Table. First Samuel, Chapter 8, Verse 1 to Chapter 9, Verse 13. As soon as the kings of the nations around Israel saw that a strong man was ruling over the tribes, they began to make war upon David, for they feared to see Israel gaining in power. So it came to pass that David had many wars. The Moabites, who lived on the east of the Dead Sea, went to war with David, but David conquered them and made Moab submit to Israel. Far in the north, the Syrians came against David, but he won great victories over them, and took Damascus, their chief city, and held it as a part of his kingdom. In the south he made war upon the Edomites and brought them under his rule. For a number of years David was constantly at war, but at last he was at peace, the ruler of all the lands from the Great River Euphrates on the north, down to the wilderness on the south where the Israelites had wandered, and from the Great Desert on the east to the Great Sea on the west, all these lands were under the rule of King David, except the people of Tyre and Sidon, who lived beside the Great Sea on the north of Israel. These people, the Tyrians, never made war on Israel, and their king Hyrum was one of David's best friends. The men of Tyre cut down cedar trees on Mount Lebanon for David and brought them to Jerusalem, and built for David the palace which became his home. When David's wars were over and he was at rest, he thought of the promise that he had made to his friend Jonathan, the brave son of Saul, Seastory 59, that he would care for his children. David asked of his nobles and the men of his court, are there any of Saul's family living to whom I can show kindness for the sake of Jonathan? They told David of Saul's servant, Zeba, who had the charge of Saul's farm in the country, and David sent for him. Zeba had become a rich man from his care of the lands that had belonged to Saul. David said to Zeba, are there any of Saul's family living to whom I can show some of the kindness which God has shown toward me? And Zeba said, Saul's son Jonathan left a little boy named Mephi Bosheth, who is now grown to be a man. He is living at Lodi Bar on the east of Jordan. This child of Jonathan was in the arms of his nurse when the news came of the battle at Mount Galboa where Jonathan was slain. The nurse fled with him to hide from the Philistines, and in running fell, and the child's feet were so injured that ever after he was lame. Perhaps he was kept hidden in a distant place on the east of Jordan from fearless David now that he was king might try to kill all those who were of Saul's family. For such deeds were common in those times when one king took the power away from another king's children. David sent for Mephi Bosheth, Jonathan's son, and he was brought into David's presence and fell down on his face before the king, for he was in great fear. When David said to him, Mephi Bosheth, you need have no fear. I will be kind to you, because I loved Jonathan your father, and he loved me. You shall have all the lands that ever belonged to Saul and his family, and you shall always sit at my table in the royal palace. Then the king called Zeba, who had been the servant of Saul, and said to him, all the lands and houses that once belonged to Saul I have given to Mephi Bosheth. You shall care for them and bring the harvests and the fruits of the fields to him, but Mephi Bosheth shall live here with me and shall sit down at the king's table among the princes of the kingdom. So Mephi Bosheth, the lame son of Jonathan, was taken into David's palace and sat at the king's table among the highest in the land, and Zeba, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, waited on him and stood at his command. His kindness of David to Mephi Bosheth might have brought trouble to David, for Mephi Bosheth, the son of Jonathan and the grandson of Saul, might have been the king if David had not won the crown. By giving to Saul's grandson a place at his table and showing him honor, David might have helped him to take the kingdom away from himself if Mephi Bosheth had been a stronger man with a purpose to win the throne of Israel. But David was generous, and Mephi Bosheth was grateful and was contented with his place in the palace. End of Story 12, Recording by Eric Ray, St. Louis, Missouri. Story 13 of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, Part 3. The Prophet's Story of the Little Lamb. Second Samuel, Chapter 11, Verses 1 through 25, Psalm 51. When David first became king, he went with his army upon the wars against the enemies of Israel. But there came a time when the cares of his kingdom were many, and David left Joab his general to lead his warriors while he stayed in his palace on Mount Zion. One evening about sunset, David was walking upon the roof of his palace. He looked down into a garden nearby, and saw a woman who was very beautiful. David asked one of his servants who this woman was, and he said to him, Her name is Bathsheba, and she is the wife of Uriah. Now Uriah was an officer in David's army under Joab, and at that time he was fighting in David's war against the Ammonites at Raba near the desert on the east of Jordan. David sent for Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, and talked with her. He loved her, and greatly longed to take her as one of his own wives, for in those times it was not thought a sin for a man to have more than one wife. But David could not marry Bathsheba while her husband Uriah was living. Then a wicked thought came into David's heart, and he formed a plan to have Uriah killed so that he could then take Bathsheba into his own house. David wrote a letter to Joab, the commander of his army, and in the letter he said, When there is to be a fight with the Ammonites, send Uriah into the middle of it, where it will be the hottest, and manage to leave him there so that he may be slain by the Ammonites. And Joab did as David had commanded him. He sent Uriah with some brave men to a place near the wall of the city, where he knew that the enemies would rush out of the city upon them. There was a fierce fight beside the wall. Uriah was slain, and other brave men with him. Then Joab sent a messenger to tell King David how the war was being carried on, and especially that Uriah, one of his brave officers, had been killed in the fighting. When David heard this he said to the messenger, Say to Joab, Do not feel troubled at the loss of the men slain in battle. The sword must strike down some. Keep up the siege. Press forward, and you will take the city. And after Bathsheba had mourned over her husband's death for a time, then David took her into his palace, and she became his wife. And a little child was born to them, whom David loved greatly. Only Joab and David, and perhaps a few others, knew that David had caused the death of Uriah. But God knew it, and God was displeased with David for this wicked deed. Then the Lord sent Nathan the Prophet to David to tell him that, though men knew not that David had done wickedly, God had seen it, and would surely punish David for his sin. Nathan came to David, and he spoke to him thus. There were two men in one city. One was rich, and the other poor. The rich man had great flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle. But the poor man had only one little lamb that he had bought. It grew up in his home with his children, and drank out of his cup, and lay upon his lap, and was like a little daughter to him. One day a visitor came to the rich man's house to dinner. He did not take one of his own sheep to kill for his guest. He robbed the poor man of his lamb, and killed it, and cooked it for a meal with his friend. When David heard this, he was very angry. He said to Nathan, The man who did this thing deserves to die. He shall give back to his poor neighbor fourfold for the lamb taken from him. How cruel to treat a poor man thus without pity for him! And Nathan said to David, You are the man who has done this deed. The Lord made you king in place of Saul, and gave you a kingdom. You have a great house, and many wives. Why then have you done this wickedness in the sight of the Lord? You have slain Uriah with the sword of the men of Ammon, and you have taken his wife to be your wife. For this there shall be a sword drawn against your house. You shall suffer for it, and your wives shall suffer, and your children shall suffer, because you have done this. When David heard all this, he saw as he had not seen before how great was his wickedness. He was exceedingly sorry, and said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And David showed such sorrow for his sin that Nathan said to him, The Lord has forgiven your sin, and you shall not die on account of it, but the child that your eyes wife has given to you shall surely die. Even after this the little child of David and Bathsheba, whom David loved greatly, was taken very ill. David prayed to God for the child's life, and David took no food, but lay in sorrow with his face upon the floor of his house. The nobles of his palace came to him, and urged him to rise up and take food, but he would not. For seven days the child grew worse and worse, and David remained in sorrow. Then the child died, and the nobles were afraid to tell David, for they said to each other, If he was in such grief while the child was living, what will he do when he hears that the child is dead? But when King David saw the people whispering to one another with sad faces, he said, Is the child dead? And they said to him, Yes, O King, the child is dead. Then David rose up from the floor where he had been lying. He washed his face, and put on his kingly robes. He went first to the house of the Lord and worshipped. Then he came to his own house, and sat down to his table, and took food. His servants wondered at this, but David said to them, While the child was still alive, I fasted, and prayed, and wept, for I hoped that by prayer to the Lord, and by the mercy of the Lord, his life might be spared. But now that he is dead, my prayers can do no more for him. I cannot bring him back again. He will not come back to me, but I shall go to him. And after this, God gave to David and to Bathsheba his wife another son, whom they named Solomon. The Lord loved Solomon, and he grew up to be a wise man. After God had forgiven David's great sin, David wrote the fifty-first Psalm in memory of his sin and of God's forgiveness. Some of his verses are these, Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done that which is evil in thy sight. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be wider than snow. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Ask me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with a free spirit. Then I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted with thee. For thou delightest not in sacrifice else would I give it. Thou hast no pleasure in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou will not despise. End of Story 13. Recording by Eric Ray, St. Louis, Missouri. Story number 14 of Hurlbut's Story of the Bible. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Kalinda. Hurlbut's Story of the Bible by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut. Part 3. David's Handsome Son and How He Stole the Kingdom. Second Samuel, Chapter 13, Verse 1, to Chapter 17, Verse 23. Not long after David's sin, the sorrows of which the prophet had foretold him began to fall upon David. He had many wives, and his wives had many sons. But most of his sons had grown up wild and wicked, because David had not watched over them, and had not taught them in their youth to love God and do God's will. He had been too busy as a king to do his duty as a father. The oldest of David's sons was Absalom, whose mother was the daughter of Talmai, the king of a little country called Gesher, on the north of Israel. Absalom was said to be the most beautiful young man in all the land. He had long locks of hair of which he was very proud, because all the people admired them. Absalom became very angry with Amnon, another of David's sons, because Amnon had done wrong to Absalom's sister named Tamar. But Absalom hid his anger against Amnon, and one day invited Amnon with all the king's sons to a feast at his house in the country. They all went to the feast, and while they were all at the table, Absalom's servants, by his orders, rushed in and killed Amnon. The other princes, the king's sons, were alarmed, fearing that they also would be slain, and they ran away in haste. But no harm was done to the other princes, and they came back in safety to David. David was greatly displeased with Absalom, though he loved him more than any other of his sons, and Absalom went away from his father's court to that of his grandfather, his mother's father, the king of Gesher. There Absalom stayed for three years, and all the time David longed to see him, for he felt that he had now lost both sons, Absalom as well as Amnon. And after three years, David allowed Absalom to come back to Jerusalem, but for a time would not meet him, because he had caused his brother's death. At last David's love was so strong that he could no longer refuse to see his son. He sent for Absalom and kissed him, and took him back to his old place among the king's sons in the palace. But Absalom's heart was wicked, and ungrateful, and cruel. He formed a plan to take the throne and the kingdom away from his father, David, and to make himself king in David's place. He began by living in great state, as if he were already a king, with a royal chariot and horses and fifty men to run before him. Then too he would rise early in the morning and stand at the gate of the king's palace, and meet those who came to the king for any cause. He would speak to each man, and find what was the purpose of his coming, and he would say, Your cause is good and right, but the king will not hear you, and he will not allow any other man to hear you in his place. Oh, that I were made a judge, then I would see that right was done, and that every man received his due. And when any man bowed down before Absalom as the king's man, he would reach out his hand and lift him up, and kiss him as his friend. Thus Absalom won the hearts of all whom he met, from every part of the land, until very many wished that he was king instead of David, his father. For David no longer led the army in war, nor did he sit as judge, nor did he go among the people, but lived apart in his palace, scarcely knowing what was being done in the land. After four years Absalom thought he was strong enough to seize the kingdom. He said to David, Let me go to the city of Hebron, and there I wish of the Lord, and keep a promise which I made to the Lord while I was in the land of Gesheur. David was pleased at this, for he thought that Absalom really meant to serve the Lord. So Absalom went to Hebron, and with him went a great company of his friends. A few of these knew of Absalom's plans, but most of them knew nothing. At Hebron Absalom was joined by a very wise man named Ahathaf Phil, who was one of David's chief advisors, and in whom David trusted fully. Suddenly the word was sent through all the land by swift runners. Absalom has been made king at Hebron. Those who were in the secret helped to lead others, and soon it seemed as though all the people were on Absalom's side and ready to receive him as king in place of David. The news came to David in the palace that Absalom had made himself king, that many of the rulers were with him, and that the people in their hearts really desired Absalom. David did not know whom he could trust, and he prepared to escape before it would be too late. He took with him a few of his servants, who chose to remain by his side, and his wives, and especially his wife Batsheba, and her son, the little Solomon. As they were going out of the gates they were joined by Itai, who was the commander of his guard, and who had with him six hundred trained men of war. Itai was not an Israelite, but was a stranger in the land, and David was surprised that he should offer to go with them. He said to Itai, Why do you, a stranger, go with us? I know not to what places we may go, or what trouble we may meet. It would be better for you and your men to go back to your own land, and may mercy and truth go with you. And Itai answered the king, As the Lord God lives, and as my Lord the king lives, surely in what place the king shall be, whether in death or in life, there will we his servants be with him. So Itai and his brave six hundred soldiers went with David out of the city, over the brook Kedron, toward the wilderness, and soon after came Zadok and Abiyathar, the priests, and the Levites, carrying the holy Ark of the Lord. And David said, Take back the Ark of God into the city. If I shall find favor in the sight of the Lord, he will bring me again to see it, but if the Lord says I have no pleasure in David, then let the Lord do with me as seems good to him. And David thought also that the priests might help him more in the city than if they should go away with him. He said to Zadok, Do you go back to the city and watch, and send word to me by your son Ahimaz, and Jonathan the son of Abiyathar. I will wait at the crossing place of the river Jordan for news from you. So Zadok and Abiyathar, the priests, carried the holy Ark back to its tabernacle on Mount Zion, and watched closely that they might send David word of anything that would help his cause. David walked up the steep side of the Mount of Olives on the east of Jerusalem, with his head covered and his feet bare, as one in mourning, weeping as he walked. And all the people who were with him, and those who saw him, were weeping in their sorrow over David's fall from his high place. On the top of the hill David found another man waiting to see him. It was Hushai, who was one of David's best friends. He stood there in sorrow, with his garments torn and earth upon his head, ready to go into the wilderness with David. Like David said to Hushai, if you go with us you cannot help me in any way, but if you stay in the city and pretend to be Absalom's friend, then perhaps you can watch against the advice that the wise man, Ahetophel, gives to Absalom, and prevent Absalom from following it. Zadok and Abiyathar, the priests, will help you, and through their sons, Ahimas and Jonathan, you can send word to me of all that you hear. A little past the top of the hill another man was waiting for David. It was Zeba, the servant of Mefebosheth. You remember how kindly David had treated Mefebosheth. Because he was the son of David's dear friend, Jonathan, Zeba had by his side a couple of asses saddled, and on them two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and a quantity of fruit, and a goat's skin full of wine. David said to Zeba, for what purpose are all these things here? And Zeba said, the asses are for the king, and here is food for the journey, and wine for those who may grow faint and may need it in the wilderness. And David asked Zeba, where is Mefebosheth, your master? He is in Jerusalem, said Zeba, for he says that the kingdom may be given back to him, as he is the heir of Saul's house. David felt very sad as he heard that Mefebosheth had forsaken him, and he said to Zeba, whatever has belonged to Mefebosheth shall be yours from this time. But David did not know that all Zeba's words were false, and that Mefebosheth had not forsaken him. This man was Shime, and he belonged to the family of King Saul. As David and his party walked along the crest of the hill, Shime walked over the hill on the other side of a narrow valley, and as he walked he threw stones at David, and cursed him, shouting, Get out! Get out, you man of blood! You wicked man! Now the Lord is bringing upon you all the wrong that you did to Saul when he was your king. You robbed Saul of his kingdom, and now your own son is robbing you. You were suffering just as you deserve, for you are a bloody man. Then Abishai, the son of Zeruaya, who was one of David's men and David's own nephew, said, Why should this dog be allowed to bark against my Lord the King? Let me go across the valley, and I will strike off his head at one blow. But David said, If it is the Lord's will that this man should curse David, then let him curse on. My own son is seeking to take away my life, and is it strange that this man of another tribe should hate me? It may be that the Lord will look upon the wrong done to me, and will do good to me. So David and his wives, and his servants, and the soldiers who were faithful to him, went on toward the wilderness and the valley of the Jordan. Soon after David had escaped from the city, Absalom came into it with his friends and a host of his followers. As Absalom drew near, Hushai, David's friend, stood by the road crying, Long live the king! Long live the king! And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this the way you treat your friend? Why have you not stayed beside your friend David? Hushai said to Absalom, Whom the Lord and his people have chosen, him will I follow, and with him I will stay. As I have served the Father, so will I serve the Son. Then Hushai went into the palace among the followers of Absalom, and Absalom said to Athithophil, Tell me what to do next. Now Ahithophil was a very wise man. He knew what was best for Absalom's success, and he said, Let me choose out twelve thousand men, and I will pursue David this very night. We will come upon David when he is tired, while only a few people are with him, and before he has time to form any plans or to gather an army I will kill David and will harm no one else, and then you can reign as king in peace, and all the people will submit to you when they know that David is no longer living. Absalom thought that this was wise advice, but he sent for Hushai. He told him what Ahithophil had said, and asked for his advice also. And Hushai said, The advice that Ahithophil gives is not good for the present time. You know that David and his men are very brave, and just now they are as savage as a bear robbed of her cubs. David is with his men in some safe place, hidden in a cave or among the mountains, and they will watch against those who come out to seek for them, and will rush upon them suddenly from their hiding place. Then as soon as the news goes through the land that Absalom's men have been beaten, everybody will turn away from Absalom to David. The better plan would be to wait until you can gather all the men of war in Israel, from Dan in the north to Bershiba in the south. And then, if David is in a city, there will be men enough to pull the city in pieces, or if he is in the field, we will surround him on every side. And Absalom and the rulers who were with him said to each other, The advice of Hushai is better than the advice of Ahithophil. Let us do as Hushai tells us to do. So Absalom sat down in his father's palace and began to enjoy himself while they were gathering his army. This was just what Hushai wished, for it would give David time to gather his army also, and he knew that the hearts of the people would soon turn from Absalom back to David. Hushai told Zadok and Abiyathar, the priests of Absalom's plans, and they sent word by a young woman to their sons, Ahimas and Jonathan, who were watching outside the city. And these young men hastened to tell David, who was waiting beside the river Jordan. Then David and his men found a safe refuge in Mahanaim, in the tribe of Gad across Jordan, and there his friends from all the land began to come to him. When Ahithophil saw that his advice had not been taken and that Hushai was preferred in his place, he knew at once that Absalom could not hold the kingdom and that Absalom's cause was already as good as lost. He went to his home, put all his house and his affairs in order, and hanged himself, for he thought that it was better to die by his own hand than to be put to death as a traitor by King David. Absalom for a little time had his wish. He sat on the throne and wore the crown and lived in the palace at Jerusalem as the king of Israel. End of story 14.